Port-au-Prince (AFP) – Haiti is gearing up for its annual Carnival celebration, but the Mardi Gras festivities are controversial in a country struggling with gang violence, kidnappings and political unrest. “How can anyone think about going to Carnival and dancing without being able to get home safely, with the risk that you could be killed, kidnapped or shot at?” said one official who asked not to be named. The official was standing on the main square in the capital Port-au-Prince where the annual parade usually takes place — amid the charred ruins of the grandstands that went up in flames this week.
