Starting from scratch

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We must agree that the event of January 12, 2010 in Haiti was the worst in a series of tragedies ever to occur in this Caribbean Island.

Sadly enough, as of this writing, weeks after the earthquake has wrecked the country, we have yet to know how many souls have lost as the recovery effort is still ongoing.

As hard as it is to deal with such a dire tragedy, Haitians must look forward; and the question becomes, what is next for Haiti?

A lot is happening on the ground; with the world united behind supporting Haiti, as with any tragedy of this magnitude, the focus will soon be shifted and Haitians will be left to decide on the destiny of Haiti.

Or perhaps I should ask, should the future of Haiti be left alone to Haitians?

There is a saying that God does not shut a door without opening a window.

I believe that this tragedy brought upon us a new era in Haiti.

The post earthquake 2010 era and that era must come with a new front; one that says No to the old ways of doing business in Haiti.

Yes indeed, a new front that says No to incompetency and mediocrity.

One of the questions that people often ask is how to solve Haiti's chronic problems?

The perennial answer to this question is always that Haiti needs to start from scratch.

Looking at pictures out of Haiti, one cannot stop thinking that Haiti needs to start from scratch going forward.

This earthquake, as sad as it might sounds, presents an opportunity for Haiti to start from scratch.

There are those among my fellow Haitians who would be apt to argue that Haiti is not for sale; that our ancestors have fought for our liberty and freedom, that Haiti needs to protect its sovereignty, that Haiti is currently under occupation, the same nonsense arguments that have caused Haiti so much pain. In this post earthquake era, Haitians have to be vigilant for no more should they allow these arguments to be used for personal gains in Haitian politics.

It is a fact, and one that cannot be more so, our Haitian leaders are truly beyond incompetent.

It is an embarrassment to see that Haiti's government did not have any plan in place in the event of a natural disaster.

Naturally, it is understood that members of the government are also victims of the earthquake and the natural thing to do in the aftermath of the earthquake is to also look for their love ones. However, days after the earthquake, where is the plan?

This government should have learned from the lessons of "Collège La Providence", the school that collapsed on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince in November 2008. Not even then were we ready to help ourselves in recovering and helping the students and others who were trapped.

Given, Port-au-Prince is in despair but shouldn't there be some kind of a disaster plan in the other cities?

Is Haiti composed only of Port-au-Prince?

Has it not been for outsiders, what would have been our response to this tragedy?

With that saying, we need to revamp our political thinking in Haiti.

Going forward, there must be a consensus among Haitians to establish a political pact with the international community, and such a pack does not imply a US led occupation of Haiti.

But, if left alone without the participation and full support of the international community and Haitians in the Diaspora, current local Haitian "leaders" would not make any difference in the future of Haiti.

The time is now to change course in Haitian politics.

I take liberty to say that there won't be a better time for Haiti to recover from all aspects of life. This is to be or not to be and it's up to us Haitians to decide

Edrys Erisnor
Political Scientist
New York, NY
edrys.erisnor at gmail.com

Edrys Erisnor, February 9 2010, 12:53 PM

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