‘Government, say something…we need justice, we need security…hunger is killing us’
Originally published on Global Voices
Screenshot of video ‘Gwo lòbèy pete devan PRIMATI, machann Would kò yo atè pou rele dèyè PM Alix Fils Aime’ (‘A major commotion erupted in front of the Prime Minister's office; street vendors staged a protest against Prime Minister Alix Fils-Aimé’) uploaded on September 11, 2026, by Tripotay Lakay on YouTube. Fair use.
This post is part of Global Voices’ September 2026 Spotlight series, “Protest in Democracy.” With this spotlight, we seek to explore the many forms of protest, the tactics states use to delegitimize and suppress them, and the complex relationship between protest and democracy. You can support this coverage by donating here.
Haiti’s chronic instability and lack of infrastructure have made it difficult to attract the foreign investment that could create jobs. As a result, the informal sector is the engine of Haiti’s economy, with many traders — mostly women — relying on it to earn a living and care for their families.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the nation’s capital, because while a local industrial sector does exist, it is far too small to meet the population’s employment needs. Like other large cities across the island, Port-au-Prince functions as a massive, open-air market. Street vendors set up everywhere: on roads, sidewalks, in front of homes and warehouses, and in busy spots like bus stations, commercial areas, and near government offices. They sell groceries, farm produce, fruits and vegetables, street food, cosmetics, medicines, and all kinds of imported goods, both new and used.
However, because of increased gang activity, the two main regions that supply Port-au-Prince with food have now been cut off. The two major roads leading to the south and north are controlled by various groups from the Viv Ansanm criminal coalition, which have set up illegal toll checkpoints along these routes to extort drivers and vendors.
Violent clashes often break out on these roads, putting the lives of rural farmers in constant danger as they attempt to bring their produce to market. The gang fees have sent food prices skyrocketing, and local farm production has dropped sharply. Key agricultural hubs in the Artibonite department and parts of the Centre department are now under gang control, with armed groups driving out farmers, destroying crops, and burning down homes.
As gang violence has been escalating across the country, informal vendors from low-income neighbourhoods have been among the hardest hit. Gangs have burned down public markets and destroyed both businesses and inventory. Violence has turned regular trading spots into dangerous areas trapped in constant gunfire, driving vendors away. Many have had their homes looted or burned down, survived physical violence, and lost loved ones. Countless small traders, having lost everything, have now been forced into displacement camps.
From early August and continuing through September 2026, dozens of informal vendors who used to ply their trade in areas like Marché Salomon, Portail Léogâne, and Champ de Mars have been protesting as the Collectif des Citoyens du Secteur Informel Haïtien et des Petites Entreprises (CCIHPE), in the hope of getting the Haitian government’s support.
Yet, even while the street vendors protest, violent attacks continue. In the high-altitude rural municipality of Kenscoff, a major agricultural hub, gang violence surged between August 23 and 24, resulting in dozens of deaths and the kidnapping of over 60 people.
Amid this ongoing gang activity, the government and Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) have launched the country’s electoral process, opening voter and candidate registration and setting a general election date of December 13. However, uncertainty surrounds the upcoming elections, as large parts of Port-au-Prince and other regions remain under gang control.
Marché Salomon and Portail Léogâne were among the areas that suffered heavy gang attacks. Located in the south of Port-au-Prince, Marché Salomon is about two or three kilometers away from two major gang strongholds — Grand Ravine and Village de Dieu, areas controlled by gang leaders Renel Destina, alias “Kaporal Lapli” or “Ti Lapli,” and Johnson André, alias “Izo 5 Second,” both members of Viv Ansanm.
This same reality exists for Champ de Mars, a major public square surrounded by several government buildings, including the National Palace. Once a busy recreational area where vendors had reserved spaces to sell food and drinks, it is [now] the site of frequent gun battles between armed gangs and the Haitian National Police (PNH), making the square impossible for vendors to use. (In the past few months, people have begun returning to the Champ de Mars area, but the situation remains unsafe).
Gangs currently control over 70 percent of the capital, with the vast majority of neighbourhoods taken over by armed groups.
To demand government action, the vendors have been organising regular street protests, and on September 20, they took to the streets once again, marching through downtown Port-au-Prince. Dozens of protesters carried banners with demands that included calls for tax relief, security, state support, justice and reparations, financial aid, and access to education for their children.
The demonstrators chanted slogans that included, “We cannot take it anymore,” “Government, say something,” “We need justice,” “We need security,” and “Hunger is killing us.” The crowds eventually stopped in front of the building complex on Avenue Charles Sumner, which houses the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour, and the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Protesters also made a point of standing in front of the official residence of Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, where both organisers and participants made statements.
The General Coordinator of the Informal Vendors Collective, Boileau Junior Mondésir, declared:
Jodi ya nou devan ministe afe sosyal, kote kob yo te bay pou rekanpe ekonomi nan program precop la, kote 21 milya goud sa pase, 80/100 ekonomi an ki se sekte enfomel la pa jwen yon dola, jodi ya nou pral mande ULCC pou li mande leta ayisyen depi sou Ariel Henry rive sou Didier Fils Aime la, pou li di nou konbyen ki rete nan kob sa, koman kob sa depanse.
Today we are in front of the Ministry of Social Affairs. Where is the money that was given to restart the economy through the PRECOP programme? Where did those 21 billion gourdes go? The informal sector, which represents 80 percent of the economy, did not receive a single dollar. Today, we are going to ask the ULCC [the Unité de Lutte Contre la Corruption, Haiti’s anti-corruption unit] to demand that the Haitian government — from Ariel Henry to Didier Fils-Aimé — tell us how much of this money is left and how it was spent.
He continued:
Nou menm ti machann pitit nou paka ale lekol akoz vole ak zam, yo boule anba lavil la, boule mache yo, tout axes yo bloke, madan sara, machan yo paka viv, nou mande jistis ak reparasyon pou ti machann yo.
We small vendors, our children cannot go to school because of armed thieves. They burned downtown, they burned the markets, and all routes are blocked. The Madan Sara [rural women traders] and the vendors cannot survive. We ask for justice and reparations for the small vendors.
During the protest, demonstrators shouted angry words at government officials, calling them “thieves,” “corrupt,” and even referring to them as “gangs.” What they want, they say, is much-needed government assistance so they can restart their small businesses.
One vendor said she felt tired, not even having enough money to send her children to school, while another begged the authorities to speak up:
Yo touye nou, yo pran tout sa nou te posede, yo touye fanmi nou, tanpri leta di yon mo pou machann deplase yo, yo touye pitit nou, yo touye mari nou, nou de bras balanse, pitit nou paka ale lekol, di yon mo pou nou leta.
They killed us, they took everything we owned, they killed our families. Please, government, say something for the displaced vendors. They killed our children, they killed our husbands, we are left with nothing, our children cannot go to school. Say something for us, government.
There are very few public schools in Haiti, and many are currently used as temporary shelters for displaced people. Private schools, meanwhile, cannot keep up with the demand and with masses of people struggling to survive — even before the widespread gang violence — very few can pay. In any case, both public and private institutions have been either looted, destroyed, or used as hideouts for criminal groups.
Meanwhile, the vendors promise that as long as the government does not listen to them and satisfy their demands, they will keep taking to the streets in search of justice.
