Skip to content

For Haitian diaspora, gang violence back home is personal

Hopes of return dimming as crime continues to escalate
web1_2024032301034-65fe62f25ba4eedb884ef7b4jpeg
Vivianne Petit Frere, of Haiti, sits at a table in the Haitian restaurant she runs Wednesday, March 13, 2024, in downtown Tijuana, Mexico. When she fled to Brazil in 2019, walked through Panamanian jungle two years later, met her husband in Mexico and opened the restaurant, Petit Frere always felt she would eventually return home. Until now. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

When Vivianne Petit Frere fled her native Haiti for Brazil in 2019 and later walked through the Panamanian jungle and on to Mexico, where she opened a restaurant, she always believed she would eventually return home. Until now.

With gang violence wracking Haiti, many of the more than 1 million who have left the Caribbean nation feel helpless when they call terrified family members who can’t leave because airports are closed and crossing to the United States by sea is too risky.

Support local journalism today

Join thousands of other like-minded readers and sign up below to gain immediate & unlimited access to our news for the next 30 days – plus start receiving our newsletters.

Sign Up with google Sign Up with facebook

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Reset your password

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

A link has been emailed to you - check your inbox.



Don't have an account? Click here to sign up