The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says that armed attacks on schools in Haiti have increased by nine times in just one year. This is because there is less safety and more unrest in the country.
Bruno Maes, who works for UNICEF in Haiti, said, “Violence is still taking a heavy toll on the lives of children in and around Port-au-Prince, and schools are no longer safe.”
“Children are still reeling from the effects of armed violence, and there are no signs that things will get better in Haiti. Armed groups attacking schools has a huge effect on the safety, health, and ability to learn of children,” he said.
UNICEF said that these targeted attacks are starting to hurt the education system in the Caribbean country. At least one school has been set on fire, killing at least one student. At least two staff members have also been taken hostage.
UNICEF said that rising violence in cities caused 30 schools to close in the first six days of February, and that more than a quarter of schools have been closed since October.
UNICEF said, “Yet, things on the ground are still not safe.”
The UN office that coordinates aid (OCHA) said that armed groups control 60% of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
UNICEF said that when armed groups attack schools, they often steal things like desks, benches, boards, laptops, photocopiers, batteries, and solar panels. Bags of rice, dough, and corn that were meant for school lunches were also taken.
In January, shootings, looting, and kidnappings meant that children missed an average of one and a half school days per week.
From October to February, the first four months of the school year, 72 schools were attacked, compared to eight during the same time last year, UNICEF said.
It was said that, because of rising social unrest in the past few weeks, many school principals have decided to close classrooms to protect children from possible attacks.
UNICEF said that on January 26, students were forced to leave their homes because of violent protests in the streets over the killing of 14 police officers. These protests spread all over the country.
UNICEF said that students will miss about 36 days of school by the end of June if something isn’t done right away to keep schools safe from violence.
“A child who is afraid to go to school is more likely to be picked up by an armed group. We must act quickly to protect the lives and futures of children. Once thought of and respected as safe places, schools have recently become “targets for violence,” Maes said, adding that “in some urban areas of the country, armed groups see looting schools as a lucrative alternative to other forms of extortion and crime.” This can’t go on.”
