A corpse lies discarded by the side of the road. Torture marks confirm he was the latest victim of the gang wars. Gangs and voodoo dominate life in Haiti. Gonaive, the second largest city in Haiti, has become a no-go area for government forces. The largest gang is known as ‘The Cannibal Army.’ Its leader, Amiot Metayer, developed the slum’s ‘self defence force’. He was arrested in 2002 but his supporters smashed through his jail with a bulldozer. “Until we receive orders the police can do absolutely nothing about it,” states the local police chief from his bullet ridden office. In one melee a bystander, Sorrel Volny, is shot dead by the police who claim it was an accident. We follow Sorrel’s sister to the morgue and see that it was no stray bullet that killed her brother, shot between the eyes. For many Haitians the message is simple: join a gang which is powerful enough to protect you. But the future these gangs offer is a desolate one.

A report by Juliana Ruhfus for Unreported World.

Produced by Mentorn