From Babylon to Haiti: Why Scattered Peoples Must Rebuild, Not Just Resist
Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart." Deuteronomy 28:65
This verse speaks directly to Haiti's current crisis: we are displaced at home and rejected abroad. While Haitian advocates correctly identify external conspiracies against our nation, they consistently fail to offer alternatives or address our internal challenges.
I fully accept that foreign actors harbor a deep antipathy toward Haiti. Indeed, neocolonialism remains a powerful force designed to keep Global South countries, like Haiti, subjugated. Furthermore, the international community has systematically undermined Haitian sovereignty since 1804. These are documented historical patterns, not conspiracy theories. But my frustration is with the one critical question activists refuse to answer: Now that we know about the conspiracies, what exactly do we do about them?
The truth is certain as sunrise: no one can save us but ourselves.
The lack of answer amounts to intellectual abdication disguised as revolutionary discourse—rhetoric generating applause but no tangible transformation. We've grown comfortable as passive victims stripped of agency. The truth is certain as sunrise: no one can save us but ourselves.
A Nation Under Siege
A 2024 UN report found that gang violence claimed 5,601 lives in Haiti, a 22% increase from 2023. Armed gang coalitions now control approximately 80% of Port-au-Prince, governing a population larger than twelve CARICOM member states combined.
The December 2024 Cité Soleil massacre illustrates the total collapse of governance and the state. Gang leaders orchestrated the execution of 207 civilians in a public display of authority, mutilating and burning victims to erase evidence and erode legal order.
More than 1.6 million women and children live in gang-controlled areas. UNICEF reports a 1,000% increase in sexual violence involving children between 2023 and 2024, while child recruitment by armed groups surged 70%, with children comprising 50% of gang members.
Global Anti-Haitian Discrimination
While Haiti implodes internally, Haitians abroad face systematic discrimination throughout the hemisphere. The Dominican Republic deported over 276,000 Haitians in 2024, including forcibly removing pregnant women giving birth from their hospital beds.
The Trump administration reinstated a travel ban fully barring Haitian citizens from coming to the U.S. and terminated the CHNV parole program, placing over 500,000 migrants at deportation risk. The Bahamas intensified its border controls because of Haitians, and Jamaica imposed new visa requirements, and even Cuba, a stalwart ally, began rejecting Haitian migrants.
These actions reflect systematic exclusion and evidence of systemic anti-Haitian bias spanning the hemisphere. While we must fight against discrimination, xenophobia, and outright racism, my interest and commitment lie in transforming Haiti into a nation where its people are safe, respected, and no longer forced to flee.
The Collective Action Paradox
Despite sending over $3.8 billion in remittances in 2023 (20% of Haiti's GDP), the Haitian diaspora has failed to translate its economic might into political influence or any structural transformation. Paradoxically, as we face persecution abroad, the diaspora remains unwelcome at home. Yet our remittance dollars continue flowing not only to Haiti but directly to our adversaries. Indeed, we actively invest in the Dominican Republic even amid persistent anti-Haitian racism.
The diaspora must also face its failures.
The diaspora must also face its failures. We reliably mobilize for cultural events, from sports to entertainment, but are absent when political participation is required. The Carimi reunion concert in December 2024 perfectly illustrates this behavior: "Carimi Nation" drew over 18,000 attendees to New York's UBS Arena, demonstrating our community’s remarkable mobilization capacity. In stark contrast, a 2022 Washington march addressing Haiti's political crisis attracted fewer than 100 participants (many non-Haitians) even while a major Haitian celebration was taking place just a few blocks away.
The "Haitian exclusion syndrome."
This reflects the classic collective action problem where individuals prioritize personal interests over collective needs. We celebrate together but leave others to handle our socio-political challenges. The result is a systematic underinvestment in institution-building. When movements do emerge against the odds, they quickly succumb to what I call the "Haitian exclusion syndrome," which is the exclusion of anyone who is not a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or some other professional type. Our community’s internal fragmentation limits our ability to scale and achieve meaningful impact. To do better, we must accept our own failures and build from there.
Cultural pride cannot substitute for political organization.
Other diaspora communities offer proven models we must study. Korean-Americans coordinated sustained support for South Korea's democratization; overseas Chinese networks built institutional capacity supporting China's economic rise; Irish-Americans sustained political movements for decades while building economic ties. These communities succeeded through sustained coordination and strategic thinking, understanding that cultural pride cannot substitute for political organization and economic investments.
The Three Stone (Wòch) Strategy
Addressing Haiti's crisis requires the systematic reconstruction of state capacity and comprehensive citizens' engagement. In my article Three Fire Stones (Twa Wòch Dife), I outlined a framework focusing on three interconnected foundations: security architecture, economic integration, and educational transformation.
Security: The Cornerstone
Security represents the fundamental prerequisite for all reforms. My Five-Point Strategy for Sustainable Security article emphasizes Haitian leadership while accepting that international support may be necessary, but only once we have skin in the game. Some of the solutions I proposed included:
Using Haitian resources to strengthen the police and army.
Reinforcing elite units within the Haitian National Police;
Expanding community policing with international backing via the Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support Mission;
Nationalizing the approximately 75,000 private security personnel under unified state authority; and
Prosecuting gang financiers and elite sponsors, not just foot soldiers.
A divided land and a divided people will inevitably fall.
Haiti has the human and financial resources, but as the country falls deeper into crisis, its economic elite has secured their own enclaves with private guards and armored vehicles. In cities like Cap-Haïtien, residents speak as if they are insulated from the chaos in Port-au-Prince, failing to grasp that no region or class can remain untouched by a national collapse. A divided land and a divided people will inevitably fall. Beyond tactical operations, restoring security also requires rebuilding the justice system to rid ourselves of the scourge of impunity and hold both gangs and their backers accountable.
Economic Integration: The Second Stone/Wòch
Haiti's recovery requires strategic redirection from consumption toward productive investment. In my Public-Private-Philanthropic Partnership (P4) model, I outlined institutional frameworks channeling investment into agriculture, manufacturing, and infrastructure. This requires a counterintuitive shift: a willingness to pay more for Haitian-made goods and reduce overreliance on imports, especially from the Dominican Republic. These costs should not be seen only in dollars and cents but as investments in preserving our dignity and reclaiming our economic sovereignty.
Education: The Third Stone/Wòch
Education serves as both an equalizer and a state-building tool. Currently, more than 80% of schools are privately run businesses. This puts education out of the reach of many families, deepening social inequality. Reversing this ratio requires strong public education through sustained public-private investment.
The National Education Fund (FNE), which was created to finance public education through remittance fees, could’ve been a good mechanism. Instead, it exemplifies the dysfunction of the public sector with connivance of the intellectual elite. According to HaitiLibre, the FNE is now burdened with more than 2 billion gourdes in unpaid debts and arrears. The leadership of the institution remains in the hands of a political appointee with no relevant experience. Moreover, public reporting on the fund’s expenditures has been virtually nonexistent under the Presidential Transitional Council (CPT) and previous administrations alike.
This lack of transparency has not gone unnoticed. In 2023, a group of Haitians in the diaspora filed a lawsuit demanding accountability and clarity regarding the use of remittance fees collected by the FNE. Although the lawsuit was ultimately dismissed by the US courts, it highlighted a desire for transparency and reform among the diaspora.
Education... can act as an effective vehicle for instilling democratic values and civic responsibility.
Education should be more than just a pathway to opportunity. It can act as an effective vehicle for instilling democratic values and civic responsibility. Remittance dollars ought to be used to strengthen public, not private, schools. The public school system can also serve as a laboratory for democratic governance. One approach is to create school boards that include representatives from the diaspora, parents, community leaders, and, most importantly, the students themselves. This model would enhance governance, promote local ownership, and function as a training ground for democratic participation. Education, if approached correctly, is how we develop both the next economy and the next republic.
Diaspora Institutional Development
The Haitian diaspora is one of the country’s greatest untapped assets. Yet the Ministry of Haitians Living Abroad (MHAVE), which should serve as the central coordination body for diaspora engagement, has too often been reduced to a tool of political patronage, staffed by appointees with little understanding of or connection to the diaspora’s needs. In my article. Anticipating and Seizing the Moment: 6 Key Demands for Haitian Diaspora Inclusion outlined strategies to secure the diaspora’s involvement in Haiti’s political future. I argued that MHAVE must be restructured and led by diaspora-elected representatives who bring both legitimacy and accountability to the role.
We must channel our moral obligation into long-term structural engagement.
But institutional reform requires more than just symbolic appointments. In my call for a shift beyond charity article, I made the case that we must channel our moral obligation into long-term structural engagement. This means building cross-country coalitions to align advocacy strategies, investing in professional lobbying infrastructure, and establishing permanent funding mechanisms that can support health partnerships, education initiatives, and economic development.
Equally important, we must develop inclusive governance models that reflect our democratic aspirations. Institutions like MHAVE should function not only as administrative bodies but also as civic platforms where the diaspora, government, and grassroots leaders from the diaspora and in Haiti can collaborate.
NHAEON's...leaders must now fulfill their positioning as defenders of Haitian interests.
In my challenge to Haitian-American leaders article, I urged coordination through the National Haitian Elected Officials Network (NHAEON), which includes over 80 elected and appointed officials. While NHAEON's performance has been disappointing, no other organization possesses comparable reach and legitimacy. These leaders must now fulfill their positioning as defenders of Haitian interests.
From Victimization to Agency
The biblical warning about scattered peoples finding no rest carries an implicit challenge. These results are from choices made by those creating the conditions for our displacement and those failing to create the conditions for our return. External enemies may provide the matches, but our internal failures supply the kindling.
Sustainable security requires Haitian funding and leadership
I propose a strategic framework through the Three Wòch Dife approach, recognizing that other viable frameworks exist. The way forward requires fundamental commitments: recognize that regional crises threaten the entire nation; transform institutions like the National Education Fund and MHAVE from patronage tools into development engines through transparent, professional management; accept that sustainable security requires Haitian funding and leadership; and implement P4 partnerships redirecting remittances toward productive sectors.
We possess the necessary human and financial resources but lack the institutional cohesion to deploy them effectively. The critical choice before us is stark: sustained institutional development or continued performance of victimization.
I do not doubt the evil that is arrayed against Haiti.
I do not doubt the evil that is arrayed against Haiti. It is precisely because of this hostility that we must build internal strength and capacity for resistance. Presidents Trump and Abinader will pursue their agendas regardless of our protests. We cannot change their actions, but we can and must develop our capacity to defend our interests and make their hostility irrelevant.
This choice carries historical weight. Our ancestors who broke slavery's chains established a clear precedent: freedom requires not just identifying oppression but building the capacity to defeat it. They created the world's first successful slave rebellion by combining righteous anger with strategic organization.
History will not judge our generation by the volume of our grievance against foreign powers, but by the work we put in to overcome them.
The challenge confronting all of us at home and abroad is whether we will prove to be worthy of our revolutionary legacy. Can we too build institutions capable of securing the sovereignty our ancestors died to establish? The time to choose has arrived. The question is no longer why Haiti fails, but whether Haitians will make it succeed.
From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor... and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. Nehemiah 4:17-18