A veteran AP cameraman tells the story

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Veteran Associated Press videographer Pierre-Richard Luxama was filming a tactical police unit patrolling the Haitian capital Monday when it was attacked by gang members who control nearly the entire city.

They set fire to the roof of a police vehicle armed with Molotov cocktails, filling it with smoke. The officers returned fire, sending the gang running. The vehicle returned to base, and a group of civilians and police officers rushed to throw water on the roof.

For nearly two decades, Luxama and colleague Danica Cotto have been covering Haiti’s disintegration into ever-greater chaos in San Juan, Puerto Rico. At least 5.7 million Haitians are at crisis level, of which 1.9 million are facing emergency starvation. Haitian journalists documenting the fall of the capital are under unprecedented attack, stunned by gunfire.

A day after the attack, Luksama recounted a series of images from his experiences and patrols that would never leave him: a severed arm and leg tied to electrical wires hanging in front of an abandoned and looted shop. Streets littered with debris and buildings destroyed, without doors or windows. Neighborhoods vacated out of deep fear of residents of powerful gangs.

Gang violence has displaced 1.4 million people in recent years, despite the efforts of Haitian police and a UN-backed police mission, with another one promising.

In downtown Port-au-Prince, Luxama recalled, “All you hear are birds singing.”

How did it feel to be on fire?

On the day of the attack, Luxma said, “We launched a Molotov cocktail attack on the capital’s main square at 10:30 am (and) spent two hours on patrol.

“Everyone was calm, but there was smoke coming in. The police told us to breathe very slowly. Inside the armored car, the smoke was really heavy and was spreading everywhere.

When the attack happened, an officer sitting at the front said, ‘We’ve been attacked with Molotov cocktails, so let’s go. Let’s go because we don’t want the armored car to break down.’

During a gang attack last year, police officers were dragged to death from wrecked armored vehicles, with gruesome videos of the killings circulating on social media.

How did the fire go out?

“It took us about seven or 10 minutes to get back to the police base.

I was very calm. I was trying to breathe so fast because I didn’t want the smoke of the fire to enter my body. I was really calm.

When the armored vehicle arrived at the base, there was a bit of panic.

Everyone was running around us. They panicked when they saw that the roof of the house was on fire.

We opened the door, and when we got out, a group of citizens and police officers started coming towards us to throw water on the roof.

How was the attack?

“It was scary. (But) with my experience. I learned not to worry.

When I’m in a difficult situation, the first thing I do is stay calm. When you stay calm, you think about what the next situation will be, and what you should do.

If you panic, it won’t be good for you.”

Which images stuck with you?

“It was a sunny day.

When you first start going to certain areas, you don’t see anyone on the street. The street is completely empty, without tap-taps (small, colorful public buses), without passengers, without motorbikes.

You only hear the birds singing.

The streets are full of garbage and there are broken down buildings. The windows and doors of the building were removed. The gang is really scared. You can feel it.

We saw a man’s severed arm and leg tied to electrical wires in front of an abandoned shop that had already been looted.

I also saw two small Haitian flags on a gang barricade on a street, twisted metal and an old oven and refrigerator formed part of the barricade.

Viv Ansanm (a powerful gang federation) controls the area.

I also remember when a policewoman was taking a selfie inside an armored car when we were attacked.”

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