Weep for Haiti; it can’t catch a break

Haitian President Jovenel Mose dissolved parliament and ruled by decree for more than a year. He stood accused of embezzling hundreds of millions of dollars. In 2017, he re-established the army 22 years after its disbanding. In 2020, he created a domestic intelligence agency answering only to him, a step some called tyrannical.

Armed gangs with unclear allegiances carryout brutal attacks, terrorizing the population.

Mose was no hero, but those who assassinated him were surely villains, for they kicked a troubled nation and its 11 million people deeper into desperation and instability.

The United States could be a good neighbor, but that’s not been the norm. Our checkered history began when Haitians threw off their French slavemasters 200 years ago. Fearing enslaved people here might rise up here, the U.S. stayed silent. From 1915 to 1934, American troops invaded and occupied Haiti. In 1994 came the wellintentioned operation to help restore elected president Jeanbertrand Aristide to power after a coup.

Haiti badly needs a lifeline. The United Nations must urgently convene its Security Council. If it is not now useful, it is useless. Demand new elections. Honor their result.

Haitian-americans have given so much to the U.S. and to New York. But for many of them, the pull of home remains powerful.

Hope more Haitians can soon find their footing there. If not, American cities and towns should welcome their energy and ethic. Haiti has been battered too much for too long. Its people deserve so much better.