Vantage Point Special
Articles and Essays by Dr. Ron Daniels
In the aftermath of the shocking election of Donald J. Trump to a second term to the White House, President Biden is urgently moving to rush military aid to Ukraine during the final days of his administration. This aid is said to be desperately needed to enable the Ukrainian armed forces to repel the brutal and criminal onslaught of Vladimir Putin’s ground, air and naval forces. There is grave concern that because of Trump’s admiration, affection and affinity for Putin he will abruptly abandon America’s allegiance and alliance to President Volodymir Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people. With the constant images of the terror wrought on the Ukrainian people because of Putin’s imperial ambitions, most Americans support the massive aid that has been dispatched to defend Ukraine.
While the eyes of the U.S., Europe and the world are focused on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Haiti, the world’s first Black Republic is on fire; a faltering state, dangerously near collapse as a result of the brutal onslaught of heavily armed gangs that have become quasi-cartels. These criminal enterprises have seized 85% of the Capital of Port Au Prince and large swaths of territory across the county. As a consequence, millions of Haitians are suffering a living hell, barely clinging to life with scare food or clean drinking water and virtually no way to eke out a living through work.
Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Cherizier (AP)
As revealed in a recent report on the PBS News Hour, kidnapping, extortion, the serial raping of women and the slaughter of innocent civilians, many of whom are women and children has become the horrifying daily reality for millions of Haitians. And, in recent weeks Gangs have fired on and hit commercial airplanes taking off and landing at the Toussaint Louverture Airport in Port Au Prince. In response, airlines have suspended flights into Port Au Prince and Cap Haitien, cutting off travel and the supply of desperately needed food, water and medical supplies, further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis on the ground.
The masses of Haitian people are terrorized and traumatized with no real safety or security in site. What’s left of the poorly trained and corruption plagued National Police Force is totally out-numbered and out-matched by the superior firepower of the gangs. In the meantime, only a fraction of the UN approved Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) has arrived in Haiti. The MSS is facing a mission impossible because it is also outnumbered and outgunned. The first Black Republic is SUFFERING!
Haitian Women are baring the brunt of gang violence and occupation of neighborhoods. (Photo left -Reuters, Ralph Tedy Erol / Photo right – AP, Rodrigo Abd)
Despite some initial missteps, the Biden administration has generally been engaged in trying to resolve the crisis. This is largely due to the leadership of Congressman Gregory Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee with the support of the Congressional Black Caucus, Civil Rights Legacy organizations and the mobilizing, organizing of solidarity by the Haitian American Foundation for Democracy and the Haiti Support Project.
But the Biden administration’s efforts have been seriously hampered by the obstruction of MAGA Republicans in the House of Representatives. They have stubbornly refused to sign-off on the substantial humanitarian, security and military aid urgently needed to establish security and advance a process for resolving the crisis. And, now Donald J. Trump, the man who previously called Haiti and African countries shithole nations and propagated the blatant lie that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio were eating the pets of their neighbors, this man has been re-elected President of the United States!
President Biden, if the situation in Ukraine is urgent, it is horrific, dire, desperate in Haiti, the First Black Republic which has contributed so much to the birth and development of the USA. Desperate times demand desperate measures. Mr. President, while your administration is fixated on getting aid out the door to Ukraine before you depart the White House, I ask again, why not aid to Haiti?
It is an open secret that when a President of the USA is hell-bent on pursuing a particular mission, like waging a war in Iraq or Afghanistan “off-budget,” billions of dollars can suddenly be found. So, President Biden as you and your administration exit the White House, I implore you to dig into one of those hidden pockets that magically appear to fund a President’s priority causes and missions. Exercise you executive authority to find some desperately needed humanitarian and military assistance dollars to give the embattled Haitian people a fighting chance to resist and repel the gang lords in their pursuit of creating and people-based democracy. President Biden, find the urgently needed aid for Haiti as a departing, magnanimous act of gratitude to the First Black Republic!
