The reality on the ground in Haiti would lead anyone to conclude that the government is not holding up its end of the bargain. Since the departure of the Duvalier regime in 1986, Haiti has been in a constant state of flux, trying to figure out what form of government is best for the country.
The international community has been trying so hard to establish a tainted democracy in Haiti. They pretend to forget that true democracy begins with the individual. In our case, there has never been any genuine investment in the betterment of the Haitian people.
When government fails, the people must prevail. In order to change the current situation, each individual must combine their strength through a common objective. How have we been accepting such mediocrity from our government for so long? How will we explain to our grandchildren that we accept hunger, poverty, lack of sanitation, insecurity to spread like wildfires in our society? It is a tough environment, therefore we must act accordingly.
If one is to analyze the tribulation of the oppressed throughout the world, it would quickly appear that the brainwashing by the powerful or those in power is one of the main reasons for the everlasting inequality that exists all over the globe.
In a country like Haiti, where the poor far outnumbered the rich, how do we explain the lack of mobilization by the former against the aggressive policies of the latter? It is inconceivable to me that in this day and age anyone would accept to suffer in silence, and yet our people in solitude are suffering quietly.
The plight of the Haitian people can only be solved by empowering each and every Haitian. It is time that we start to fight for what we need. The key to the Promised Land should be made available to all and not just a few privileged ones.
Western society has brainwashed us all to believe that what is good for the community should eventually be good for the individual, and in the process, we all should make a sacrifice of our individuality for the benefit of the whole community. This basic premise is the cornerstone of the ferocious acts by the strong over the weak. While the latter is making all the sacrifices, the former is amassing all the wealth and power, and that my friend is what the Western world calls democracy.
At the moment that one of us would dare to criticize those in power or question their real intention, we would be tagged an anarchist, socialist, or in the kreyol term a “kamoken”. What ought we to do when government continually fail to answer to our needs?
I’m from the school of thought that an equitable society must have a strong government to maintain order and equality. But we can not obtain an equitable society through a corrupted government; therefore empowering the individual is a pre-requisite in establishing such society.
Often we hear the term checks and balances in American political circles. It is the ideology that no branch of government is omnipotent in itself, and that the people is the most critical part of the system. The power of the American people to freely decide their leaders is the prime example as to what the freedom of the individuality could accomplish, when it is used through a common objective.
Who is going to empower the individual? It is evident that it is not in the vested interest of the few in power to strengthen the ability of the many in oppression; hence we should not expect them to provide the basic necessities, such as education, healthcare, social justice, social equality and so forth that could empower the individual.
The sufferance of the people will come at a saturation point, where anything other than individual freedom will not be an option. The saying that “tout bet jenen mode” or a cornered animal will bite, will become prophetic, once that point is reached. I called it the point of no return and we are getting closer to it today than ever. It is my view that only the meager conditions would lead the people to realize their power in society.
It is no secret that our country has one of the highest illiteracy rates in the world, is among the poorest of the poor, but one thing for sure, our patience has been tested long enough. The flood of our anger will break through, and there would no levee to stop it.
When the individual is empowered, the community as a whole will benefit. The room for exploitation would be greatly diminished, for each individual would know what’s best for them. They want us to believe that our lack of education should be a barrier to our understanding of knowing what is good for us. But our forefathers were not scholars, yet they knew slavery was wrong. They fought their hearts out to gain their freedom, and once again we ought to fight for our individual dignity.
Let us cleanse our mentality by claiming our individual freedom. Only through the true expression of freedom we can learn to appreciate the value of power. Individual freedom and individual power are essential for development.