Desolation, sadness, fear, revolt are, among others, the words that translate the sentiment of the population Jacmelienne, before a rise in insecurity, who settled in the south-eastern metropolis in recent weeks. Since October several acts of murder, rape and kidnapping were committed in the city of Jacmel and the surrounding area.

On the night of Saturday 17 to Sunday, November 18, 2012, Patrice Étenne, a young agronomist thirty years old, was murdered in his private residence in Démontreuil, a locality of Jacmel by gunmen who kidnapped a nephew of the victim, aged 3 years. The kidnappers demanded a ransom of two hundred thousand dollars for the release of their hostage. According to statements of relatives of the victim, Patrice Étienne had made an important transaction in a bank of the city, Friday, Nov. 16, whose the amount would correspond exactly to the sum demanded by the kidnappers…

This dramatic event has angered the population Jacmelienne. A spontaneous demonstration was held on the morning of Sunday to denounce the inaction of the authorities of the city, facing the rising insecurity. Thousands of people took to the streets of Jacmel, burning barricades, stones and trees littering and blocking some streets. Protesters even tried to disrupt the “Te Deum” organised by the authorities to commemorate the 209th anniversary of the Battle of Vertière, in the premises of the school J.M. Henriquez.

Monday morning, all activities were paralyzed in Jacmel, schools do not work, the public and private offices were closed, no transportation…

The kidnapping is not new totally new to Jacmel. This new practice begins to settle in the city of Alcibiades Pommayrac. Recall that on October 27, the obstetrician-gynecologist, Jean Marie Brissault was kidnapped at his residence in Meyer, a locality of Jacmel. The kidnappers had demanded a ransom of 150,000 U.S. dollars for his release… The population of Meyer was then reacts immediately, circling the area in the same evening, forcing the kidnappers to abandon their hostage, safe and sound, in an old house, not far from the entrance of Cap rouge, a communal section of the town of Cayes Jacmel.

In addition, since the beginning of November, several cases of burglaries were reported in various areas of the city, particularly in the area of Lamandou, Siloam Monchil to name a few. Meanwhile, the Departmental Direction of the Police of Southeast refuses to admit that there is indeed an increase in cases of insecurity in the town of Jacmel. Responding to HaïtiLibre, Petit Jacques Onécifort, the Regional Spokesperson of the National Police of Haiti (PNH), spoke of “isolated cases…” Regarding the slowness of the police to intervene, when people call the Police Station of Jacmel to rescue victims during the night, when bandits operate, Petit Jacques Onécifort, evoked a problem of reduced staff and the lack of means of the Departmental Directorate of PNH of Southeast…

Given this situation, the population began to lose confidence in the police force and a new trend is developing in the region where the victims, begin to do it justice. There are about eight days, a burglar was shot by the population in the locality of Siloé, while attempting to steal a bed in a house…

Today, the population of the Commune of Jacmel live in a deep fear, especially because of serious electricity problems that confronts the region, following a rationing made ​​by the Centre Semi Autonomous of the EDH of Jacmel. For over a month, electricity is distributed between 5:00 pm and 2:00 am. According to the testimony of several victims, the majority of acts of banditry are committed during the blackout…

HL/ HaitiLibre / Claudy Bélizaire (Correspondant Jacmel)