Thousands of people have taken the streets of
Port-au-prince the capital and other major cities in the country; rocks are being thrown; smokes are going up the heavens by the burning tires and other trashes to block the streets; people have been injured; there have even been reports of
deaths. The people are protesting. They are trying to overthrow their
government, that of President Michel Martelly. This is nothing new. It is two
hundred years of political strife in the history of Haiti in which the nation,
the mass of the people, has always come out the ultimate loser. In fact, some
ten years ago, the president Michel Martelly himself was at the opposite end. He
was working on the unmaking of President Jean Bertrand Aristide.
When Toussaint Louverture, the architect of liberty
against slavery in Haiti, declared freedom for the slaves, he did not seek
independence. He wanted peace and security, and to remain attached to France,
the motherland. But, France, in spite of its current “Declaration of the Rights
of Man and of the Citizens,” it could not accept the freedom of the black man.
Napoleon Bonanpatre sent out the largest naval expedition at the moment to
subdue the liberation movement. The liberators fought their way out and won their
liberty with blood.
For the 200 years of its existence, Haiti has been
continually advancing towards its demise. From its inception in 1804, it has
made no step toward progressive development. In fact, it appears to be far worse than
where it started. In addition to the political violence that has always been
stalking the tiny country, everything has been literally destroyed along the
way. The citizenry remains a shameless, unethical, and valueless entity. The
land environment is almost bare of any life form. And, the nation as a whole is
devoid of any real structure, as in conformity with societal nature. And, the
main culprit behind this dysfunctional nation is none other than the power of national
fragmentation, originated from fundamental slavery, with a culture of bigotry
and distrust. This sentiment revived in the veins of the new Haitian nation, through
the machination of the same white man and slave masters, collaborating with
their bastards and bigots, to not living in the unity of the Negro nation.
At the end, the “pearl of the islands” as Haiti was
known, has turned into a “failed nation”, as to the standard of the world of
Nation States. My wish for this new year is for
the Haitians nation to start coming together in reversing the perilous course
of their nation. Most Haitians think it is a lost cause – Haiti cannot be
saved. In their views, the culmination of 200 years of the bestial environment described
above could only get worse. Haitians are discouraged, confused, unrealistic, and
living in a state of ultimate desperation without any light at the end of the
tunnel.
A
Light of Hope
I say, “I see a light at the end of tunnel.” On her
Facebook page, the beautiful I am Haitian recently wrote, “In the face of impossible odds, people who love Haiti
can change it.” I supported her statement when I shared it on my page MKNA
– All Haitians Together For A Better Haiti, where I commented, “I would add that it is not simply to "love
Haiti" but also something deeper, to envision a new face of Haitian away
from the veil of shame, that could lead to change Haiti, [a better Haiti].” What I am trying
to say, Haitians need to start feeling something that gives them a certain
desire that could move them towards improving their own national nature. Right
now, it is a wild-wild-west over there. It is a bestial nature. Haitians
need to start experiencing a desire for the development of an environment that
promotes human nature.
This would not come
easy. 200 years of political strife and national fragmentation would not just
blank away. Yet, I agree with Miss I am Haitian, things could change. The
slaves fought for 300 years. They did not stop in the face of monstrosity from
the slave masters. They continued to fight, crying “liberty or death” until they
won their freedom. Today, the Haitian man does not face death. In fact, we are
facing death more by not trying. So, in
the spirit of my wish, this is the year of the turning point, the year that we
are starting to come together as a nation to live and work in unity for our common
cause.
What I mean by that? According to this new
year’s resolution, we will begin undertaking the following steps to pull the
Haitian citizenry together. (1) All Haitians will begin looking at each other
as ‘my countrymen’. (2) Haitians will start to consider what is wrong with
their system and seeking ways to ameliorate things. (3) Haitians will
discourage the youths from copying the wrongful past. (4) Haitians will seek to
start building positive and productive relations with each other. (5) Haitians
will stop supporting bad politicians because of partisanship. With that, the nation could begin to move away from adverse politics to a progressive and rightful state for the Haitian beings.
Join the conversation. Connect with granmoun@hotmail.com, or Join the Facebook group: MKNA – All Haitians Together For A Better Haiti
By E.C. GRANMOUN
No comments:
Post a Comment