Haitians are battling extreme hunger but there is hope amid hardship | Opinion

I remember the day four years ago when I first arrived in Haiti. From the plane window, the contrast between the clear, almost immaculate blue sky and the sprawling Cité Soleil shantytown around Port-au-Prince’s airport — the “epicentre” of Haiti’s violence, according to international media — offered my first glimpse of the stark contradictions I would encounter during my time in the country.

It was hard to imagine how I would ever get close to the bay of Port-au-Prince — clearly visible from the city’s affluent hillside neighborhoods — yet cut off by Cité Soleil, one of the country’s poorest, most dangerous areas. I couldn’t foresee the political and security situation would only get worse, with disastrous consequences for Haiti’s food security.

My first work experience in Haiti, in the field of diplomacy, opened doors to the backstage of the Haitian political scene. In September 2022, I shifted gears to join the World Food Programme (WFP). Having met those at the top of Haiti’s political hierarchy, I was about to come face-to-face with some of the country’s most vulnerable people.

A month after taking up my duties with WFP, expert findings showed that a shocking 19,000 people were experiencing catastrophic hunger levels in Cité Soleil. A handful of rival armed groups had divided the neighborhood into fiefdoms, leaving residents unable to access food or water for weeks. It was unprecedented: the first time this highest level of food insecurity had been found in the Americas, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the global hunger authority.

A few weeks later, when warring groups finally observed a truce, allowing humanitarians to enter, WFP trucks arrived laden with food. I still remember the pained gazes and hushed voices of people we met. “Yesterday, for dinner, I had rainwater again,” one older lady said. “I boiled water and added salt and pepper for flavor.”

Since then, violence has spread beyond the capital, reaching all corners of the country — even into Haiti’s breadbasket, the Artibonite. The department’s Central Plateau area saw dozens of people murdered in early October, in a gruesome attack by armed groups.

Farmers have been forced to flee their land. WFP helps many small-scale producers by purchasing their produce in a safer location and delivering it to nearby schools to be used for school lunches. But tragically, in a country where so many people are going hungry, some farmers are forced to let their harvests rot in the field because they’re terrified of extortion, murder and rape on the way to the market.

Across the country, more than 700,000 Haitians have fled their homes.

The latest IPC report shows 5.4 million Haitians are waking up each morning unsure if they will find anything to eat. Catastrophic levels of hunger, which I first saw in 2022, have returned. This time, it’s not confined to a single Port-au-Prince neighborhood.

In response, WFP operations have intensified. We distribute hot meals and cash to those uprooted; food for residents of no-go zones; school meals for children; subsidies for farmers, and social protection programs for the vulnerable. Suffering is everywhere in the country, but so are our efforts to help.

In only one week, there was a change in prime minister and the main airport was shut down, after commercial aircraft were hit by gunfire. But despite the challenges, I see so much resilience and spirit among Haitians.

I believe one day, things will be better. I’ve witnessed the perseverance of Haitian farmers, ready to return to their fields to feed the nation at the first opportunity.

I once thought I’d never set foot near the bay of Port-au-Prince. Now, I’m preparing to head out on another humanitarian mission to Cité Soleil, not far from the water’s edge. It’s still dangerous, but what once seemed impossible is no longer out of reach. One day, from the strength of its people, Haiti will rise again.

Pedro Rodrigues is a WFP communications officer based in Port-au-Prince.

This story was originally published November 15, 2024 at 9:56 AM.