(Français)
We are all children of this land, but we do not all live in it as citizens. Our lives are not the same, for we do not live in the same way, and we no longer see the country from the same perspective. This letter’s sole purpose is to ask you a few questions about the life you lead.
How do you manage to live, to eat, and even to sleep at night in the face of this abject misery that continues to grow at an ever-increasing rate? Worse still, it seems that things will not improve anytime soon.
How do you feel today, as an integral part of one of these state institutions serving the ruling class that is ruining the country? Do you feel useful or useless in the face of the scourge that the forces of darkness have unleashed upon our nation?
But alas, instead of being an agent of change for the oppressed masses, you are undoubtedly contributing to the erosion of their dignity and of their very being. Once, it might have been a single mistake, but often it’s an outrageous way of life. You’re endorsing the excesses of an irresponsible transitional government, composed of ill-prepared, incompetent, and corrupt individuals whose objectives are a continuation of those of their predecessors, kept in power by imperialist powers.
You move within the camp of the nation’s gravediggers like a fish in water. Is it because it was the only place you could work? Is it a deliberate choice that you serve the people’s enemies? In your position, you should constantly be thinking of the unfortunate laborers of the working class. But we don’t hear your voice on the specific issue of their national and popular demands and aspirations.
Does this deathly silence mean that you are no longer fully a human being, but a mere balancing tool, used to defend the interests of others at the expense of the collective good? In a country of immense wealth, they arrogate to themselves the right to let a people die of hunger and disease simply to satisfy the whims of a neocolonial system of exploitation. Why this relentless pursuit of a people who demand only the right to freedom and social justice? There are people who are very much alive but mute, deaf, and blind, like the dead. Which category do you belong to? Are you able to sleep at night without nightmares? When you go to bed, doesn’t the film of misfortunes afflicting the country play out in your mind? If so, then you must be aware of your conscience and feel compelled to act against these actions, which could lead to even more death, murder, suffering, and hardship for the country.
Some sleep on their two pillows, protected by concrete slabs, without even hearing the sound of rain, safe from any leaks or seepage that might disturb their sleep. Others, however, struggle to fall asleep even before the rain begins, knowing the ordeal that awaits them when the water floods their homes. It’s not only displaced people in camps who experience such situations. Some have known this reality their whole lives, unable to sleep in the rain; just ask the residents of Wharf Jérémie, those who live in makeshift shelters made of sheets, cardboard, or plastic tarpaulins that can’t hold back the water that eventually floods everything.
The election’s budget of $120 million will be squandered, just like the $100 million already swallowed up by a referendum that never took place.
Don’t these residents of Cité Soleil, Raboteau, and so many other slums and ghettos across the country deserve change, a decent life? Shouldn’t the country provide them with adequate assistance? These are human beings, full-fledged citizens, even though they live in conditions where access to drinking water is a luxury, and nobody seems to care. You, too, remain silent!
Unknown citizen, anything that allows you to sleep peacefully makes you happy. You are not like those who eat one day without knowing if they will the next or the day after that. You do not know the suffering caused by hunger and disease. Just imagine falling ill without knowing where to get treatment. Imagine if it’s impossible to go to a public general hospital, since they no longer exist, and you don’t have the financial means to go to a private clinic.
Some people feel like they are living through an earthquake every day, so disrupted are their lives. Shouldn’t you think about the many families who, right now, can’t sleep, worried about the start of the school year on Sep. 7? Doesn’t this make you think about the number of children who have never been to school, those whose parents didn’t even receive last year’s report cards, or the resources needed for the upcoming school year?
The price of gasoline has skyrocketed, which will lead to a general increase in the cost of basic necessities. Has this stirred your conscience, even if you haven’t personally experienced all these shocks? Hasn’t it bothered you? Meanwhile, the country is preparing for elections and expecting massive voter turnout. A budget of $120 million will be squandered, just like the $100 million already swallowed up by a referendum that never took place. All this money will be wasted by looters who are getting rich while the majority of the population has nothing to make ends meet. Which side are you on today?
Certainly, the candidates and their entourages, concerned about their future, welcome and applaud this electoral project; that’s understandable. But the workers, the peasants, the youth, the homeless, and the perpetually unemployed remain, for the most part, indifferent to this commotion. For they see it primarily as the desire of the bourgeoisie and a segment of the middle class to change their status, but not for themselves; elections have never had a positive impact on their precarious living conditions.
Unknown citizen, you who prefer to serve this corrupt state rather than engage in a national liberation struggle, know that as long as a single person remains oppressed or exploited in this country, the class of profiteers will know no peace. Whether or not the ruling classes organize their elections, the country will not remain their private preserve. Enough of this humiliation!
All forces devoted to peace, liberty, and justice are united, like the Congress of Bois-Caïman in 1791, to support us in our resistance. This people, who have already proven themselves, will heroically rid themselves of the local puppets and their imperialist allies.
Every people is master of its own destiny, and the darkest hour is the one just before dawn. Enjoy yourself, unknown citizen, at the people’s expense, as much as you can, but know this: the struggle continues, and the victory of the Haitian people is certain.
