One island, two worlds

A year of staggering violence in Haiti ended in the most brutal fashion. Over the course of five days in December, in a slum near the capital, Port-au-Prince, 207 people were killed by gangsters. The ringleader accused his mostly elderly victims of practising voodoo and causing the death of his child. Bodies were dismembered and burned. Gangs, who control nearly 90% of Port-au-Prince, killed some 5,600 Haitians in 2024. The new year has brought no respite; around 60,000 people fled their homes in the past month amid growing violence. The city is on the brink of complete collapse.