PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Emotions ran high during the funeral on Thursday for one of the two journalists tragically lost to an armed gang attack last month, as they were covering the government’s failed efforts to reopen the largest public hospital in Haiti.
Jimmy Jean, dressed in an immaculate all-white suit, lay in an open casket, with family and friends leaning over to offer their farewells, tears flowing freely. The 44-year-old father of six had been reporting daily news for the online platform Moun Afe Bon.
“You left us so young,” his stepmother mournfully echoed as she exited the church, her quiet sobs resonating with the gathered crowd.
On Christmas Eve, Jean lost his life in a horrific shooting incident when gangs targeted police, government officials, and journalists at the highly anticipated reopening of the General Hospital located in downtown Port-au-Prince. Another journalist, Marckendy Natoux from Voice of America, and a Haitian police officer also lost their lives in this tragic event, with at least seven other reporters suffering injuries, marking the deadliest assault on journalists in recent history for the country.
In the aftermath of this attack, authorities took swift action by dismissing the health minister and placing an indefinite hold on the hospital’s reopening. Efforts by the police to battle gang violence in the downtown vicinity of the hospital continue to face significant challenges.
The journalism community is now calling for more substantial compensation from the government, pushing beyond the financial assistance given to the families for burial costs of the two deceased reporters.
Robest Dimanche, spokesperson for the Online Media Collective, a group advocating for the rights of online journalists in Haiti, remarked that while journalists had been invited to the hospital’s reopening, the government failed to establish a secure environment for them.
“We want the state to be accountable,” Dimanche emphasized, stating their unwavering commitment to push for justice for those affected.
Shortly after the violent incident, Johnson “Izo” André, who is viewed as the most powerful gang leader in Haiti, released a video on social media, claiming responsibility for the attack. He asserted that he had not permitted the reopening of the hospital, which gangs had previously targeted.
The funeral service for Jean was attended by over two dozen reporters, underscoring the perilous nature of journalism in one of the world’s riskiest environments for media personnel. Present at the funeral were Jean’s girlfriend, Marie Mika Honoré, and his youngest child, 2-year-old Youwenski Jean, who was also dressed in white.
“He was kind and intelligent,” Honoré reminisced about Jimmy Jean. “He was dedicated to his work.”
She recounted the moment, just hours after he rode off on a motorcycle to cover the hospital reopening, when the driver returned with the heartbreaking news of his demise.
“I miss Jimmy tremendously,” she expressed. “We never argued, and he was always attentive to his children and me.”
The loss of these journalists adds to the grim statistic of over 5,600 reported fatalities across Haiti in the previous year, according to U.N. data.
