Dear Haiti Friends,
Haitian acting president Ariel Henry has relatively few supporters on the grounds of his having been appointed (but never ratified) and not elected to office; been suspected of complicity in the assassination of the former president, Jovenal Moise, stalled the holding of any elections for other offices; and generally failed to solve any of the critical problems facing Haiti. Now returning from a trip to Kenya to secure the assistance of the forces promised by the U.N. many months ago, he is unable to return to Haiti because of the closing of the airport. The Dominican Republic has denied him permission to land on the other side of the island. In his absence, at least two possible coups are brewing:
Guy Philippe moves to grab Haitian presidency while PM Ariel Henry struggles to return
| Guy Philippe moves to grab Haitian presidency while PM Ariel Henry strug… Juhakenson Blaise, The Haitian Times Stay updated on the latest developments in Haiti related to Prime Minister Ariel Henry and the escalating gang v… |
“Barbeque” Cherizer threatening a civil war is really saying that gangs will shoot it out with each other to see who takes the spoils, but the collateral damage will be enormous.
For more about Guy Philippe — it’s not a pretty story either, although it does raise the question as to why we did not keep him in prison in the U.S.: Guy Philippe – Wikipedia
| Guy Philippe – Wikipedia Philippe served time in U.S federal prison from June 21, 2017, to November 30, 2023. He had gained power in Hai… |
The situation could hardly be more dismal. A three-way fight for power among three men all of whose hands are allegedly highly unclean cannot end well. Henry is reportedly being pressured by the US to resign, which is ironic as the U.S. was highly involved in installing him in the first place.
What on earth can we do? The only thing we can do effectively is to continue to support our friends, partners, and organizations known personally to us who continue to do good work in Haiti, in spite of the situation. People reaching out to people. I’m attaching a list of organizations whose work I know first-hand and can vouch for personally. Many of you are already supporters of one or more of these organizations — please keep up the good work. If you or your church or book club would like to adopt a rural school — let me know. Teacher salaries are about $100US per month. Please only consider a school partnership if you are interested in a long-term relationship with some sort of annual support, even a small amount, and please consider visiting when that’s possible again!
And one more thing — prayer. Presbyterian Missionary Cindy Corell is organizing a Zoom prayer for sometime this weekend. Check on her Facebook page, and I will also send out the link when it is available.
