Letter to REDLAD

March 20, 2024
Petion-Ville, Ayiti

     Greetings to my REDLAD* colleagues. You, who still believe in Democracy, a system, which seems to be under attack. Democracy is on the verge of disappearing in many countries, and certainly is dying in my homeland of Ayiti. 

     I am writing to you today in the throes of despair, and cognizant that the network and other organizations promoting democracy in Ayiti can do nothing to help us. There are no institutions left capable of serving the citizens here, let alone defending them. 
Today we are under a curfew declared not only by the State, but also by the gangs that have established a new order, which others and I call “Gangocracy”.The streets of Port au Prince and all the surrounding villages are empty, only bandits have the right to roam. The State has failed and all government institutions are under attack. Even public hospitals are closed, and anyone who leaves their home risks being captured or executed. You can understand the terror and fear that we live in; particularly children trapped at home for their own safety. 

     Our youth and the future of Ayiti, the First Black Nation to eradicate colonial slavery, is slowly but surely being destroyed. In October 2022, the United Nations had decided that it was necessary to send Special Forces to help the State and more importantly to protect the population. But to this day, the country is still waiting. Thus, we can only assume that it does not matter “if the country sinks into the Caribbean Sea”. No one can say that the international community is not complicit and/or an instigator of this fact.  Let us also note that the country has the resources to rise and eradicate the gangs; however, the army has not been given the opportunity to properly equip itself. While there is an embargo on weapons in Ayiti, the firearms continue to arrive in the country to reinforce the gangs but not the army or the police.

     Adding to the political quagmire, our Dominican neighbors are complicit in the plot and have seemingly forgotten that their country was once called the Republic of Eastern Ayiti. Their very existence owes itself to the struggle of the same Ayitians who were their heroes and assisted them in guarding their independence against the Spaniards. Today, where is justice, or the principle of lending a hand to your neighbor who is in danger?
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     Those of us who remain on the ground do so despite immense risk to our security and quality of life. We know that those watching the country sink, little by little, calculate that none of us will remain on our beautiful land. Their aim is to descend upon and exploit the enormous natural resources of the country, and do so without having to pay or share the profits with the Ayitian people.

     We do not know how much longer we will be able to wait and continue living this hellish daily existence, orchestrated by design and with the help of the “Friends of Ayiti”.

     The world prefers to ignore Ayiti because facing the country's difficulties is too complex and would require self-reflection and reparations from those who have contributed to its demise. In the end, it seems recognition of past alliances does not exist in politics. It is easier to disregard the country that 200 years ago defeated France, Spain, and England to claim its freedom and force the world to abolish slavery. It is easier to forget that without Ayiti, Bolivar himself would never have been able to return to liberate The Grand Colombia. It is easier to forget Ayiti, the country whose fight for freedom ushered in seismic changes to the world’s dominant narrative. The example inspired generations of people, globally, to work towards equality, and in the United States, it eventually paved the way for the election of the first black American president, Barack Obama. It is easier to forget Ayiti, depicting the citizens as being poor students of “ the system”, when in reality, the country has followed the directives of Neoliberalism since the American occupation in 1915, to arrive at nothing today.

     My words are not “suggesting” a conspiracy theory, I am emphatically exposing a tangible scheme against Ayiti. I share this information with you as a warning. If no one has the courage to help Ayiti, one day soon, this situation will reach your home. Hear this cry! Don’t be foolish, damn it, it can also happen to your country. By then, it will be too late to realize that you should have helped the Ayitian nation. So call your governments or any voices who hold power to demand that they consider the Ayitian case and mobilize resources urgently for the hour is already late! 

My apologies to those who feel offended by my words, but it is our truth and reality.

Hans Tippenhauer
President, Fondation Espoir

https://www.fondationespoirayiti.org

*REDLAD is the Latin American and Caribbean Democracy Network of which, Fondation Espoir is a founding member.