28586: Senou (comment): The time of defining moment (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

The time of defining moment
Joseph Alfred, Educator
(Metro Atlanta, GA)
Senou@yahoo.com


Haiti is facing a period of uncertainty that can lead
easily to a bloody civil war and what will make it
even worst: a civil war without a leader. First of
all, the religious leaders have lost their moral
authority and the country does not have someone who
can ask the people to stop this imminent carnage. In
1986, the religious leaders intervened to stop the
?dechoucage?; 20 years later which sector that can use
its influence to stop this inevitable? None.

As of today, Haiti has met all the required conditions
for the ?Inevitable? (civil war) and it is going to be
ugly, very ugly. Again, it is preventable. When
someone has no hope and no reason to live for, when a
country has score of educated people who may spend
their lifetime unemployed, we can see taking place a
violent, a brutal and an uncontrolled revolt.

My friends, there are tons of reasons for us not sit
together and not to even talk to one another. Each of
you has done and said stuff that you were not supposed
to and do not pretend to be an angel. We have two
hundred years of angers and hates and many are going
to say that it will take more than one day to solve
it.  Well, as I?m writing these words, I recall
hearing someone saying the same thing during a meeting
that was going to be the last meeting before things
were settled out for good and these changes are
irreversible. Again, you do not even have one day, you
have a few minutes to decide and time is running out
and fast. At each point in life, you have a decision
to make; you can choose to continue in this path or
you can reverse course. But, you need to understand
the impact of your action and ready to bear the
consequences.

The insecurity phenomenon is increasing by the
minutes. A few years ago, it was the Zenglendo, now we
are experiencing the kidnapping. What?s next?

 Again, the future of Haiti is at stake, a bloody
civil war is looming in our backyard, the country is
on its way toward becoming a new Lebanon in the
region; we do not have the luxury to wait any longer.
Today is the time of defining moment for each Haitian
citizen to step up to the plate and deliver on time
and on schedule. The country, your country is waiting
for you. The people, your people are waiting for you.
I call upon each of you to use humility and compassion
and join hands together to salvage what we have left.

On February 7, a populist was elected president and
this may delay the Inevitable and at the same time it
may accelerate it. And Haiti is about to live this
uncertainty period for quite some time or until the
president answer a few key questions that he cannot
avoid for too long. The presidency is not a privilege
but a responsibility and the sooner the president can
answer these ultimate questions, the better it will be
for the country.


Avoiding a problem will not make it ?go away? and the
longer we wait, the more damage it will cause.

In our turbulent history, we had established one
compromise among us and that compromise alone had led
to the birth of the first Black Republic in the new
world.
The U.S. ambassador has called upon the Haitian people
to unify and reconcile and Mr. Germain the foreign
minister of Haiti had agreed with that call.

Agreeing with a call and taking step to make it
becoming a reality is what we need right now in Haiti.
The situation today is very complex but it is not as
bad as it was 203 years ago. I?m afraid to say that
the Haitian people in Haiti must be the catalyst of
the change that should take place in their
environment. The Haitians in the Diaspora and as well
as the friends of Haiti and outsiders can assist but
the bottom line is that those who are living the
situation must change it.

The president must use that honeymoon period to jump
start a national reconciliation among the Haitian
people. It is good to visit various countries but he
needs to spend more time to initiate contact with
various sectors in Haiti in order to pave the way
toward a national reconciliation.
 In talking about a national reconciliation, every
willing person from extreme left to extreme right must
be included and no one shall be left out. Quiconque
rejeté au départ est appelé à devenir un danger pour
n?importe quel système. Sur ce, il faut aller à la
recherche des refracteurs et des marginaux et il y en
a beaucoup. After working internally, the Haitian
leaders need to work with some key foreign countries
in order to get their collaboration. And therefore, it
is important for this current government to appoint
serious diplomats in key countries in various
embassies and consulates. Sur ce, appointing any
diplomat in the U.S., Canada, France, South Africa,
Germany, Cuba, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Bahamas
and Jamaica cannot be done on friendship but it must
be based on skills and abilities.


The Haitian society shall strive toward Unity and a
National Reconciliation but it is not going to just
happen. The leaders of Haiti must be honest and they
must have the courage to take some tangible actions
that can pave the way toward a national
reconciliation.

I call upon the Haitian leaders to create a
Reconciliation Commission and at the same time give a
General Amnesty to all and free all prisoners with the
exception of violent criminals. It will take good
leaderships and serious leaders to see these two
things taking place in the land of Toussaint
Louverture.  (Iraq while fighting an internal war is
giving  Amnesty to the insurgents; are we going to
wait when we become the next Beirut? Or can we prevent
it and reset the clock)

In our 200 years of history in each change of
government, we have seen a pattern of revenge and
vengeance, and today the country is on the brink of
destruction. This shall tell us that taking revenge
and vengeance are not going to take us anywhere. Will
this government change this trend or is this
government is like any other previous Haitian
government? Time will tell.

There is a reason for everything, I recalled when Mr.
Nelson Mandela walked out from jail and became the
first president of the post apartheid era of South
Africa, his followers had wanted revenge but instead
he formed a Reconciliation Commission with Bishop
Tutu.

Today, thanks to Mr. Mandela, South Africa is on its
way toward becoming a great power.

?Honest difference of views and honest debate are not
disunity. They are the vital process of policymaking
among free men? December 20, 1953 ? Radio speech

At this present moment, there is a coalition
government in Haiti and this is good and it could be
great if these folks could work in the best interest
of the country. They need to discuss their
indifferences and find a compromise.

We must learn to live together as brothers or perish
together as fools.
Martin Luther King Jr.; US black civil rights leader &
clergyman (1929 - 1968

Individualist is killing us; we need to learn to
support each other. It does not matter who brings a
new idea; if it is good, let?s make it happen together
and not onegether.

For many years, there were complaints about the
judicial system in Haiti. Article 26 states that: ?No
one may be kept under arrest more than forty-eight
(48) hours unless he has appeared before a judge asked
to rule on the legality of the arrest and the judge
has confirmed the arrest by a well-founded decision.?

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail,
April 16, 1963
US black civil rights leader & clergyman (1929 - 1968)


The fact that there are not enough judges to hear all
of these cases is not the problem of the arrested
person. Technically, he/she should be released with
the exception of the violent criminal.

Will this new administration release people from jail
base on friendship or using the legal system?  The
best thing to do is to give a general amnesty to all
from 1804 up to now and ipso facto reverse this sorrow
trend of our turbulent history and reset the clock.
Many high profile prisoners are expected to be
released from jail without any new discovery but what
happen to ti Saintanise who cannot afford a lawyer.
The former care taker administration did not agree
with the court decision, then fired 4 to 5 judges of
the Haitian Supreme Court and appointed their friends:
no question asked. Oops!

Again, the presidency is not a privilege but a
responsibility ?

Every man is guilty of all the good he didn't do.
Voltaire; French author, humanist, rationalist, &
satirist (1694 - 1778


Joseph Alfred, Educator
P.O. BOX 1022
Douglasville, GA 30133


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