Earlier this year, my paternal grandmother passed away in northern Haiti at the age of 94. Although my father wanted to attend her funeral, he decided not to travel to the country of her birth for fear of being kidnapped or, worse, murdered. My father's alarm is not unwarranted.
During the first months of 2024, more than 2,500 people were killed in the capital, Port-au-Prince, amid an escalation of armed conflict between local gangs. At least 300,000 people have fled their homes due to the violence, many of them migrating to southern cities, including Les Cayes and Jacmel, or northern communes such as Cap-Haitien.
Although leaving dangerous areas has provided some temporary relief, internally displaced people face harsh living conditions, not least due to inadequate provision of aid. Speaking to the Haitian Times, Paul Petit Franc, who moved from Port-au-Prince to Cap-Haitien, said: “I feel like a stranger in my own country.”
This sense of distancing did not arise overnight and speaks to a broader problem in Haitian society. Years of mismanagement, corruption and violence have torn the social fabric of the country.
Instead of addressing the crisis in Haiti in all its complexity, the international response has been to propose a $600 million security mission. Even with violence rising in Port-au-Prince, many Haitians doubt that another foreign military intervention will solve the country's systemic problems.
While the international community seemingly refuses to learn the lessons of the past, many Haitians at home and in the diaspora are reflecting on other possibilities. Haitian writer Edwidge Danticat posed a notable question in the New Yorker: “How can we rekindle that communal determination and determination that inspired us to defeat the largest armies in the world and then fix on our flag the motto 'L'union fait la force'? [Unity is strength]?” Danticat is right: what Haiti needs is a new resurgence of unity.
He would expand his letter to ask: What would happen if the intervention in Haiti were not a militarized mission, but rather a reconstruction project that prioritizes sustainability, economic redistribution, and guaranteed social services?
What Haiti really needs is a revitalization plan that not only guarantees employment for many Haitians but also provides the much-needed infrastructure to modernize the country and help heal its social fabric.
This would mean investing in the country in a way that Haitian elites and foreign actors never intended. It would mean introducing a Green New Deal.
This national program may reflect what the United States did to address socioeconomic inequalities during the Great Depression and what Europeans did to rebuild their devastated countries after World War II. There is no reason why the same vision cannot be applied to Haiti.
An environmentally focused development program would redistribute resources in a way that prioritizes social issues rather than thinking solely in terms of security for security's sake.
A Haitian Green New Deal would focus on creating sustainable jobs by launching renewable energy projects, constructing energy-efficient buildings that can withstand hurricanes and earthquakes, developing a national recycling center to reduce waste from landfills , adopting measures to protect the country's coast from the weather and expand drinking water infrastructure.
To address private sector failures in service delivery, the plan would take a people-centered approach that would establish a social housing program, a national rail system, universal healthcare, and direct agricultural subsidies to Haitian farmers to modernize practices. .
To address socioeconomic inequalities, the plan would seek to develop not only Port-au-Prince but also peripheral cities such as Cap-Haitien, Jacmel, Gonaives and Port-de-Paix, as well as rural areas.
Financial provisions would also need to be made to rebuild state institutions, expand existing structures, and hire appropriate Haitian staff to manage climate-oriented programs.
The Green New Deal would be modeled and built by Haitians with Haitian needs in mind. It would not only provide jobs but improve the quality of life, stabilize the country, stimulate the economy, reduce people's dependence on gangs and provide a sense of security.
To implement the Green New Deal, three main issues would need to be addressed.
First, Haiti's foreign debt, which currently stands at $2.35 billion or nearly 12 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), must be forgiven. The country's struggle to pay off debt and stabilize its economy has a long history, dating back to colonial France forcing its former colony to pay a 100-year indemnity for declaring independence in 1791. Eliminate the burden of this debt on the Haitian economy is a key issue. step to help stabilize it.
Second, securing financing for the Green New Deal should begin with Caribbean countries and the United States rethinking how they view and engage politically with Haiti. Instead of seeing their neighbor as a charity case or a pariah state, these countries should embrace the Green New Deal as a sustainable solution to the Haitian crisis that can bring regional stability and challenge the hostility shown by some states, such as the Republic Dominican. where Haitian refugees face mistreatment. It makes much more sense to finance a long-term plan that can ensure economic prosperity and security than a short-term military intervention that can make the situation worse.
Third, corruption must be addressed at the national and international levels. Haitians have already repeatedly demonstrated their rejection of the corrupt elites who have embezzled billions of dollars from state coffers. To prevent further theft of public funds, anti-corruption laws must be established and enforced. Regional actors and international institutions must support anti-corruption efforts by refusing to interact with corrupt members of the political elite.
Many Haitians living in the country and abroad have felt the weight of violence in their personal lives. Whether they had to flee their homes or were unable to properly say goodbye to a deceased loved one (as was the case with my father), they do not believe that the crisis is inevitable or orderly.
As Jacky Lumarque wrote in the Financial Times: “Haiti is a very complex society. Those who seek solutions for us need humility, nuance and historical depth to find appropriate answers.” Giving hope and highlighting the humanity of Haitians is essential. A Green New Deal can provide both. It is a plan that does not make empty promises and values the lives of Haitians.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.
