‘Haiti, I’m Sorry/We misunderstood You/ . . .One Day we will turn our heads/Restore Your Glory.’

We have up to now not understood Haiti. Certainly, we do not act as though we do. The people of the country took control of their land at a difficult time. Imagine ‘slaves’ overthrowing their slave masters and freeing themselves as they sought equality with those who had controlled them for centuries. The French forced on them reparations that crippled what was left of their economy for over two hundred years. They could not be accepted in the ‘family of nations’ which in reality did not exist. Internal troubles emerged between mulattos and slaves and French people who remained loyal to France. Then in 1915 the Big Elephant made its appearance. The assassination of the Haitian president in that year led to US forces moving in to protect their citizens and restore ‘law and order’. Their presence lasted for 19 years but even after they left, nothing happened in Haiti without their involvement. They later propped up Papa Doc and Baby Doc and were not prepared to tolerate any administration that they did not favour.

The last elected Haitian president, Jovenel Moise was assassinated in 2021. His term in office was met by violent anti-government protests and a constitutional crisis. Opposition forces claimed that his mandate ended in February 2021, but the president, with support from the US and OAS suggested 2022 as the date when he was to demit office. All of this led to the postponement of legislative elections and a referendum for a new constitution.

The US continued to support Moise despite his unpopularity among the Haitian people. Moise had appointed Dr Ariel Henry to be Prime Minister but was killed shortly before he was to take up his position. Henry, and his predecessor Claude Joseph, were in fact, only acting prime ministers since they did not have legislative approval, Haiti had been without a parliament for over a year prior to Moise’s assassination. But with US support, Henry continued to be Prime Minister with a pledge to hold elections.

Haiti was thrown into a political crisis following Moise’s assassination with gangs running rampant, especially in the capital, Port au Prince; indeed nowhere was outside their limits. Even the airport was closed preventing Prime Minister Henry from returning following his attendance at a CARICOM meeting in Jamaica to attempt to find solutions to the Haitian problem. He was also involved in efforts to get a multinational force led by Kenya to enter Haiti and restore order. The emergency CARICOM meeting attended by US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, sought to find solutions to the situation in Haiti which was out of control with no functioning government, and police and military forces under attack by violent gangs. The US had pledged over $US 100 million to support a multinational mission that it felt was necessary to restore order. Canada pledged over US$ 90 million with other support both logistical and financial being pledged by other countries, including some in Caricom.

A nine-member transitional presidential council was set up to try to bring some order to the country, seven members having voting rights and two serving as Council observers. The initial appointments of the president of the council and a prime minister had created some confusion, four of the seven members making the appointments, with the other members questioning the manner in which they were done. A reversal followed, with an agreement to have a rotating presidency. In the event that consensus could not be reached, a super majority of five of the seven voting members was to make the final decision. There was thus failure on their first major decisions, matters that should have been the easiest of tasks given the major problems having to do with restoring security and order, stopping gang violence in Port au Prince and neighbouring areas, and facilitating economic activity, the food situation having been worsened by the violence. Other matters involved the establishment of an electoral council and facilitating the deployment of the multinational security mission.

The Transitional Council was however able to meet with the Haitian National Police and Haitian Armed Force, given the important tasks they are to fulfil. A letter was sent to the president of Kenya, William Ruto about the deployment of police officers to lead the multinational Security Mission. What appears not to be clear is who will control the multinational force? The US has pledged an initial US$100 million, although there are some problems getting Congress to begin to release some
of this. The US Ambassador Extraordinary to
Haiti, Dennis B Hankins, has already arrived in Haiti and there is little doubt who will be calling the shots.

Given past history, one cannot help but be concerned about the ability of the Transitional Council to bring things under control and lead the way to peace and order and create a democratic path forward. What has not been given attention in discussions about Haiti is the role of the political and business elite who live in prime real estate areas in the hills, south-east of Port au Prince. There is little doubt that they helped to fund the gangs that seem to be taking over Haiti. They remain in the background lighting the fire. It is not enough to tell Haiti that we are sorry. There are fundamental issues that have to be tackled. Haiti is a member of CARICOM, but CARICOM lacks muscles and the big elephant will continue to call the shots. What is new?