Guns, gangs and drought: how crime and the climate crisis are reshaping Haiti

Cities in the grip of urban warfare are being pushed to collapse by an influx of people fleeing hunger in rural areas as crops failÉmile Charles fled Kenscoff in September when armed men overran his land. Leaving everything he owned behind, the farmer found refuge above Turgeau, one of the few neighbourhoods of Port-au-Prince still beyond the gangs' reach.New arrivals to Haiti's capital climb ever-high to claim a few square metres and throw up a makeshift shelter of planks and rusty corrugated iron. To reach his, Charles scrambles up a steep path. Glasses perched on his head, he gazes across the hills at scattered shacks. "They arrived without warning and burned our crops," he says. "We ran for our lives. Those who didn't leave were killed. Two of my brothers were murdered."Émile Charles, who fled his land when it was overrun by armed men Continue reading...