I want to touch briefly on how the most recent protest affected us this month and then give a little background on how things got there...
In prior posts I touched briefly on the complicated emotions involved with Mark going to see the girls for a visit. I was so grateful for he and his mom to go spend time with them...I just ached to be there also. I loved the pictures and videos they sent, but just yearned to be able to interact with them myself. To complicate the emotions I was dealing with...the political situation in Haiti was become dire. And I was really worried.
Before Mark left there was some question about if he and his mom would be able to take the trip. Big protests were planned to start the morning he got to Haiti. It was decided that since they arrived early they should be able to quickly get out of Port au Prince before things heated up. The stress began with a storm that came in...would it delay their flight leaving?...even without a delay would they be able to make their connector with their short 50 minute layover in Florida??...and then we got an email about construction at the FLL airport slowing down connections between flights. If they missed their flight they would have to wait until the next day to fly to Haiti and would the protests be too heated to allow them to fly in? Would a driver be able to pick them up???...so many questions.
It all turned out ok. They made their connecting flight and the driver was there when they arrived! They got out of the airport quickly, but roadblocks were already popping up and they were stopped at a heated roadblock where rocks were placed in front of the vehicle's tires to prevent them from progressing. Their driver was able to negotiate and they let them pass. They stopped at the grocery store to get food for their time in Haiti, but the store was already low on some supplies (out of bread for example), and this was the first day of protests. Luckily we packed some essentials in suitcases (which also both arrived thankfully!) and they were able to get some things from the store.
During their stay there we watched as things spiraled out of control in Haiti. Everything was shut down...public transportation, government offices, schools, government hospitals...access to gasoline was slim (and increasingly controlled by gangs), electricity was spotty (more than usual), roadblocks were inhibiting travel. Food and water were scarce and the already high cost of food that was to be found (due to inflation) was skyrocketing to even more expensive.
The protesting had turned violent (even deadly) on multiple occasions and there was concern about if they would be able to get Mark and his mom safely back to the airport. They looked into leaving a day early, but the roads/protests were deemed too bad. The morning they were supposed to depart (several hours earlier than planned) they originally told them they couldn't go that day. The driver talked staff into letting him try to get them out. He is very experienced and said that if things looked to bad that he'd just come back.
They hit one particular roadblock on the main road coming down the mountain that was not passable. The driver (Jean Robert...don't know if I'm spelling that correctly) was able to drive off-road up the mountain and back down just 15 feet or so past the roadblock. Protesters tried to stop them, but he was able to negotiate with them and eventually they relented (this is not always the case). When they got down to PaP Mark said it looked like a war-zone. Burning tires, rocks, debris everywhere. They had to quickly find alternate routes to avoid roadblocks and Mark said they were driving at least 80 mph through the streets of PaP to get to the airport. They got there. I tried all sorts of things to get them on an earlier flight to no avail, but they got home safely. Not every American trying to leave the country was that lucky. I know of several that weren't able to get to the airport that day who eventually had to be evacuated out of the country after things got even worse and the US declared a level 4 "no travel" warning - the highest level possible, usually reserved for countries at war. And honestly, that's pretty much what this is for the Haitian people. War against their government. Here is a brief, simplistic summary of why...
It isn't anything new that the government in Haiti has a history of corruption. However Haiti also has a history of rising up and overthrowing their oppressors...they became the first black republic and Haiti was the first ever nation to gain independence through a slave revolt! So, it's part of their heritage to rise up when they need to. Back to current government corruption though...
I'm not good at being concise, but this is my best attempt at a summary on recent Haitian politics!!!...
In 2006 Haiti joined a coalition (alongside other Caribbean nations) called PetroCaribe with Venezuela. In short Venezuela provided oil to Haiti at 60% of the cost with the remainder due in payments over 25 years at 1% interest. The money saved by purchasing at this discounted rate was to be funneled into government programs to strengthen the economy, improve infrastructure, etc.
Following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti (which killed hundreds of thousands of people) the US under Clinton basically muscled in to get the current Haitian president's candidate pushed aside and helped Michel Martelli into power. From 2011-2016 Martelli's administration corruptly mismanaged, embezzled and misspent most of the PetroCaribe money (and hefty donations on Venezuela's part post-earthquake also). For years Haiti was so decimated that there was no accountability from the government on its financial dealings.
On February 7, 2017 (this date is important) Martelli used his money and influence to get his protégé Jovenel Moïse "elected" (with 20% voter turnout and lots of corruption in the process). This allowed the corruption of PetroCaribe fund to continue and continue to be covered up. However!...now enter Trump administration in the US. They began to slap heavy economic sanctions on Venezuela which made it impossible to continue PetroCaribe and without those funds, Haiti could also no longer afford to make any repayments.
Although the Haitian government had nothing to show for these billions of dollars of aid (due to embezzlement and misspending) they now also no longer had PetroCaribe to rely on and needed to raise gas prices. The Haitian government tried to pull a fast one and announce the huge price change during a world cup game that the whole nation was enraptured with. This backfired royally. Not only was Brazil (the team all of Haiti was rooting for) ousted from the world cup after losing that game, but Haiti found out that their government was planning to raise gas prices so significantly that it would be devastating. Huge riots and protests broke out. These protests became the precursor for the protests/riots that would follow in November and April (both of which we were there for)...
Let me add that around this time the value of the Goude (Haiti's currency) began to diminish and a steady march of inflation took hold. The senate committee completed an investigation of the handlings of PetroCaribe which showed a paper trail ending at several government officials so the people demanded the president to investigate...and he declined. This happened as we were leaving on our 2 week bonding trip to Haiti in November. Protests flared as people demanded the resignation of their president. They no longer could have any faith in him if he wouldn't represent them by holding those accountable who participated in this corruption. The protests (sometimes violent) lasted a couple of weeks and fizzled out as protesters had to be able to go back to providing for themselves...
Now enter February 7, 2019. Inflation is skyrocketing. Gasoline is difficult to come by and electricity is spotty. People are struggling even more than before not being able to buy food, and their president who ran on the platform of food on every Haitian's table has now been linked personally to the years of PetroCaribe corruption. He was the president of a company that was a financial beneficiary of those funds (but never provided services contracted for). Haitians are hungry and tired of being lied to...and they want their president's head. Can you blame them?? So, they chose February 7th...two years to the day from when President Moïse took office, to begin aggressive protests. Of course that is the day Mark was set to arrive in Haiti to visit the girls.
As I mentioned, with good negotiating on their driver's part, they were able to get safely up to the orphanage, but protests continued and spread over the time he was there. As "Operation shut down Haiti" took effect protests became more aggressive and at least 7 lives so far have been lost as things became violent. Most Haitians just hunker down and stay out of the fray, but thousands marched and protested and demonstrated...and they were angry at no response from the president.
The day Mark and his mom were able to leave Haiti the protesters marched on the Presidential Palace. Things were heated and unpredictable. After 8 days of aggressive protesting and silence on the part of the president he finally gave a speech saying that he will not step down. Immediately following his speech the US government raised its travel advisory to level 4 (highest possible level) indicating do not travel, and advised Americans in Haiti to leave the country. The next day C4C evacuated its American staff. US Embassy employees evacuated. I continued to read about Americans who were in Haiti trying to get out on helicopters. One tried to get to the airport for his flight the day Mark left, but was unable to get there.
As I watched all of this unfold (with nearly zero attention from US media) my heart just broke for all the Haitian people affected by all of this. Comprehensively it's so tragic, but acutely the lack of access to food and water was so difficult to read about. People chasing water trucks with containers to fill. Wondering how long this would go on. I was grateful to learn that an employee at C4C stocked up on food and water for the orphanage out of his own pocket since the banks were closed to withdraw money from the organization's account. Anybody would worry about their children being somewhere in that state of unrest, even in the most ideal of circumstances, when they can't be together with them. That being said, I did recognize that our girls were in far better circumstances that most children in Haiti...they were safe and have food and water.
So, 10 days into the shut down/protesting the Haitian Prime Minister gave a speech outlining 9 changes he plans to oversee in the Haitian government including a list of measures he will oversee including revocation of government employee perks and further investigation. Perhaps party due to his promises and party due to the affects of 10 days of protesting, things lightened up significantly as the general consensus from protesters was to give the government a few days (one source I read said 72 hours) to show that they are going to implement these changes. So far things are looking more promising. Nothing has been fixed, but people are able to move about and get to food and water, return to work and open businesses. We will continue to pray for improvement, but we also need some big changes to happen...otherwise this fire will simply stay stoked and only need to be fanned to break back out into a giant uncontrollable fire again very quickly.
A few friends and family members fasted with us for Haiti last Sunday. We continue to pray. There is nothing that will be a quick fix for the complicated economic situation in Haiti, but we pray that a new trajectory will be set and that things will move generally in the right direction for this beautiful country that is so subject to so many struggles. I am so inspired by the Haitian people's grit, how hard they work, and at their tenacity. My girls should be so proud of the heritage they come from.
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