…before peace in Haiti?
Will Haitians ever know peace? In or out of Haiti? Even as most of the world’s heavy-hitter leaders of G20 are meeting in “India that is Bharat” at their annual palaver – presumably to make the world a better place for its almost 8 billion population – Haitians are still waiting for the long-promised relief. A whole lotta them are still moving towards the Mexican Border after an odyssey worthy of retelling by a modern Homer. While they’ve stopped flying into Guyana from Panama, they’re still crossing the border into Panama and all the countries of Central America before wading across the Rio Grande.
Folks thought that Biden and the Democrats would’ve looked at these “poor huddled masses” – as their Statue of Liberty promised to receive from the world – as human beings and welcomed them. But even as images went viral of Haitians being whipped like the slaves of old by white “overseers”, the Americans started flying them back to Haiti. A Haiti that the world found out in living colour – after their President was assassinated – that gangs rule the country and control the politicians; and life there is nasty, brutish and short.
Some might ask cynically whether your Eyewitness is promoting America as the “world’s policeman”!! But hey, isn’t that a role they’ve taken on their own?? Most of Haiti’s problems are due to American and French interventions – as much as natural disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes! But Haiti’s plight is that the ex-colonized world’s in a microcosm. After extracting the resources of that world for centuries – to raise their standard of living beyond anything imaginable in those countries – they take no responsibility when the dispossessed show up at their door asking for nothing else than the opportunity to work!! If capital is fungible, shouldn’t labour also be??
The developed world has two choices – accept refugees or assist in developing their countries so that the push factors can disappear. But notice that all of the aforementioned world leaders see refugees as a “problem” – since they’re all forced to deal with it. This isn’t just a moral issue, but a practical one that’ll remain at their doorsteps. But, hold it!! Didn’t Biden say that Haiti’s right up there as far as posing a threat to US security – because of their off-the-wall Global Fragility Index?? And that they’d try to cobble together a force to intervene, since seeing Marines landing just wouldn’t look nice on TV screens!!
Didn’t Kamala Harris fly to The Bahamas to persuade (successfully) Caricom HoGs to support an interventionary force led by…(slow drumbeat) …Kenya??!! See…if it’s a force of folks looking like Haitians landing to preserve the rule of a non-elected President, then it can’t be all bad. Can it??
…to Cricket Carnival
Well, well, well…it’s that time of the year again!! Cricket time – in case you’ve been living under a rock!! And not just cricket – even though this year we have the women’s team joining the men’s team to double the shots – there’s the Cricket Carnival that’s become mammoth. Of course, with all that oil money coming out of the oil spigot, everything’s big nowadays. But there’s big, and there’s mammoth!! And your Eyewitness ain’t thinking ‘bout no curved-tusker – just a whale of a good time.
Today we’re kicking back to the second day of the “One Guyana” Concert…where that feeling of togetherness will transcend the cricket matches to prove that there are so many things that can bring us together. We’ll then plunge into Regional Food Festival and Chutney Fever over in Berbice, and continue into those Super Concerts – and even horse racing – before the semis and final!!
Of course, between all of that, we’ll have our Cricket Carnival – to keep the joint at Providence jumpin”!!
…dissembling?
Opposition Leader Norton should be back from his American fundraising tour in time to enjoy the carnival atmosphere.
Did he tell folks over there their right to vote’s gonna be cancelled to satisfy his definition of a “clean” list??
