‘This was a close call:’ Tisdale man finally leaves gangs, gunfire behind in Haiti

By Cam Lee

A harrowing ordeal is over for a Tisdale man who was trapped in Haiti.

Richard Phillips was in Haiti for work when a gang uprising led to mass chaos and violence across the country, leading to the closure of the major airports in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Phillips told northeastNOW his group had booked a helicopter several times to leave the country for the Dominican Republic but it was cancelled each time due to flight and security issues.

“(On Wednesday night) they finally made it through, they picked up 17 of us and took us back to Santo Domingo,” Phillips explained. “We got there last night and now we took an early-morning flight and we’re back stateside, so we’re very, very relieved to be out.”

Despite the relief at leaving Haiti, Phillips said a big part of his heart is back in the country with the residents of the country and friends and colleagues who have not been able to leave.

Phillips said the situation in Haiti — which had improved slightly after the unpopular prime minister announced his intention to resign — quickly deteriorated. Phillips, his wife and others had left an area near the airport that was heavily involved in gunfire to a safer spot in the mountains. However even that safer spot was not immune to violence, as they quickly found out.

“A gang somehow came down from above and we had a lot of gunfire one night,” Phillips said. “There (were) bodies not that far from where we were living. We couldn’t get out because some people had thrown big rocks all across the roads to block the people from moving around.”

He said when gangs block the roads, they often storm homes, so Phillips and his group were forced to leave. An armed man wearing a bulletproof vest was able to get Phillips out on a motorbike.

“From there, there was another armoured car to get into, and then there was another armoured truck with three armed bodyguards in it, so they got out and covered the area where we had to walk through without getting attacked,” explained Phillips.

They then got in the armoured car and truck and convoyed to another safe place.

“It was pretty hairy, I’ll say that,” he said.

Haiti’s future is up in the air, and Phillips said the gangs still have a lot of power. The main airport is still closed, and he believes it would be tough for a force to get in to be able to secure the airport.

Phillips commended the Haitian police for their efforts to restore order, despite being overmatched in numbers and weapons.

“At the end of the day, the Haitians need to solve a lot of this themselves, but maybe a force could at least … give them a break from what they’re going through,” Phillips said. “They’re incredibly brave people, the Haitian police, to work every day outgunned and outmanned like that.”

Phillips said it was heartening to read the kind messages and well wishes on social media.

“It really meant a lot,” he said. “There’s lots of Tisdale- and Melfort-area people that reached out to me to make sure things were good and boy, that sure picks you up. When there’s gunfire going off during the night and you’re in bed and you can read friendly messages, it just makes you feel a lot better.”

When asked if he would return to Haiti once it stabilizes, Phillips said his wife would probably have more qualms about returning. However, he will be taking a few months off, and it would have to be the right opportunity for him to return.

“A number of factors would have to line up before I went back again because this was a close call,” he said.