'It's really, really bad': Haitian-Canadians in Calgary worry for families, friends

Members of Calgary's Haitian community are watching with concern as violence continues to unfold in their homeland.

Gangs have overrun the capital Port-au-Prince and the prime minister, Ariel Henry, has resigned.

Pierre Nicolson Beldor, president of the Haitian Association of Calgary, says the unrestrained violence currently affecting Haiti is having a dramatic impact on people living here.

"They really worry about family and friends. Because what happens when gangs are controlling an area, a lot of people have to flee," he said.

"Sometimes, you don't have contact with friends and family for a long time."

Nicolson Beldor says women and girls are particularly at risk in the country's gang warfare.

"Girls are really vulnerable," he said

"The gangs use sexual violence a lot in Haiti. There's two things they use. It's ransom for money – they kidnap. And then the women – any woman they can find they will rape and then they will do anything they can."

Nicolson Beldor says Haitians watching the conflict unfold feel helpless.

"They really worry about all those people living there. And you know, it takes a toll also on people's mental health when you keep thinking about and seeing all the violence. It's really, really bad.

"In Haiti, people rely on people living here in Canada and the U.S. to send them money to survive. Now, even when you send the money, they won't be able to retrieve it, because all the places (to obtain funds), they are closed, controlled by gangs. The money is not moving."

There are just under 2,000 people of Haitian origin living in Calgary and most have family remaining in that country.

The Calgary-based Brenda Strafford Foundation operates a hospital in Les Cayes, Haiti, about 200 kilometres from Port-au-Prince.

While the extreme violence has not reached that area, it remains dangerous, and armed gangs have closed the one road between Port-au-Prince and Les Cayes.

Hospital director Rood Merveille is presently en route back to Haiti after visiting Calgary.

With the country's main airport closed, his journey now involves flying to the Dominican Republic and embarking on a series of boat and automobile trips to bypass the gangs and make it back to his home.

Merveille says the violence that's making his return trip difficult is also hampering the movement of essential goods like diesel fuel for electric generators, medicine and food.

"Also, a good portion of our patients come from all over the country, not only in the southern region. So when we have challenges in Port-au-Prince, they can't come. So everything that's happening has great impact on us," Merveille said.

"I would really appeal to everyone, everybody, to help people that are seeking health care to get safe passages, because at least I think we would need humanitarian corridors for everyone that wants to seek health care."

Speaking in Calgary on Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he's been working closely with Caribbean leaders to try and find a solution but said ultimately, the path to peace for Haiti must come from within the country itself.

"The focus we have, and that we have been working on very closely with some other partners, is creating a Haitian-led solution to this crisis. The international community has been intervening for 30 years in Haiti, and we are still finding ourselves in this impossible situation," Trudeau said.

"We need to see Haiti's political class come together and figure out a way to move forward. And that puts the well-being of the Haitian people at the centre of everything it does, and we're going to continue to stay very, very active."

A plan put forward to end the violence by creating a presidential council to manage a political transition of power appeared to be faltering on Wednesday.

The panel would be responsible for selecting an interim prime minister and a council of ministers and attempting to chart a new path for Haiti.

Moise Jean-Charles, an ex-senator who teamed up with former rebel Guy Phillipe, told Haiti's Radio Tele Metronome he would not participate.

There are currently 2,924 Canadians in Haiti registered with Global Affairs Canada.

That agency operates an emergency watch and response centre, which has responded to 73 inquiries from Canadians since March 3.

It says most relate to travel information and overall security in Haiti.

Global Affairs says the government is not planning assisted departures or repatriation for flights in Haiti but continues to monitor the situation closely.