It’s time to put an end to official acts in French and nighttime speeches in Creole
There are of course the expected signals in terms of general policy.
In areas where the pain is too strong, the pain too deep to ask society to be patient. The economic conditions of the masses, crime, education, the health system almost destroyed. All measures to be taken on “major issues”.
But there are also signals to be given to demonstrate a change in atmosphere and the relationship of “leaders” to power and the population. They may seem secondary, but they are not. They bear witness to a reality in the exercise of power and it is often on them that ordinary citizens base their perceptions and judgments.
The economic conditions of the masses, crime, education, the health system almost destroyed.
The PHTK era, for example, returned with a strong sign of the Duvalierist dictatorship : the fury of the processions which threaten everything, sometimes crushing without stopping.
Read also: The “Duvaliers” in the history of Haiti: crimes, executions and injustice
What is more annoying for a citizen than feeling threatened and being practically jostled by a trail of vehicles whose number seems unnecessarily imposing? The phenomenon of processions has never been more than a way for corrupt and ineffective powers to signal their presence and their strength, which we would have preferred to see them exercise differently.
The question of police impunity is also a major question.
You shouldn’t be afraid to talk about it. To ignore it would be the continuation of a policy of contempt towards citizens and police officers. Police officers often sent to the butchery. Police officers who were not given the means to carry out their work. In compensation, they were given “the right” to do anything to civilians and to use their badges and weapons to commit abuses and grant themselves privileges. Citizens, particularly in working-class neighborhoods, suffer too much from this impunity and it contributes to disorder in the administration.
Read also: Police impunity in Haiti worries while waiting for international force
In its legal and administrative acts, it is also important that the CPT and the government respect constitutional bilingualism. In this respect the CTP has not been exemplary so far. The principle of a state with two languages is an inclusive approach. It is time to put an end to official acts in French and nighttime speeches in Creole. Imposing and applying bilingualism in the public service and the management of public affairs would constitute a major sign of change and respect for the basic rights of the population.
So many things that would be positive signs…
We cannot name them all. But there is one that is fundamental. Put some substance into the speeches of political leaders, and make these speeches speak first to Haitians. PHTK, in all its variations, has only ever spoken into the void or to people other than us. And give a sign that we are in dialogue not only with the powerful, but with everyone. In this sense, I am one of those who see a negative signal in the eagerness, even before the appointment of a government, shown by the Prime Minister to meet “the friends of the international community”, the “employer sector” yet represented in the Presidential Council, but not the unions or other civil and popular structures.
Par Lyonel Trouillot
Cover image: Prime Minister Garry Conille and the current President of the Presidential Transition Council (CPT), Edgard Leblanc Fils, on June 12, 2024, at the Villa d’Acceuil, in Musseau, during the installation ceremony of the PM and members of the government. | © X/@MCHaiti
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Poet, novelist, literary critic and screenwriter, Lyonel Trouillot studied law.
