This November 18, 2024, the date of the commemoration of the 221st anniversary of the Battle of Vertières, the Presidential Transitional Council did not live up to the epic. In a lackluster statement, CPT President Leslie Voltaire called for unity. In the streets, armed gangs were showing force.
Increasingly, national holidays which recall Haiti’s historical prowess are being flouted. Since the bandits control 85% of the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, the so-called leaders and members of the population are limited in their actions. This November 18, 2024, which marks 221 years since the last battle before the Proclamation of Haiti’s Independence, it was the armed gangs who celebrated… in their own way. They were on display at the airport’s Carrefour, where large flames were seen and heavy gunfire was heard. The streets of the capital, Delmas and Pétion-Ville were almost empty.
Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, who has no grace period, given the scale and urgency of the situation, was content with a simple tweet to recall the meaning of Vertières and the symbolism that the date is wrong. Nothing more. Leslie Voltaire, for her part, gave a speech which, obviously, did not hit the mark. Which confirms that the “authorities” are only men in power, therefore without Authority.
All things considered, Haiti is at a turning point where only the people are capable of taking control of their destiny. As Dr. Emmanuel Ménard said during his speech on the Agora show hosted by the eminent journalist GeorGes Allen, this Monday, November 18, 2024: a people who have suffered everything, can dare everything.
Jenny Toussaint
Lawyer & Journalist Hebdo24 / 📩: jenny@hebdo24.com / Follow me on X: @jennyhebdo24
