A Sad Day for Haiti

Photo taken from Keziah's blog: Candidates for the election litter the walls and streets with campaign signs.  Many of them are vandalized by citizens.  The yellow and green posters seen in this photo are for Jude Celestin.

It is difficult to hold back tears of anger, frustration, and sadness as I think about the situation in the country right now.  Today was a much anticipated day for everyone in Haiti.  We looked to it as a day of hope, a day that could mean positive change for a beaten down country.  Unfortunately, it was not.

As is the trend in Haiti, today's election was filled with corruption.  Polls did not open on time or at all, some citizens were not allowed to vote, some ballots were already filled in, upon receiving their ballots, some people were told who they must vote for (Jude Celestin).  Once again, Haitians were robbed of their voice.

Many of our nannies voted today.  I had a conversation about it with one of the nannies, Lucianne, this evening.  My Creole is still a work in progress but some of what I got from her was that she said that many people are very angry about the election.  They are gathering in the streets and rioting.  She said there is a lot of "desod" which means disturbance.  Businesses are not opening and tap-taps (Haitian taxis) are not running.  Because of the disturbances, most of our nannies are spending the night here at our house.  It seems like things are just starting to heat up and will only continue to get worse.  We have a little boy and his mother here at our house waiting to get an MRI.  They are from Gonaives and have been here since Wednesday, but Dorothy has not felt safe enough to take them yet.  The hospital is downtown where there is often violence.  A friend of ours (who is not afraid of much of anything) was downtown today and told us do NOT go tomorrow because it has only gotten worse.  It looks like we will be staying indoors for a while. 

Lucianne (the nanny) said that she has been praying for the election and that everyone needs to pray.  I mentioned to her that I heard people were being told who they must vote for.  She confirmed that it was true.  She said that she thinks everyone should be allowed to vote for the candidate of their choice.  She does not understand why it is the way it is.  She said she prays for change for this country.

I feel helpless.  I am not even a Haitian citizen, and I have been living here less than three months, but I feel frustrated, angry, sad, and helpless.  I cannot imagine how the Haitian citizens feel.  The government pretends to give them a voice.  They tell them they have a voice and that this is a democracy.  Then, they rig the election and run the government with corruption.

Right now, it appears that candidate Jude Celestin will win the election with 110% of the votes.  He is the son-in-law to the current president, Rene Preval.  This means that he is backed by Preval and the rest of the government.  Although I do not know much about any of the other candidates, I do know that anyone Preval supports would not be a choice of mine.  The nannies here at our house agree.  It seems as if Celestin is disliked by most Haitians.  One of the most popular candidates is singer, Michel `Sweet Micky` Martelly.  I've heard that he is the only candidate that has not been in politics before so Haitians are hopeful that he will not be corrupt.

It is too much to think about.  It is too much to handle.  Why does Haiti never catch a break?  It is just one disaster/letdown after another.  How can this country change when it is lead by corruption and lies?  All I can think to do is go to my knees and pray.  Lord help this country.


Click here to see an article about today's election