Bystanders and supporters stand along the construction site of the canal Haitians are building at the Massacre River on the Haiti-Dominican Republic border in September 2023. Pierre-Michel Jean / The Haitian Times 
View atop the canal Haitians are building at the Massacre River in September 2023. The work to complete the canal is progressing day by day and relies on the show of support and solidarity provided to project leaders. Pierre-Michel Jean / The Haitian Times 
Protesters with signs at the canal construction site in support of the project on the Haiti-Dominican Republic border in September 2023. Every day, groups from neighboring towns take turns to support and help the canal construction project. Pierre-Michel Jean / The Haitian Times 
Rochelle Polinis shows damage to her harvest caused by drought and sun this year. In addition to drought, which necessitates the canal to be used for irrigation, global warming is also undermining the work of Haitian farmers. Pierre-Michel Jean / The Haitian Times 
Agents of the Haitian Border Police (Polifront) at the scene of the canal under construction. Civil society groups in the towns of Ferrier and Ounaminthe were the first to support finishing the construction. Haitians from across the country and abroad then showed solidarity, while the Haitian government belatedly expressed the state’s sovereignty. Pierre-Michel Jean / The Haitian Times 
Moïse Jean Charles, secretary general of the Pitit Dessalines political party and former candidate for the Haitian presidency, crosses a makeshift bridge to reach the other side of the canal under construction in September 2023. He is among numerous politicians who have arrived at the project site. Pierre-Michel Jean / The Haitian Times 
A Dominican Army Corps patrol vehicle responsible for border security next to the wall also under construction at the 243-mile Haitian-Dominican border since February 2022. Pierre-Michel Jean / The Haitian Times 
Dominican technicians working on the reconstruction of a different canal on the banks of the Massacre River at La Vigia, in response to the Haitian canal underway, to supply water to hundreds of Dominican agricultural producers. Pierre-Michel Jean / The Haitian Times 
Volunteers fill a truck with bags of cement to take to the canal construction site on the Haiti-Dominican Republic border in September 2023. Many Haitians have expressed their solidarity for the canal construction project through monetary donations and in-kind labor and materials, including cement, ironworks, sand, food and water. Pierre-Michel Jean / The Haitian Times
Guest Author | Pierre-Michel Jean
FERRIER/OUANAMINTHE, Haiti—Dominican President Luis Abinader can be proud of having united Haitian civil society against him.
Overview:
With the solidarity on display over the Haiti-DR canal, the writer hopes ordinary Haitians will see themselves as a force to be reckoned with in other matters affecting the best interests of the Haitian nation.
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