Overview:
he Haitian government has started demolishing over 220 houses near Toussaint Louverture International Airport to meet commercial airlines' security demands. These houses have been identified as gang hideouts threatening airport safety. Despite demolishing 183 houses since April 8, no date has been set for resuming flights, disrupting many travelers' plans, including those eligible for humanitarian parole under the Biden administration program. Many are now rerouting their travel through Cap-Haïtien and the Dominican Republic, incurring high costs and additional risks.
PORT-AU-PRINCE — The Haitian government has begun demolishing over 220 houses near Toussaint Louverture International Airport, complying with commercial airlines’ demands for resuming flights to and from Port-au-Prince. Identified as hideouts to armed gangs who sought to attack the airport facility on February 29, these houses are said to pose security threats to the airlines’ operations. Although demolitions commenced on April 8, with 183 homes razed to the ground as of April 17, a date for flight resumption remains unconfirmed.
The ongoing suspension of commercial flights in Port-au-Prince has disrupted travel plans for many, including those approved for the humanitarian parole program under the Biden administration. Consequently, some travelers are rerouting to Cap-Haïtien and the Dominican Republic despite the significant financial burden and security risk this imposes. The escalating violence in Port-au-Prince and its environs has made travel from and through the city nearly impossible.
The plight of Elizabeth Augustin, who has been confirmed eligible and is awaiting authorization to travel from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), exemplifies the problematic choices many have to make.
“If the authorization arrives when the housing demolitions around the airport are still ongoing, it will not prevent me from leaving Haiti,” Augustin told the Haitian Times. “Yes, I prefer to take the risk of flying from Cap-Haïtien instead of risking staying in Haiti.”
She does not mind paying ransom to gangs for road passage or high airline ticket prices ($900 minimum) to fly to Miami from Cap-Haïtien, where only Sunrise Airways operates.
Augustin resides on Route Neuf, an area in La Plaine du Cul-de-Sac, near the international airport, which is controlled by several gang groups. She is currently awaiting authorization to travel to the United States, as well as confirmation of humanitarian parole for her newborn. The young mother is eager to escape the insecurity and violence in Port-au-Prince. However, she faces the emotional challenge of potentially having to leave her baby girl behind if the baby’s eligibility is not confirmed by the time her own travel authorization arrives in her e-mail inbox.
Meanwhile, the demolition project, part of the National Airport Authority (AAN) ‘s broader security plan, involves clearing rubble and installing security containers around the international airport facility. It primarily targets areas north of the airport and along National Road #1. In addition to the 183 homes, the project’s second phase will demolish 40 more houses within 33 yards of the airport runway.
Homeowners complaining about not receiving compensation
According to Nice Simon, the interim mayor of Tabare who is overseeing the demolition project, compensation for displaced families varies significantly, depending on the house demolished. It ranges from 500,000 to 32 million gourdes (HTG)—from about $US4,000 to over $US242,000.
While some homeowners have already received compensation from the government, many others have expressed frustration at being unable to register on the list of expropriated people. One such homeowner is Naphta Alix, whose eight-bedroom house was demolished without any compensation.
“Each family affected by this expropriation process will receive compensation,” Interim Mayor Simon told a radio station in the capital city. “Efforts are underway to finalize compensations, although some residents report difficulties receiving their due payments.”
However, some homeowners, like Alix, claim their family’s homes were demolished without compensation, and bureaucratic hurdles have prevented them from being listed for payments. These expropriated homeowners have held several protests in the streets of the capital to demand the compensation they were promised for the demolition of their homes.
“I don’t understand anything,” said Alix to The Haitian Times using a pseudonym due to fear of persecution. “They put my family on the street, and we didn’t even receive a single gourde,” she added.
Alix, who had lived by the airport since 2004, was forced to move away with her mother. She now stays with a relative in Nazon, about 6 miles from her demolished home.
The situation in Port-au-Prince continues to be dire and tense, with ongoing instability highlighting the challenges in managing the city’s security and infrastructure. According to the latest report from the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), over 2,500 people were killed and injured in Haiti due to gang-related violence between January and March 2024. These numbers represent an increase of more than 53% compared to the fatalities recorded from the last quarter of 2023.