« People in the neighborhood accused us of coming to corrupt the area », recalls a victim of the LGBTQ+ community who lived in Cap-Haitien
Over the past two years, ERITAJ has recorded more than a dozen cases of members of the LGBTQ+ community being forced to leave a house they had rented before or when the lease expired in the North and North-East departments, according to an official.
To respond to these kinds of situations, the organization for the protection of the rights of sexual minorities is collaborating with a non-governmental organization, to offer the evicted people, among other things, housing and material assistance for 45 days in Ouanaminthe, according to Paulson Maxine, a social worker with the institution.
Members of the LGBTQ+ community, referred to as « M » in Haiti, face considerable challenges in finding housing, according to interviews conducted by AyiboPost with a dozen people directly concerned or aware of these situations.
There are more than a dozen cases of members of the LGBTQ+ community being forced to leave a house they had rented before or when the lease expired in the North and North-East departments.
– ERITAJ
In an interview with AyiboPost, some report violent evictions and multiple cases of physical violence in a country where there is no formal law to protect them from discrimination.
Read also: For fear of discrimination, the LGBTI community in Haiti is very discreet
In 2022, a woman accused Jhojjy, a lesbian investigator from ERITAJ, of courting her daughter in NS4 (the last year of high school) in Cap-Haitien. The professional’s house, located on Rue 8M, was invaded following the accusations of a crowd of neighborhood people armed with guns and bladed weapons. Jhojjy’s partner was alone in the house during the assault. Quickly entering their car, the couple came under attack. « People in the neighborhood accused us of coming to corrupt the area, » she recalls.
To escape death, Jhojjy rushed to a friend’s house a few meters from their home, and her partner took refuge in her car parked in front of the house. A few minutes later, police officers arrived on the scene. « They riddled us with violent blows and let us know that it was people like us who were constantly delaying the country’s progress, » says Jhojjy.
Since then, the couple has moved from the area under pressure from people who threatened to make an attempt on their lives.
They riddled us with violent blows and let us know that it was people like us who were constantly delaying the country’s progress.
– Jhojjy
This is not Jhojjy’s first misadventure. In 2019, she was dispatched to the field in Nan Bannann, Cap-Haitien, to meet a gay couple as part of an investigation into a false rumor that members of the LGBTQ+ community were responsible for Covid-19.
People in the neighborhood thought they were organizing an orgy in the couple’s small room. Soon, the house was surrounded by an angry mob, armed with blunt sticks, knives and stones. With trembling hands, Jhojjy reports calling a police officer friend to the rescue. Four officers arrived on the scene about 30 minutes later. The host’s gay companion had been caught by the frenzied mob. He ended up with a cracked skull, a broken hand, a bloodstained face and pulverized limbs.
Completely speechless for two days and in a state of shock, he spent about a fortnight at the Justinien University Hospital in Cap-Haitien before being discharged. « I’m sometimes exhausted, says Jhojjy. I’ve been through too much. Why should I die if I didn’t choose to be this way? »
Merlin Jean, one of the leaders of the ERITAJ organization, reveals to AyiboPost that even the organization he heads has had difficulties finding a workspace to rent.
Read also: Hotels in Haiti refuse same-sex guests in their rooms
The Constitution classifies the right to housing as fundamental, but there are limits in practice for the M community, says Jean, 37. « People with a different sexual orientation can be discriminated against, without having any legal recourse, » says the activist.
There is a need for long-term improvements in laws, legal protections and public education to ensure that all citizens are considered in their humanity, regardless of their sexuality, Jean suggests.
Discrimination takes place in several departments of the country.
In 2021, Rubbie, a member of the M community, was forced to use family ties as an excuse to rent a house in Laboule 21 with his partner. He knew that his chances would be diminished if the owner knew his sexual orientation. But despite their precautions, local residents uncovered this detail some time later. With two months to go before the lease expired, the owner of the house told them they had to find another place.
People with a different sexual orientation can be discriminated against, without legal recourse.
Michaël Mémé, 27, had just woken up with his partner on Rue Malval when they discovered explicit messages scribbled on more than 30 small strips of white paper placed on their doorstep one morning in August 2019.
« Turgeau will never tolerate homosexuals! »
« You have until next Monday to leave the area! »
« You are nothing but rotten! » …
Threatening messages against a gay couple in Turgeau were scattered on their doorstep in August 2019
Frightened, the gay couple says they immediately went to the Canapé-Vert police station, a few meters from their home. They would not find any help there. « The police officers told us they could not intervene. People like us should, they said, make the effort to live in areas like Pétion-Ville, which is much more tolerant of these practices, » Michaël Mémé told AyiboPost. A few months after the incident, the owner of the house used the pretext of repairs to redirect the couple elsewhere.
« The neighborhood has no place for gay people. You have until the end of the week to clear the premises. »
(1) This group of homosexuals has two options: empty the premises or die. The choice is yours. Landlord, we are not responsible for what happens to your home because it was you who rented it to these bearers of misfortune. / (2) « We are not responsible for what will happen to homosexuals. We already have so many curses in this country, we’re going to teach them what hell is. »
Cover image: A man looks curiously out the window | © Freepik
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