Severed Head Found on Downtown Street Corner

Radio Metropole

Scene of horror at the corner of  Avenue Christophe and Rue Magny, commonly called “Kafou Tifou”. The severed head of a man was left out next to a pile of trash on Tuesday November 25, 2003. The spectacle, which shocked bystanders, seems to have a political motivation. For some time, severed heads have turned up in several places around the capital. But the one on Tuesday got more attention. It was the severed head of a young man and was surrounded by leaflets threatening death to various personalities of the country. The threats are addressed to journalists of the independent press, to politicians of the opposition and to members of the civil society. It does not matter who put out the papers, all are shocked and intimidated. It is a new level of horror smacking of cannibalism and degeneration, coming just one month shy of the celebration of the bicentenary of the independence of Haiti. It makes ordinary people question the level of safety in the country. The image of a head laid on the street is a revolting image recalling the barbarity of the revolution–the slogan “Cut off their heads, burn down their houses.” A few weeks away from 2004 we see the past in our presence. The citizens’ advocate Necker Dessables expresses shock.