…in Haiti
Just when you thought it couldn’t get worse for Haiti…it just did as its President Jovenel Moise was shot dead by unidentified attackers yesterday at his private residence. For weeks gangs had been wreaking violence as they claimed to be protesting against Moise’s rule, which had become increasingly – and depressingly – dictatorial since his election in 2017. Elections had been due two years ago, but – as has become a pattern in Haiti for over two centuries – it seems every leader becomes infected with an anti-democratic virus!
We all know Haiti was the first slave society to win its independence from a European power – the French, under Napoleon and on the battlefield, to boot! – way back in 1804? Now you’d think with that head-start the country ought to’ve been in the frontline states as far as development goes. But it was not to be – for all sorts of reasons, many of which are still in play and which have precipitated the present crisis.
Whoever said, “The past isn’t dead…. it’s not even past!” had to’ve had Haiti in mind! France hadn’t even been thrown out when the divisions between the mulatto and black Haitians caused the country to be effectively split in two. From being the richest colony with the largest sugar production for Europe, it slid to the poorest as it lost its sugar markets and descended into a tenuous peasant subsistence economy. This served to precipitate one of the earliest and devastating deforestation tragedies on Earth.
Afraid of Haiti having a demonstrator effect among its own slaves, the US – which had just kicked out THEIR European ruler – sided with France to impose crippling reparations on the fledgling state, which were only repaid in 1947!! As such, there just wasn’t any surplus to spend on infrastructure, etc, but loans had to be taken to service the reparations which just added to the pile of debt!! Talk about Sisyphus and his eternal burden!!
In 1915, the Americans invaded to control taxes and the treasury to ensure bank loans were serviced. When they left in 1937, Haiti fell into the hands of a series of despots ending with Papa Doc Duvalier at the head of his goon squad, the Tonton Macoutes from 1957. He, of course, terrorised the populace and raped the country’s treasury as did his son, Baby Doc, who took over and ruled till 1986. Sadly after he fled – courtesy of an uprising – the instability in governance continued even as the natural disasters of earthquakes and hurricanes kept ensuring that Haiti never got off its knees.
The Haitian migrants in our news are just one of the consequences of Haiti’s tragedy.
Which is about to get worse.
…in the National Assembly
The PNC under Granger and Harmon are getting desperate as they seem to be inexorably headed into oblivion. They’re fighting a rearguard action against vicious attacks from within, on their leadership. Their stratagem of “not recognising” the PPP Government after their rigging attempt failed ignominiously – not least of all because they insisted on being the “Opposition”. One can only be an “Opposition” to a GOVERNMENT!!
Anyhow, they’ve just used that Opposition platform by laying No Confidence Motions against Minister of Health, Frank Anthony and Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn! This isn’t just risible because they don’t have the votes to pass the motions but they’re clearly still miffed they were effectively checkmated, voted out of office after the PPP’s No Confidence Motion. Charrandas in their craw! They’re trying to placate their fast-disappearing base by showing them they’re “doing something”!! Never mind it’s just spinning wheels!
They’ll just be adding to global warming as they spout tons of hot air in the National Assembly!
…by new party
Ex-WPA executive member, MP Sarabo-Halley, has a jejune letter in the press “The ethnic and racial division does not tangibly benefit most of us”.
Was it on behalf of her “Guyana Nation Builders Movement (GNBM) or APNU?
