A woman who has been shuttling her family to hide from violent gangs throughout Port-au-Prince, Haiti, said that she and her children are safe for now but that she has lost contact with her husband.
Marlene Calix, 35, has lived for the past five years in La Plaine, a neighborhood in Haiti’s capital, a family-friendly place known for its flat land surrounded by mountains, which is chock full of restaurants.
But in August, armed groups invaded her neighborhood, forcing her and her family to flee for Carrefour, another neighborhood in Port-au-Prince.
“After a while, things got heated in Carrefour, and the gang took over the area,” she said in an interview. “That’s when we left and returned to La Plaine. To paint a picture for you, gangs take over neighborhood after neighborhood.”
A month later, Calix’s family heard things had settled down in La Plaine, so they returned to their house. The rumors, however, were false.
“Oh, my Lord, when we returned to La Plaine, everything was awful and devastating; the neighborhood was destroyed. It’s God who saved us,” she said.
Calix described the fear and uncertainty that gripped her family upon their return. “People locked their doors and didn’t go outside because of danger,” she said.
“Everything was dangerous. Sometimes, we would hide inside our house, looking out the window to see if someone was going to the market, and then we would ask them to get this for us,” she said. “Neighbors who know each other helped each other out. We all lived in distress, in fear.”
On a Wednesday in October, tragedy struck. Calix recalled the day her neighborhood was invaded while she and her family were attending church.
“They didn’t get to our house yet,” she said. “So I ran inside and grabbed a small bag that had important documents.” In the scramble, Calix said, she heard gunshots ring out.
“I…
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