General Misconceptions Among Haitians & About
Haiti
Misconception: There have to be roadways
constructed in Haiti in order to jumpstart economic development. Not true!
Truth: In order to
jumpstart economic development there has to be a plan to build up a communication
infrastructure with the help of economic analyses and economic forecasts that take into
account the necessity for job creation and responsible fiscal policies. A communication
infrastructure comprises essentially two categories:
1) A transportation system: maritime ways
(canals, ocean, rivers, ships and seaports), aerial ways (airports, aerodromes,
helicopters and airplanes), terrestrial ways (railroads, roadways). In that regard, the
coastal city of Jeremie can achieve economic development without an expensive roadway
connecting it to Port-au-Prince; what Jeremie needs for its economic development is a good
seaport and something to offer back to the rest of the world, not necessarily a roadway
linking it to Dame-Marie or any other cities for that matter. A roadway network is just
one kind of transportation system; it is neither the only one nor the most beneficial over
the long term. In other words, a roadway that links Jacmel to Port-au-Prince or to any
other cities is not necessarily going to spur economic growth in Jacmel unless Jacmel has
something to offer in return to Port-au-Prince.
2) A telecommunications system: A
transportation system alone is not sufficient to sustain economic development because of
all the technological advances the world has seen. A good telecommunication system is also
a must-have. For instance, a banking institution headquartered in Port-au-Prince would be
more inclined to open up a branch or several branches in the city of Jacmel if they can
count on a reliable telecommunications system for their numerous lucrative electronic
transactions.
Misconception: In order to attract foreign
investments, Haiti has to become politically stable and safe. Wrong!
Truth: In order to attract foreign
investments, Haiti has to educate itself not necessarily become politically stable and
safe. The fundamental reason is that in our western capitalist society, an economic
decision such as investing in a foreign country is not based on one criterion such as
political stability but rather on a set of multi-attribute analyses of all the advantages
the foreign recipient country has to offer. If Haiti manages to dramatically increase the
number of skilled workers it has, Haiti will definitely attract a variety of serious
foreign investments; politically stable or not. On the contrary, even if Haiti was to
become politically stable in the eyes of the international community, it will never
attract the kinds of foreign investments that may help it to prosper unless a $ 40 million
budget is allocated to or injected into the state university of Haiti to build new
campuses, upgrade its laboratories, and fund some researches.
Misconception: The Haitian police force is
ill equipped to disband the armed groups and paramilitary forces. Not entirely true!
Truth: Safety is a state of mind. Safety is
not necessarily how well equipped the police force is but rather how trustworthy the
police force is to the general Haitian population. I don’t believe there is any
country where the police force can not provide adequate security to the general population
if there is a firm determination to do so. Certainly, it will take time and there will be
casualties in the police ranks; make no mistake about it. But the police force can
prevail.
Misconception: Haitian Economic Experts
voice their opinions against budget deficits incurred by the state of Haiti. Bad advice!
Truth: An annual budget deficit is not a
cause for concern for any nation depending on how and where the money is spent by the
government. Let’s say Haiti incurs an annual budget deficit of $ 80 millions US
dollars (about three billions ‘gourde’). Let’s assume that those $80
millions are spent on erecting 8 amphitheaters – convention centers one in each of
the major cities (Jeremie, Cayes, Cap-Haitien, Fort-Liberte, Port-de-Paix, Jacmel,
Gonaives, and Hinche) at a cost of $5 millions each. Let’s assume the other $40
millions are invested in building 8 Olympic gymnasiums and 8 public research libraries in
each of the major cities cited above at a cost of $4 millions and $1 millions
respectively; well, then that budget deficit is not a problem for Haiti.
Oh no! Haiti will recover that money in less than
twenty-five years with interests. More importantly, to reconcile with the other truths I
described above, building those monuments is what is going to spur economic growth in
those cities; not necessarily inter-city roadways. Besides, most of the construction
materials would come from abroad anyway; therefore, the necessity of a good seaport rather
than an expensive roadway. If on the contrary, the government of Haiti would incur huge
budget deficits by bailing out ailing sectors of the economy like the Jamaican and
Dominican Republic authorities did recently then those budget deficits would be a serious
problem for Haiti since those kinds of government expenditures are not easily recovered.
Misconception: Building a public school
(lycee) in each locality is a beneficial national education plan for Haiti. Not in the
short term!
Truth: With the rural exodus that Haiti has
been experiencing, it is hard to believe there is any one left in the rural localities.
What Haiti really needs is a national education plan that is in tandem with a national
economic development plan. Again, reconciling with the truths I described above, Haiti
needs not to build a public school in each locality but rather use that money to quickly
raise the level of expertise of the State University of Haiti to international standard
and augment significantly the number of campuses the State University of Haiti possesses
so that the future graduates would be able to acquire the skill level crucial in
attracting foreign investments in a comfortable environment. Haiti is in needs of jobs. In
order to create jobs, you need to encourage investments. In order to encourage good
investments, investors need to feel confident that the skilled work force that will help
their investments be profitable does exist already in the country. That is why if there is
any government money to spend on education in Haiti, it must be allocated to the State
University of Haiti colleges throughout the country first and foremost.
Misconception: Bois-Caiman was a voodooesque
ceremony. Not entirely correct!
Truth: Bois-Caiman ceremony was a political
gathering, a meeting of the minds, and a get-together assembly of ancestors and maroon
leaders to share knowledge, gather strength and come out with a consensus on which
direction the liberation movement must take in French occupied Haiti of 1791. Let’s
take the Bois-Caiman ceremony as an example of union and cooperation between a common
people enduring the same predicaments for so long. Let us unite, share our hopes and
apprehensions, and build a consensus for a better Haiti for all of us. Sorry to disagree
to all voodoo Haitians. Haiti did not achieve its political independence in 1804 because a
few charismatic ancestors implored the voodoo spirits in 1791; Haiti spilled its blood for
its freedom after reaching an historic compromise between dark skin Negroes and light skin
Negroes.
Misconception: Taking Jamaica or Dominican
Republic as examples to compare Haiti to. Not good!
Truth: Taking Jamaica or Dominican Republic
as models, which to compare Haiti to, is not only misguided but also rather foolish.
Jamaica was a British condominium for the longest time until its independence in 1962.
Dominican Republic did not pay a dime to Haiti or Spain for its own independence in
1844/1864 like Haiti had to pay to France for its independence. Please find me a
200-year-old independent nation which endured nearly 25 years of war and devastation in
order to gain its independence and was rewarded after proclaiming itself independent
(1804) with nearly 60 years of suffocating diplomatic and economic embargo by the world
powers at that time, then we can begin to compare it to Haiti. Until then, Haiti is
unique.
Misconception: Let’s hand over Haiti to
a mulatto as head of state or as prime minister if we want Haiti to prosper, some people
say: Not a student of history!
Truth: Let us elect a patriotic and
nationalist well educated visionary as head of state then Haiti can hope for some
prosperity. To all of my fellow Haitians that embrace the misconception above I say to you
grab a pen or a pencil and some paper and write down all the names of past Haitian
presidents/heads of state that were mulatto over the last 200 hundred years. Also write
down next to their names the length of time they stayed in office and take the total. The
total will be about 84 years all together (make sure you include Andre Rigaud, Henry
Namphy, and Raoul Cedras as mulattos, and also the military or civilian juntas dominated
by mulattoes ). Now divide 84 by 200 and you will notice that the Haitian mulatto/elite
has been in power in Haiti directly or indirectly, under one form or another, nearly 42%
of the time and when you consider the remaining 58% of the time that the black presidents
were actually puppets most of the time at the mercy of the elite, both intellectual and
economic elite, you will quickly realize that it does not matter much if it is a black or
a mulatto as president. The plight of Haitian people is never heard at the national palace
for the last 200 years. Haiti needs a visionary first and a unifier second.
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