Mass Funeral in Petit-Goâve: 18 Lives Claimed by Melissa, Including 10 Children Laid to Rest

On Saturday, November 15, 2025, 18 of the 27 victims of Cyclone Melissa in Petit-Goâve, including ten children, were buried in the Place d'Armes. A day marked by contemplation, pain, and a deep surge of solidarity in the face of the tragedy's scale. Cries, tears, and anger mingled on faces. Petit-Goâve's Place d'Armes was transformed into a vast space of mourning. Ten children were among the victims swept away by floods caused by the sudden overflow of the La Digue river during the passage of Cyclone Melissa, on the night of October 29, 2025. Relatives and residents of the commune flocked around the aligned coffins. The scene was charged with emotion: faces ravaged by sadness, muffled sobs, embraces for support. Some families lost several loved ones, including Patricia, as she was known, and several people remain missing. Cyclone Melissa hit the neighborhoods of La Digue and Borne-Soldat hard. In Petit-Goâve alone, 27 people lost their lives, while the national toll now exceeds forty dead and about twenty missing, according to Civil Protection. The floods left behind a landscape of desolation: collapsed houses, streets buried under mud, and families still homeless weeks after the tragedy. For many residents, the lack of maintenance of the riverbanks exacerbated the scale of the disaster. Despite the pain, the ceremony highlighted strong solidarity. Young volunteers, local organizations, and ordinary citizens mobilized to support the grieving families. Beyond mourning, the community reiterated the urgency of better preparing for increasingly deadly climatic events. According to several observations gathered on site, no high authority from Port-au-Prince was noted at the ceremony, a finding that fueled frustration and incomprehension. Behind the tears, a burning question now stirs debate: who bears responsibility for these deaths, when preventive works on the La Digue river had long been called for? Residents wonder: will there be investigations, prosecutions, accountability to ensure those responsible answer for their negligence? The editorial team