In 2023, Peterson Demmat left Haiti for Miami to pursue his dreams, while his mother remained behind in Port-au-Prince. By April 2024, as escalating gang violence turned parts of the Haitian capital into a war zone and forced thousands from their homes, Demmat watched the crisis unfold from South Florida, increasingly fearful for his mother’s safety. The Washington Post documented Demmat’s experience as part of its reporting on how Haiti’s deepening crisis was affecting the Haitian diaspora in the United States.

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