US abandons Haiti
It’s not quite as desperate as the way the US abandoned Vietnam or as chaotic as the way it abandoned Afghanistan. But the way the US is abandoning Haiti is even more shameless and unconscionable.
The Department of State warned in a statement of a high threat of violent crime and kidnapping throughout the [country]. It added that the US government’s capacity to provide emergency services to US citizens in Haiti is severely constrained.
‘Given the recent armed clashes between gangs and the police and the high threat of violent crime and kidnapping throughout Port-au-Prince, the Department of State urges US citizens to make plans to depart Haiti as soon as possible via commercial means,’ the earlier advisory stated.
(CNN, July 28, 2023)
Haitian gangsters forcing Americans to retreat
The US failed spectacularly in Afghanistan and Iraq. So its reputation for building nations in its image leaves much to be desired. Indeed, that’s why Ukrainians would be forgiven for fearing that the US would abandon them too.
Of course, no country has suffered disillusionment and abandonment in this context more than Haiti. I have decried and condemned its cursed fate in too many commentaries to count.
Haiti sits amidst the countries of the Western Hemisphere as a dysfunctional and menacing mess. And my commentaries will attest that I blame Haitians first and foremost for their perennial despair.
Still, I often point out that America shares much of the blame. That blame stemmed from scheming with European countries to ensure Haiti suffered crib death as a nation.
It incurred blame for centuries after that in the form of salutary neglect and military interventions. The prevailing fact is that America always showed more interest in protecting its political and commercial interests than in establishing law and order.
What now for Haiti?
At long last, America is giving up on Haiti, leaving it to its own devices. Given that, it might be hard to recall that the US led the world in pledging to rebuild Haiti after that catastrophic earthquake 13 years ago, in 2010.
Yet, even with all the resources and power the US had at its disposal, that rebuilding effort has come to this abandonment. That says as much about America’s lack of commitment as about Haiti’s insidious intractability.
That raises the question: What now for Haiti?
The failure to rebuild Haiti after that 2010 earthquake left me at my wit’s end. That is especially so when I consider that no less a person than former President Bill Clinton staked his reputation on rebuilding Haiti.
That’s why the best thing we can do for Haiti is send seaworthy dinghies there for people to make their way to Florida. Specifically, we should help Haitians emulate the infamous Mariel Boatlift of 1980, only by a factor of 100 or more.
In other words, Haitian migration across the Caribbean Sea should make Hispanic migration across the southern border look like a Boy Scouts parade. Because I fear only a truly menacing influx like that will force America to “honor its obligation” to help Haitians build a country that can govern and sustain itself.
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