Journalists working in Haiti are under constant threat of death or injury from rapidly expanding criminal gangs, as they continue to report news and information which they hope will help keep fellow citizens safe.
The Caribbean island nation is faced with widespread insecurity as well as deepening poverty.
Some 1.4 million people have been forced to flee their homes, largely because of the violence perpetrated by gangs.
According to UNESCO 's Observatory of Killed Journalists 14 media workers have been killed in Haiti since 2021.
Ahead of World Press Freedom Day marked annually on 3 May, UN News spoke to two journalists currently working in the capital Port-au-Prince.
Jean Daniel Sénat: I work for the daily newspaper Le Nouvelliste and Radio Magik 9. At the present time journalists operate in a particularly harsh and restrictive environment characterized by security challenges. Gangs now control more than 80 per cent of the Port‑au‑Prince metropolitan area.
Oberde H. Charles: I am an editor for the daily newspaper Le National and for Télévision Pacifique. We cannot move around freely. There is little communication between the different departments of the country, and between certain city neighborhoods to which we have restricted access. All of this limits our work as journalists.
Jean Daniel Sénat: Our job is to go out into the field to gather information, to search for first‑hand sources, to speak to witnesses, to tell stories. This is very challenging because we are constantly under threat from criminal groups.
Sometimes we are also under threat from the police, who may suspect that journalists are working for the gangs since they are able to enter gang‑controlled neighbourhoods.
At the same time, criminal groups also believe that journalists are sometimes conspiring with the police authorities, by providing them with information.
Oberde H. Charles: Recently, two fellow journalists were abducted. In 2022, there were street protests led by textile workers demanding improved conditions. Unfortunately, that day, police gunfire caused injuries. A journalist colleague was also killed that same day.
Jean Daniel Sénat: Several dozen journalists have been killed. Some have been kidnapped, and others have had to flee the country and live in exile because of threats from criminal groups.
Some media outlets, some journalists, have had to flee their neighborhoods, their offices, their homes. Personally, I have had to move home twice because of insecurity.
Le Nouvelliste, lost its historic headquarters in downtown Port‑au‑Prince in February 2024 and Radio Magik 9, had to leave its premises because of the advance of criminal groups.
One of my colleagues survived an attempted assassination and had to flee. But I also know fellow journalists who have been killed. Some are missing, and their families have had no news of them.
So, on a personal level, I am very deeply affected.
Oberde H. Charles: This is a very risky profession. In recent years, many fellow journalists have decided to leave the country and seek refuge either in Canada, France, or the United States.
They feel threatened and decided the best way to protect their loved ones or themselves, was to leave the country. Today, that seems like the best decision.
Those journalists who continue to work in Haiti despite the dangers are brave, truly brave.
Jean Daniel Sénat: Some radio stations have simply stopped broadcasting. There are journalists who have lost their jobs.
There are also journalists who bear the physical scars of gang violence. I know a journalist who lost an eye, one who was shot in the leg and has difficulty moving and another who is still hospitalized in Cuba.
And then, there is emotional trauma. There are journalists who live with the trauma caused by violence from criminal groups.
But despite everything, we continue to do our job, because every profession comes with risks.
Oberde H. Charles: Our country is not at war with another State, but there is a war. And this war is far more terrible and far more deadly than what is happening in Israel or in Ukraine.
Jean Daniel Sénat: At the end of the day, we tell ourselves that if we do not document, if we do not inform, if we do not seek out information, then it is the population that will pay the price.
There are voices that will no longer be heard, stories that will no longer be told, facts that will no longer be documented.
You need a strong media to tell the truth, to help people outside understand what is happening in Haiti, and to gain a clear and accurate understanding of the situation inside the country.
Oberde H. Charles: Haiti needs a strong media, one that works objectively, provides good and truthful information. As a result people know which areas they can go to and which areas they should avoid, during a day or over a given period.
The absence of information can put democracy and thus individual freedom in danger.
