Monday, February 7, 2022, the end of the mandate of the late President Jovenel Moïse is an opportunity for his son Joverlein Moïse, to remember in an open letter, the accession to power on February 7, 2017 of his father as elected President of Haiti and shares several memories and reflections on his mandate.
“Haitian,
I couldn’t identify myself otherwise.
I am a son of freedom, a symbol of sovereignty, son of the Pearl of the Antilles, fruit of the courage of my ancestors, guardian of the autonomy of my people, I am blessed with a huge legacy. How could I get rid of such privilege?
I am also a father whose father, Jovenel Morse, President democratically elected to the presidency of Haiti was massacred.
Today, I remember February 7, 2017, I had a heavy heart in the face of the unknown.
Overwhelmed by so much emotion, I remember the pride of being the witness of an act of love, a marriage between a man and his country. That day, Jovenel Morse, became President of the Republic of Haiti.
Humble of heart, loving and smiling, he was aware of the responsibilities incumbent on him, but also of the power of his enemies. His words still resonate with me. Son, he said:
“Why should I be afraid in my homeland when my goal is to respect the will of the people who chose me?”
Five years later, February 7, 2022, was to be the end of his presidential term, and then of his public service. We should, on this day, witness the democratic transition of power from one President of the Republic of Haiti to another.
However, another five years without a new democratically elected president awaits us. Five years of deep political crisis without a glimmer of hope for a bruised nation is hanging over us. Five long years of us agonizing for the pleasure of our past but still present oppressors. Another five-year term for those who make it their duty to kill our hope. It is shameful for any human being to see that these unscrupulous oppressors who have always camouflaged themselves as first aiders to put small bandages on a cancer are still and always there.
Is the illusion of aid more important than aid itself?
In a just world, all those who directly or indirectly participated in putting in place this plan, who either: killed, assassinated, disfigured, broken, humiliated, a president elected by universal suffrage, would be put in the dock and convicted of crimes against humanity. How long until this world? My dearest wish is to see this happening.
Please allow me, and all the people who suffer from this overwhelming situation, to mourn with dignity.
Impunity for the systematic execution of black and Afro-descendant presidents must end.
Whoever you are, you cannot continue to maintain this planetary injustice. Every president has a duty to lay a solid foundation for the development of his country. The president of Haiti was one of those leaders. The Haitian homeland has deserved its independence for two hundred and eighteen years now.
The assassination of our president is a symptom of a disease that has affected us for far too long.
For the nation who initiated the end of a lucrative slave system, poverty, corruption, insecurity, environmental degradation, the failing education system, the prefcarious structure of the health system, etc. Are not a coincidence.
Should the dream of an empire and its acolyte take precedence over the healthy development of an entire planet?
Haiti has suffered four hundred years of slavery and abuse. Two hundred and eighteen years of political, social and economic oppression.
In 1825, an order from France obliged our country to pay the equivalent of 28,000,000,000.00 US dollars in compensation for damages caused to French settlers during our liberation from slavery. For them it was a financial exercise that had nothing to do with any recognition of the harm caused to a whole section of humanity.
This ordinance was escorted by an armada of fourteen warships armed with 528 cannons.
The amount of 28,000,000,000.00 dollars was financed by French and American banks with interest, then fully reimbursed by Haiti in 1952. That is, one hundred and twenty-seven years later.
On July 28, 1915, occupation of our free Republic by the United States of America, ostensibly to “protect American economic interests,” also left indelible traces in the organizational infrastructure of our country’s institutions.
Are we masters in our own house?
My father knew he was an underdog head of state in Haiti. His presence at the head of the country proved that it was indeed possible that a man or a woman from a modest family, son or daughter of the peasantry, of dark colour, could become the president of his country.
He or she could claim this position without serving the powerful guarantors of the system and choosing to serve the common good. This choice cost him his life.
By his assassination, the guarantors of this rotten and corrupt system sent a message to all the young men and women of our country. They are telling us: “If you think you are the next Jovenel Moise, this is how it will end”.
My father also said: “Nothing is obtained without sacrifice.” He is now the latest president of Haiti to be assassinated, but although he is not the first, we must do everything to ensure that he is the last.
Let’s not forget who we really are.
We are Haitians and Haitians! We are valiant defenders of freedom for all.
Nothing can separate us from our will to live free or die, from our love for our brothers, then from our noble desire which has always been the very basis of all human life:
“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. No one shall be held in physical, mental, or economic slavery, nor in servitude”.
STRENGTH IN UNITY
Joverlein Moïse
