Bishop of Haiti warns that the country is experiencing a situation of asphyxiation

Mons. Quesnel Alphonse, Bishop of Fort Liberté, in northeastern Haiti, described the situation that the Caribbean country is going through, especially outside the capital, as a true “suffocation.”

“It’s like they’re drowning us. You barely survive. Things are getting more difficult, and we don’t know what is going to happen,” said Bishop Alphonse in a broadcast interview by the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) on January 8, in which the prelate shared how this difficult time has been experienced in the country.

Haiti has been plunged into an uncontrollable spiral of violence for months, aggravated after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse on July 7, 2021. Since then, the country faces a power vacuum, lacks legitimate elected leadership and suffers from the increase of influence of armed groups that control large areas of the territory.

Added to the violence generated by gangs in Haiti is a serious economic crisis that, according to Bishop Quesnel Alphonse, has led the population to an extreme situation in which Haitians “are not only poor, they now live in misery. This affects the entire country. Desperation is at an all-time high, and when that happens, anything can happen.”

Migration situation

The Haitian bishop indicated that one of the main concerns is the situation of displacement and forced migration that this crisis has generated, especially outside of Port-au-Prince, the capital, where “rural inhabitants, not finding an answer to their needs in the countryside, “They have emigrated to the capital.”

According to Data Commonsan initiative by Google to explore various data, the estimated population of Haiti is approximately 11 million inhabitants, while Port-au-Prince, the capital, has around 2.87 million inhabitants.

The prelate pointed out that Port-au-Prince does not have “the infrastructure to receive so many people,” which generates “even greater misery.”

He mentioned that many Haitians emigrate mainly to the Dominican Republic, Bahamas or the United States, risking “their lives at sea, seeking better living conditions. However, in these countries they are not always well received, and they face segregation problems.”

The immigration problem has generated another even greater challenge. According to Bishop Quesnel Alphonse, displacement to other places or countries “affects families, who are separated.” He explained that “the family, a fundamental pillar, is threatened, and this generates social instability. Families are essential, and this situation affects various areas, including the vocations of young people.”

He commented that this situation has been taken advantage of by Islam, pointing out that Muslims “attract young people by paying them almost 100 dollars to join them. Although Islam is a minority religion in Haiti, its presence has been increasing. It is sad to see how these young people join together out of necessity, not out of conviction.”

Gang situation

Taking advantage of the lack of government control and the socioeconomic crisis, gangs have increased their power and influence in Haiti, which Bishop Quesnel Alphonse described as “a matter of survival. In the most dire need, people are willing to do anything, even kill.”

“And to this is added the drug phenomenon. Under the influence of drugs, and to get them, many young people are willing to do anything. They lose their humanity and are capable of anything. “The young people from the most disadvantaged neighborhoods are completely lost,” the prelate warned.

Hope in Haiti

The bishop pointed out that the Jubilee that the Catholic Church is experiencing in 2025 “could fill Haiti with hope” and, at this time, he called on Christians to collaborate, highlighting that “there are places, as Pope Francis says, that invite us “to commit ourselves to offering this sign of hope.”

Although the situation remains extremely difficult, Bishop Quesnel Alphonse highlighted that “something has improved. Some internally displaced people have already begun to return,” although he acknowledged that, for many people, “it will take time, a long time, to be able to live again, to be able to return to inhabit that house that they looted and occupied” by criminals.

The prelate emphasized that an urgent commitment is required to solve this crisis: “It is an existential crisis. “It is about the whole person – the Haitian man, the Haitian woman – whose identity is being questioned, and it is something that requires urgent attention.”