Bloody Sunday

Sunday is supposed to be a day of prayer and quiet. However, while hundreds went to church, thousands of anti-Aristide demonstrators gathered at Petion Ville and walked through the streets, collecting supporters along the way, to congregate at the Presidential Palace in downtown Port-au-Prince, some 2 miles away. As the crowd grew larger, some pro-Aristide supporters voiced their views, angering those not in agreement. The masses came, chanting anti Aristide slogans “Aristide the vampire” in French and Patois.

They burned anything they could find in front of the main gate of the Palace. They even climbed a 100 foot pole to take down a picture of Aristide. The fire grew bigger, resulting in a thick cloud of black smoke and a toxic smell, which brought out the fire services to put it out. As the officers used their hoses on the fire the crowd started chanting even louder, forcing the officers to turn their hoses on them. With the crowd chanting and people being hosed down, fights broke out between the large anti and the few pro-Aristide supporters, brave enongh to voice their opinions. The police quickly came to the rescue of these helpless people, rushing them into a waiting vehicle and speeding them off, as members of the crowd threw stones at them and the police. As the crowd started to disperse, the sound of gunshots could be heard.

Thinking that it was the police, curious onlookers went to see, only to find out that it was the “Chimeres”- Aristide’s loyal henchmen. These men were shooting at anything and a man was shot just a few hundred yards from me. As the gun men came closer peolpe started running every where, causing the men to shoot at anything. By this time, the police were not able to deal with the situation and one police officer was shot while trying to help an injured person. Reports are that five people are dead and twenty seriously injured, including women and children. A Mexican journalist was also shot.