Baie De Henne

Baie-de-Henne is a commune in the Môle Saint-Nicolas Arrondissement, in the Nord-Ouest department of Haiti.

History: The former name of the municipality of Baie-de-Henne is not specified. Baie-de-Henne was elevated to the rank of commune in 1889. The town of Baie-de-Henne was founded in 1625. The inhabitants of the town are called Baie-de-Hennois.

About: Villagers of this valley, and locals especially, are said to be welcoming. With a population of about 25,000 in four communal sections covering an area of ​​203 square kilometers, Baie-de-Henne is one of the most disadvantaged municipalities in the country. An article vividly paints a dry picture of life in the deserted desert community.

Another world is what we see from the outset when we approach the road to Baie-de-Henne. The arrogant and insulting morons in their absolute nakedness announce the color bluntly, without the blow of handlebars. Hell is good here, even if there is no sign. The earth does not bleed anymore. She will not bleed anymore, she is emptied. If there are still peanut shoots in bare spaces, the trees are gone. Even cactus and bayawonn are endangered. It is obvious that God does not pass overthere.

There is nothing in Baie-de-Henne! Nothing, absolutely nothing to defend, except the men and women who do not want or can not go away. They chose to die quietly at home. A form of collective suicide as Willot R. Joseph, one of the leaders of Ayiti Gouvenans, the organization that invited us to visit the Lower North West region, because it is difficult to understand that we can survive in a place so arid, so macabre.

The faces are pale, people walk in slow motion. They do not even want to complain anymore. What’s the point? It’s been so long since we’ve forgotten them. Moreover, why would they tell what everyone can see at a glance?

Misery, here, has earned its nobility. It is worn with dignity and resignation. Houses crumbling, in ruins, say that it has been a long time, too long. We no longer speak of Port-au-Prince or Port-de-Paix. Baie-de-Henne is a world apart that lives on its own, a world that tries to forget that it exists and that it is part of a country. Here, we live without water, without electricity, without health care, with no other resource than the charcoal that trucks pick up every three or four days. Trucks that bring life and yet only prolong the agony of a moribund and desperate population.

Geography: The city of Baie-de-Henne is a coastal zone, dominated by a plain with hot temperature. The commune of Baie-de-Henne includes four communal sections. Two of them (2nd and 3rd sections) are positioned inside the commune and are respectively dominated by a plain at normal temperature. The other two sections are coastal areas. The dominant relief of the first section is the plateau. That of the 4th section consists of hills. The temperature of these two communal sections is considered normal. This municipality covers an area of ​​222.42 km2. Its population is estimated in 1998 to 14706 inhabitants, and has reached a little more than 17 000 inhabitants in the year 2015.

Infrastructure: In recent years, MINUSTAH has financed several projects under its Quick Impact Projects (QIPs). These include the construction of the City Hall, the Peace Court and the police station. Electrification projects through the installation of solar streetlights, and water supply through the installation of artesian wells, have also been completed.

Transportation:  Sinuous, dangerous and stupidly sloping roads… There is no public transportation on the Baie-de-hennoise planet, and to reach the nearest town, only the trucks carrying coal are sometimes available for those who do not want to go on foot or by donkey.

Education: In the field of education, the Ministry of National Education of Youth and Sports does not have representation at the commune of Baie-de-Henne. There is a kindergarten, several primary schools, 2 high schools and 2 literacy centers. It should be noted that there is no technical and vocational school, university nor other higher school.

Health: The Ministry of Health does not have representation in the municipality of Baie-de-Henne. There is a health center without a bed, 3 dispensaries and a clinic. The medical staff is composed of: a trainee doctor, a dentist, a nurse, 9 auxiliaries, 24 certified matrons and a laboratory technician.

Utilities: In the municipality of Baie-de-Henne there are three rivers and fifteen springs. Rivers are used for watering purposes. The sources are used for domestic use and watering. It should be noted the absence of ponds, lakes and lagoons.

According to the mayor’s declarations, the work to rebuild the drinking water supply network has been suspended … PVC pipes, an intolerable situation for the population of one of the most arid communes of the Republic. Only a part of the city has access to drinking water thanks to taps installed in a few private homes. The city, if we can call this agglomeration which deserves rather the name of ghost town, does not have a public fountain, those who do not have the water at home depend, for this precious resource, on the good will of the more fortunate.

The network was vandalized during the latest political unrest and the solar panels that supplied the pump with electrical energy, stolen. Water does not arrive in the city by gravitation. It must be pumped. And, without a generator, all that remains is to use the good old sun that makes Baie-de-Henne a hell.

The commune of Baie-de-Henne is not collectively electrified. The better off use their own source of energy at home. If in other cities, electricity has disappeared for years, Baie-de-Henne has never known. Some pylons that have never been used for anything, not a piece of electric wire. And, it is not tomorrow the day before that this borough will see the electric lighting, isolated that it is in a lost corner between the sea, the sun and the desert which surrounds it.

Religion: On the side of religion, thirty-four temples, all beliefs combined (except vodun) are counted in the municipality of Baie-de-Henne. The Pentecostal temples are predominant, then come the Baptist temples.

Communication: In terms of communication, the commune of Baie-de-Henne is endowed with a telephone service, on the other hand the lines available are exclusively assigned to the public offices of the place. In case of need, individuals must go to the office of the Teleco. This municipality has a radio station. The print and television media are practically non-existent.

Leisure: The commune of Baie-de-Henne is devoid of libraries, museums, theaters and cinema, nightclubs, public places, and monuments. Foot-ball (soccer) is the only sport practiced. There are 16 gageres.

Organizations: The representation of three political parties is noted in the municipality of Baie-de-Henne. There are five grassroots organizations, eight peasant groups, a women’s group, a non-commercial co-operative, three NGOs, and five representations of an international organization.