ages 10 and 13, to visit the home they fled last year and report back on its condition after powerful gangs raided their community in November. “I was hoping to have a place to come back to,” Erica Lafleur said. “There’s nothing to see.” The sisters lived in Solino, home to one of Haiti’s most powerful vigilante groups that proudly fended off gangs for years until their leader was killed and gunmen invaded. Gangs seized control of the area for almost a year only to abruptly leave in recent weeks as they encouraged residents to return.

Many Haitians are anxious to flee crowded and dangerous shelters and want to either rebuild their shattered communities or recover what’s left of their home and belongings. Police have told Haitians that it’s not safe to do so, but hundreds of people are ignoring the warnings. Being able to return home is a rare opportunity in a capital nearly entirely controlled by gangs.

The sound of shovels scraping against asphalt echoed in western Port-au-Prince this month as hundreds of people cleaned their communities and shuffled their feet or ran their hands through mounds of ashes that once were books, clothes, photo albums and furniture. (Jamaica Gleaner)