"If you don't hear from me, it's because I'm dead," he wrote on a family WhatsApp group.
The officer's sister shivered as she read her sibling's parting text and when he didn't answer her messages - rang one of his closest friends desperate for news. "I'm going out of my mind," she sobbed.
Contrary to his prediction, Stanley* did survive the recent assault on his fortress-like base but was left badly shaken. "What scared me the most was the idea of a needless death - that I might die and it would change nothing," the police officer said as heavily armed gangs continue to sow terror in Haiti's capital despite the creation of a transitional government supposed to lead the country out of its latest crisis.
Other members of Haiti's embattled national police force have not been so lucky in the face of a coordinated gang insurrection that began in late February and has plunged Port-auPrince into anarchy and forced the prime minister to resign.
Lionel Lazarre, the spokesperson for Haiti's police union Synapoha, said 17 officers had been killed and "many" wounded - mostly by gunshots - in the first four months of this year, in return for a salary of less than $100 a week.
This story is from the May 24, 2024 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
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This story is from the May 24, 2024 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
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