Since last month, at least 450 citizens of the United States have been evacuated from Haiti to avoid the escalating political unrest and bloodshed. However, many who are still there are finding it difficult to go, and their American family is eager for them to come home.
The governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, recently declared that since March 20, 2024, the state has successfully evacuated 220 Americans from Haiti. The U.S. State Department is attempting to airlift further Americans from Haiti.
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While those Americans who were able to evacuate have found some solace in the process, many others claim that their chances of escaping are dwindling and they are frantically trying to escape as the mayhem engulfs them. The 42-year-old mother of three who resides in Haiti, Erika Childs Charles, stated that she and her family had moved many times since early March to escape the escalating violence.
“They attacked the airport a couple of times, and then they were actively attacking two police stations close to our home,” Charles noted. “The gunfire was right around us. We had to all sleep on the floor in one room of our home to stay away from any stray bullets.”
Charles said that throughout the previous two years, she and her 38-year-old husband, Moroni Charles, together with their three daughters—ages 14 and the twins, 6—had relocated from their Port-au-Prince residence to South Haiti and then returned to the city in search of safety. Thanks to her citizenship and their visas, she, her husband, and their eldest daughter can enter the country, according to Charles. However, they are currently in the middle of the drawn-out adoption procedure for the twin daughters, so entry into the United States is not possible.
“We’ve been trying to get them Haitian passports, but the immigration office has been closed for weeks. They don’t have a way to leave the country at this point,” Charles continued, stating that they had asked congressional leaders, the American embassy, and the State Department for assistance. “We just keep getting the same answer, that there’s not much they can do for us.”
Charles claims, however, that she is anxious to find a solution, “I’ve spent weeks trying to find ways that we could evacuate our whole family,” she said. “The problem I’m running into is I am the only American citizen in my family and so the U.S. embassy has had occasional helicopters to evacuate U.S. citizens, but I would have to go and leave my family behind. And that’s something I can’t do.”
A coalition of armed organizations, including former police personnel and paramilitary units, launched an offensive against Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s administration in late February, escalating long-simmering tensions in Haiti. They targeted banks, hospitals, jails, and other establishments. On March 12, Henry consented to step down, pending the establishment of a transitional administration.
As Haiti’s level of lawlessness rises, worries about the safety of international visitors have increased. The airport has been closed by armed groups, making evacuation operations more difficult in a part of Port-au-Prince where families like Charles formerly sought refuge. Although the plan has not yet come to pass, the United States and the regional trade organization Caricom have promised to assist in the formation of a transitional administration in the nation. According to a UN assessment, armed gangs that were formerly associated with dishonest politicians currently hold control over at least 80% of Haiti’s capital.
The State Department’s crisis intake form was completed by at least 1,600 Americans seeking assistance in leaving the nation as of the end of March. Last month, in response to the increasing urgency of the demands, the State Department started renting out private aircraft to assist in the evacuation of Americans from Port-au-Prince into the nearby Dominican Republic. However once in the Dominican Republic, the individuals have to find their own way home and pay back the US government for their flights from Haiti.
Formerly of Haitian descent, Michèle-Jessica Fièvre, also going by M.J., currently resides in Florida. Her 12 relatives, who reside in the steep suburb of Pétion-Ville, a suburb of the city, and range in age from small children to the elderly, are the ones she anxiously expects word from.
Fièvre told the news media “Every day, we wake up to reports of more violence, vandalism, looting, and the tragic destruction of homes, shops, and essential public services.” Fièvre added, “No place seems safe; from police stations to schools, churches, and even the National Library, every location is a potential target.”
Despite being citizens of the United States, two of her relatives, she added, will not part from their original kin. According to Fièvre, her family is in a “wait and see” mode, unsure of their ability to escape the violence on a financial and physical level. She claimed that helicopter trips from Port-au-Prince are expensive and subject to possible attacks by armed factions. People who wish to flee are afraid of what can happen to them on the way out of their houses.
Fièvre stated, “Even those with potential routes out are paralyzed by the enormity of the task. Moreover, the psychological impact of uprooting one’s life under such dire circumstances cannot be overstated.” Added, “Some of my family members are trapped with no access to resources, visas, or passports; the feeling of helplessness grows. They are unable to leave a neighborhood that has become a hotbed of danger, witnessing atrocities and living in constant fear for their lives.”
Rescue operations are also being coordinated by nongovernmental groups, even as some are organizing expensive private helicopters out of Port-au-Prince. Since starting operations in Haiti in March, Project Dynamo, a nonprofit organization dedicated to international search and rescue, has reported receiving over 100 requests for assistance from Americans residing there. By the end of that month, 53 individuals—from young children to the elderly—had been helicoptered out of Port-au-Prince by Project Dynamo.
Bryan Stern of Project Dynamo stated in a news release. The statement claims that during their two helicopter rescue missions to a dusty soccer field, veterans experienced gunshots and minor flames, “This was an incredibly complicated and long operation — with many hurdles, hazards, and dangers.” He added, “However, once again, we were able to answer the call and rescue dozens of Americans who were trying to survive an unimaginable situation.”
Following Henry’s repeated failure to organize elections and his announcement last year that they would be rescheduled till 2025, armed groups escalated their assaults. The Uppsala Conflict Data Program at Uppsala University in Sweden claims that the organizations are responsible for the rise in homicides, rapes, and kidnappings following the killing of democratically elected President Jovenel Moïse in 2021 in Sweden.
According to a report from the U.N. in January, more than 8,400 Haitian people were killed, injured or kidnapped in 2023, an increase of 122% from 2022. The current crisis is unfolding as Haiti is still recovering from the devastating earthquake in 2010 that killed about 220,000 people, and another deadly earthquake in 2021.
The adopted boys of John and Missy Tennant of Greenfield, Indiana, ages 13 and 15, have been awaiting their arrival in the United States for years. The turbulent situation in Haiti has made the adoption procedure much more difficult, and it took a long time. After the adoption is finalized, the couple hopes to transport the kids to their new home more quickly by having the State Department expedite or waive the required passports and visas.
The tenant added that although the adolescents seem happy when they talk to their boys over the phone, their worry is clearly visible.
Missy stated, “told us of situations where they hear gunfire and they’re hiding under their bed.”
She stated “Moms and dads are supposed to be able to protect their kids and make things better, and we can’t really do that. We’re doing everything that we can with where we’re at right now, raising the alarm. Begging, screaming at the top of our lungs, just saying, ‘Please help us get our children out of this deadly situation!’
