The people of Haiti started protests against President Jovenel Moïse’s government in June last year and these protest continued till March this year. These protests took place in major cities of the country demanding an investigation of the funds received from Venezuela, an end to the rising prices of consumer goods in the country and the resignation of their President and Prime Minister. Their demands were responded with reductions in prices and repression but none of the two dignitaries resigned. However, due to the continuous uprising, the United Nations stepped in the back the military in an attempt to restore peace in the country. As a result, several people were killed and injured in this attempt to counter the protests.

Haiti became and independent country just about 20 years ago and ever since has been a target of powerful nations like the United States who backed up the people currently in power to overthrow their predecessors who tried to put an end to the social inequality in the country. The US has invaded Haiti in the past and created a domestic army to suppress the masses of the country. The US supported the François “Papa Doc” Duvalier who terrorised the country and set up his own paramilitary force. He was succeeded by his son, “Baby Doc” after his death and he tried to establish Haiti as a massive export processing nation by exploiting peasants from the rural population and bringing them to cities. Since then the US and the ruling class of Haiti together have made continuous efforts to take advantage of the masses of the nation and in turn have created tensions among the masses. The workers, peasants and the poor people of the country have been suffering for years, leaving a major portion of the population as undernourished and impoverished. “The World Bank estimates that 59 percent of the nation’s 10.5 million people live below the official poverty line of $2.41 a day, while a shocking 24 percent survive in extreme poverty defined as less than $1.23 a day.”

Haiti and its people have been caught in this continuous cycle of oppression and have failed to achieve any success over the years. Therefore, this uprising from the people was surely not a surprise. It is the job of the UN to defend the people of Haiti in this situation, not just as peacekeepers during these revolts but in the form of concrete administrative measures towards bringing a change in the government.

Reference:

Smith, A. (2019, March 05). Why Has Haiti Risen Up Once Again? Retrieved from https://truthout.org/articles/why-has-haiti-risen-up-once-again/