Haiti witnesses deadly protests amid crumbing economy

Sitting on the street of Haiti's capital and its most populous city, Port-Au-Prince, a citizen by the name of Marcel Cineus waited in anticipation for someone to buy a book from his wooden stall that housed hundreds of test books in the hilly areas of the capital city.

Violent protests a roadblock for Haiti

With schools and daily business operations being shut amid violent demonstrations, the economy is in tatters in the middle of skyrocketing inflation during a time the opposition party is wanting President Jovenel Moïse to step down from office. 

In response to the dwindling economic situation, Cineus stated that the present scenario has not been sweet and that has resulted in business profits going down. In addition to this, Marcel now owes money to the establishment that provides him with the books of elementary school subjects for children.

Read: Haiti Braces For New Protest, Demands That Leader Resign

Approximately, 11 million people in the Carribean country are going through the same problem with a population of more than 60% earning less than $2 every day. The everyday issues faced by the residents of Haiti have become a bit more dire, as it is a direct consequence of violent protests and closure of roads that were a means for businesses to function which has now led to a struggle to keep up with the soaring prices due to fluctuating incomes.

According to reports, even before the demonstrations started towards the beginning of September, Haiti's economy was already crumbling. The nation had seen a decrease in assets from Petrocaribe, a Venezuela-sponsored oil plan, given the drop in oil costs, and also a significant drop in global aid with reference to the 2010 earthquake.

Read: Haiti: Protest Against Fuel Shortage Turns Violent In Port-au-Prince

A lot of demand but no supply

Economist, Kesner Pharell, stated that there is a lot of demand but no supply as soaring prices and roadblocks along with a decline in business profits has led to a problematic situation for everyone living in the capital city. 

A resident stated that even though the money they had saved, was sufficient for daily survival, the extremely high prices of the commodities made them feel that what they had was not enough for them to buy things or even survive for that matter.

Read: Indian Air Force Airdrops Food, Relief Materials In Flood-hit Patna

No other option

According to reports, It will be a very big challenge for Haiti to repair the cracks in their crumbling economy unless and until they ask for international aid from other countries.  

Read: US Expresses 'strong Views' On IMF Loan To Pakistan, Pushes For 'conditionality'

(With inputs from AP)