“There’s gas now! There’s gas now!” People shouted as horns honked and motorbikes zoomed by as Haiti’s capital slowly returned to its familiar cacophony. Sweat rolled down people’s brows as they pushed their cars and motorbikes to the nearest gas station and lined up alongside colorful minibuses known as “taps” with messages such as “Thank you Jesus”. “I would call it the day life starts again,” said Davidson Jean-Pierre, 35, who owns a small painting business. He and his employees were finally able to get around Haiti with ladders and other bulky equipment that could not be easily transported on the few motorcycles that remained in service during the blockade. “My team will get back on their feet,” said Jean-Pierre.
Haiti paralyzed when gang blockades fuel terminal
Since a gang federation known as the G9 seized control of an area around a key fuel terminal in mid-September, life in Haiti has come to a standstill, leaving millions like Jean-Pierre temporarily out of work. The move – aimed at ousting Prime Minister Ariel Henry after he announced petrol price hikes – has forced gas stations to close, hospitals to cut critical services and businesses, including banks and grocery stores, to limit opening hours. their. It has also exacerbated a cholera outbreak that has killed dozens and sickened thousands, with companies unable to distribute drinking water. Police officers secure an area to facilitate the passage of fuel trucks filled with gas, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. (Odelyn Joseph/The Associated Press) Earlier this week, nearly 400 trucks lined up at the newly freed Varreux terminal in Port-au-Prince, filling their tanks with fuel as a heavily armed police escort escorted them to gas stations in the capital and beyond. The truck drivers arrived after the G9 gang, led by ex-cop Jimmy Cherizier — nicknamed “Barbecue” — announced a week ago that it was lifting the blockade days after clashing with police trying to regain control of the area. While truck drivers dispensed 1.9 million gallons of diesel and 1.2 million gallons of gasoline, many on Saturday were worried the fuel would run out soon as they waited in line for hours under a scorching sun. Front Burner20:14 ‘A slow death’: Haitians face growing crisis After three years without cases, cholera is spreading in Haiti’s poorest neighborhoods as they struggle for access to clean water. At the same time, nearly five million Haitians face acute hunger. Gangs have taken over most of Haiti’s capital, a critical fuel terminal, and the nation’s politics remain volatile after the president was assassinated in July last year. It is these complex crises that have led the current unpopular government to seek international intervention from the US, Canada and the UN – a controversial move in a country with a long history of foreign intervention. Today on Front Burner, Haitian freelance journalist Harold Isaacs explains how citizens are enduring yet another desperate situation and why they are beginning to feel alone. “I don’t know how long it will last,” said Arnel Fildor, 28, who also worried about high gas prices and the crushing economic crisis caused by double-digit inflation that has pushed this country of more than 11 million people. into even deeper poverty. “Not everyone is equal. We don’t have the same ability to survive. We’re all dying slowly here.” During the blockade, a rare gallon of natural gas on the black market fetched at least 4,000 Haitian gourdes ($37 Cdn), a price Jean-Pierre refused to pay, worried it might have been mixed with other liquids. On Saturday, he planned to buy gallons of water and fill his propane gas tank, essential tasks that were impossible during the blockade.
Concerns about high gas prices remain
Women are photographed selling contraband gasoline in plastic gallon jugs on a street in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, July 14, 2022. (Odelyn Joseph/The Associated Press) Meanwhile, tap drivers such as Marc Andre, 40, said that while they were relieved that petrol stations had reopened, they were worried about high fuel prices and their impact on their livelihoods, with passengers unable to pay in full the fare. “They raised gas at the wrong time, when the economy is not working,” he said. “It will be very difficult for people who have nothing. Gasoline looks like a lifesaver, but at the same time, it will bring hardship to many people.” In mid-September, the prime minister announced that his government could no longer afford to heavily subsidize fuel. As a result, a gallon of gasoline rose from 250 gourdes ($2.34) to 570 gourdes ($5.33), diesel from 353 gourdes ($3.30) to 670 gourdes ($6.26), and kerosene from 352 gourds ($3.61 in pigs) a country where about 60 percent of the population earns less than $2.50 a day. Tap tap driver Jean Joel Destin, 39, said the government doesn’t understand what he has to endure to make a living in Haiti. “You have no one to turn to,” he said.
