By Stéphane Blais, The Canadian Press, March 12, 2024
Violence, massacres, shortages of water, medicine and food, and the risk of epidemics are threatening the lives of 11 million people in Haiti, according to the Concertation haïtienne pour les migrants (CHPM), which is calling on Canada to take a leadership role in finding solutions to emerge from the crisis "with credible Haitian actors" .
"We are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe in which the most basic rights to safety, health and life are being violated," lamented Marjorie Villefranche, Executive Director of Maison d'Haïti and CHPM spokesperson, in Montreal on Tuesday, adding that "it is imperative that Canada and Quebec respond to this call for solidarity".
Including Haitians in the way out of the crisis
The capital Port-au-Prince is overwhelmed by violent gangs, and Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced on Monday that he would resign, on the sidelines of a meeting convened in Jamaica to put an end to the crisis.
The meeting, initiated by CARICOM, a regional trade bloc, included Canada's Ambassador to the United Nations Bob Rae and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Frantz Voltaire of the Montreal-based Centre international de documentation et d'information haïtienne, caribéenne et afro-canadienne deplored the absence of Haitians around the table on Tuesday.
At this meeting in Kingston [Jamaica], I didn't see a single representative from Haiti and I didn't see a single representative of the Haitian diasporas. There are, however, Haitian personalities and expertise [who could be consulted], but I'm afraid that decisions will be made for Haiti without consulting Haitians at home and in the diaspora.
Westerners must avoid past mistakes
According to Frantz Voltaire, the involvement of the Haitian community in overcoming the crisis is imperative to avoid the mistakes of the past.
At the press conference, he listed several situations in the past where foreign powers, or the United Nations, created more problems than they solved in Haiti.
In particular, he cited the example of the latest cholera epidemic, which killed almost 10,000 people. The epidemic began more than ten years ago, when UN peacekeepers introduced the bacteria into the country's largest river through wastewater runoff from their base.
"We're living in a situation where this country is occupied, the country is under a protectorate, but without the protectorate's responsibility," he denounced, claiming that foreign powers were involved in the appointment of Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry, and that it was under this leader that gang violence took hold.
The CORE Group, made up of Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, the European Union, Spain, the United States and emissaries from the Organization of American States and the UN, had supported Ariel Henry's appointment in 2021.
Frantz Voltaire also criticized "the police training programs set up by Canada, France and the United States", which he described as a "catastrophe".
"Part of the police force has developed links with organized gangs" and "sectors of the police force that could have or are confronting gangs" do not have the necessary equipment. He gave the example of the delayed delivery of armored police vehicles ordered from Canada by Haiti.
"We need to review all these programs and see who is responsible," he said.
An "honest broker" role for Ottawa
The organizations present at the press conference in Montreal on Tuesday believe that Ottawa could play a "greater leadership role" in ending the crisis, as well as an influential role with certain powers such as the United States.
According to Frantz Voltaire, Canada can act by strengthening the country's institutions.
"To achieve some form of stabilization, we need to strengthen the police, but above all we need to push for Haitians to demand reform of the justice system; there's no point in strengthening the police if every time people escape from penitentiaries."
But once again, he points out, this has to be done in concert with the Haitian people.
"Canada is in the position of "honest broker" and "it could very well, as Brian Mulroney did with Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher" try to influence countries with significant power over Haiti.
He was referring to Canada's role in ending apartheid in South Africa, and believes that Ottawa could influence the CORE Group countries to find a resolution to the Haitian conflict.
Weapons that escalate conflict
According to Frantz Voltaire, beyond internal politics and external political influences, one of the problems fueling the crisis is the arms traffic passing through the port of Miami.
"We need to put in place a way to control the trafficking of arms to Haiti, but also the trafficking of ammunition, because Haiti doesn't manufacture any, so without ammunition, arms aren't much use."
Ariel Henry announced on Monday evening that he would resign once a transitional presidential council was created.
Canada has indicated that it will support the implementation of such a council.
Mr. Henry was barred from his own country while traveling abroad, due to the rising unrest and criminal gang violence that has overrun much of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, and closed its main international airports.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday reaffirmed "the urgent need to deploy the UN-mandated Multinational Security Support Mission to improve security conditions for civilians".
He also underscored "Canada's commitment to contribute $80.5 million to the mission, as well as efforts to help CARICOM members prepare to participate".
Thousands dead
According to Montreal-based Médecins du Monde Canada, 5.5 million people are in need of humanitarian aid in Haiti - almost half the population - and over 300 different gangs occupy more than 70% of the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area.
Médecins du Monde Canada also points out that from January to August 2023, cases of rape increased by 49% compared to the same period in 2022.
According to the United Nations, more than 8,400 people were killed, injured and/or abducted in Haiti as a result of armed and gang violence in 2023.
Translated by CHIP editors
Posted June 8, 2024