Despite Ariel Henry’s resignation offer - and it is provisional upon several important pre-requisites - Caricom deliberations and action on Haiti have still fallen short of an ultimate solution, but so has every other prescription from everyone else.
The main difference, though, is that the
regional grouping is engaging the deadly situation fully mindful of the
contagion of chaos, the requirements of enlightened self-interest, and a sense
of fraternal responsibility.
The latter, of course, prevails even though
Haiti membership had defied even CLR James’s notion of “natural (West Indian)
unity.” But the regional movement has long crossed that important and seriously
difficult Rubicon.
It is important that Caricom has also, at least
now, recognised the slow, incremental nature of any lasting resolution of
longstanding anomalies and dysfunctionalities in that country.
Invasions, even by invitation (whose?), do not
have the best record of success, unless there are Plans A, B, and C that take
street-level realities into account. The question of what happens next is thus
of supreme importance.
The absence of Ariel Henry from the country
provided both opportunities and challenges. It was felt by some that his
questionable occupation of office since the murder of Jovenel Moise, including
Henry’s dubious support base, helped suspend rather than encourage enthusiastic
global support in the current crisis.
For example, growth in financial support for a
Kenya-led UN Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti, up to Monday when
Caricom met, appeared to have stalled.
With gangs, and their barely closeted political
allies firmly in charge of major sections of Port-au-Prince, and open
aspirations being expressed by known miscreants, there still appear to be few durable
options available even in a post-Henry era.
This may come in the form of an internationally
supervised, circumscribed or “defensive” democracy - meaning that the main
tenets of liberal democracy would be made to adjust and match the limited
ability of the country to function in accordance with such values.
This is, in fact, not an unknown Haitian
reality, including the role of thugs and other criminals.
Easy for the rest of us to say, I suppose. But
there are reality checks concerned onlookers to developments there need to
undertake. Well-meaning naivete rooted in romantic notions of a first black
republic have for the moment to be put aside.
Ditto the tendency to over-simplify the deeply
intractable difficulties of Haiti. This goes beyond merely saying “I’m sorry”
or calling on Caricom to fix things quickly.
For Jamaica and The Bahamas – both represented
on the Caricom Eminent Persons Group (EPG) on Haiti – ongoing strife in Haiti
is a lived reality in their respective countries given geographical proximity
and relatively easy access by sea.
It has not helped that these two neighbours
have not always managed the process of integrating fleeing Haitians, and some
hard questions remain regarding the forcible expulsion (refoulement) of
asylum-seekers (as has been the case of T&T and the Venezuelans, by the
way).
Some may contend such responses are
justifiable, given the fact of limited absorptive capacity – geographical,
economic, social, and cultural in nature. Yet, they do nothing to alleviate
underlying causative factors.
Among the “things to be done”, therefore, is
for our countries to get such international commitments right. This extends
beyond the crisis in Haiti.
We have been through some of this before. The
advocacy of a few influential leaders back in 1995-98 to promote Haitian
membership of the Caricom fold had offered implicit assurances of an ability to
mitigate the possibilities for collateral regional injury. It simply has not
turned out that way.
Regional diplomatic folk speak quietly of the
numerous challenges, including uneven reciprocal support when required on
hemispheric and international stages. This is that troublesome sibling at the
dinner table.
Yet, there is cause to consider a meaningful
role in ensuring that such a regional democratic hot spot is urgently attended
to. Monday’s meeting in Jamaica may have led to a variety of conclusions in the
public sphere, but it certainly signalled engagement of the quality some
considered to have been beyond our capabilities.
There is a lot more to be done, both by us and
others. The UN Humanitarian Needs Response Plan for Haiti, with a budget of
US$674 million, now stands at a fraction of what is needed.
The Caricom meeting attracted attention and
active participation from a wide cross-section of the international community.
I have seen where it has been described as a mere “talk shop.” There are people
who have clearly not been following what has been happening. This is a
significant Haiti moment for Caricom. But it's not yet over.
