First We are following some breaking news out of Haiti police Say gang members killed three missionaries and two of them were Americans Missouri state representative Ben Baker posted on his Facebook account last night saying his daughter and son-in-law were attacked by gangs in the island nation they were working there full-time under.
The organization missions in Haiti that group has also confirmed the death of their Haitian director 20-year-old Jude montis Haiti has been plagued with deadly gang violence and civil unrest since February Vana Andre joins us now she is the chairperson of the Haitian times so Vana what more do we know about what.
Happened um the details are still coming out we have our team in Haiti um of folks in Porter Prince and Kayan that are monitoring the situation um however the only thing that we know is that this was indeed um something um from the gang attacks and really it is apparent that despite the airport opening again um after being closed for months despite.
Talks of a deployment coming to the country that the violence is really insurmountable and it's really um at a Headway where intervention really is needed to prevent and quell this type of violence a a state department spokesman says it stands ready to provide cular assistance what does that mean um I think a lot of it um when we.
Think about what the US and cular support is going to look like it's going to be very different in the times that we've seen in the past um Joe Biden the president he had a press conference yesterday basically saying that Kenya will be leading and will be the face of this Mission and any type of intervention in the country however the.
US stands to support with operations and Logistics and monetary assistance so what that actually looks like in practice on the ground is yet to be seen um but we do know that a deployment is imminent yeah so let's talk about that Kenya announcing a security Force to Haiti to try and help call the violence what impact do you think that could.
Have um you know to be honest we're not sure yet what we do know is that this is the first time in years that we've had a mission that has been led by a country from the African continent a mission LED um from a a group of organization outside of the core group and really this will stand to be a true case study to see if the US really listening to the.
Haitian diaspora when they say that they want a non us-led intervention um whether or not this will actually help and move the needle on the violence and the instability in the country um despite that being said you will still hear a lot of opposition from folks in the diaspora and folks on the ground in Haiti about what that looks like despite.
It being a Kenya um face to this Mission there are still some apprehensions about the role of the US in this and it brings back a lot of um of negative feelings based on the history that the country has had in the in in in Haiti what are your thoughts thought on what needs to be done to bring stability back to the region and also I mean the airport just.
Reopened this week we know people desperately still need to get Aid some people want to leave is this a step backward I would say this is a step backward but this is a step backward that's been happening honestly for about two years this is just now that it's really bubbling up to mainstream and and and Western press but we've had.
Iterations of this since 2018 um where folks have for months not been able to leave their homes um everyday life has been has been interrupted where folks aren't able to send their kids to school go to work go to the bank so this is really just the latest cycle of something that's been happening for the past several years and then you ask you.
Know what can be helped what will will will be a solution to this you know part of it is on one side is understanding that yes the the the capital and and by extension the rest of the country has been paralyzed because of these gangs but also understanding that these gangs are made up of individual young men who are at a point of Despair and.
Frustration and they feel like this is the only step forward so I've had conversations with folks where they believe part of the solution is to really get an understanding of who are the folks that are on the ground how can we refocus this energy into something positive um they're also going to be a lot of Skeptics that say what we need is.
A really strong um show of force um to really be able to quell the violence and then until that happens there's nothing else that can move forward in Haiti so you will hear folks that are in Haiti um asking for this type of help but then folks also in the diaspora who have the luxury to leave the country because they have a foreign passport say that this is.
Not what's needed and really politicize a situation that doesn't need to be at the moment all right B Andre thank you thank you
That space has continuously been a hell hole.
Why would you even threat going there?
The US Authorities is culpable in these deaths and within the chaos happening in Haiti. Whenever you happen to don’t know what I’m talking about, use a whereas attempting up the political historical past between the two countries.