The Haitians here are being held to ransom

OTTAWA | Members of the Haitian diaspora in Montreal are being ransomed with hundreds of thousands of dollars by the criminal gangs that control Haiti, so much so that they are now calling for urgent intervention from Canada to put an end to the horror.

• Read also: Crisis in Haiti: A vocal Montreal diaspora is heard outside Trudeau’s office

“Every week, I receive a call from Haiti. I am asked: how much are you able to give? We are constantly being ransomed. All our money goes to that. We are no longer capable,” explains Joseph Flaubert Duclair, of the organization Debout pour laigue.

Since the fall, kidnappings are legion in Haiti. To the point that in the capital, Port-au-Prince, people barricade themselves at home and do not dare to go out for days, even weeks, even if it means depriving themselves of food, indicates on the spot Fritz Alphonse Jean, the president of the Montana Accord citizens’ opposition group.

“The city is completely besieged. We are in prison”, breathes this ex-governor of the Haitian Central Bank, himself barricaded at home. Those who dare to go out and stray from the few security corridors are beaten, raped, killed or abducted.

Forced to mortgage the house

In this case, the ransom demands end up with their relatives abroad, who must organize fundraisers. Pastor Joseph Jr Clorméus, of the Church of God of Prophecy, says his followers are being asked for US$420,000 for the release of seven people. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, he says.

“There are people who have mortgaged their homes, who take out loans, who sell their property, elderly people who have to continue working,” he laments.

If they don’t pay, women and girls are subjected to collective rapes of unspeakable bestiality and children are enlisted as soldiers, says the pastor.

In this context, “a high percentage of the population is now in favor of some form of international intervention”, indicates Mr. Jean, even if his organization, the Montana Accord, is opposed to it since the previous foreign interventions in Haiti have failed to establish a lasting peace.

Many members of the diaspora in Montreal have long been of the same opinion, but the current horror leaves no other choice, indicates Mr. Flaubert Duclair, who underlines that public opinion is swaying here and there (see text opposite).

The Haitian police, not a solution

“We don’t want a military invasion, but an operational force that intervenes on an ad hoc basis,” he argues. It takes Canada to do that, we don’t trust other countries. »

But Justin Trudeau instead announced ten days ago a check for $100 million to equip and train the Haitian police, so that they regain control of the situation. The sum is in addition to the two billion dollars that Ottawa has already paid to the island since 2010.

For Mr. Flaubert Duclair, “it’s madness to send that money”, given the collusion between a part of the police and the state with the gangs.

“This check will fall into whose hands? asks Mr. Jean.

Ottawa seems to be waiting for an illusory consensus

OTTAWA | The Haitian diaspora is torn over the prospect of Canadian intervention in Haiti. But in the face of the horror that has only gotten worse for two years, public opinion here and there is changing.

Pastor Joseph Jr Clorméus explains that the diaspora is impoverished to finance the Haitian crisis in spite of itself, since the ransoms it pays finance the gangs. She therefore has no choice but to ask for help to stop the vicious circle.

Mulry Mondélice, associate dean for research at the Royal Military College Saint-Jean, and expert in international law and diplomacy, believes that Ottawa must emerge from immobility as a matter of urgency to avoid a large-scale massacre.

He stresses that the national police, sanctions and humanitarian aid cannot be the only solution in the face of such a violent urban guerrilla scenario.

The House of Commons International Human Rights Subcommittee has interviewed some 15 witnesses since November to make recommendations to Ottawa on what to do in Haiti. An arduous task since no consensus emerged.

Bloc Québécois MP Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, who initiated this process, believes that the priority should be to put pressure on Washington to stop the supply of arms and ammunition, knowing that most of them come from the United States.

Then, “it is absolutely necessary for a local group to call for unity” and define a clear roadmap, because without that, “it would mean that we decide for the Haitian people,” he said.

Call for consistency

But waiting for a consensus in Haiti is illusory, says Mondélice. Rather, he says, Ottawa needs to be consistent and respect its own foreign policy, which involves defending human security and the rights of women and girls.

Being consistent would also mean, he says, listening to local people who overwhelmingly reject Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s government. He took over the leadership of Haiti after the assassination of President-elect Jovenel Moïse in July 2021. Contrary to the Constitution, he made no move to organize elections.

The citizen opposition group Accord de Montana has been proposing for months to set up a transitional government which would organize a free and democratic election. But Ottawa ignores this outstretched hand.

“There must be a tactical force that provides on-site support, in coordination with the Montana group,” said Frantz André, of the Quebec-Haiti Solidarity Committee. But recognizing the Montana Accord would mean disavowing Ariel Henry’s government. »

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