When Haiti’s lockdown was at its most intense in July 2019, the daily life of Port-au-Prince residents underwent a transformation that was both dramatic and deeply human. A city of several million people that is normally chaotic with movement and commerce became strangely quiet, interrupted only by the distant sound of drums, chanting, and occasionally gunfire.
Families that had prepared by stocking food and water managed for days at a time without leaving home. Those with no reserves were forced to venture out regardless of the risks. Neighborhood networks of mutual support activated, with residents sharing food, information, and protection. The lockdown paradoxically reinforced some of the community bonds that urban life normally eroded.
Children who would normally have been in school found themselves confined to small houses with parents who were anxious and often unable to explain to young minds why the world outside had stopped. Teachers improvised home lessons. Parents told stories and played games. The psychological toll on children, exposed to adult anxiety and deprived of the routine of school, was a growing concern for child welfare organizations.
In the quieter residential neighborhoods of Pétion-Ville, the lockdown was experienced differently than in the popular quarters closer to protest flashpoints. Wealthier residents with stocked kitchens and private security were inconvenienced; residents of Cité Soleil and Bel-Air were endangered. The lockdown, like most crises, fell hardest on those least equipped to bear it.