haiti unity summit
Delegates at the Haiti Unity Summit in Louisiana on Jan. 13-17 included representatives from civil society coalitions in Haiti. (Twitter photo)

BATON ROUGE, LA — Organizers of an event dubbed Haiti Unity Summit say they brought together nine Haiti-based civil society groups and, in the process, nominated their own transitional Haitian government last weekend. But to many diaspora leaders and Haiti experts, the event’s outcome and the way it was organized are the type of actions likely to impede progress in solving Haiti’s problems – long term and immediate. 

“I am not sure what was the point of this meeting, especially that it seems to be engineered by an American military figure,” said Robert Fatton, a University of Virginia political science professor.

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Sam is a reporter for The Haitian Times and a 2020 Report for America corps member. He has covered Haiti and its diaspora since 2018. His work has also appeared in USA Today, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Haiti Liberte. Sam can be reached at sam@haitiantimes.com or on Twitter @sambojarski.