A message and exhortation to the businessmen, the media managers and foreign friends of Haiti who want to and still can help us reverse the hellish situation we are facing. The elections that took place on August 9 and the electoral contests that will be held on October 25 indicate that we are facing in Haiti a nation in disarray and a population in distress. The decomposition of Haiti began with the assassination of Emperor Jean Jacques Dessalines 209 years ago, two years after the epic victory of 1804 – the drama shook the world as the colonial structure that has lasted 300 years was perceived to be unshakable and eternal.

The 22 heroes and gallant soldiers of independence achieved this feat; they challenged a tripartite alliance to affirm to the world that every man is a divine product, worthy of respect, admiration and support in fulfilling the destiny that the creator has entrusted to him. This decomposition of the nation and its citizens has accelerated for the past 60 years, since the exile of Paul Eugene Magloire. He had to leave Haiti because at the end of his mandate he did not have the good grace to promptly organize new elections. There has been suffering ever since, in a country where the love of power has taken precedence over the love of country. The Duvaliers clearly muzzled the population and allied themselves with the neo-colonialists to bury the development of Haiti after the Second World War.

For over 30 years, the achievements of modernity have bypassed Haiti to go elsewhere. The advent of democracy in 1987, which was to bring milk and honey and manna long awaited by the population, has only delayed or even buried all hopes for a better day. In fact, the basic services and excellent infrastructure that would have entrenched the people in their locality have not only vanished but the rule of law imposed by the dictatorship has never materialized during a democracy that was only in name but not in fact.

Aristide's Lavalas doctrine brought to Haiti, as the name suggests, debris and decadence from the past as well as the trash of the present. The cleaning up of this debris has not yet begun; like a parasitic plant the doctrine has crept its way into the ethos of the population. Michel Joseph Martelly – elected as part of a rejection of the doctrine of René Préval, the Siamese twin of Jean Bertrand Aristide – has ultimately brought solace only to his close friends, leaving the population in confusion.

The press, formerly a safety valve to facilitate the orderly departure of governments that did wrong for their people but refused to go away, became, in part, a press pursuing the source of the money, not even worrying about the importance of the profession, which should serve none other than a priestly function and a service to the nation and to the world for the common good of humanity. The opposition wants to turn the tables. It seeks only profit and will take us further into the abyss of the transition that started with the aborted elections of November 28, 1987. It has been the primary source of our misfortunes to date. If we had marched as the valiant soldiers of 1804 did on the day of that election, we might have today a good and hospitable Haiti for all.

Will the political change after the balloting of October 25, 2015 take place in accordance with the consent of the people for a better tomorrow? There is still time to turn things around and start again, as before October 17, 1806, to rebuild Haiti. It can still become the Pearl of the Antilles but this time, after the colonial era. I have defined the problems and solutions in my book: A better Haiti for all is possible with Jean Hervé Charles as President of Haiti. The solutions to our problems are simple, in fact they are symptomatic of failed states that bounced back; for example Singapore, Rwanda, South Korea, Hong Kong and Mainland China.

Here are the problems:

• The lack of sense of belonging that would facilitate the creation of a common ethos according to the doctrine of Ernest Renan on how to build a great nation.

• The lack of sound institutions and infrastructure to entrench the population in its native areas so that Haitians are no longer nomadic in their own country, hindering any organized urbanization and development.

• The lack of a sense of citizenship in the population to galvanize especially the middle class in favor of those who were left behind so that they catch up with other successful families.

• Finally, the lack of effective leadership for the state, which would help citizens find and fulfill the special destiny given to this nation by the creator of the universe.

My vision and my government, on a budget of $8 billion, would fulfill all four conditions for building a good nation and shaping good citizens:

• Create a sense of belonging so that division no longer exists between different parts of the nation. Bring an end to the misery of those who suffer from a de facto apartheid system more pernicious that the de jure version because it has become part of a culture of disrespecting the underprivileged classes.

• Construct a country with excellent infrastructure and sound institutions from the rural areas to the capital so that the population can settle happily in their catchment area.

• Agree that an urgent affirmative priority will be considered for those who are marginalized so that they catch up the rest of the population. This will be done through PPPs (public private partnerships) to incubate and accompany them in their production so that the quality and the quantity of the product will provide sufficient income to propel them into the middle class.

• And finally, that Haiti regains its sovereignty while engaging in its divine mission of emancipating the nation by spreading the Haitian dream for all, which is nothing less than the right and the means for each individual to reach his goal of self-fulfillment.

I can meet this challenge because the population is ready. They are tired of the fact that elections have not made a better or more real change in their lifestyle. I only hope my message – that a hospitable nation for all, rich and poor, is possible in Haiti – reaches the wider population.

I opted for the independent approach to transmitting this message. The book, this article and my well prepared and illustrated pamphlets can do the job as long as I can find the means to inform the six million voters.

I urge you to help us build a Haiti that will be good for all. It will be good for businessmen since they will have a population of 10 million inhabitants with extraordinary purchasing power to consume their production. It will be good for the majority of the population. They will become good citizens because misery and despair will no longer be their lot.

The game is in the voters’ hands. We will be winners or losers depending on whether they choose to play their part and help us build a beautiful Haiti that will be rich, powerful and hospitable for all, especially for his own children.

• Jean H. Charles, LLB MSW, JD, is a syndicated columnist with Caribbean News Now. He can be reached at: jeancharles@aol.com and followed at Caribbeannewsnow/Haiti. This is published with the permission of Caribbean News Now.

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