Rally held to release prisoners, crack down on gang violence in Haiti

Alexis Dorman wanted to travel to Port-au-Prince to see the country’s conditions for himself. He had heard how the Caribbean country has been plagued by gang violence.

“There was no one talking about any of this there was no mention of any of this,” Dorman said.

Dorman said the country’s capital was shockingly quiet.

When he returned to South Florida, Dorman said he learned about a gang attack that killed 47 people and left 50 more kidnapped.

“It almost feels like the people that got killed are the lucky ones. Because their suffering is over,” Dorman said. “

Dorman then organized a rally in the rain along Sixth Avenue, demanding that the Haitian government do more to stop the gang violence and release prisoners.

“The Haitian government has the capacity to fix this. They have the arms they have the money they have the personnel.”

The rally also comes as the Trump administration begins sending deportation flights to Haiti. Some of the people on those flights are children.

“Haiti is not safe to be sending anyone. It’s a death sentence,” protestor Fabiola Barchelemy said.

The Trump administration has initiated deportation flights since temporary protected status was revoked for more than 300,000 Haitians in the U.S.

“If it’s not safe for American citizens, it’s not safe for Haitians,” Barchelemy said.