Unrest in Saint Marc, Haiti

Residents pass a blocked road by foot.
A popular teacher was grabbed from a “Bond”, a slow-moving street band winding along Rue National 1 Sunday night by local police and beaten. The police didn’t like the fact that the bond, a traditional practice in the days before carnival, was impeding traffic and reportedly grabbed the teacher at random and beat him up. As one local business owner commented, “the cops messed with the wrong person this time, as the teacher was a mild-mannered gentleman who is well-known and respected in the community”.Word quickly got around about the beating and local youth blocked Rue National 1, the main link between Port-au-Prince and Haiti’s northern cities, in protest. Trucks were comandeered and parked in a manner to block the road. Local police attempted to clear the road Sunday night, but were repelled by protesters. On Monday morning, SWAT-type police along with MINUSTAH occupation troops arrived firing tear gas at protestors. Youth responded by throwing rocks and bottles. At l