Within the Republic of Haiti, destitute communities are overrun with vicious gangs. Endeavoring to seize control, they slaughter innocent townsmen and rape women and young girls. One might suppose that this grueling behavior is being enforced by older males. However, few people understand that many gang members in Haiti are actually young adolescents.
In May 2024, the UNICEF estimated that 30-50% of criminal organization members are children. This includes boys who are younger than 10 years of age. Most recently, the UN Children's Fund has claimed that the number of children being recruited into gangs in Haiti has increased by 70% over the past year.
Refuse to live a life of penury, many of these adolescents give in to the wiles of predatory gang leaders. They come from broken homes, with only a single parent living with them. Additionally, some of these children are also orphans without a community. Hence, their affiliation to a provincial gang restores this lost sense of brotherhood.
Upon recruitment, young boys are usually tasked with extorting money from others and robbing stores. In exchange for such an effort, gang leaders promise to provide food and other goods to these desperate children. Violence is rewarded and to deviate from such, warrants social exclusion.
In other respects, gang leaders trap these children by alarming them if they attempt to abandon this lifestyle. From the words of a 16-year-old boy who fell victim to this tactic: "When I decided to leave, they told me: there is no food at home, so if you leave us, you will die of hunger." He continued: "That's how they tried to force me to stay."
This is a prevalent issue in the country, that demonstrates the approach used to deprave children in Haiti. Haitian children aren't given a chance to obtain an education and produce honest work. Instead, they sacrifice their lives by joining gangs. The gang leaders understand that these vulnerabilities will produce unwavering loyalty, which is precisely why they pursue children.