Despairing Over Haiti?

Guy S. Antoine

Public debate brings about public pressure. Public pressure brings about policy changes. There are many among us who prefer to point to the Haitian People's total ineptitude or incapacity to govern themselves. Some even advocate a return to colonization: "Il nous faut un maître blanc!" I say: "None of that!" This attitude is comparable to telling a child who fails in school: "You are absolutely no good! You will never amount to anything. Only the welfare system will save you." Have you ever met someone who was motivated by such talk?

Many are discouraged by Haiti's lack of progress in nearly two hundred years of existence. But Nations outlive us, generally. Haiti may one day celebrate its 500th year of independence, if notions of State/Nation are not thouroughly discredited by then. So why should we give up on her now? Why don't we mute the obsessively negative criticism and pass our wisdom to the future generations that will lead her, instead of burdening them with our baggage of pessimism, contempt, sorrow, and defeatism? Of course, simply criticizing is a heck of a lot easier...

As a Nation, we need to learn to walk before we can run. As citizens, we need to learn to mobilize our efforts to help the country move forwards. Whenever we accomplish something small, like forcing Fox Filmed Entertainment to retract an offensive line in the movie Stella, people will criticize us for not accomplishing something grander in scale. But what they fail to realize is that that particular mobilization they objected to brought about our success, ridiculously small as they may portray it. At least we have something to show for our efforts, while others chose not to lift a finger. They are waiting in the wings for the grand finale, disappointed that it does not come around. But as far as I know, the great Jesse Owens and Sylvio Cator had to learn to stand up and walk before they ran and jumped! Help us in our first steps, rather than ridiculizing the short distances covered. Again, it might just be easier to sit back and criticize!

If Haiti had as many people working for positive change as we have critics, we would be today the most advanced civilization on Earth! Wishful thinking, perhaps, but can't we at the least move on to the next step, one of advancing the cause of Truth and Reconciliation? the cause of Social Justice? the cause of Agricultural Reform and Economic Empowerment? the cause of Literacy and Public Health? Step by step, if need be! In fact, there is no other way.


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