EXAMINING THE WEAPONS EFFECT IN HAITI:

1
EXAMINING THE WEAPONS EFFECT IN HAITI The
Impact of Small Arms Proliferation on the Civil
Society in Port-au-Prince, 1994-2008 J.
Christopher Kovats-Bernat, Ph.D. Society of Small
Arms Scholars Associate Professor of
Anthropology Muhlenberg College (Allentown, PA,
USA)
2
A Profile of SALW in Haiti
Estimated Number of SALWs 209,000
Total Population 8.5 million
Number of Police 5,000
1 cop 1,700 people
1 gun 41 people
3
What are the Most Commonly Used SALWs in Haiti?
SMALL ARMS Pistols (.38 and .45 caliber,
9mm) Assault Rifles (M1, M4, M16, AK47) Shotguns
(12 gauge, Mossberg) Sub-machineguns (Uzi, .45
Thompson) Machineguns (M60) Long Rifles (.22
caliber) Hand-Delivered Explosives (Molotov
Cocktail, IED) Creole and Artisanal
Weapons SOURCE Small Arms Survey (2005),
MINUSTAH (2006)
4
ARMED FACTIONS IN HAITI TODAY
STATE MINUSTAH Haitian National Police Police
Paramilitaries Palace Guard Ministerial Security
Unit Haitian Navy
NON-STATE Private Citizens Popular
Organizations Youth Gangs Street
Clans Resistance Front Movements Demobilized
Soldiers Dismissed Police Officers Vigilance
Brigades Prison Escapees Private Security Armed
Street Children Zenglendo
5
WHERE ARE THE GUNS COMING FROM?
Demobilized Soldiers 8,700
Dismissed Police 1,000
2004 Uprising 3,500
2004 Partisan Armament 4,000
Seized, illegally-imported weapons traced to more
than a dozen countries
US ATF reports 1 in 4 weapons smuggled from
Florida are bound for Haiti
Estimates compiled from Small Arms Survey
(2005), MINUSTAH (2006)
6
Reported Weapons Collection Activities by
US Military, UN Peacekeepers, OAS, and the
Haitian National Police 1995-2005
SOURCE Small Arms Survey (2005), MINUSTAH (2006)
7
WHAT HAS BEEN THE IMPACT?
Community Security
compromise of mobility
lowered school attendance
local market effects
restricted access to public services
SOURCE Kovats-Bernat (2006, 2008), UNICEF (2007)
8
WHAT HAS BEEN THE IMPACT?
Democratic Process
Parliamentary impotence
Economic Development
US1.1 billion in aid suspended
private investment hindered
SOURCE Kovats-Bernat (2006, 2008)
9
WHAT HAS BEEN THE IMPACT?
Degradation of Infrastructure
broken water mains
destroyed buildings
arson
hindered sewage and waste removal
aborted public works
SOURCE Kovats-Bernat (2006, 2008)
10
TYPOLOGY OF FIREARMS INJURIES BY VOCATION, CANAPE
VERT HOSPITAL, PORT-AU-PRINCE (SEPTEMBER 2003
APRIL 2004)
Students 48 Commercial 25 Police
16 Journalists 4 Security
3 Teachers 2 Clergy
1 Doctors 1
SOURCE ICRC (2005)
11
WHAT HAS BEEN THE IMPACT?
Disproportionate Impact on Children
In high gun violence areas,
increased rates of
killings
woundings
gang beatings
rape
factional recruitment
displacement
SOURCE UNICEF 2005 (compiled) Kovats-Bernat
(2006, 2008)
12
A MATTER OF SCARCITY AND SECURITY
Gun violence corresponds to
scarcity and compromised security
lack of basic physical needs
lack of work, land, education
lack of honor or respect
lack of equal access to public services
lack of a role in political process
lack of access to brokers of power
lack of prestige goods
lack of adequate policing / effective justice
lack of association with armed group
fear of group annihilation
13
(No Transcript)
14
(No Transcript)
15
Case Study in Weapons Effect Street
Children in Port-au-Prince and the Sleeping
Wars (lagè domi)
WHAT IS A SLEEPING WAR?
Sleeping wars are a means of conclusively ending
chronic antagonisms that hamper the economic
means of both protagonists in the conflict.
Typically rocks, melted plastic, chunks of
concrete, razors or lengths of lumber targeting
the feet, knees and legs
Fatalities are customarily rare, and killers are
traditionally scandalized and marginalized from
the street child community to which they belong
16
Child2
Child1
INITIAL CONFLICT LEADS TO REPEATED AND
ESCALATING CLASHES BETWEEN TWO CHILDREN
SLEEPING WAR IS DECLARED
SLEEPING WAR
Child1
Child2
RITUALLY-CONSTRAINED ATTACKS PROCEED IN
TIT-FOR-TAT FASHION UNTIL ONE CHILD TERMINATES
THE WAR THROUGH SURRENDER OR DEATH