Survivors of massacre in small Haitian town where 70 died point finger at government

By PIERRE-RICHARD LUXAMA and DÁNICA COTO
Updated 2:23 AM CDT, October 9, 2024

PONT-SONDÉ, Haiti (AP) — Angry whispers have broken the heavy silence that fell over Pont-Sondé just days after a vicious gang attack left more than 70 dead, marking one of Haiti’s biggest massacres in recent history.

The whispering came from a handful of people that remained in the small town in central Haiti after Thursday’s assault. They huddled by the roadside, stood under leafy trees or milled around the lone cemetery.

All of them blamed the government for the assault by the Gran Grif gang, created after a former legislator armed young men nearly a decade ago to secure his election and control of the area.

“I have to thank the government, because the gangs are killing people and kids cannot go to school,” said Lunoir Jean Chavanne, the town’s morgue driver. He lost three relatives, including a 14-year-old boy and a beloved uncle who was a priest of the Vodou religion.

Like others, Chavanne questioned why authorities didn’t do anything to stop the attack by Gran Grif, considered one of Haiti’s cruelest gangs. “They’ve been announcing that they were coming a number of times on social media,” he said.

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