The Caribbean nation of Haiti has been in a perpetual crisis since 2018. During this period, gang control of the Caribbean nation has grown, till recent times when gangs seem to have completely taken over control of the nation. A potentially promising development for the people of Haiti, is that Kenya has stepped forward to take the lead in working to bring about order in the nation.
I think it is important that we, as Africans, should care about the crisis overwhelming Haiti right now. Like many African countries, Haiti has a history of colonial oppression at the hands of a European power, in the form of French colonialism.
The island had originally been “discovered” by Spanish explorers, who established a colony on the island of Hispaniola. However, the western side of the island, which makes up modern-day Haiti, would be ceded to France in 1697. When the French took control of the island’s western side, they renamed the island Saint-Domingue and established sugar plantations on the island.
The French colonists would make use of slaves they imported from Africa on their sugar plantations in Saint-Domingue (Haiti). The French would import hundreds of thousands of enslaved Africans to work on their sugar plantations in Haiti.
So the Haitian people are not just foreigners with no connection to the African continent. Virtually every Haitian national is a descendant of Africans who had been forcibly expropriated from their lands to work as slaves on plantations for French colonists. This oppressive French regime would rule until 1804 when the enslaved people would rise up and win their independence in the Haitian Revolution.
However, in the first years of independence, Haiti’s growth would continue to be stifled by France. The French had demanded that Haiti pay “reparations” to France in return for their autonomy to the tune of billions of dollars. These debt payments significantly held back the newly independent Haiti for many years.
Likewise, Haiti has at moments in history been ruled by oppressive dictators such as François Duvalier, aka Papa Doc, and his son Jean-Claude Duvalier. Such oppressive regimes further exacerbated the problems faced by Haiti, due to their authoritarian nature. The instability in the country had also seen the nation put under occupation by the United States from 1915 to 1934.
Likewise, numerous Haitian governments have been saddled with issues of corruption and serious economic mismanagement of the country which has left life difficult for the people of Haiti. To make matters worse the nation famously suffered a devastating earthquake in 2010. Which left many parts of the island in ruins.
Since 2018, the current Haitian crisis began following nationwide protests against the government and President Jovenel Moïse, over rising fuel prices. Moreover, President Moïse would be criticised for holding onto power after he postponed Haiti’s 2019 elections and began ruling by decree until he was assassinated on 7th July 2021.
Since the death of the president gang violence has taken over much of the country. The government had lost its legitimacy and increasingly lost control over much of the country.
This gang rule has resulted in Haitian civilians essentially being held hostage by the rule of these gangs. Kidnappings for ransom, sexual violence, and shootings have become increasingly prevalent in Haiti. The country is on the brink, if not already at this stage, of being declared a failed state.
This is why I am glad to see that Kenya has decided to take the initiative to lead a United Nations-backed mission to restore order in Haiti. The people of Haiti are not just some foreign far away place that shouldn’t have any relevance to Africans. Likewise, other African nations such as Benin and Chad are involved in this Kenyan-led initiative. Other non-African nations involved are the Bahamas, Jamaica, Guyana, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda and Bangladesh, according to Aljazeera.
These nations and the troops they are sending to help Haiti should the lauded. Perhaps the most disappointing part of this, is that more African nations are not involved in this effort. The unfortunate reality is that there are many Africans who today would argue that they are In similar, if not worse situations than the people of Haiti. Certainly, in various nations in the Sahel region, this argument would hold.
Similarly to Haiti, there are numerous areas throughout the Sahel experiencing catastrophic violence as a result of terrorist organisations operating in the region. This has been a major reason for so much of the political instability experienced by nations in the Sahel region. This is why, the idea of other African countries sending troops would be unacceptable in the eyes of the public.
Likewise, the decision by Kenya has been met with similar resistance as it would in many other African countries. Kenyans have questioned why their country should be responsible for leading this operation when they face problems in their region as well. Kenya is significantly involved in the fight against armed groups operating in the Horn of Africa, particularly in Somalia as well as neighbouring South Sudan.
In fact, perhaps the worst conflict taking place on this planet, perhaps only rivalled to the destruction we have seen in Gaza, is currently on the African continent. The war in Sudan has caused a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. The war has resulted in the worst displacement crisis in the world currently. Alarms over genocide in the Western Darfur region have been raised by international observers. Time and time again civilians have been caught in the crossfire in the fight between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces.
While Haiti will receive international assistance in the battle against gangs operating in their country, there is no assistance planned for the people of Sudan. That’s not to say that it is bad that Haiti is getting help, it is a good thing. However, the question of why should Kenyan forces be sent there rather than potentially assisting its neighbours, for example, is valid.
These conflicts around the African continent exemplify the unfulfilled promises of independence. The promise of independence was that our countries would be prosperous once the oppressive colonial regimes were toppled. Now there is nobody who would argue that life was better under colonial rule than compared to independence, but it certainly has not lived up to its potential in Africa.
Rather than prosperity, corruption has reigned over our nations. The self-serving nature of so many of Africa’s politicians has allowed poverty and conflict to spread. So many Africans today are suffering from destitution, younger people especially lack economic opportunities. So many conflicts have managed to take root in so many of our countries. The African Union today, stands as a largely ineffective institution, as conflicts and poverty are prevalent.
So much so, that even alarms of a potential genocide taking place in Sudan, haven’t even managed to warrant any kind of meaningful response by other African nations. Likewise, the people who are of African descent residing in Haiti who have been at the whims of criminal gangs operating in their country has been met with silence by most African nations.
Meanwhile, amid this suffering, African politicians live lavishly in their palaces and mansions, driving around in state-of-the-art vehicles, and sending their children abroad to study in distinguished educational institutions, while much of their population suffers. This is the legacy of much of Africa’s ruling class, since the end of the colonial era.