Manitobans from Haiti worry about family back home amid gang violence
Marie Pudwill fears for the safety of her brothers, aunt and uncle living in Haiti
Manitobans from Haiti say they feel helpless as their families back home deal with the violence that has paralyzed Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital.
Marie Pudwill, who's originally from Haiti, fears for the safety of her brothers, aunt and uncle who still live in Haiti.
"Right now the situation in Haiti is unbearable, difficult and inhuman. They cannot go out at night or during the day," Pudwill said. "They are scared right now to be out in the streets."
Pudwill is one of many Haitian Canadians worried about family members as a violent power struggle paralyzes the Caribbean country, closing schools, businesses and the main airport in Port-au-Prince. Gangs have attacked the airport, government buildings and a prison, helping thousands of inmates to escape.
Scores of people have been killed and more than 15,000 are homeless, The Associated Press reports. Food and water are dwindling as vendors who sell to impoverished Haitians run out of goods. The main port in Port-au-Prince remains closed, stranding dozens of containers with critical supplies.
Pudwill and her husband moved from Haiti to Winnipeg in 2008 because the country's long-standing instability made it unsafe to raise a family there.
One of her family members has been kidnapped by the gangs and they can't pay the ransom to release him, she said.
"Since then, they've been living in a state of fear every time they hear a gunshot.… They are even scared to go out to buy food, because they don't know if they're going to get kidnapped or shot."
About 15 people sleep at her brother's house every night because they are scared to stay at their own homes, she said.
Pudwill said when she was growing up in Haiti, despite the political crisis, it was safer to walk on the streets or go to school or a grocery store than it is now.
Her family wakes up scared every day, she said.
"You're scared to send your kid to school because they are kidnapping kids. They are also kidnapping people at church right now."
Pudwill feels helpless. She can't even bring her family to Canada, because the embassy is closed in Haiti.
"We are trying our best to bring our family members here, and it's not working because the immigration is not open, right.… It is so sad that we cannot help or do anything for them."
Pudwill wants to send money, but her family can't even go outside to collect it.
Haitian-born Arisnel Mesidor, a Winnipeg immigration consultant, said what's happening in Haiti right now is unimaginable.
He is constantly afraid of what will happen next.
"We really don't have a country anymore. I got a text message two days ago about the Haitian State University being ransacked. The faculty I attended myself was being ransacked. Who would have thought?"
Haitians are desperate for international help and support, Mesidor said. He wants governments in other countries to help stabilize the situation through discussions and funds.
"I do believe that if there is a genuine desire to help solve the problem in Haiti, it can happen," he said.
Mesidor said his family members in Haiti want to run away, because nobody's life is secure.
"Life is impossible there right now.… Any regular citizen just wishes they could fly out of this place. It is hell."
Haitians with relatives and friends in Haiti are suffering, and even those whose families have left are experiencing a "huge loss," he said.
Haiti already wasn't an easy place to live when he was there.
"I remember clearly how hard I found it then, and imagine, now it is 100 times worse."
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