Does the country Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, have spirit-filled citizens who ever spare a thought for the fate of their woe-begotten, calamity-ridden misfortune-begotten country? Has anyone ever come up with an idea that perhaps their country needs to hold a solemn national assembly whereby the whole nation will cry to God to save their country from every known and unknown sins?
For some of us who believe in the physical interaction with the spiritual, the story of Haiti is not an ordinary one where the citizens should continue with life as usual when what is happening in their country does not look usual or ordinary at all.
If Haiti is not experiencing a storm, it is being challenged by an earthquake; if it is not gang violence, it is the assassination of a president or a prime minister; if it is not going through a political crisis; it is an economic one of gigantic proportions. Haiti looks like the disaster capital of the world.
Some years back, I read that Haiti was once a prosperous country superior in many development indices to many countries in their Hemisphere but for a while now, its fortunes have changed dramatically marking her out as a place where good things seem to have vowed not to happen in.
And I have also read that Haiti’s problem seems to have taken root from their belief system–voodooism– which is traceable to the African roots of most of its inhabitants. As a black African, I feel concerned about the plight of every Black Man in any part of the world. And for a black dominated and Black-ruled country in the most prosperous Hemisphere of the world to happen to be the poorest and worst-ruled country of the world makes me feel so ashamed and worried about the fate of Haiti.
And the most cheerless part of the story of Haiti is that the citizens do not seem to be worried at all about the plight of their country. They have come to believe that it is their fate to encounter one tale of disaster after another. The only good thing that should have come out of Haiti, which again didn’t happen, is that the mother of the tennis star Naomi Osaka comes from Haiti or something of the sort. Japan, which is one half of Naomi Osaka’s blood, has claimed the black complexioned Naomi when Japan does not seem proud of black mixed race persons. Naomi looks more African than Japanese but because of her talent and fame, this small good thing has been denied Haiti! Haiti does not only attract disasters, it also on the other hand repels small good fortunes.
In a world where the spiritual aspect of life is often mocked at, I still want to call upon some believing Christians of Haiti to step out boldly and demand that the country looks towards a new direction of belief as the existing one does not seem to be working. A religion whose dividends are crimes, poverty and woes should be changed for another that is working for many nations of the world.
I do not know what policy the AU has for helping a miserable case like Haiti out of its troubles but the daily tale of the disaster of Haiti deserves attention from a power bloc like the AU for the simple reason that they are Black like us. Their image reflects badly on us. Simple. So we need to do something if other parts of the world will not want to do anything to help them out of their many challenges.
