Haiti’s young people — who make up the majority of the country’s population, with more than half of Haitians under the age of 25 — were at the center of the country’s political and social crisis in 2019, both as victims of its consequences and as agents of change demanding a better future. University students and young professionals were among the most visible and vocal participants in the PetroCaribe protest movement.
For young Haitians, the crisis represented not just a political dispute but a threat to their entire life trajectory. Months of school closures, economic paralysis, and deteriorating security had disrupted education, delayed job prospects, and deepened the sense that the country’s political class was sacrificing the future of an entire generation on the altar of its own interests.
Youth-led organizations emerged as important actors in both the protest movement and in community resilience efforts. Young people organized neighborhood cleanup campaigns, literacy programs, and mutual aid networks that filled gaps left by a dysfunctional state. On social media, young Haitian voices reached audiences around the world, challenging misleading narratives about their country and demanding that international attention translate into meaningful support.
Many young Haitians described wrestling with the question of whether to stay in Haiti and fight for change, or to join the diaspora and build their futures elsewhere. It was, they said, one of the most painful decisions a young Haitian had to make — choosing between love of country and the practical reality of a country that seemed unwilling or unable to offer them a future.