Far from the violence ravaging Haiti, a market on the border with the Dominican Republic has managed to maintain a welcome degree of normal everyday life, International Business Times reported Saturday.
At the Dajabon border gate, a wave of Haitians press forward, eager to shop at the twice-weekly market, situated some 200 kilometers (120 miles) from the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.
They are drawn by the market’s offerings — food, clothing, toys, and even used appliances — items not always readily available in Haiti.
But with gang violence bad and growing ever worse in Haiti, the Dominican government has reinforced the usual military presence at the border and placed soldiers on alert.
While the market continues to function, the authorities and merchants fear business may suffer as the gangs that control large swaths of Haiti make travel in the country risky, with travelers subject to being robbed or attacked.
“The market has seen a decline” in the last month, with customers “afraid to buy a large volume of merchandise” lest they be robbed on their way home, Noel Fernandez, president of a merchants’ association, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“The gangs there take the stuff,” Fernandez said.
“But thanks to God, although we’re not at 100 percent, the market is open,” added the 36-year-old, a merchant in the area for much of his life.
The Haitian gangs have waged violent opposition to the government of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, demanding his ouster.
Haiti, the poorest country in Latin America, has not held elections since 2016. Henry has been in office since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise.
He was supposed to relinquish power to a successor in February, but reached a power-sharing agreement with the opposition to stay on until new elections are organized.
Riots demanding his ouster grew more intense in the past week, and the government extended a state of emergency after bandits attacked two prisons and freed thousands of inmates.