Carrefour (Kreyol: Kafòu) is a suburban city in the Port-au-Prince Arrondissement, in the Western Department of Haiti. It is approximately 17 kilometers (10.5 miles) southwest of Downtown Port-au-Prince and is bordered by Port-au-Prince's Turgeau and Martissant neighborhoods to the east and south, respectively, and by the hinterlands of the Jacmel commune to the south, by the suburb of Gressier to the west, and Port-au-Prince Bay to the north. Rather than having a single city center, Carrefour resembles a patchwork of thirteen villages. According to the 2015 Census, the population of Carrefour was 511,000, making it the second-most populous city in the country.
Aerial view of Carrefour
About[]
Carrefour is directly west of Port-au-Prince city limits and therefore also within the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area. The commune is one of the eight communes that occupy the area, together with Gressier to its immediate west. 13 communal sections, 61 localities, and more than 60 unincorporated hamlets are located within the commune. Additionally, there is a public school district. Post office districts and school districts use the same names as a city, hamlet, or village within them, but each sets the boundaries independently.
Carrefour, established on May 1, 1813, covers a land area of slightly more than 160 square kilometers (60 square miles). The region recently commemorated its 200th anniversary. With a population of over 500,000, the community of Carrefour is home to individuals who exhibit commonalities in various aspects, particularly in their hobbies, assets, wealth, and earnings.
History[]
Ancient map of Carrefour Center
The commune of Carrefour was originally a military post in the district of Port-au-Prince. On May 1, 1813, by decree of President Alexandre Pétion, the village was founded. President Pétion, one of the foudning fathers of the Haitian Republic built his private residence in Carrefour, particularly in the locality still called Thor (Thorland). He resided in this house that is now L'Ecole Nationale de Thor on Thor 10.
Following a plan drawn by the surveyor Louis Rigaud, the village consisted of seven blocks, 20 habitations, and 162 localities. For over a century and a half, Carrefour has never been urbanized as desired by its founders; its agriculture took precedence over its urbanization. Carrefour was the ideal resort area to spend the weekends and enjoy the green nature. In particular, Cold River has always was one of the biggest attractions in the town. Several facilities of coffee yards stood in this area. At each weekend visit, hikers found immense pleasure in enjoying the coolness of the river.
Entrance to the Admiral Killick naval base
The Admiral Killick naval base, headquarters of the Haitian Navy Battalion, was inaugurated on October 20, 1895 by President Hyppolite in the district of Bizoton.
Between the end of the 19th (1800s) and the beginning of the 20th century (1900s), Carrefour has become an important economic center of national renown since it used to be a town dotted with factories. In some places like Mon Repos, for example, there was a large sugar factory of which one of the basins still exists today. In Diquini there was a large tobacconist plant where cigars were made for the German Emperor Wilhelm II and also there was the Habaco, a trouser factory. Additionally, there was the Hamascosa, a chocolate factory. In Thor there was a baseball factory. The factory of Charles Plaisimond, still in Carrefour, manufactured paper and sanitary napkins. Carrefour is also the location of the first electric plant of Port-au-Prince.
Route de Carrefour à Mariani, 1980
It was not until the mid 1970's that uncontrolled urbanization of the area began in earnest. Due to unorganized urban expansion, it has become a dormitory suburb for people of various social classes working in the capital region.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the city of Carrefour attracted people coming from the southern peninsula or the capital who could not stay and live in rapidly-developing Port-au-Prince. This multiplication of buildings at an unbridled speed did not go hand in hand with a development plan for Carrefour.
Carrefour has been the incubator of many anti-government insurrections in Haitian history.
- In 1869 the Cacos army, in rebellion against the government of Sylvan Salnave, occupied Carrefour and attacked the fort of Bizoton.
- On August 20, 1889, another insurgency took place in Carrefour against President Légitime in the neighborhood of Bizoton. President Légitime established a steamboat ferry service along the Port-au-Prince Bay coastline to Léogâne, enhancing transportation options to and from Carrefour.
- In 1969, Carrefour was again the center of another insurrection: General Cayard, head of the Coast Guard led a rebellion against the Duvalier government in Bizoton and Lamentin.
Carrefour's history may not be extensive, but it is notable for being home to important figures such as Presidents Alexandre Pétion and Florville Hyppolite. Hyppolite resided in an area known as "Dèyè basen," which was once called "Basen makak" due to his pet monkey.
The city also experienced occupation during the Lüders affair with the Germans
in 1897. Additionally, Carrefour has a rich literary and artistic heritage, including works such as "Lavi nan bouk" by Papa Pyè and plays by Languichat. It was officially granted municipal status in 1982.
West side of Martissant National Park, on the city's border with Port-au-Prince
Geography[]
Carrefour is located at 18.5296° N, 72.4081° W. According to the IHSI, this commune has a total land area of 165.16 square kilometers (63.77 square miles), of which 21.85 sq.km (13%) is urban, 17.19 sq.km (10%) is suburban, and 126.12 sq.km (77%) is rural. Carrefour, one of eight communes of the Western Department, has thirteen communal sections. It is bordered on the east by the cities of Port-au-Prince and Pétion-Ville, on the southeast by the town of Kenscoff, on the south by the SE Department city of Jacmel, on the southwest by the city of Léogâne, and on the west by the town of Gressier. The land area consists primarily of hills in the rural part and plains in the urban part. The municipality of Carrefour, in particular the urban part, is coastal. Its climate varies depending on where you are in the commune.
Commune map of Carrefour, Haiti
Communal sections
| CRF | Carrefour | 511,345 | Localities: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VCF | Ville de Carrefour | 501,768 | ||
| MCD | 1re Section Morne Chandelle | 98 | ||
| 2e Section Platon Dufréné (15e) | 965 | Baussan, Dufrenay, Fond Ferrier | ||
| TAF | 3e Section Taïfer | 688 | Angibeau, Bourjoly, Colombier, Morisset | |
| PRC | 4e Section Procy (17e) | 926 | Chaufa (Chauffard), Procy, Raimboid, Ti Marché, | |
| COP | 5e Section Coupeau (18e) | 1,196 | Coupeau, Doumbou, Henry, Miyaille, Nan Gris-Gris, Nan Tampis, Perdu Temps | |
| BVR | 6e Section Bouvier (19e) | 789 | Nan Fouque, Nan Roche, Platon Bouvier, Platon Coupeau | |
| LAV | 7e Section Lavalle (20e) | 1,330 | Bouvier, Duvier, Fancrelle, Fond Coupeau, Laval | |
| BLY | 8e Section Berly (21e) | 1,000 | Malanga, Nan Plateau, Plombe, Volant | |
| BTZ | 9e Section Bizoton | 44,214 | Degand, Fontamara, Marin | |
| THR | 10e Section Thor | 250,449 | Arcachon, Bizoton, Côte Plage, Diquini, Lamentin, Mahotiére, St Roc, Thor, Thor Le Volant | |
| RIF | 11e Section Rivière-Froide | 208,205 | Brochette, Cloher, Degand, Dufour, Macombe, Mer frappée, Nan Coucou, Vieux Caille | |
| MAL | 12e Section Malanga (22e) | 901 | Bas Gougeon, Bercy, Bois Capable, Malanga, Perdumidi, Tete Chadeau | |
| CRT | 13e Section Corail Thor | 504 | Bellevue, Berot, Tretorend |
Demographics
In the 1970s, as the Delmas district gradually transforming into a large residential suburb for the middle class and became a multifunctional urban area, Carrefour followed a reverse progression and experienced a strong financial underperformance. In 1982, these agglomerations obtained the status of municipalities.
This commune has welcomed many people as a result of the rural exodus. It is all the more attractive to migrants that rents are relatively cheaper here than in Delmas and Port au Prince. This situation also gives rise to the establishment of many low income areas in the municipality.
Its inhabitants are called Carrefourois.
The pride of football in Carrefour
Footballer Chrisitan Junior Alex
| Year | Population | -/+ |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | 129,470 | |
| 1992 | 241,200 | +86% |
| 1998 | 239,075 | -1% |
| 2003 | 373,916 | +36% |
| 2007 | 426,024 | +14% |
| 2009 | 486,024 | +14% |
| 2015 | 511,345 | +27% |
Estimates suggest the commune of Carrefour has a population of more than 500,000 inhabitants. More than 90% of the territory of the municipality is in its communal sections (outside the city center, but within city limits). The people who live in communal sections hardly exceed 20%.
Neighborhoods
In order from East to West from Port-au-Prince on both sides of the Boul Jean-Jacques Dessalines / Route Nationale 2
- Martissant
- Fontamara
- Bizoton (53-59)
- Diquini (61-63)
- Thor (10-14)
- Cote Plage (16-28)
- Arachon (30-32)
- Mon Repos (34-52)
- Lamentin (52-54)
- Waney (89-93)
- Riviere Froide
- Brochette
- Truitier
- Mariani
Economy[]
A health inspector controls the quality of food products sold in the shops.
The market by Bizoton
Trade occupies a prominent place in the economic life of Carrefour and the country in general. It predominates over all the economic activities of the municipality, however a good part of these commercial activities are not regulated by applicable national law, i.e. the registration of vendors, the payment of taxes and fees. Indeed, among the commercial establishments listed, there are 1,110 shops or stalls, 424 food supply depots, soft drinks, second-hand clothes (pèpè) and clairin, 54 hardware stores, markets, and supermarkets. Also listed were about a dozen dry cleaning businesses, photo studios, 17 chapels and private morgues and 44 pharmacies.
Economic infrastructure and financial institutions of the municipality are constituted branches of five commercial banks (Unibank, Sogebank, BNC, Capital Bank, and BUH), transfer offices (Unitransfert, Western Union, CAM transfer/MoneyGram), ten exchange offices, a pension, two credit unions and five cooperative centers.
Quarry at Carrefour, Haiti
In the industry and services sector, the municipality of Carrefour has gas stations of three companies (National, Total and Sol), automobile garages, office automation units and multiservices, cell phone offices and stores (retail dealers) (Digicel and Natcom), hair salons and beauty studios, about 33 hotels and more than a hundred bars and restaurants, including some that are integrated into hotels. At least twenty industrial companies are present in the city, and more than twenty bakeries, craft, and carpentry businesses have also evolved.
The exploitation of quarries exerts a very great influence on the destruction of the environmental frame of the municipality even while this practice plays an important social and economic role in the labor market.
Infrastructure[]
One of the buildings of the city hall of Carrefour, located at Diquini 63.
Located in Diquini shortly after the Diquini Adventist Hospital, the Carrefour city hall, since its creation in 1982, operates like many other town halls in the country. Under these conditions, the municipal administration is invisible and exists only by name. As a result, everything works according to nature. As for taxpayers, they receive minimal service from their city hall and are virtually left to their own devices.
The very location of the city hall of Carrefour allows the informed observer to conclude that this box has nothing to do with the rest of the municipality.
Those who lived in Carrefour before the implementation of the 1987 constitution will tell you that the communal administrations of that time were much more responsible; their presence was felt at least in the urban area of Carrefour.
If we were doing an investigation at Carrefour today, the majority of people living there would not be able to answer the following question: "Where is the Carrefour city hall? Similarly, one would be surprised to find that most people think that the mayor of Port-au-Prince is the one in charge of Carrefour, implying that the Carrefour city hall only exists in name.
Education
Current municipal school in Coupeau (5th rural section) and site chosen for the construction of the new.
In terms of education, more than 500 schools have been inventoried in the municipality, of which more than 90% of the institutions are private. Among the schools listed, are identified more than a hundred technical and professional schools, a university, and a dozen colleges. Despite the relatively high number of establishments, due to uneven distribution, some communal sections suffer from a lack school infrastructure. Indeed, among the schools inventoried, only about 14% are found in rural areas. This distribution corresponds overall to the rate of distribution of the population in these two settings; nevertheless, the dispersal of housing in rural areas means that the distances to cover are enormous for schoolchildren. Furthermore, the distribution of schools is unequal in communal sections. Four of them are completely devoid of it.
In the remote rural sections, the students must endure long walks to school.
The Ministry of the National Education of Youth and Sports is represented in the commune of Carrefour by a district office of school Inspection. Over 100 Kindergartens, mostly private, and one congregational, five public and many private primary schools, and seven congregational were inventoried in the municipality. Numerous secondary schools including three public, numerous private, and two congregational, eight vocational schools, two universities, and eight higher schools were also inventoried.
College Côte Plage (Beach Coast College)
Côllège de Cote-Plage is a private institution of basic and secondary education. Its quality-oriented public services are offered for profit to a clientele made up of schoolchildren and schoolgirls from the Carrefour commune and surrounding areas.Since its founding in 1978, it has carved out a place for itself in the preparation of young people whose social integration is effective and the insertion on the labor market both in Haiti and abroad remains unquestionably proved. Each year, its thousand students are served by a staff made up of teaching professionals from the École Normale Supérieure, the teachers' colleges, and training centers for the teaching profession. From one year to the next, its performance on state examinations at all levels makes it deserving to be ranked by the Ministry of Education among the most successful schools in the country with success rates above 90% for the baccalaureate.As for its success in the state exams in the sixth year and in the ninth grade, it has been around 100% for a good ten years now, with a score of 98% twice only.
Health
In terms of health infrastructure, the commune of Carrefour has 109 health establishments including 4 hospitals, 31 centers without beds, 17 health centers with beds, 48 clinics and 3 dispensaries. Of these health facilities listed, only three are public. On the other hand, within the institutional categories mentioned above, healthcare establishments have unequal resolving capacities. As in the case of schools, health infrastructure is lacking in rural areas. In effect, of the 109 health facilities, only 12 are identified in rural areas, i.e. about 10%. In addition, among the 13 sections of the commune, 9 are totally lacking. Mathematically, only 30% of the commune's land area is equipped with health institutions.
The Ministry of Public Health and Population is represented by a communal office located within the hospital itself. 97 doctors, nine dentists, 49 nurses, 110 auxiliary, Seventeen certified Matrons and thirteen laboratory technicians provide health service at the municipal level.
Utilities
Chaudeau drainage ravine
The municipality has five rivers, more than five hundred springs, and 104 wells and public fountains. Nearly the entire urban area of the commune is electrified.
Municipal compression dump truck
In the municipality of Carrefour, the sanitation works are jointly insured by the road service and the SMCRS. The latter has a fleet consisting of a loader, ten dump trucks and three compression bucket dump trucks. This heavy equipment is managed by the city hall and maintenance is provided by the SMCRS. Nevertheless, the sanitation work remains ineffective. Trash mounds accumulate in the five garbage pick-up points listed in the municipality. The residents often dump heaps of rubbish into the rainwater drainage channels due to the irregularity of waste collection activities in the residentiaal areas.
In terms of water resources, 8 rivers, 105 springs, 4 lagoons, 24 artesian wells, 8 public fountains, and about 284 ordinary wells have been inventoried in the commune. The town has a good reputation for the availability of water which it enjoys. However, uncontrolled urbanization has resulted in groundwater pollution making water, although available, undrinkable and increasing the risks of periodic epidemics linked to contamination.
Administration
In addition to the city hall, most of the public services (the Court of Peace, the Tax Department, the police station, civil status office, Coast Guard, and a major sports complex in the country — the Carrefour Sports Center), are located in the urban center of the municipality.
Several NGOs operate in the commune of Carrefour leading development actions. According to information provided by different resource persons, more than a hundred grassroots community organizations are listed in the municipality. Two formal civil society groups exist at Carrefour. Also, continued at the invitation of the municipality of Carrefour and the commitment of the citizens of the commune, it was decided to merge these two entities in order to complete on July 30, 2015 by municipal decree a non-profit group of citizens, called: Civil Society Company of Carrefour (SCC). This structure aims to improve the quality of life of the population of Carrefour, in support of the city hall of this said municipality. It is mandated to working to promote practices such as transparency, accountability, monitoring the action of local authorities and the citizen participation in the management of local public affairs. It cooperates with the elected bodies and the administrative and technical executives of the local authority community and exchange of positive experiences to promote sustainable development in the commune of Carrefour on the social, environmental, economic and political levels.
Culture[]
Church at Carrefour, Haiti
Religion
Almost 152 churches (chapels and temples included) were listed in the commune of Carrefour. The Baptist churches proved to be the most numerous, being 52 in total.
Organizations
From the viewpoint of political representation and other organizations, the municipality has six Popular organizations, four peasant groups and three NGOs.
Communication
The commune has a telephone service, a postal service and two evangelical radio stations. One of them, Radio Lumiere, with its various networks covers a wide area.
Saint-Roch, Carrefour, Haiti
Leisure
Lamentin lighthouse, Carrefour, Haiti. The oldest lighthouse in the Caribbean.
The municipality has a library and a cinema, at least five night-clubs and 48 gaguères. There are no public places inventoried in the commune. Popular sports are football (soccer), basketball, tennis, volleyball, athletics and swimming.
In terms of sites and cultural heritage, the town has five caves, two waterfalls and 121 places or voudau temples. There is also the Lamentin lighthouse, the oldest in the Caribbean, and the rock of Saint-Roc, a place of pilgrimage that attracts many visitors. It is frequented, especially on Tuesdays, by many pilgrims.
Carrefour, Haiti near Martissant Park
Prospects
For a city of this size, Carrefour needs a municipal administration that lives up to this delicate task. This team must be creative, competent and progressive. In fact, this administration will have the mission of creating the conditions and taking the necessary measures to launch the commune of Carrefour on the path of modernity and socio-economic progress.
References[]
"Carrefour, histoire de cette Commune" - Kafoumag [1]
"Carrefour : un demi-million d’habitants et « zéro » place publique" - Ayibo Post [2]
"PLAN DE FINANCEMENT DES SERVICES PUBLICS COMMUNAUX (PFC)" [3]
"Medical Mission Carrefour, Haiti" - Dmimad [4]
"Medical Clinic Carrefour, Haiti" - Alyssa Renée Barber [5]
"Lighthouses of Haiti" - Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill [6]
"Carrefour SMP" - Commune de Carrefour Haiti [7]
"Carrefour SMP" - Mairie de Carrefour [8]
"Parc Martissant" - Yvens Rumbold [9]
Michael Vedrine