Dear President Rene Preval
Dear President Rene Preval,
All my efforts to renew my allegiance to Haiti would be futile if I did not take a moment to speak to you directly. Call it luck of misfortune, destiny or simply life; but, this devastating earthquake has given you and your government the unique opportunity to elevate your country out of the abyss that it has been descending for so long. Knowing that your time is very precious these days, I will try to be brief and to the point.
The world responded with outpouring sympathy and help to Haiti's crisis after January 12th, 2010. In unison they cried: Haiti has been down for so long and now it's the time to fix it once and for all. They all have their eyes on you, we have our eyes on you, for we don't have faith; or this letter would not have had any purpose. For every dollar pledged, there was a mention of corruption. Some misinformed racist even blamed the catastrophe on a pack that our for-fathers might have made with the devil before our independence.
But the world has not swayed. Graciously, they have given to your every demand and more. The infamous UN meeting of March 31st, 2010, has given us all great hope. Your said "government plan" has been held in effigy and you and Prime Minister Bellerive received all the accolades. What is in the plan, Mr. President? Is our dreamed Haiti in it? Does it have, at the very least, the outlines for stopping Haiti from free falling? Will we all have something that we can be proud of at the end of the 15 or so years of rebuilding? Will you go down in infamy or will your statue be standing proudly next to that of our 1st liberator, Jean Jacques Dessalines in the new Champs de Mars? After all, it was declared at the donors' conference of March 31st, in announcing the $10 Billions; that this day is, Haiti's 2nd Independence. You can now begin to understand my confusion, our confusion. Is Education number one or number two? For so long we have talked about decentralization, is it going to happen now that you have the financing to consider it? What is your dreamed Haiti look like? Does it has an educated people with jobs, water and sewer, cleaned streets and parks, foods in market's shelves, a fair and independent judicial system, electricity, etc.? Will your plan, at the least, pose the foundation for such accomplishments? Removing the country from that bottomless pit must be your ultimate goal, Mr. President.
Haiti needs a drastic break from its recent past; your government needs to be more forthcoming. The people of Haiti; myself included, have been criticizing and accusing your government of all sorts of inactions, corruptions, ineptitudes, etc. mostly because you have been secretive about the business of the country. We need to know what's going on! A leader leads; a good leader leads and informs its citizens; but a great leader leads, treats his people with respect, and make his country the envy of all. Why should we have to learn of country endeavors from other world leaders' press conferences? Transparency at all levels of the government is what the world demanded of you; transparency now is what you owe us. For so long we have been kept in the dark, uninformed of the affairs of the country; let us start a new chapter today; let's make your government accountable to the people it must serve. Let us post the rebuilding plan on the internet for all eyes to see.
It saddens me to see a people so proud be the laughing stock of the whole world. You can continue to be silent and inaccessible, you may ignore every advice and go about your business the way you always have or, you can start today by leading your people to a recovery that will forever change the drum beat of Haiti. The history book has not been printed yet; you still have time to re-write the last chapter. You still have time to make us the proud nation that we once were, the respected people we ought to be.
Respectfully yours,
Kinglimage
All my efforts to renew my allegiance to Haiti would be futile if I did not take a moment to speak to you directly. Call it luck of misfortune, destiny or simply life; but, this devastating earthquake has given you and your government the unique opportunity to elevate your country out of the abyss that it has been descending for so long. Knowing that your time is very precious these days, I will try to be brief and to the point.
The world responded with outpouring sympathy and help to Haiti's crisis after January 12th, 2010. In unison they cried: Haiti has been down for so long and now it's the time to fix it once and for all. They all have their eyes on you, we have our eyes on you, for we don't have faith; or this letter would not have had any purpose. For every dollar pledged, there was a mention of corruption. Some misinformed racist even blamed the catastrophe on a pack that our for-fathers might have made with the devil before our independence.
But the world has not swayed. Graciously, they have given to your every demand and more. The infamous UN meeting of March 31st, 2010, has given us all great hope. Your said "government plan" has been held in effigy and you and Prime Minister Bellerive received all the accolades. What is in the plan, Mr. President? Is our dreamed Haiti in it? Does it have, at the very least, the outlines for stopping Haiti from free falling? Will we all have something that we can be proud of at the end of the 15 or so years of rebuilding? Will you go down in infamy or will your statue be standing proudly next to that of our 1st liberator, Jean Jacques Dessalines in the new Champs de Mars? After all, it was declared at the donors' conference of March 31st, in announcing the $10 Billions; that this day is, Haiti's 2nd Independence. You can now begin to understand my confusion, our confusion. Is Education number one or number two? For so long we have talked about decentralization, is it going to happen now that you have the financing to consider it? What is your dreamed Haiti look like? Does it has an educated people with jobs, water and sewer, cleaned streets and parks, foods in market's shelves, a fair and independent judicial system, electricity, etc.? Will your plan, at the least, pose the foundation for such accomplishments? Removing the country from that bottomless pit must be your ultimate goal, Mr. President.
Haiti needs a drastic break from its recent past; your government needs to be more forthcoming. The people of Haiti; myself included, have been criticizing and accusing your government of all sorts of inactions, corruptions, ineptitudes, etc. mostly because you have been secretive about the business of the country. We need to know what's going on! A leader leads; a good leader leads and informs its citizens; but a great leader leads, treats his people with respect, and make his country the envy of all. Why should we have to learn of country endeavors from other world leaders' press conferences? Transparency at all levels of the government is what the world demanded of you; transparency now is what you owe us. For so long we have been kept in the dark, uninformed of the affairs of the country; let us start a new chapter today; let's make your government accountable to the people it must serve. Let us post the rebuilding plan on the internet for all eyes to see.
It saddens me to see a people so proud be the laughing stock of the whole world. You can continue to be silent and inaccessible, you may ignore every advice and go about your business the way you always have or, you can start today by leading your people to a recovery that will forever change the drum beat of Haiti. The history book has not been printed yet; you still have time to re-write the last chapter. You still have time to make us the proud nation that we once were, the respected people we ought to be.
Respectfully yours,
Kinglimage
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