Haiti, meaning “mountainous” is in trouble. It’s a country in more crisis than perhaps it has ever been in. Don’t get me wrong, Haiti has been troubled for decades, but all hell seems to have broken loose since July 7, 2021, when at 1 am, Haitian president, Jovenel Moïse was assassinated at his residence in Port-au-Prince. And, it’s getting worse every day.
A group of 28 foreign mercenaries, mostly Colombians, are accused of being responsible for the killing. However, in more recent times, a judge in Haiti responsible for investigating the assassination, indicted President Moïse’s widow, Martine Moïse, ex-prime minister Claude Joseph and the former chief of Haiti’s National Police, Léon Charles, among others.
How can a woman find herself in a position to be accused of having her own husband assassinated? This in itself is sad, but let’s get back to the state of Haiti …
Caribbean nations are on high alert about escalating violence in Haiti coupled with the recent escape of thousands of criminals from prison. This includes murderers, kidnappers and other extremely violent criminals. A State-Of-Emergency has been called in that country while Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, is overseas trying to salvage support for a United Nations-backed security force to stabilize the country in its conflict with increasingly powerful crime groups. The gangs have taken over the airports – no planes can land and none can take off, preventing Prime Minister Henry from returning to his country.
We know things are awful in Haiti at the moment, but what does that mean for us? Many Bahamians are terrified that these criminal degenerates might make their way across the waters in some unseaworthy vessel and desperately make their acquaintance in an unwelcome way. These are the thoughts of many Bahamians, but Royal Bahamas Defence Force’s Commodore, Raymond King, tells us to rest assured that our borders are being protected.
The level of empathy I feel for the people of Haiti is immeasurable. I wish I could fix the worries of their country and put them in a place of stability, but alas, I cannot. Our staff members in the Haitian Embassy have been called home, our Defence Force officers have not yet been deployed. Who is helping Haiti? Whereas we have loads of disdain for Haitians because of the way some of them enter our country and behave, we must try to understand the terror and desperation they must feel living in uncertainty, extreme poverty and constant violence.
Now Haiti is no stranger to violence. We must remember the Haitian Revolution derived from a series of conflicts between 1791 and 1804 which resulted in the overthrow of the French regime in Haiti by the Africans and their descendants who had been enslaved by the French and followed by the establishment of an independent country founded and governed by former slaves.
Whether we want to or not, Haitians should be respected highly for the way they arrived at Independence. They were not as polite as we were in our pursuit of the same, as they realized they had to take their freedom and get their independence by force. Their beautiful country, amazing culture and music are also to be greatly admired.
On January 1, 1804, Haiti became a free republic, declaring independence for all people from colonial rule and enslavement – an achievement to be proud of.
Bahamian xenophobic behavior towards Haitians has been around from as long as time existed, apparently, but we should always remember that Haitians are our Caribbean brothers and sisters. One historian says Bahamians have been fearing a “take over” by Haitians as early as the 1800s and have always had a cautious eye towards them which has now evolved into hatred by some.
We are one Caribbean people and Haitians are no different. We absolutely cannot take in every Haitian that wants to relocate to The Bahamas for a better way of life, however, we should stop the disdain for our black Caribbean brothers and sisters and put ourselves in their shoes for a minute.
Prime Minister, Philip “Brave” Davis, has been taken to task by his critics for his seeming empathy towards Haitians. Whereas I cannot speak on what his thoughts are, I feel that he views Caribbean people as one and would wish to assist that country in whatever way we can. We do not have a lot of resources to do much, but there must be something we can do. I remember a certain former prime minister crying over hurricane devastation experienced by another Caribbean country and pledging monetary support before his tears could dry.
I call upon Prime Minister Davis to do a little something for the people of Haiti. The Bahamas should show some sort of empathy for our Caribbean brothers and sisters of Haiti. Well that’s how I see it, anyway.
“AS I SEE IT” DISCLAIMER – The views and opinions represented in this column, “As I See It” belong to the columnist and do not necessarily represent those of the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas. The views and opinions expressed in the column are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, or individual. This column is for informational purposes only.
