The Tribune

IN October of last year, Haiti Prime Minister Ariel Henry called for foreign military support to intervene as the nation slumped further into crisis.

That call was repeated by the UN envoy to Haiti, Helen La Lime, but so far there has been no sign of those boots on the ground.

It is worth bearing that in mind in light of the latest gathering to discuss the situation in Haiti. A meeting held in Jamaica featured prominent partners in efforts to assist Haiti.

These were the people who went to Haiti on a special mission in February. These are the people who form the eminent persons group tasked with finding a solution. These are leaders from around the region.

And yet, listening to the speeches at yesterday’s event, there was a palpable sense of perhaps not frustration, but of the difficulty of attaining meaningful agreement on a way forward.

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis was perhaps the clearest in expressing the challenges of finding a solution.

He said: “If there existed a perfect solution, we probably would have found it by now. And so, I think it is important that we recognise that what we are striving for, may, in the end, not be perfect, but will likely be something that, in the immediate term, is effective.”

He added: “What lies short of perfection is something that requires us to hold some degree of an open mind. Within each of us, we have to think it possible that our own ideas may not be perfect.

“We have to think it possible that listening, empathy and compromise is the most likely path to a solution, one which is not perfect for any of us, but by far the best for the Haitian people, and the survival of the Republic. Think it possible, and I believe we may find it.”

Read between the lines of that speech and it is clear that no agreement is in place, and no agreement can be expected at present that will be perfect for all parties.

The stakes are clear – and Mr Davis reiterated them, highlighting the killings, the rapes, the kidnapping, the violence, the looting, the robberies and the gang warfare taking place in our neighbour country.

Haiti has a famous place in history, the first independent nation in the region, the first country in the Americas to eliminate slavery, the only state to have been established after a slave revolt.

When Prime Minister Henry talks of the need for a “rebirth” of his nation, that is exactly what is required. Haiti as it stands has faltered. In many ways, it must begin again.

The challenges are deep. There is talk of finding a solution that comes from Haitian partners – but who are those partners? There remains no one in elected office in Haiti. Prime Minister Henry was sworn in as acting prime minister by the country’s president, Jovenel Moise, just two days before the latter’s assassination in 2001. Every elected representative has seen their term of office expire. Henry’s position is questioned by political rivals, and his nation is paralysed by gangs who control significant parts of territory and substantial amounts of movement around the country. Police officers have suffered a number of fatalities in clashes with gangs, officers have gone on strike, vigilantes are executing suspected gang members, and people are struggling to find food and clean water.

In all of that, who is it in Haiti that we listen to? How do we get from where we are to a point where free elections can be held securely?

That is presumably why Mr Davis talks of a possible solution that is less than perfect.

But far worse would be no solution at all.