Thousands of Haitians mark annual pilgrimage far from a sacred waterfall surrounded by gangs
Powerful gangs in March attacked the town of Saut-d'Eau, whose 100-foot-long waterfall had for decades drawn thousands of Vodou and Christian faithful alike.
The town remains under gang control, preventing thousands from participating in the traditional annual pilgrimage meant to honor the Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, closely associated with the Vodou goddess of Erzulie.
'Not going to Saut-d'Eau is terrible,' said Ti-Marck Ladouce. 'That water is so fresh it just washes off all the evilness around you.'
Instead, Ladouce joined several thousand people who scrambled up a steep hill in a rural part of Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, on Wednesday to honor Erzulie and the Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel at a small church that served as a substitute for the waterfall.
Like many, Ladouce thanked the Virgin Mary for keeping him and his family alive amid a surge of gang violence that has left at least 4,864 people dead from October to the end of June across Haiti, with hundreds of others kidnapped, raped and trafficked.
'People are praying to be saved,' he said.
A church bursting at its seams
Daniel Jean-Marcel opened his arms, closed his eyes and turned toward the sky as people around him lit candles, clutched rosaries and tried to push their way into the small church that could not hold the crowd gathered around it.
Jean-Marcel said he was giving thanks 'for the grace of being able to continue living in Port-au-Prince,' where gang violence has displaced more than 1.3 million people in recent years.
'There is nowhere for us to go,' he said, adding that he and his family would remain in Haiti even as people continue to flee the ravaged country despite an immigration crackdown by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
On Wednesday, U.S. authorities deported more than 100 Haitians to their homeland on the latest such flight.
Jacques Plédé, 87, was among those dressed in all white who gathered to give thanks in Port-au-Prince, of which 85% is now controlled by gangs.
He recalled helping build the small church but never thought it would serve as a substitute for the Saut-d'Eau waterfall.
'It's very disgraceful for the country that the gangs are taking over one of the nicest waterfalls where people go to pray privately,' he said. 'Life is not over. One day, if I'm still alive, I'll make it back to Saut-d'Eau.'
Gang leaders visit a revered church
On the morning of March 31, the Canaan gang led by a man known as 'Jeff' attacked Saut-d'Eau. Police and a self-defense group repelled the attack, but the gang returned in early April with more than 500 men, prompting residents and authorities to flee, according to a new report from the U.N. human rights office.
Angry over the ongoing violence and what the United Nations described as 'weak responses from authorities,' residents of Saut-d'Eau and other nearby communities in May and June took over a hydroelectric plant in protest, causing widespread power outages in Haiti's capital and its central region.
On Wednesday, videos posted on social media showed Jeff Larose, leader of the Canaan gang, standing in the large church of Saut-d'Eau that traditionally hosted the annual Mass amid the three-day pilgrimage.
Next to him, in the largely empty church, stood Joseph Wilson, who goes by 'Lanmo Sanjou' and is the leader of the 400 Mawozo gang, and Jimmy Chérizier, best known as 'Barbecue' and one of the leaders of a powerful gang federation known as ' Viv Ansanm,' or 'Living Together.'
The video showed them distributing money to some residents who gathered with their arms outstretched.
'They used to stop us from coming to Mount Carmel,' Barbecue said. 'We are at the foot of our mother now.'
At one point, Lanmo Sanjou looked at the camera and said the Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel would give them the opportunity to perform more miracles.
'Everybody needs protection'
The sounds of laughter and gurgling water were absent on Wednesday at the church in Haiti's chaotic capital where the substitute pilgrimage was underway.
Hugens Jean, 40, recalled how he and his family in previous years would visit Saut-d'Eau, where they would wash themselves in the waters and cook meals in the nearby woods.
'Today is a very special day,' he said. 'I come here to pray for deliverance for my family and for the country that's in the hands of gangs. One day, we need to be free from these systematic attacks. We don't know who's going to live today or who's going to die tomorrow.'
Sundays
Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba.
Joane Durosier, a 60-year-old Vodou priestess known as a 'mambo,' shared a similar lament.
Dressed in white with a rosary in hand, Durosier said she was praying for herself and her followers.
'A lot of people are suffering,' she said. 'In a country like Haiti, everybody needs protection.'
___
Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Star
an hour ago
- Toronto Star
Families of Americans slain in the West Bank lose hope for justice
BIDDU, West Bank (AP) — When Sayfollah Musallet of Tampa, Florida, was beaten to death by Israeli settlers in the West Bank two weeks ago, he became the fourth Palestinian-American killed in the occupied territory since the war in Gaza began. No one has been arrested or charged in Musallet's slaying – and if Israel's track record on the other three deaths is any guide, it seems unlikely to happen. Yet Musallet's father and a growing number of U.S. politicians want to flip the script.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Families of Americans slain in the West Bank lose hope for justice
BIDDU, West Bank (AP) — When Sayfollah Musallet of Tampa, Florida, was beaten to death by Israeli settlers in the West Bank two weeks ago, he became the fourth Palestinian-American killed in the occupied territory since the war in Gaza began. No one has been arrested or charged in Musallet's slaying – and if Israel's track record on the other three deaths is any guide, it seems unlikely to happen. Yet Musallet's father and a growing number of U.S. politicians want to flip the script. 'We demand justice,' Kamel Musallet said at his 20-year-old son's funeral earlier this week. 'We demand the U.S. government do something about it.' Still, Musallet and relatives of the other Palestinian-Americans say they doubt anyone will be held accountable, either by Israel or the U.S. They believe the first word in their hyphenated identity undercuts the power of the second. And they say Israel and its law enforcement have made them feel like culprits — by imposing travel bans and, in some cases, detaining and interrogating them. Although the Trump administration has stopped short of promising investigations of its own, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has urged Israel to investigate the circumstances of each American's death. Writing on X on July 15, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said he'd asked Israel to 'aggressively investigate the murder' of Musallet and that 'there must be accountability for this criminal and terrorist act.' Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and 28 other Democratic senators have also called for an investigation. In a letter this week to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Attorney General Pam Bondi, they pointed to the 'repeated lack of accountability' after the deaths of Musallet and other Americans killed in the West Bank. Israel's military, police and Shin Bet domestic security agency did not respond to requests for comment about the Palestinian-Americans' deaths. Families have demanded independent investigations American-born teenagers Tawfic Abdel Jabbar and Mohammad Khdour were killed in early 2024 by Israeli fire while driving in the West Bank. In April 2025, 14-year-old Amer Rabee, a New Jersey native, was shot in the head at least nine times by Israeli forces, according to his father, as he stood among a grove of green almond trees in his family's village. In the immediate aftermath of both cases, Israeli authorities said that forces had fired on rock throwers, allegations disputed by the families and by testimony obtained by the AP. Israel pledged to investigate the cases further, but has released no new findings. The teens' families told the AP they sought independent investigations by American authorities, expressing doubts that Israel would investigate in good faith. According to the Israeli watchdog group Yesh Din, killings of Palestinians in the West Bank rarely result in investigations — and when they do, indictments are uncommon. The U.S. Justice Department has jurisdiction to investigate the deaths of its own citizens abroad, but does so after it gets permission from the host government and usually works with the host country's law enforcement. The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem declined to say whether the U.S. has launched independent probes into the killings. A spokesperson for the embassy said in a statement that investigations are 'underway' in Israel over the deaths of the four Americans and that its staff is pressing the Israeli authorities to move quickly and transparently. In a statement to AP, the embassy spokesperson said, 'We continue to press for full, transparent, and rapid investigations in each case and understand that they are underway' in Israel adding that consular staff were in regular communication with Israeli authorities. Sen. Van Hollen said that when the U.S deals with Israel it 'either doesn't pursue these cases with the vigor necessary, or we don't get any serious cooperation.' 'And then instead of demanding cooperation and accountability, we sort of stop — and that's unacceptable. It's unacceptable to allow American citizens to be killed with impunity,' the Maryland Democrat said. Israel says it holds soldiers and settlers accountable Israel says it holds soldiers and settlers to account under the bounds of the law, and that the lack of indictments does not mean a lack of effort. A prominent recent case was the death of Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist for broadcaster Al Jazeera killed in the West Bank in 2022. An independent U.S. analysis of the circumstances of her death found that fire from an Israeli soldier was 'likely responsible' for her killing but said it appeared to be an accident. Despite an Israeli military investigation with similar conclusions, no one was ever disciplined. Violence by Israeli forces and settlers has flared in the West Bank since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023. More than 950 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of the war in Gaza, according to the United Nations. Some have been militants killed in fighting with Israel, though the dead have also included stone-throwers and bystanders uninvolved in violence. Instead of justice, restrictions and detentions Rather than a path toward justice, the families of Khdour, Rabee, and Abdel Jabbar say they've faced only challenges since the deaths. Khdour, born in Miami, Florida, was shot and killed in April 2024 while driving in Biddu, a West Bank town near Jerusalem where he lived since age 2. U.S. investigators visited his family after the killing, his family said. Abdel Jabbar was killed while driving down a dirt road close to Al Mazra as-Sharqiya, his village in the northern West Bank. Khdour's cousin, Malek Mansour, the sole witness, told the AP he was questioned by both Israeli and American investigators and repeated his testimony that shots came from a white pickup on Israeli territory. He believes the investigators did not push hard enough to figure out who killed his cousin. 'The matter ended like many of those who were martyred (killed),' said Hanan Khdour, Khdour's mother. Two months after the death, Israeli forces raided the family's home and detained Mohammad's brother, Omar Khdour, 23, also an American citizen. Videos taken by family and shared with the AP show Omar Khdour blindfolded and handcuffed as Israeli soldiers in riot gear lead him out of the building and into a military jeep. He said he was threatened during questioning, held from 4 am to 3 pm, and warned not to pursue the case. 'Here, being American means nothing' Omar Khdour said Israeli soldiers at checkpoints have prevented him from leaving the West Bank to visit Israel or Jerusalem. Two other American fathers of Palestinian-Americans killed since Oct. 7, 2023 reported similar restrictions. Hafeth Abdel Jabbar, Tawfic Abdel Jabbar's father, said he and his wife were blocked from leaving the West Bank for seven months. His son, Amir Abdel Jabbar, 22, remains restricted. The father of Amer Rabee says he and his wife have also been stuck in the West Bank since their son's killing. He showed AP emails from the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem in which a consular official told him that Israel had imposed a travel ban on him, though it was unclear why. Israeli authorities did not respond to comment on the detentions or travel restrictions. Rabee said that in a land where violence against Palestinians goes unchecked, his family's American passports amounted to nothing more than a blue book. 'We are all American citizens,' Rabee said. 'But here, for us, being American means nothing.'
Winnipeg Free Press
4 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Bus traveling from Lima to Peru's Amazon overturns on highway in the Andes, killing at least 18
LIMA, Peru (AP) — A bus traveling from Lima to Peru's Amazon region overturned on a highway in the Andes Mountains, leaving at least 18 people dead and 48 injured, authorities said Friday. The double-decker bus belonging to the company 'Expreso Molina Líder Internacional' went off the road and fell down a slope in the district of Palca, Junín region, Junin's health director Clifor Curipaco told reporters. Authorities are still investigating the cause of the accident. Videos broadcast on local television showed the bus split in two, while firefighters and police tried to rescue the injured. It was not the first fatal bus accident in 2025, another bus fell into a river on Jan. 3, leaving six people dead and 32 injured. A study by the Attorney General's Office found that d river recklessness and excessive speed are the main causes of accidents in Peru. Road transportation is poorly monitored by authorities in Peru, and emergency assistance is so slow and disorganized. In 2024, there were approximately 3,173 deaths as a result of traffic accidents in the South American country, according to official data from the Death Information System.
