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Letter: Haiti needs our intervention
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| Published on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 | Email To Friend Print Version
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Dear Sir:
I am very much appalled by the deplorable condition that our brothers and sisters are living under in the Caribbean island of Haiti. As the first black island in the Western Hemisphere to attain its independence from the European colonisers Haiti should be dear to our hearts and as fellow Caribbean people we must come to the assistance of our brothers and sisters in their time of need.
The special documentary by CANA on the situation in Haiti should spark the region into action regarding the situation there even as we grapple under trying economic times.
One may ask him or herself what and who is responsible for the dire economic and social state. that the Caribbean island of Haiti has found herself in . In my opinion the answer lies in Haitian politics, foreign intervention , and neglect by Caricom and the international community including the United States and the United Nations.
On January 1, 1804, Haiti proclaimed its independence. Through this action Haiti became the first free black republic in the world. Haiti's uniqueness attracted much attention and symbolised the aspirations of enslaved and exploited people around the world.
In 1805 Dessalines crowned himself emperor of Haiti. His failures to consolidate Haiti and unite Haitians had serious ramifications for decades splitting the nation into two rival enclaves.Under the rule of Dessalines corruption was rampant, there was greed and gross mismanagement of the islands economy. The voracious appetites of his ruling clique and cronies apparently left an empty treasury and this subsequently led to his downfall.
From those early experiences up to this present day Haiti has been rocked by decades of political, economic and social instability. Haiti has had more than 51 presidents since independence with only a few of them serving out a full term.
From 1915-1934 Haiti was occupied by the United States of America. The US occupation had many positive and negative effects on the Haitian society. There were improvements in infrastructural development , public health and fiscal management, however deep seated racial prejudices and tension created an atmosphere of instability. The Unites States now has a moral obligation and responsibility to assist the government and people of Haiti as they try to come to terms with the many challenges facing their country.
Today Haiti is economically ravaged as a result of the avarice of past and present governments. The country is bereft of functional political institutions and devoid of any tradition of peaceful self -rule. Even with the central theme of it's national anthem emphasising UNITY, Haiti continues to be divided as ever.
The Caribbean and the world owes a high debt to the Haitian people. Their 1804 revolution was the first to overthrow slavery making a way for our Emancipation and strengthening liberation movements everywhere. How can we as a people forget?
We need to demonstrate our solidarity with the Haitian people as they struggle for equality, justice, peace and a better standard of living. The pain and sorrows of the Haitian people should also be the pain of our Caribbean civilisation.
Haiti must be made a full member of the Caribbean Community (Caricom). If every Caribbean citizen pledged EC$1 to the Haitian people we can bring some relief to our suffering brothers and sisters in the slums of Haiti. How many more boat people will have to perish? How many more boat people will have to be repatriated back to poverty and denied political asylum before we say enough is enough?
It is true that in the English-speaking Caribbean we have our own share of woes, economic recession, political stagnation , rising crime and violence, HIV/AIDS etc This might lead us to ignore what is going on elsewhere , but it is unfortunate , disgraceful that as a Caribbean people we know and seem to care so little about the ongoing struggles of the Haitian people.
We must never forget the lessons that we learn from Toussaint L'Overture and the Haitian people in their quest to fight oppression and slavery.The crisis in Haiti today cannot be divorced from the shameful price it was forced to pay for its independence and defeat of Napolean's army.
There are many other lessons that we can learn from the Haitian experiences,namely ;
a. There should be zero tolerance to corruption and cronyism.
b. Political stability is key for advancing the democratic process and institutions.
c. Good governance, accountability and integrity is paramount for economic development and growth of small island states.
d. Some considerations must be given to term limits of regional leaders. The American model of two four year terms could be ideal.
And so in the words of David Rudder:.
"Haiti I'm sorry , we misunderstood you. But one day we'll turn around and look inside you.
Haiti I'm sorry, Haiti I'm sorry. But one day we'll turn our heads and restore your glory."
Haiti has the potential to once again be a great country. Caricom should take the lead in the growth and development of that Caribbean island state. Haiti can become a valuable market for our produce given it's huge population, however the island needs our intervention to address the many challenges it face.
It is about time that we ditch our individual islands' insularity, for regional unity, friendship , co-operation and solidarity. If the current economic recession teach us one thing it is the need for greater regional unity and co-operation. Failure on the part of our government to unite our people for the common good will see us all drown in the beautiful Caribbean Sea of hopelessness ,despair, and poverty.
And as we reflect on the Haitian situation, we here in Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique can draw some parallels of what has happened to Haiti and what has emerge right here in our Spice Isle under a previous administration. Rumours and allegations of corruption, political partisanship and division, mismanagement of our economy, a national debt of 1.8 billion dollars and we must be grateful to God for rescuing us on July 8, 2008.
As if this wasn't enough the failed bunch of rulers between 1995 -2008, in their most spiteful and desperate ways continues to try to force our people down the path of Haiti. The effort is made on the path of these desperate men to assist our country through this dire economic time instead they are spending restless days and sleepless nights trying to destabilise the country and mis-lead the weak and vulnerable. However, there is some one mightier than man who has the wheel in his hand and he will lead us and the Haitian people like how Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt.
Foxy Stewart
Grenada | | | | Reads : 891 | | | |
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