Haiti (MNN) — More than 1 million Haitians have been displaced by gang violence as of the past year. That’s according to a report with data from December 2023 to December 2024. Over half of the displaced are children.
Cap-Haitien on Haiti’s northern coast is bursting at the seams with people seeking safety. That’s where Radio 4VEH is based, a ministry partner of Trans World Radio. They have been broadcasting the hope of Christ in Haiti for 75 years, through many ups and downs alongside the nation.
“Something that has shocked us over the last year or so is the further descent into evil that the gangs are involved in,” says Kate Michel with Radio 4VEH. “It used to be that there was some kind of protection for life. So even in the worst of times over Haiti’s history, there were some protections, [like] those things were sacred, and you didn’t touch those.”
But the team recognized a line had been crossed when gangs began entering church services, kidnapping pastors and threatening congregations.
(Photo courtesy of Radio 4VEH)
“It’s heartbreaking to see how things keep getting worse, and then knowing that the people who are involved in these activities [are] not there because that’s the best choice. [It’s not] that they grew up wanting to be a gang member. They’re there because they feel like they have no other options to feed their families, they’ve got no other options to make something of themselves,” Michel says.
These days, Radio 4VEH’s staff in Cap-Haitien are feeling the stress of current events, plus the strain of skyrocketing costs for daily needs.
“A number of times in the last year or so, the gangs have blocked supply routes. That’s meant no fuel. It’s meant no food circulating around the country, [and] other necessities, so people are very limited in what they can access.”
Yet, Michel says, “I wish people [outside of Haiti] got a better sense that life is still going on in Haiti. Often we see headlines of just the crises. Those things are true, but there’s a lot more to Haiti than than those headlines.”
Don’t miss that the gospel is going forward too! Radio 4VEH is celebrating their 75th anniversary of gospel-centered broadcasts this year. Learn more about their work here.
Above all, Michel asks that you keep praying in faith for Haiti.
“Even as you see terrible headlines of all the bad things that are going on, know and trust that God is at work in many ways,” she says.
Header photo of Haiti is a representative stock photo courtesy of Paul Moville via Unsplash.
