Journalist Dumesky Kersaint. | Photo: Twitter/ @LeFacteurHaiti
On Saturday night, armed individuals assassinated the Haitian journalist Dumesky Kersaint in the Mahotiere 83 neighborhood in the municipality of Carrefour.
This young reporter worked at Radio Tele INUREP where he was in charge of covering the demonstrations organized by different social groups.
"We condemn the climate of tolerated and fueled violence, which led to the death of INUREP journalist Dumesky Kersaint," the Haitian Media Association National (ANMH) President Jacques Sampeur said, adding that his organization offers its sincere condolences to Kersaint's family and INUREP staff.
Kersaint, however, was not the target person. "He was a collateral victim of the actions of armed civilians who were committing crimes in the same place where the journalist was," local outlet Le Facteur holds.
Since the worsening of the security crisis caused by the death of President Jovenel Moise in July 2021, Haiti has become a country where gangs control interprovincial traffic and entire neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince.
In some areas, gang members demand identification from passers-by and prevent journalists from entering their zones. Faced with the impossibility of controlling the territory, the Haitian authorities raised the possibility of military intervention with the U.S., Canada, and France.
According to data from the United Nations Educational and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 9 out of 86 journalists killed worldwide in 2022 were Haitian.
Posted June 14, 2023