Repercussions from Haiti

Not only does Haiti 's seat remain empty at the level of CARICOM Governments, it is also empty at the level of CARICOM Civil Society. We have indeed lost touch with the two official representatives from Haiti who sat with us on the CARICOM CIVIL Society Task Force.

On hindsight, one made a desperate attempt to get out of Haiti just before the American invasion. His request to live in Barbados for two years in order to learn English was the last I heard from him.

After investigating the possibility I tried to get back to him a week or two later but got no response. He does not answer his e-mail or his telephone. The last news we heard about him was that he was part of a large demonstration of youth who were fired upon and beaten up prior to the invasion.

One of the complaints he used to make is that the language barrier proved challenging and prevented them from fully participating. His observation was that English Speaking people make no attempt to understand other languages. He noted that if they did not understand they threw it one-side.

The undertone coming across is that we English Speaking people are arrogant in this respect and if we are to be true to ourselves, we cannot but search our hearts and reflect on the veracity of this charge.

Have we failed to heed the calls of the people of Haiti by not attempting to understand the critical role that CARICOM needed to play in restoring Haiti to its glory and pride to the people of Haiti ?

While there is merit in self determination, how far down in the gutter would you allow a neighbour to slip, before you realize that he should not be in the gutter in the first place and that you need to come to his assistance?