Archbishop Max Leroys Mésidor, Archbishop of Port-au-Prince and President of the Haitian Episcopal Conference, issued an urgent appeal to the international community : "We are on the brink of disaster".

In an interview with the SIR news agency, the prelate discussed the internal unrest in Haiti.

Archbishop Mésidor lamented that the UN multinational mission supporting the Haitian National Police, led by Kenya, is understaffed and failing to achieve results. "No gang has been dismantled, no neighborhood has been recaptured, and none of the leaders of the violence has been arrested or neutralized [...]"

Amidst these difficulties, in the midst of the Year of Hope, the Church in Haiti continues to move forward in its work, "speaking and acting within the limits of what is possible, of course..." In this regard, it supports populations displaced by violence, particularly women, children, and the elderly, who "have had to abandon their homes and belongings to escape barbarity" by providing them with "food, drinking water, medicine, and clothing; in addition to fundraising activities and goods received during offering processions at Masses."

Mgr. Mésidor made a strong appeal to the international community, the same one Pope Francis has repeatedly made: "Do not forget Haiti. Do not tire of Haiti."

"The Haitian people need effective aid and clear solidarity. Strengthen the International Mission for Peace and Security." And please, don't delay, because we are on the brink of disaster [...]" Every day, more innocent blood is shed in Haiti, where "children are dying, elderly people are riddled with bullets, entire neighborhoods are burned and destroyed."

HL/ HaitiLibre