Haiti: Internally Displaced Persons Trained to Document Their Own Reality: A Step Towards Human Dignity and Autonomy

PÉTION-VILLE, Haiti.— Several young people from displacement camps began training on crisis investigation techniques on Saturday, July 12. This gathering marks the launch of a unique program focused on empowerment and the collection of reliable local data on the lives of internally displaced persons. Organized as part of the ESD25 survey, this first day paves the way for a series of activities led by the WITDENM organization, which relies on the direct participation of affected communities to produce knowledge rooted in experience, according to a press statement. In a country ravaged by armed group violence and plunged into an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, training internally displaced persons to document their own experiences proves to be an innovative initiative. «Chak grenn moun konte. Chak reyalite konte» (Every person counts. Every reality counts.) This slogan, shared at the opening, summarizes the spirit of the initiative: an approach that goes beyond the simple transmission of knowledge to become an act of recognition, valorization, and dignity. A Response to Data Scarcity and the Administrative Invisibility of a Category of People In 2025, over two million people are internally displaced in Haiti, fleeing terror in areas plagued by violence. Yet, reliable data on their living conditions, needs, displacements, and vulnerabilities remain fragmented, if not nonexistent. Faced with this void, the ESD25 survey aims to produce rigorous, relevant, and accessible information for decision-makers. The WITDENM statement asserts that each trained participant will become a community relay, capable of collecting testimonies, observing internal camp dynamics, and reporting specific needs, particularly concerning protection, health, food, or education. An Ethical and Inclusive Approach Beyond technical training, participants receive direct financial support in the form of a stipend, allowing them to meet certain urgent needs. This measure, according to WITDENM, reflects a commitment to a humanitarian approach based on respect for the dignity of displaced persons. «This is not just a survey. It's a way of saying: you are capable, your voice is important, and you are essential to any lasting solution,» the organization emphasizes. Youth at the Heart of the Initiative The ESD25 survey is based on the conviction that young people, even in situations of extreme vulnerability, can become drivers of social transformation. «Far from being mere passive beneficiaries, they are mobilized here as actors, observers, and protectors of their own community,» the organization stated. WITDENM officials promise to deploy the first survey teams in the coming days to camps and hard-to-reach areas, sometimes cut off from usual humanitarian aid channels. The collected data will inform the work of NGOs, public institutions, and international donors, with a view to planning more adapted, more humane, and above all, more connected interventions to the realities on the ground. A Model to Reproduce in Other Intervention Contexts At a time when the international humanitarian community is seeking to renew its approaches, WITDENM's initiative could serve as a reproducible model in other contexts of prolonged displacement. Giving displaced persons a voice, equipping them with data collection knowledge, recognizing their intelligence and their ability to analyze their situation; these are all bold, hopeful choices in a landscape too often dominated by exclusion and imposed passivity. It should be noted that the results of the first phase of the ESD25 survey are expected before the next public forum, which will bring together community actors, local authorities, and technical partners to present the collected data. Jean Mapou