As the horrific violence ravaging Haiti continues, an expatriate living in Florida opened up about leaving his mother and young niece behind as he fears that "anything could happen" to them.
Patrice Millet is a Haitian American who lives in both Miami and Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince. A cancer patient, he receives his treatments in Miami, where he can access the US's better healthcare system and receive the care he needs.
He found himself in Miami as the violent gangs attacked, leaving carnage in their wake as they took over the streets of the capital. Many of the members were released in a massive prison break orchestrated by gang leaders who had evaded incarceration, which took place on Feb. 29.
READ MORE: Haiti on brink of anarchy and humanitarian crisis as gangs reign supreme after government crumbles
Two of the people left behind were his mother and young niece, who he said was almost kidnapped (AFP via Getty Images)"It's very difficult to deal with," Millet told WLRN. "The violence the gangs are inflicting this week is mostly in the more middle-class neighborhoods against people who likely had the means to emigrate from Haiti if they'd wanted to but chose to stay committed to the country. Now, they can't get out — and we can't bring them here, even if we tried."
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Two of the people left behind were his mother and young niece, who he said was almost kidnapped one day at gunpoint as the gangs made their way to the family's home. She was able to escape over a wall that led to an adjoining street while they attempted to lead her away. It's not clear what happened to his mother.
A protester burns tires during a demonstration following the resignation of its Prime Minister Ariel Henry, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti (AFP via Getty Images)"Anything could happen to her, you know," Millet said of his nearly captured niece. "Those people can rape her, do many things to her. And you know what's incredible? Now, nobody wants to help us."
A multinational force led by Kenya was in the process of being sent to the country to aid the severely overwhelmed police force, but there have been a series of delays that have resulted in deployment being pushed back.
Violence on the streets near Laboule, where Millet's mother lives, has worsened this week (Anadolu via Getty Images)Millet — who operates the nonprofit FONDAPS, which is designed to help impoverished children and their families by teaching them football and keeping them out of gangs while also providing them food to take home after practice — said he's been on the phone every day trying to ensure that his organisation's much-needed supplies, like water and food, can get to the children for whom they're intended. The gangs have been hijacking them.
Violence on the streets near Laboule, where Millet's mother lives, has worsened this week as a Haitian photographer described the horrifying scenes top the Haitian Times. Other witnesses described the bodies lining the streets.
The gangs orchestrated a coup against Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who fled the country a few weeks ago.
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