Haiti Assassination - A Letter from Renate

Renate Schneider

Renate Schneider of the Chicago Affiliate Chapter started the Haiti Connection & has lived and worked in Haiti for many years. She wrote the letter below right after the Assassination of Haiti’s President last week. A brief text (Haitian voice) follows from her friend.

Haitian Connection Stands in Solidarity with the Haitian People

July 7, 20021

 There are times when words are not enough. This is one of those times. When we heard the news this morning we were in shock as were all Haitians. The last time a Haitian president was assassinated was in 1915, and this was followed by 20 years of US occupation. Haiti has had its share of coups, but assassinations are very rare.

Jovenel Moise was not the best president, but nobody deserves to have their life snuffed out like this. The streets of Port au Prince and in all major cities are quiet today. Everybody is waiting to see what will happen in the next few days and weeks. Many questions cannot be answered as of yet, but what is clear already is that the major consequences of this act will be carried by the Haitian people.

Just a few words of clarification as to what is going on in Haiti right now: The Prime Minister who had just resigned, has taken the reins of government right now, and declared a state of siege, something equivalent to martial law. The means regular procedures do not have to be followed. Anybody can be arrested, anybody’s home can be searched without warning, and anything can be taken without explanation.

The governmental structure is non-existent. The recent Prime Minster just recently resigned, and the new Prime Minister whom Jovenel just appointed has not been sworn in. That was to have happened today. The highest judge in the country died recently from Covid. According to the constitution, he would have been one of the people to take on control of the country. Parliament was dissolved last year by Jovenel, and there are no deputies and only 10 senators, which does not constitute a quorum. In other words, there is no precedent for a situation like this. Jovenel actually was responsible for this situation, since he willfully dismantled many of the constitutional requirements for a successor.

As of today, the airport is closed, banking institutions are closed, as are most businesses. Commerce has already been hampered by the gangs, since goods cannot leave Port au Prince and nothing can be brought into Port au Prince, so the whole country suffers.

There is also the prediction that this will provoke a large internal migration from Port au Prince to the provinces where people feel it is safer, but that will put a lot of stress on the people in the countryside.

This assassination has been carefully planned and executed by a commando consisting of Haitians and foreigners. English and Spanish were spoken during raid. These were mercenaries and the question that demands an answer is: “who is behind this?”. At this point nobody knows the answer. The other perplexing thing is that normally there is a seven layer barrier of protection around the President, but not a single shot was fired from any of his security detail. A neighbor heard the commotion around the attack and called the nearest police station, but there was no response.

How Haiti will move forward is not predictable, but Haitian Connection strongly believes the path has to be prepared by Haitians and Haitians alone. It is not for the International community to decide. Once Haitians themselves have decided which way to go, if they want help they can let the International Community know what they need. We need a coalition of national consensus in Haiti that consists of ALL actors in Haiti. As difficult as that might be, it is the only way forward.

Do keep the Haitian people in your prayers, know much suffering.

Renate

Flag of Haiti

From a Haitian friend of mine, and I could not agree more:

We don’t want another US/UN intervention with solutions imposed on us. Ask that the US, Canada, France, the OAS, the UN, and other “Friends of Haiti”, to instead promote justice, enforce the arms embargo that supposedly exist on Haiti, elevate fair trade policies that don’t kill our economy, and most of all repay us REPARATIONS. Haiti’s last name is not “The Poorest Country in the Western Hemisphere.” Haiti is a country that was impoverished as punishment for Blacks freeing themselves from slavery.

Today, we are a country in name only where just about anyone can humiliate us, impose whatever government on us that meets their interests, throw at us pennies of our own stolen wealth and call it aid after we have to beg for it to live another day, and then blame us for trying our best to keep our heads above water. The president was killed by a group of foreign mercenaries who practically walked through the front door because they felt comfortable enough as if they own the place. This racist demonization and humiliation of Black people in Haiti needs to stop. We want the freedom and dignity our ancestors so proudly and bravely fought for, back.