The term Jérémie Vespers refers to a massacre that took place in August, September and October 1964 in the
Haiti
Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
an town of
Jérémie
Jérémie (; ) is a commune and capital city of the Grand'Anse department in Haiti. It had a population of about 134,317 at the 2015 census. It is relatively isolated from the rest of the country. The Grande-Anse River flows near the city.
...
. It took place after a group of 13 young Haitians calling themselves "
Jeune Haiti Jeune Haiti ("Young Duvalier dynasty, Haiti") was a group of Haitian exiles active in New York during the 1960s. In 1964 they launched an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the regime of François Duvalier, also known as Papa Doc.
1964 overthrow a ...
" landed on August 6, 1964, at Petite-Rivière-de-Dame-Marie with the intention of overthrowing the regime of
François 'Papa Doc' Duvalier.
The victims were killed one by one by the
Haitian Army
Originating from the Army of Saint-Domingue (1791–1803), then the Indigenous Army (1803–1915), the Haitian Army (''Armée d'Haiti'') is the Land warfare, land component of the Armed Forces of Haiti. It is the largest branch of the armed forces ...
, until the last two survivors, Louis Drouin and Marcel Numa, were captured alive, brought back to
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...
and shot in public against a cemetery wall on November 12, 1964.
Terminology
The massacre was called the "vespers" because many of the families killed by the regime are remembered as the families who took many aforementioned "vesper" picnic excursions.
Victims
Several of the group were from the town of Jérémie. During two months that the army and the resistance group fought in the hills, the regime ordered the arrest and murder of Jeune Haiti's family members. 27 people were murdered, ranging in age from 85-year-old Mrs Chenier Villedrouin to 2-year-old Régine Sansaricq.
The murdered were:
* Louis Drouin Sr., father of Louis Drouin Jr.
* Louise Degraff, his wife
* Guy Drouin, brother of Louis Drouin Jr.
* Alice Drouin, sister of Louis Drouin Jr.
* Gérard Guilbaud, Alice's husband
* Mrs. Chenier Villedrouin (née Corinne Sansaricq) (85 years old), mother of Guy and Victor Villedrouin
* Victor Villedrouin
* Roseline Drouin, Guy Villedrouin's wife and sister of Louis Drouin Jr.
* Fernande Villedrouin, sister of Guy and Victor
* Guy Villedrouin, brother of Victor Villedrouin
* Adeline Chassagne, Victor Villedrouin's wife, and the aunt of Canadian indie rock band
Arcade Fire
Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury, and Jeremy Gara. The band's touring line-up includes former core ...
's
Régine Chassagne
Régine Alexandra Chassagne (; born 19 August 1976) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and multi-instrumentalist, and is a member of the band Arcade Fire. She is married to co-founder Win Butler.
Early life and career
Régine Alexandr ...
* Lisa Villedrouin (18 years old), their daughter
* Frantz Villedrouin (16 years old) their son
* Pierre Sansaricq
* Louise Laforest, Pierre's wife
* Jean-Claude Sansaricq, their son
* Graziela Sansaricq, Jean-Claude's wife
* Lily Sansaricq, sister of Pierre Sansaricq
* Fred Sansaricq, son of Pierre
* Hubert Sansaricq, son of Pierre
* Reynold Sansaricq, son of Pierre
* Marie-Catherine Sansaricq (10 years old) daughter of Pierre
* Edith Laforest, Louise Laforest's sister
* Jean-Pierre Sansaricq (6 years old), son of Jean-Claude and Graziela
* Stéphane Sansaricq (4 years old), son of Jean-Claude and Graziela
* Régine Sansaricq (2 years old), daughter of Jean-Claude and Graziela
* Pierre-Richard Sansaricq
* Alphonze Bazile, son of Pierre and Vesta Bazile
See also
*
Crime in Haiti
*
Fort Dimanche
Fort Dimanche is a former prison in Haiti located near La Saline in Port-au-Prince that was notorious for torture and murder during the reign of François Duvalier. It was declared a monument in 1987.
The original Fort Dimanche was built by the Fr ...
*
Volontaires de la Sécurité Nationale (Haitian secret police)
* Bishop
Guy Sansaricq
Guy A. Sansaricq (October 6, 1934 – August 21, 2021) was a Haitian-American Catholic prelate who served as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn from 2006 to 2010. He headed the Office of the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees of th ...
, the Catholic bishop whose cousins were among the victims and who opposed the Duvalier regime
References
{{Reflist
External links
Fordi9.com - The 13 of "Jeune Haiti"
1964 in Haiti
Mass murder in 1964
Massacres in 1964
Massacres in Haiti
August 1964 in North America
September 1964 in North America
October 1964 in North America
Grand'Anse (department)