Haiti still to rise from the ashes

THE EDITOR: This letter is in response to a commentary in Newsday on August 24, by David Abdulah with the caption: “Haiti such an incredible country.” In it he mentioned our great debt to the Haitian people, for being the first country to win its Independence in the Caribbean. This accomplishment to my mind, served posterity better than it did progress for the people of Haiti. After well over 200 years, Haiti has not risen from the ashes, after gaining its Independence from France. At this writing, Haiti still remains in obscurity as the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. No one should be made to believe that 150 million francs paid to France by Haiti as compensation for its cessation is responsible for the poverty and degradation that exists today with no end in sight.

Haiti’s acceptance to Caricom, because of it being in the region, could well be an error in judgment and further talk of CSME consideration and full integration of Haiti in the region is cause for concern. Haiti should not be allowed to come to the table with only its appetite, it should also be made to bring something to the feast. Bearing in mind that certain standards must be met by all the islands in the Caribbean including Haiti, we must put controls in place in the region (Caricom) to ensure that quality products are disseminated throughout the region. The absence of an FDA or a related agency leaves the region open to the infiltration of shoddy products. The European Union’s (EU) stand against fish trans-shipped through TT is a case in point.

Although TT is the biggest supplier of yellow tuna fish to the US, the EU banned fish transshipped through TT because TT fish port facilities, to use its words, “were not adequately hygienic.” The EU requires that steel work table tops be used, not wooden tops in the trans-shipment of fish. TT has only wooden tops. This is the type of restraint and quality controls that are essential to ensure that Caricom and CSME products are of a high quality. And it behoves us to put every member of Caricom, especially Haiti, to the test despite David Abdulah’s carte blanche, open-door policy extended to Haiti regarding Caricom and CSME. In conclusion, I am against the region having to be beholden for the past and present indiscretions of Haiti, for its unconventional way of doing things. Haiti after waging a successful war against France, freeing itself from France’s domination and colonialism in 1791, is still up to today, without the wherewithal to steer the country out of its abject poverty, into a democracy.

The US government took it upon itself and freed Haiti from the yolks of dictatorship by sending the Haitian dictator Duvalier into exile. Simultaneously, Aristide, a well-respected Haitian priest was being groomed as the leader in the transformation of Haiti from dictatorship to a democracy, which to date remains an exercise in futility. There are still opposing forces in Haiti engaged in a relentless fight to maintain the status quo. What chance does the region have in its endeavour to bring into the 21st century, a country with such a track record, hell-bent on doing lip-service to the conventional way of modern day living.

ULRIC GUY
Point Fortin