Hypocrisy rules the world, The Sage thought as he sat on a slab of stone overlooking the river near Dondon. Hypocrisy is taught at an early age, when after a scolding or beating you cannot yell out what you really feel, instead retreating in tears. As you arrive at at work, you’re all smiles and happy greetings, but inside you wish you were away from these people you hate, especially your supervisor. People you call friends are forever badmouthing you to others while they smile and greet you like everything is ok. Let’s not forget about the teachers who fawn over their students, while inside they wish those youngsters would move to a distant state.
Yes, hypocrisy rules the world. Look at diplomacy, a well rehearsed ballroom where dancers smile endlessly as they step on each other’s toes. Countries at war meet and strike peace treaties they know will be broken. Enemies become friends at the blink of the eye, only to shoot one another in the back. The United Nations is an institution that foments division rather than union. Yet we act as if it’s really there to bring peace and unity. Since its inception the UN has watched so many wars and destruction all over the world that they should be called the Divided Nations. Yet the institution still remains there even though its mission has been perverted.
Racism and hypocrisy travel side by side. You’re denied employment because of being black but the refusal is coated with cliches about your capacities being excellent, but not enough for you to get the job. At school teachers who do not know how to communicate with their black students will tell their parents about the child’s inability to connect, all the while thinking they are wasting their time. Rather than face the problem, and with help from the parents try to bridge the gap, they hide behind hypocritical cliches learned from disconnected schools.
Sage sat motionless, allowing his thoughts to wander, but as night was approaching, he rose and sought shelter.
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While confined in Haiti, we are witness to interesting events and activities. First, cases of covid 19 are increasing alarmingly, while efforts made to fight the disease are haphazard at best. But while fighting covid 19 should be at the forefront of government concerns, it seems more involved with setting up elections. People pile up at centers to get their electoral card with no protections from the disease, many without masks. The government has asked for assistance from the OAS to help carry out legislative and local elections rather than seek help to refurbish and equip hospitals, like the UEH medical center known as the General Hospital or the Hospital La Paix in Delmas, so that they could safeguard the personnel against the corona virus. Instead President Jovenel Moise has sent his advisors to various radio stations to tout elections and say his mandate ends in 2022 rather than 2021 as most people say. All this while the population is questioning the whereabouts of supplies recently purchased by the government with great fanfare to equip hospitals so they could treat covid 19 patients. Why the sudden push for elections?
President Jovenel Moise needs to amend the constitution to be able to run again in the upcoming presidential election he will set up after stacking parliament with his allies from PHTK and KID. Originally, the plan was for Moise to hand power to Michel Martelly at the end of his mandate, but there may be adjustments in the script. Jovenel Moise wants to stay in power because he feels that he can do it. Martelly does not look like a president in waiting because of his actions and his involvement in the Petro Caribe scandal. Because of these two factors Moise wants to remain in power. Now, how does he do that? So first, he holds legislative elections to set up parliament; so that after, the assembly changes the constitution in his favor. Once Moise has parliament in his pocket, he can steer them toward the constitutional reform he has been dreaming about since he took office. This is the rationale behind him blaming the system for all his failed promised, starting with the caravan, continuing with electricity 24/7, and ending with the phantom 3000 gourdes he promised to give to over one and a half million people. If allowed to stay in power with a new constitution that gives him all the power, all the countries problems will be solved. This is the rationale behind the rush to elect parliament after not having elections for three years, and allowing parliament to dissolve in January.
With gangs taking control of sizable portions of the country, elections can only be held with their connivance. So it will come down to vote for my guy or get shot trying to go against him in many localities. The ballot or bullets. This is a risky strategy because if allowed to directly decide who wins contests in areas they control, those gangs may decide to take over, and also crime will rise. Will the regime attempt to fight the gangs and clean up the country before elections are held, or will the gangs become allies to win parliament at all costs? Will the political parties allow this to take place, and do they have the strength to stop it? As we watch the play unfold, times will get harder as covid 19 continues its ravages, with death and economic destruction the evil byproduct.
Dèyè Mon 