Gran'Ravine (Grand Ravine) is an inner-city section in the south west section of Port-Au-Prince built on the sides of a ravine.
This poor, heavily populated zone has been historically, since the first administration of Pres. Aristide, a stronghold of the Lavalas party. There has existed armed group violence between Gran Ravine and surrounding neighborhoods in the period of the 90's into the 00's. Beginning in Aug. 05 armed attacks against suspected Lavalas members began. The most notorious was carried out down on the flats below Gran Ravine on Aug. 20, 2005 in another large poor zone, Martissant, at a soccer stadium (St. Bernadette). The victims were Gran Ravine residents. On Aug. 21, 2005 in Gran Ravine itself a follow-up massacre was carried out and included home torchings. In July of 2006 another massacre was carried out and a torching of 300 homes. The pictures below are of Gran Ravine itself with some of the Soccer Stadium in Martissant.
Looking north to the Port-Au-Prince harbor from atop the Jacques Roumain high school, ransacked and unused after the coup against Pres. Aristide in Feb. 2004, used as a community meeting center by the victims of the Gran Ravine massacres of 05 and 06, inhabited by UN troops as an outpost to help secure the area, and finally returned to its school status in the fall of 07.
Looking south to the mountain range beyond Port-Au-Prince you can see the hill of the ravine on which Gran Ravine homes are built.
Another view from Jacques Roumain front door looking down to main square of Gran Ravine with the harbor and north mountain range in the background.
Another section of the steep ravine wall with tightly packed
homes.