Protected by police patrols, thousands of children began to return to school on Monday after months of violent unrest forced schools to shut around the country.
“It hurts knowing that in other countries schools are in session,” said a student. “Staying home is not what I want to do. I want to be at school with my friends.”
Some schools were about a quarter full in response to the Education Ministry’s call last week to reopen public and private schools.
At the public Lycee de Petionville, in a relatively prosperous section of the capital, about 400 children showed up for class. The school holds about 2,000 students when at full enrollment.
Others had only a handful of students or didn’t open at all. In other cities, such as Gonaives in northern Haiti, many schools were closed due to continued roadblocks and fear of violence.