{"id":1776834,"date":"2025-03-30T18:46:57","date_gmt":"2025-03-30T16:46:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pre.efe.com\/?p=1776834"},"modified":"2025-03-31T19:58:13","modified_gmt":"2025-03-31T17:58:13","slug":"a-country-in-post-traumatic-stress-the-unseen-effects-of-haitis-violent-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pre.efe.com\/en\/latest-news\/2025-03-30\/a-country-in-post-traumatic-stress-the-unseen-effects-of-haitis-violent-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"A country in post-traumatic stress: The unseen effects of Haiti’s violent crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
By Sandrine Exil <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Port-au-Prince, Mar 30 (EFE).- Haiti’s ongoing violence and severe medication shortages have pushed thousands to the brink of mental collapse. In the midst of the chaos, untreated psychiatric patients have become the invisible victims of an overwhelmed healthcare system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every day, Port-au-Prince wakes up to the echo of gunfire and the roar of motorcycles. The scent of street food mingles with stagnant water, while Haiti\u2019s colorful \u2018tap-tap\u2019 buses weave through burning barricades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since 2023, armed violence has turned the capital into a deadly trap. Around 3.5 million Haitians live in gang-controlled areas, where gender-based violence and sexual abuse are used as weapons of terror.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the United Nations, at least 5,600 people have been killed due to violence in 2024, with 2,212 others injured and 1,494 kidnapped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the chaotic neighborhood of Carrefour Feuille, 32-year-old nursing student Marie Desir struggles to survive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m traumatized. I don\u2019t even go outside anymore,\u201d she confesses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Forced from her home by gangs, Marie sought refuge in Delmas, another part of the city where violence remains relentless. \u201cI have trouble sleeping; I\u2019m always on high alert,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Haitian psychologist Ronald Florestal sums it up with a chilling statement: \u201cMore people in Haiti have died from depression than from bullets.\u201d Despair is a silent disease that spreads rapidly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jean-Robert Augustin, a psychiatrist specializing in trauma, warns that Haiti is suffering from a state of \u201ccollective post-traumatic stress.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n
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\u201cThe wounds of this crisis are not only physical; entire generations are growing up in a constant state of fear,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Augustin no longer lives in Haiti and, like many of his colleagues, had to leave to protect his family. Although no official data exists on the country’s \u201cbrain drain,\u201d the lack of medical personnel is straining the healthcare system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Jul. 2024 report from Haiti\u2019s National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH) found that the number of healthcare workers has declined by 70%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mothers struggle in the abyss of displacement Camps <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
At the former Rex Theater, once home to grand film premieres in downtown Port-au-Prince, hundreds of makeshift tents now stand. Clothes hang across the stage, and mattresses cover the floor. Among the refugees, Joceline Pierre, a mother of eight, searches for the strength to keep going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since her husband disappeared, she has raised her children alone in brutal conditions. A lack of food, clean water, and security has pushed her to the brink. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSome days, I don\u2019t even have the strength to get up,\u201d she admits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A study published by the Journal of Affective Disorders found that 67% of displaced women in Haiti show symptoms of severe depression. But in a country where psychological care is a luxury, many women like Joceline have no choice but to endure in silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jean-Robert Augustin warns that the emotional collapse of these women could have devastating consequences. \u201cMany mothers are on the verge of making extreme decisions,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joveline Pierre lived with her husband in Port-au-Prince until one night, armed men invaded their home. They tied her up, raped her in front of her husband, and then murdered him before her eyes. She fled with the little money she had and found refuge at the Rex Theater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNights are the worst,\u201d she says, her voice trembling. \u201cI close my eyes, and I relive everything.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She has received neither psychological support nor justice. Her story is just one of many in a country where 75% of female survivors of sexual violence do not receive adequate psychological care, according to Human Rights Watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The medication crisis hits psychiatric patients hard <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Haiti\u2019s medical exodus and lack of psychological care are compounded by a pharmaceutical crisis, leaving the most vulnerable without essential treatments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Max-Weber Victor, a psychiatrist with 15 years of experience at Mars and Kline, Haiti\u2019s only public psychiatric hospital, warns that mentally ill individuals are frequent victims of street violence in Port-au-Prince.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUnfortunately, these cases go unreported,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n\n\n
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Jean-Ren\u00e9 Pierre, a 34-year-old man from downtown Port-au-Prince suffering from schizophrenia, began wandering the streets after running out of medication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His mother, Marie-Rose Joseph, explains that without his treatment, Jean-Ren\u00e9 lost control and spent days wandering aimlessly in February. A week later, the family received the devastating news: he had been killed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Samuel Louis, 29, from Musseau, was rescued from an armed group in January thanks to a neighbor who recognized him. He suffers from depression and anxiety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His sister, Nathalie Louis, recalls the horror of finding Samuel with a deep machete wound on his head. \u201cIf he hadn\u2019t been recognized, they would have killed him,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Haiti\u2019s healthcare system is facing an unprecedented collapse due to violence and the blockade of streets, roads, ports, and airports. The country\u2019s heavy reliance on imported medication has worsened the crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Mar. 2024, gangs set fire to more than 20 pharmacies in the capital. Saint-Damien Hospital, one of Haiti\u2019s main medical centers, received only 43% of its supply orders in November, according to its head pharmacist, Rommel Cajuste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen ports and airports shut down, suppliers can\u2019t fulfill orders,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, national laboratories have been forced to cut production due to shortages of raw materials, forcing hospitals to prioritize only the most critical cases and further straining healthcare quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The crisis deepened when Mars and Kline closed in Mar. 2024 due to supply shortages and ongoing violence in the area. Many families have been forced to care for their mentally ill relatives without the necessary resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe lack of antibiotics, painkillers, and cancer medications could increase mortality in the country,\u201d warns Pierre Hugues Saint-Jean, president of Haiti\u2019s Association of Pharmacists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The impact on psychiatric patients has been particularly devastating. With no access to proper treatment, doctors have resorted to older medications with severe side effects, drugs that are also beginning to run out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With few alternatives, some traders have turned to imports from the Dominican Republic, but costs have skyrocketed due to extortion by armed groups along the roads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Medication prices have soared. According to Nathalie Louis, a box of 30 paroxetine pills, her brother\u2019s antidepressant, now costs 77 dollars in P\u00e9tion-Ville, which is unaffordable for many families in a country where the monthly minimum wage is around 116 dollars, an income most Haitians do not reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, the country remains in turmoil, and the psychological suffering of its people remains invisible, an echo trapped in the empty streets of Port-au-Prince. EFE <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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