Over the past six months, the director of Maison d’Haiti, the community shelter in Montreal’s St-Michel district, has been overwhelmed with the number of unasked-for, harrowing stories carried by Haitians who yearn to leave their home country. Such distress-laden messages, which witness the growth problem in Haiti, are a new departure from the old communication patterns in which people’s anguish and fear would not have been conveyed. Thus, they show that a deep crisis is ongoing in Haiti.
During the last few months, an awkward situation in Haiti prevailed, with a peak of political instability, having Henry’s Prime Minister resign. While the country sinks into a whirlpool of instability due to an absence of strong leadership and proper management, armed groups within Port-au-Prince, the capital City, have further consolidated their predatory influence, pushing the entire City to utter chaos. The City where the violence has overwhelmed the memories of the past in the City has been more violent and better this year than last year. These attacks have now paralyzed the City as 360,000 people have been displaced, causing an already severe food crisis.
In light of the turmoil in Haiti, safety for the friends or family of those who live elsewhere, especially in Canada and the US, is a real danger. It has caused countless immigrants to have anxious moments about the safety of their relatives. Others are trapped in the same situations by the brutality of war, striving to provide shelter, food, water or medical assistance, though unreachable. Maison d’Haiti has already caught up with more people than they could imagine. Over 50% of the staff have left their relatives in Haiti and keep in touch with them while they are worried about their future and the country’s lack of necessities like water and electricity.
This has contributed to the perpetuation of the epidemic, as the international airport is closed in Port-au-Prince, and the border crossing restrictions to the Dominican Republic are in force. Nevertheless, everyone seeking help wishes to bring loved ones to safety. There is just no way of doing it due to the restrictions.
Haitian migration has existed for a long time; some reasons for the high numbers of people migrating include seeking better economic opportunities and education and, lately, due to instability and violence in the homeland—two. Haldctions of the Haitian diaspora have been spread throughout the Americas and the Caribbeans, countries like the. Dominican Republic, Chile, Brazil and Canada. On the other hand, the largest diaspora is present in the United States, where Florida and New York have the most condensed population of Puerto Ricans.
Despite the difficulties of distant communication, the feeling of belonging to the homeland stays equally strong among the diaspora—it is something to take action against the rising violence. With Haiti, a large portion of which was claimed by the Haitians, people in Florida feel powerless while watching events in the Caribbean country. Some are hoping to receive good news from their dearest.
The need to talk sense into this country is no longer a time-wise issue, especially among young people who live outside Haiti. International backing for Henry wears thin as that very thing that is being sought for, the transition government to substitute the entropy period. Multinational troops’ deployment into Haiti has been subjected to many delays, and the local population has forgotten about it, with the sense of frustration deepening as the violence rises day by day.
Protestors akin to Emmanuela Douyon, who is now living in Boston and had to leave Haiti because of security risks, stress about the urgent response. They view the situation as an axiomatic consequence of the years in which the incumbent elite has operated corrupted politics, an activity aimed at enriching themselves and leaving the society (from where they benefit) in an uncertain future.
Even amidst such dark prospects, two things manage to keep Haitians uplifted: the locals’ perseverance and the Haitian diaspora’s support. The resiliency of Haitians and their country may be the main obstacle to a quick recovery. Still, this obstacle can be overcome with the needed assistance and resources, even though they emphasize the need to give Haitian perspectives a voice and support higher advocacy from the grassroots on the effect of changes.
Though the despair is ever-present, a glimmer of hope shines through Haitian people. This glimmer is fueled by their staunch hold on to a vision of a brighter life for them in the future. When pushed to the brink, they unearth optimism and grit from the inside to defeat obstacles.