Haitian Police Call for Help from Caribbean Neighbors

According to a recent news report, at the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police at Amaryllis Beach Resort on Tuesday of last week, Haitian National Police (PNH) Inspector General Jean-Yonel Trecile pleaded Haiti’s urgent need for assistance from its Caribbean neighbors for help to stem the pandemic violence that grips its capital city, Port-au-Prince.

Allegations that UN peacekeepers have perpetrated, or have been complicit in rape of Haitian women only exacerbate the already tense relationship that Haitians have with the multinational occupation force. Historically, the welcome of foreign troops has been fleeting. The US occupation of the early 20th century that instituted forced labor for the “common good” was quickly condemned as modern-day slavery. It bred resentment and led to a deadly insurgent resistance.

The mere hint of misconduct may quickly turn the welcome of UN soldiers to distrust and resentment, which will hinder the efforts of the Prèval Administration to curb violence and to stabilize the socio-political environment. Newly passed trade legislation in the US Congress will help to spur economic development, but without a strong PNH to protect property, little by way of foreign direct investment may head to Haiti.

A multinational police force from Caribbean states would go far in Haiti. By nature, a regional force would have a vested interest in the stabilization in Haiti, contraband transshipment and mass migration aside. Assistance to Haiti from countries with similar heritage and culture would help to appease local convictions and deserves greater attention from the CARICOM states.