On Mar. 5, this northwestern city exploded in angry clashes between rampaging crowds and the police, in which one person died and many were wounded. On that morning, a National Port Aurthority (APN) security agent fatally shot an unarmed teenage cart pusher (bouretye) during an argument at the port. When people in the city learned of the shooting, an enraged crowd tracked down the security agent and killed him. 

By 9 a.m. the city was paralyzed. Schools and businesses closed, tires were burned, and roads were blocked. The police engaged in fierce confrontations with the crowds. Several protesters were wounded by police gunfire, and four policemen were wounded by thrown rocks.

One throng overran the port itself, smashing cars and trashing APN offices. The following day, Mar. 6, the city was more or less calm.

Côte de Fer: Three People Die in Blaze

Lorèze Morelis tells a tragic tale. Her husband, Dovilas Norzil, was killed when his brothers, Thovilis and Moranvil Norzil, set fire to the couple's home in the southeastern commune of Côte de Fer, in the rural section know as Jamais Vu (Never Seen) on Feb. 6. The fire also claimed the lives of their two daughters, Fayka, 8, and Géraldine, 13. An inter-family land dispute was what sparked the deadly arson, she says.

Worse yet, there has been no funeral or burial for her family because administrators at the morgue of Port-au-Prince's General Hospital will not release the bodies until they receive certain paperwork from Justice Dept. officials in the southeast, according to Mme. Morelis. She is now appealing to authorities to help her bury her family. The two alleged arsonists are being held in the Côtes de Fer jail, awaiting transfer to the prison in Jacmel, where they will be held pending trial.

Gonaïves: "Service Plus" Closes it Doors

Service Plus, a 7-year-old nationwide transport cooperative whose blue and white school buses are now ubiquitous in Haiti, has stopped its service to Gonaïves due to gang warfare and violence directed against it, according to the company's director, Duclos Bénissoit. For months, the hot, dry city has been wracked by violence between two armed gangs, similar to that which plagues Cité Soleil, the capital's largest shantytown. Bénissoit says he'll wait for this fighting to die down before he resumes service to the city.

Also, the bus line has been the object of several attacks. "They burned one of our buses on its way from L'Estère," a town about 20 kilometers south of the city, Bénissoit said. "What is strangest about this affair is that now they have attacked us in our offices. They cut the telephone, pillaged the office, stole everything we had, and set fire to the buses which were in the courtyard." He accuses rival bus owners who ply the profitable Gonaïves/Port-au-Prince route of being behind the attacks. "They want to do some things which they know they cannot do as long as Service Plus exists," he said.

At least 16 Service Plus buses are now out of commission, according to Bénissoit. "We had a total 176 buses, in the provinces and Port-au-Prince," he explained. "We lost 4 of them, which were burned. That means we now have 172, and in Port-au-Prince we have around 50 or 60 functioning." He said that the repairs of the vehicles are not easy because the company must buy parts overseas, which is very expensive.

BROOKLYN: WEEKEND AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY

This Fri. and Sat., there will be events in Brooklyn to protest police brutality and commemorate its most recent victims: Patrick Dorismond and Georgy Louisgene.

Two years ago, Patrick Dorismond, 26, was gunned down in Manhattan by NYPD officer Anthony Vasquez after he refused drugs in a street sting operation (see Haïti Progrès, Vol. 18, No. 1, 3/22/00). Two months ago, Georgy Louisgene, 23, was gunned down in Brooklyn by NYPD officers James Muirhead and Joe Thompson after he pleaded with them for help (see Haïti Progrès, Vol. 19, No. 45, 1/23/02). The cops have not been charged in any way in either of these shootings. Meanwhile, three of the cops implicated in the precinct-house torture of Abner Louima, and its ensuing cover-up, had their jury convictions overturned by a three-person appeals court on Feb. 28, further enraging the Haitian community (see Haïti Progrès, Vol. 19, No. 51, 3/6/02).

On Mar. 15 at 7 p.m., the Georgy Louisgene Justice Committee will hold a forum at P.S. 399 (corner of Albermarle Rd. & Rogers Ave.) featuring Brian Figeroux, one of Abner Louima's original attorneys, community activist Richie Perez, families of victims of police abuse, and the attorneys representing the Louisgene family. "It is very important for people to open their eyes to see what is going on in our community," said Abby Louis Jeune, Georgy's sister. "So this will be an event to inform people." For more information, contact the Committee at 718-284-2255 or JusticeForGeorgy@yahoo.com.

On Mar. 16 at 5:30 p.m., the Dorismond family will hold a mass commemorating the death of their son at St. Francis Church (corner of Maple St. and Nostrand Ave.). "By remembering Patrick, we can begin the process of his finding peace," Marie Dorismond, the victim's mother, told Haïti Progrès. "But he hasn't yet found peace because he hasn't yet found justice."