May 10 : The women of Gressier recount a dark evening

When the bandits attacked, several entered Joceline’s house. It was one o’clock in the morning

Warning : This article contains sensitive and potentially disturbing details.

In three years, gang members sexually assaulted Cassandra twice.

The first time was on June 4, 2021, in Martissant. She was pregnant with her third child.

The second time dates back to May 10, 2024. Two bandits entered her home, in the commune of Gressier. One threw himself on her sister who was in the house. The other abused her while hitting her because she was crying.

Cases of rape perpetrated during armed attacks against the population have been very frequent in recent years.

There are no official statistics, but support organizations in Port-au-Prince receive dozens, sometimes hundreds, following the most violent events.

Sexual violence serves to « expand and consolidate [gangs’] control over certain areas, » according to a United Nations report published in October 2022.

Cases of rape perpetrated during armed attacks against the population have been very frequent in recent years.

When the bandits attacked the town of Gressier on the night of May 10 to 11, 2024, several entered Joceline’s home. It was one o’clock in the morning.

The woman was still asleep when one of the men entered her room. He forced her to have sex with him, gun in hand, ready to kill her if she wanted to resist.

Two months after this tragedy, Joceline still hasn’t had her period.

She is still waiting.

But she has several symptoms of pregnancy.

« I don’t feel well, she says. I feel tired. I can’t sit up for a long time, I feel nauseous and I feel like my belly is getting bigger. »

Joceline contemplates abortion « with fear. »

Already anemic, she doesn’t want the procedure to go so badly that it costs her her life.

For all the chances to be on her side, she should be monitored by a doctor. This will have to be done in secret because Article 262 of the Haitian Penal Code makes abortion a crime. To free herself from any doubts, the woman would like to start by taking a pregnancy test.

But she lacks the means.

« I still haven’t been to the hospital since my rape, » she told AyiboPost.

I don’t feel well. I feel tired. I can’t sit up for a long time, I feel nauseous and I feel like my belly is getting bigger.

– Joceline

From Martissant to Gressier, via Mariani, her journey has completely dispossessed her of all her possessions. Even of her two sons, aged 15 and 5.

While staying with a friend in Fontamara, Joceline was forced to leave them with her mother, who is unable to help her any further.

On the contrary, the three of them are counting on her to survive.

No official statistics exist, but violence usually claims its victims in the poorest neighborhoods. Institutions dedicated to supporting victims are overwhelmed by requests.

AyiboPost met with Piskilin last Thursday at the National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH).

A mother to two daughters, a 14-year-old girl and a 4-year-old girl, the woman was seized with a sudden migraine during the interview.

« I have a headache, » she screams, unable to continue her story.

In June 2021, the gangs of Grand-Ravine, 5 segonn (seconds) and « Ti bwa » (Small stick) clashed in Martissant, a neighborhood located south of Port-au-Prince.

For several days, they looted, burned and killed dozens of residents in the area. More than 50, according to the Centre for Analysis and Research in Human Rights (CARDH). One of Piskilin’s nephews was among the victims. The bandits murdered him in front of her. They cut up the body, then set it on fire.

No official statistics exist, but violence usually claims its victims in the poorest neighborhoods. Institutions dedicated to supporting victims are overwhelmed by requests.

A few years later, in May 2024, three gang members raped Piskilin in her new home in Gressier.

The thugs forced her mother to witness the scene. She had a stroke on the spot and has been paralyzed ever since.

« It’s still a real torture for me to talk about all this, » says Piskilin, her voice breaking with emotion. « I hurt every time I try, » she laments.

***

Since fleeing Gressier with her family, Cassandra has lived in the Darbonne borough of Léogâne.

The former grocer is staying with a relative, her husband, and two sons after sending her daughter to an aunt’s house.

Despite their host’s support, the couple struggles to get up.

« Today, I depend on people for everything, Thomas regrets. Even to feed my children. »

The situation seems just as alarming for Piskilin. Her two daughters lost an entire school year. She can’t take care of them as she would like.

But as a single mother, she can only rely on herself.

« The father of my first daughter is dead, she says. My second daughter’s father has been living in Jacmel for three years. We don’t talk to each other anymore. »

It’s still a real torture for me to talk about all this. I hurt every time I try.

Still, Piskilin hopes to give them what she didn’t have the chance to get.

Starting with a mother. « I met my mother when I became pregnant with my first daughter. I always lived with an aunt who never sent me to school and used me as a servant. »

To prevent her children from enduring the same fate as her, Piskilin makes sure to be as close to them as possible. She says she explained everything to her eldest daughter.

« She knows why we are forced to live with a stranger today. She knows that I was raped. She knows everything. »

Like the other women in this report, Piskilin holds the state responsible for what happened to her. She distances herself from the current political negotiations. « I don’t expect anything from them anymore, » she told AyiboPost.

By Rebecca Bruny and Widlore Mérancourt

Cover image: Une famille se hâte de quitter un abri dans le bas de la ville de Port-au-Prince sous des coups de feu incessants en mars 2024. | © Jean Feguens Regala/AyiboPost

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