Haitians Living in Fear

Why do gangs and dictators want to control entire regions and countries? Their self-centered actions and often lawless ways indicate that the people of those countries do not matter to them. Nowhere is this more evident, perhaps, than in the Caribbean nation of Haiti, where current conditions certainly reflect the biblical warning that “when a wicked man rules, the people groan” (Proverbs 29:2).

Haiti’s government and police powers continue to be ineffective at controlling the powerful gangs operating in the country and vying for power. Recently, a four-day siege by gangs overwhelmed a suburb of Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince (AP, January 18, 2024). The suburb is home to many police officers, and gangs appeared to have a plan. Residents were caught in the crossfire and homes were torched. As the fighting continued, residents in nearby neighborhoods erected barricades using anything available, to keep the gangs out. As a UN representative recently observed, “I cannot overstress the severity of the situation in Haiti, where multiple protracted crises have reached a critical point.” Gangs are using sexual violence as a population control tool, putting women and girls at great risk. Haiti’s prime minister has pleaded for international assistance and intervention. While Kenya offered to lead a UN force to stabilize the nation, a Kenyan judge recently decreed that deploying the nation’s police forces in Haiti would be unconstitutional. Sadly, the deteriorating situation in Haiti is likely to continue for some time as the world focuses on other issues. Ecuador and Mexico are also embroiled in major gang wars that are dragging their citizens into the fray.

The people in Haiti, Ecuador, Mexico, and other gang-infested and war-torn regions of the world are in desperate need of a Savior! And Jesus Christ will return and be that Savior (Isaiah 9:6–7). To learn how this will happen, watch “Why Will Christ Return?”