The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

Jovenel Moïse’s death has created a power vacuum for the local gangs to seize control over more than half of Port-au-Prince as the death toll rises from gang warfare and the Haitian national police struggle to keep the peace while being underfunded, outmanned and outgunned.

Despite Ariel Henry’s ascension to Prime Minister and acting leader of the nation, his public support is slipping away as the last democratically elected officials leave office, making Henry’s administration appear more like a dictator rather than an elected leader.

A couple of months ago; several gangs had managed to blockade an entire fuel terminal, causing disruptions in electricity and shortages in gasoline for vehicles. If it had gone on longer, Haiti would have completely collapsed. That incident showcases the power of the gangs over the population and the desperation of the Haitian state to maintain national security and society in general.

While the people of Haiti have less-than-ideal experiences with foreign interventions from the UN, the advanced state of chaos in the country needs to be immediately put under control and more than half of the locals agree that intervention is now necessary to restore peace. The CARICOM summit we had nearly a week ago would have been a perfect opportunity for the Caribbean leaders and Canada to form a plan to go into the country and push the gangs out of Port-au-Prince. However, this summit was a no show. CARICOM members talked over the crisis in Haiti and Canada has sent only halfhearted donations and almost no direct support for the National Police on the ground.

While we may understand that the last set of interventions had failed because we didn’t include the Haitians in rebuilding their institutions, the situation requires an immediate military response to restore peace and stability, and to allow their politicians to rebuild their institutions once elections are successfully held. CARICOM has refused to push forward with any viable plans to stop the gangs from taking over the island, with most members remaining quiet and hesitant.

Justin Trudeau’s strategy on sanctioning gangsters and corrupt politicians isn’t any better either, because most of the individuals under the blacklist can still buy weapons and goods in the black market. Although the Canadian Navy has deployed its ships off Haiti’s northern coastline; they’re only used to gather intelligence on the gangs and not much else, since the Canadian military has refrained from using ground troops to tackle the gangs on their own turf.

What makes this worse is that Canada and the United States can throw a billion dollars of military equipment and quality training for the Ukrainian military, but the available aid for the Haitian National Police is only a couple of millions of dollars. That would be good enough for a few weapons, a couple of armored vehicles and a few weeks of training. However, that money would only supply a thousand officers at best. The National Police need far more money and resources to recruit more officers, train them properly and arm them appropriately to combat the gangs. The West refuses to dedicate the time to help Haiti as much as they help Ukraine, and that is hypocrisy for its foreign affairs policy, regardless if they know it or not.

While the public understands that it doesn’t want to commit to another failed intervention and doesn’t want the troops to enforce their way of life onto any unwilling citizen, but if Haiti fully breaks down; the Caribbean will more likely experience increased instability, a major migration crisis region-wide and a possibility that Haiti will be used as a reliable stop for smugglers and even spies from hostile foreign powers. CARICOM and Canada’s own goals seem to be reasonable on paper, but in reality, it will do nothing to stop the humanitarian crisis that threatens to destroy everything in Haiti.

AMMAKA RUSSELL

Nassau,

February 21, 2023.