Photo By: Jeanty Junior Augustin/Reuters
The tale of the Haitian revolution is a well-known one. The brave battles against oppression, the cries for liberty, the fight for equality, all amongst the ranks of the French and American Revolutions. Nevertheless, this beautiful Caribbean country has not enjoyed the same fate as its revolutionary counterparts, as today Haiti is one of the poorest countries in Latin America.
Although the origins of the current social and economic situation in Haiti are deeply rooted in history, it is safe to say that the current turbulence began with Michel Martelly’s presidency and a devastating earthquake ravaged the island in 2010. Said natural disaster was one of the islands worst earthquakes in recent history, reaching a magnitude of 7.0. It destroyed more than 300,000 buildings and the estimated death toll reached 40,000 - 50,000 people, all hidden beneath the rubble. As if the death and destruction were not enough, around one million people were displaced, left without a home on an island that seemed to be crumbling. The international response was extremely encouraging as nations from all around the world gathered resources in order to aid the country in crisis. Although the funds and charitable donations served their purpose, they were not strong or plentiful enough in order to truly stabilize the country, and the remnants of the natural disaster continue to be prevalent today. Aside from the earthquake, Haiti suffers with massive annual cholera outbreaks, which in five years preceding 2015 killed over 9,500 people and infected over 770,000. Martelly’s presidency started on May 14th, 2011. It is safe to say that the country Martelly had the responsibility to lead was in shambles. He led his political campaign by advocating for the reconstruction of the country after the earthquake. Nevertheless, little progress was made, given that Martelly and the Parliament often disagreed in the way to tackle different problems. The quality of life in Haiti was so low that one in two Haitians fifteen or older were illiterate. Martelly’s reign ended in 2015 under strange circumstances, given that the parliament and Martelly’s administration were not able to agree on the date for the general elections. Parliament “expired” in January 2015, and Martelly made the decision to rule by executive order. Said decision caused a great stir and many people began accusing Martelly of various crimes including rape and murder. Because of this, Martelly was legally prevented from running a second time for the presidential position, and elections were held in October 2015. The elections came with great confusion given that a little-known candidate called Jovenel Moise placed first in the polls, and said candidate was Martelly’s first choice. Protests sparked all around the country as angry citizens expressed their anger given the fraudulent election process. Eventually, Martelly left office during early 2016, but no president was appointed, rather, Martelly gave the parliament permission to appoint an interim government.
The interim administration spent a year in power, and in 2017 Jovenel Moise was elected president. The political and economic situation in Haiti only seemed to worsen. Haiti, due to is political instability, exposure to natural disasters, low literacy rates, and uncontrolled poverty, is the poorest country in Latin America, and one of the poorest in the world. Out of 189 countries considered in The Human Development Index Ranking, Haiti is placed at 170. There is also a significant wealth gap which exacerbates inequality as 20% of the wealthiest Haitians hold 64% of the country’s wealth, and thus supporting the conclusion that Haiti had an overall poverty rate of 60% in 2020.
Violence and conflict are also parts of daily life for thousands of Haitians. In January 2021, UNICEF stated that around 8,500 women and children were displaced in two meere weeks as a result of gang and armed conflicts. One of the most infamous bursts of violence happened in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Haiti in 2018. There were over 430 witnesses, and yet there are no cohesive answers pertaining to who was responsible for the attacks. The conflict lasted 13 hours, and it is estimated that 71 people were killed, 11 women raped and more than 150 homes burned or destroyed amid the commotion. Gang members were confirmed to be involved. They went to La Saline and started shooting, executing, and raping the inhabitants. Some witnesses say that after the initial attackers arrived, they saw a police van with uniformed officials entering the neighborhood, presumably to help. In a wild turn of events, witnesses state that said officials also started shooting residents and burning homes. The bodies of men were sliced and then fed to animals. Some say this was the result of a gang conflict. What's more, the government’s official stance is precisely so. However, another reigning theory was that the attacks were government coordinated in order to stop an upcoming anticorruption march. After the attacks, the police recommended the arrest of 70 people, but no entity has pursued the cases, and it has therefore gone unchecked. Amongst those 70 people were to former Haiti National Police officers who later became leaders of active gangs. Two government officials with significant power were also recommended to be arrested.
The 2018 attacks are just a glimpse into the terror that many impoverished Haitians have to endure, and it is getting worse with each passing day. Starting that very year, anti-government protests began gaining traction. The people of Haiti were demanding Moise to step down. The Haitian electoral council postponed the 2019 elections and Moise began ruling by decree in January 2020, leaving his grip and influence over the country to be largely unrestricted. 2021, however, brought increasing conflict given that there is debate on whether Moise’s five-year term ended on February 7th, 2021 or February 7th, 2022. He was initially elected in 2015 in a poll that was cancelled, then elected in 2016 again but only entering office in 2017. Moise claimed that since he took the position in 2017, his term should end in 2022, but many state that since he was elected in 2016, his term should end this year. Despite the growing concern that Moise is hoarding power, he made clear he had no intentions of stepping down from his position, and the people have responded. Protests sparked all around the island and were met with iron fists by the Haitian government. A UNICEF representative said, “Since the beginning of this year, insecurity has been escalating. But the capital city is now facing an urban guerrilla, with thousands of children and women caught in the crossfire.” The UN and other legal experts who have studied the case have agreed that Moise’s term ends this year. Between January 28th and May 7th of this year 44 people were shot and killed in a neighborhood called Cite Soleil, and 81 people were killed in the same manner in the Bel Air neighborhood between August 2020 and May 15th 2021. A human rights group based in Haiti stated, “People have been burned alive, houses have been set on fire with the meager possessions of the victims. “ As if this were not enough, on June 24th one of the most prominent and powerful gangs in Haiti declared that it was launching a revolution against the government. The purpose of the revolution is to “deliver Haiti from the opposition, the government and the Haitian bourgeoisie.” Adding insult to injury, the Haitian police forces are medically equipped and have no resource to fight back against the heavily armed gangs that have acquired great power, money, resources, and weapons through their illicit dealings. The "revolution" peaked on July 7th, 2021 when Jovenel Moise was killed by assassins who intruded his house in Port-Au-Prince, fatally shooting him and injuring his wife. Given the recent nature of the attack, little is known about whom the killers were, how the shooting was carried out, and what implications it will have for the already unstable and insecure island nation.
The aforementioned problems are merely the symptoms of a deeper, more significant, systemic issue that has been plaguing the country for decades. It is impossible to know what is going to happen in the coming months, but experts expect violence to continue surging and poverty to continue afflicting the majority of the population. A solution in the short term is difficult to formulate. Even the United Nations had to retreat is operations from the island in 2015 given that it was contributing to health crises like the cholera epidemic. They had spent 15 years as a peacekeeping presence in the region, but the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti was considered by many locals as a challenge to power. Many accused the US Haiti chapter to be involved in human rights abuses as well. Time will tell how the situation will unfold, and the next indicators of how it will do so will be based on Moise’s reaction to the recent protests and calls for resignation.
Written By: Carolina Mejia Rodriguez
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