The moment of the kidnapping of two Dominicans who were part of a team shooting a film in Haiti, and a Haitian citizen who served as a translator, was narrated by the manager of the Muska Films company, who was responsible for the project .
Gilbert Mirambeau Jr. told Ayibopost newspaper in that country that the incident happened Saturday when the three members of the team were kidnapped near 5th Avenue when they returned from a shooting in Jacmel.
They are the Haitian Albert Augusma dit Tinèg and the Dominicans, Maico Enrique Campusano Féliz and Antonio Gener Campusano Féliz.
Malatchong is produced by Muska Films. Before Malatchong, this group had presented the movie Kafou to the Haitian audience.
While the media reports on the formation of an anti-kidnapping group by the Dominican government to remove the victims, filmmaker Gilbert Mirambeau Jr. tells AyiboPost about the events.
This is what the executive said to the newspaper:
Ayibopost: Gilbert Mirambeau Jr., tell us what happened on Saturday February 20th.
Gilbert Mirambeau Jr .: I saw the kidnapping with my own eyes. We were in a convoy with about fifteen cars. We stay in Léogâne for a police check. They wanted to make sure everything was okay. During the search, I think I saw one or two cars passing by in a strange way. But he was very tired, I didn’t pay attention to him.
When we got to Carrefour they started coming in and they tried to break up the 17 car convoy. But it was on Fifth Avenue that they passed the truck with the generator. And there they went on to kidnap our Haitian countryman and the Dominicans.
Have you heard from the hostages?
We talk to them. They are doing well so far.
Then why did you make a 15-car convoy?
Why are there kidnappings in the country? Shouldn’t we be able to move freely? We wanted to find an exact time to get home. There are many cases of kidnapping on day trips. Several people advised us to leave early in the morning or late at night. When they attacked us it was between 9am and 9:30 am.
The concern is that there is a real problem of insecurity in the country. Although I took every precaution to secure my team, we were still under attack.
How have you guaranteed your safety?
We had eight police officers with us. Two policemen stood in front of and behind the convoy. The others were scattered in the center of the convoy. The police were dressed in civilian clothes.
It’s not about the number of police officers. If there were 40 officers, I don’t think it would make any difference. The situation could be more dramatic, they could shoot us. We could all die. We don’t know and we never will. Ultimately, however, there is a real problem in the country that needs to be resolved. And killing people near you is not the way to fix it. Young people need hope, work, and opportunity. It is also necessary to stop corruption and impunity in the country.
Do you think the kidnapping could have come from your guards?
No never. They are reliable people. Our collaboration started with the filming of the movie Kafou in 2015.
The concern is that there is a real problem of insecurity in the country. Although I took all possible measures to secure my team, we were still under attack.
We did two sessions before filming the movie Malatchong. The first session was in 2019. We are currently filming the other session. The same police officers were with us throughout the shoot. There are always at least eight police officers on set.
Do you think if the police had retaliated, it could have been more tragic than the kidnapping of the three team members?
I had never seen guns like this in the whole country. Even the officers of the National Palace’s General Security Unit (USGPN) do not carry such weapons. It was no small matter. When these men attacked us, we froze. Everything happened in seconds. It was four armed men in a Hilux Pick-up registered by the State Service, the window tinted black.
How long have you worked with Junior Albert Augusma and Dominican citizens?
Since 2019. We Dominicans are technicians in electro (electrical) machino (machine). They are enlightenment. They work together with the director of photography. However, it was difficult for us to communicate with them as they spoke neither English nor French. We needed a translator and interpreter. And a friend recommended Ti Nèg to me.
How does the rest of the team deal with this drama?
We are all in shock. We have nationals from different countries who work with us. This may be the first time such an experience has been gained in Haitian cinema, where we find French, Dominican, Colombian and Belgian people in the same collaboration.
Haitians are very shocked. But they face the drama with courage because they have become resistant to the waves of kidnappings. We are not as affected as other communities that are not necessarily familiar with the phenomenon of kidnapping. They took two Dominicans, but they are actually four brothers.
How do you see the future of filming?
We are morally weakened. It wouldn’t be normal to set up a field tomorrow morning with three members of the team still in a hole. I measure all possibilities to consider the continuation of the project.
At the same time, we negotiate to free people. If they are released in the morning, we can take a break to regain balance. We work with all team members to see if they can continue. I cannot say we will abort the shooting, nor can I say that we will resume it the next morning. We will decide in time if filming continues.
Will this drama drive you further in your activism?
I never gave up, I’m in a photo shoot now, I can’t hit the street, get on the radio. But once filming is done, I will redouble my efforts to continue the fight. We must build a new political class. It will take time.
I want to get more involved in politics and serve my country. We need new faces. The people in the foreground are now trying to innovate in the system. They are in their twenties since they played musical chairs. We cannot tolerate these situations.
In the past five to ten years, there weren’t that many weapons in the country. It’s bad. If nothing is done, we will be like Honduras, El Salvador, Somalia, Yemen, etc. We have to do something. This Sunday I will be on the street to demonstrate.