Back to school in Haiti: ‘Madame, can you stop what the gangs are doing to us?’
UNICEF reports that gang violence in Haiti has disrupted education for over 240,000 children this school year, forcing many to risk crossfire or kidnapping to attend class.
UNICEF Representative Geetanjali Narayan visited a Port-au-Prince classroom where children pleaded for protection from armed groups, highlighting the daily risks they face to attend school amid escalating gang violence. The start of the 2024–2025 school year in Haiti unfolded under severe insecurity, with displaced families and children crossing gang-controlled zones to reach classrooms, often risking forced recruitment or deadly crossfire.
For displaced families like Etzer’s, returning to school offers a rare sense of normalcy and social connection after fleeing gang violence, with schooling described as therapeutic for children traumatized by displacement and instability. However, many parents, including Jasmide, face impossible choices between reopening schools and enduring sub-human conditions, including hunger, unemployment, and the financial burden of private education fees.
UNICEF reports that over 1,600 schools were affected by insecurity in 2024–2025, disrupting education for 240,000 children and 7,500 teachers, with up to 90% of Port-au-Prince under gang control forcing closures or displacement of schools.
UNICEF is supporting 174,000 children this year through safe learning spaces, school supplies, psychosocial support, teacher training, and school rehabilitation, while also providing remedial classes for those who have been out of school for months or years.