With airport closed amid gang crisis in Haiti, Sask. man waiting to get out

Richard Phillips knew it was time to leave his hotel in Haiti when he heard gunshots between staff and the armed militants they were fighting off.

He estimated he heard a couple hundred gunshots over about an hour and a half.

"It's kind of hard to sleep peacefully with all that spreading gunfire going on," the Tisdale, Sask., man said.

Phillips is stuck in Haiti amidst a violent civil power struggle that has paralyzed the Caribbean country, shutting down schools, businesses and the airport in the capital city. Police officers and civilians have been killed.The country's Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, was stranded in Puerto Rico on Tuesday because it wasn't safe for his plane to land at home. Some of the country's most powerful gang leaders are battling to fill thatabsence.

Gangs are also working to remove Henry, whose government has been widely perceived as illegitimate since he took power more than two years ago following the assassination of the former leader PresidentJovenel Mose.

As of Wednesday, Henry was still in Puerto Rico, according to The Associated Press.

WATCH | CBC speaks with Sask. man stuck in Haiti:

Sask. man trapped in Haiti due to unrest

9 months ago

Duration 0:01

Richard Phillips is an agriculture trainer from Tisdale, Sask., who makes regular trips to Haiti. He's currently trapped in Haiti due to unrest.

Phillips said when he arrived in Haiti on Feb. 25, "It was quite peaceful."

His idea of peace is different from many others.

In the past, he said he and his wife have had to drop to the floor of a restaurant to avoid the bullets zipping above them. Phillips alsodescribed havingbullet holes in the side of his truck.

Phillips estimates he has travelledto Haiti about 37 times in eight years. He hasdone multiple agricultural projects in the country and has lived there with his wife for about two years, so he said he has an emotional attachment to the place and its people.

And heknows the risks. But he's always been able to get out when he needed to.

"This is a new level of trouble that we've never experienced before," he said.

As with any time he travels to the country, he asks locals in Haiti about the political climate. He said everything appeared fine, sohe and a colleague from Quebec, Dave Rocheleau, travelled there to train and teach Haitian farmers to use certain equipment as part of a Canadian federal project to increase corn yields.

A week after he landed, and the day he was supposed to leave, the Haitian government declared a state of emergency in response to gang violence. Two days later, the government of the Dominican Republic closed its air borders with Haiti.

"Gangs are increasingly attacking residential neighbourhoods and kidnapping groups of people. Armed gangs control most of [the nation's capital] Port-au-Prince. Police presence across the country is limited and not guaranteed," a warning from the Canadian federal government reads.

Now, Phillips waits

When he and a colleague tried to fly out Sunday, he could sense the tension in the country building. Their connection at the airport inPort-au-Prince was cancelled. Now, all flights are cancelled and the roads are unsafe, he said. Phillips said he tried hiring a private plane or helicopter, but it also didn't pan out.

"There's a high risk of kidnapping and/or just being killed while you're being robbed, as well," Phillips said, noting they cannot leave by ground travel. He wouldn't disclose where he was staying, concerned he could be targeted for ransom.

"We're here until some sort of stability is achieved in this country and the airport can reopen for international travel again."

Now, he's staying farther from the airport and farther away from his way home but it's safer.

WATCH| Gangs in Haiti teaming up to target key infrastructure, says Canadian ambassador to Haiti:

'Gangs are working together' to target key infrastructure in capital, says Canadian ambassador to Haiti

9 months ago

Duration 10:17

Canadian Ambassador to Haiti Andr Franois Giroux says the violence in Haiti isn't new but it is escalating as the siege on the capital shuts down airports, leaving people with no way in or out of the city.

The Canadian Embassy to Haiti, in Port-au-Prince, has been temporarily closed. Phillips said he and Rocheleau have registered with the government of Canada to let them know they are in the country.

He's confident that they'll be able to get home, but he's fearful that the police force will collapse without leadership and the gangs will take control of Port-au-Prince.

"A message to Canada would be: Whatever you can do to help get this international peace force here, you should be stepping up to the plate."