Some Things Never Change

Today makes 35 years since the Duvalier dictatorship fell in Haiti. Jean-Claude Duvalier went into exile on this day in 1986. I told my mom that this morning and she recalled crawling under the windows in their apartment on Delmas 33 with their newborn baby (me). There was so much gunfire outside that she was afraid a stray bullet would come through the window.

Today was also the original end date for the Haitian president's five-year term. Inauguration Day for the current president, Jovenel Moise, was supposed to be February 7, 2016, but an election crisis delayed his inauguration by one year. Naturally, the president has always maintained that he still gets five years from his inauguration, which means he has one year left. The political opposition in Haiti vowed strikes and protests to force him to leave. The Biden administration published a statement this weekend indicating that it is also the opinion of the U.S. government that his term should last one more year. The protesters seem to have succeeded in shutting things down for a few days but it is unlikely that they will be able to force the president out. There has been a wave of kidnappings of schoolchildren over the last year, however, that has been making life miserable in the capital. It likely is connected to the political opposition as well, who want to make life as difficult as possible until they get power.

I'm in the USA and though I feel a little guilty enjoying my unplanned sojourn, I have to admit that it's nice not to have to worry about strikes and protests in Haiti from where I sit. Americans really do not know how good they have it relative to much of the world. In the USA, today was not remarkable for any reason except that it was Super Bowl Sunday. My Dad and I watched Tom Brady and the Bucs clobber the Chiefs. There were no power outages, the gas stations all have fuel, and children will go to school tomorrow without fear. I pray that peace comes to Haiti--I've been praying for that my whole life--but I'm not holding my breath. People were dodging bullets in Haiti when I was a baby and people are doing the same there today. Some things never seem to change.