Ewald, future Senator in Haiti,  with his blan family after graduation from Portland State U.  I can't wait to see what the future holds for you.  You've made a lot of people proud today. Lots of love son, mom.

L'Union Fait la Force : Flag Day

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Flag Day- May 18th

My posts have been long overdue.  It is Flag Day here in Haiti.  Part of the reason for this is the election process.  I’m a bit fascinated by it. And it seems there is news about it every day.   These elections are long overdue.  It is not even a sure thing that they will happen on schedule – the first round is set for August 28^th.   There are about 140 positions for senators and deputies and mayors in many cities throughout the 10 departments add more. There are about 2000 plus candidates for these few positions.  This is also the final year of President Michelle Martelly’s  reign.  Since January, and with a ‘temporary government’ in place, he has ruled by decree- like a king.  The number of candidates for president has been trimmed from 50-something to about 24 now. The number of political parties reduced to 125. 

In the US, although we do have more than 2 parties, the Republicans and the Democrats have held the power for the last century.  We may not always agree with our party of choice, and we have the right to change our choice, the strength of one party over the other often causes change to go into effect.  In the US, the president can also run for second term back to back- often when the incumbent wins, the second term is much more productive.  The President has nothing to lose by fighting for what he has wanted since his first election.  In Haiti, the president cannot run for a second consecutive term, so he is going to fight for his choice for his party- with the hope of back to back to back of victories.  Aristide-Preval-Aristide-Preval had their opportunity although Aristide couldn’t hold up his end of the bargain, Preval was the only president to complete 2 full terms in office- in over 200 years. Until Martelly, the King of Kompas turned King, err President of Haiti.  The first round of Presidential elections is set for October 25, with the run-off election of top 2 vote getters scheduled for late December. 

The motto on the Haitian flag is L’Union Fait La Force or Unity Makes Strength. 

Not to be disrespectful but I find great irony in this in so many ways.  With 2000 candidates, it is obvious that the 125 parties, have more than a few candidates for each position.  So even as those 2000 are spread out over the 10 departments, there are still a lot of candidates to learn about. What if you can’t read?  And if you are not aligned to any particular party, say you are able to vote for the first time- how do you choose which party meets your personal views. And how are your views formed?   In my home, growing up, I always thought my dad was a democrat and was never sure about my mom as she never really seemed to care about politics- maybe she was too busy as a farmer’s wife but it was always a little confusing as my dad kept saying he voted for Harry S.  It wasn’t until many years later, when Obama was running for president that I saw each of them differently and probably more honestly.  I had always viewed my dad as the more progressive, more enlightened, more open if you will UNTIL Sarah came into the scene…but I digress here and since my dad is no longer here to debate or in fact to defend himself, I shall have to move on.  My mom likes Obama and after my dad died, she received a letter from him, thanking my father for his service to his country.  She hung it above the chair he always sat in and thought it quite funny.

Back to Haiti…family history most likely is first influence in a young person’s political views as is probably true of everyone. In Haiti, the influence, and reactions, may be a little stronger in some cases, depending on the family history in politics or because of politics. Dictatorships, coups, violence, poverty tends to affect people’s thinking.  There seems to be a tendency here that if people are promised change and then when change is too slow the politician falls out of favor.  The President for change, the King of Kompas, had a huge task placed in front of him in taking on this crown after the 2010 earthquake.  The election of 2010 was drawn out nearly 6 months before he took office, the country still reeling from earthquake, then hurricanes, and cholera,  foreign ‘experts’ all over the country with their own ideas of what this country needs most,  and  not to mention the government and the people, themselves.  His popularity goes up and down like Obama’s.

As I read about and reflect on the politics of Haiti on this Flag Day holiday, they are really no different than politics in the US or probably anywhere.   Just as interesting or not, just as corrupt, dull, confusing, frustrating, and controversial, as anywhere.  Difficult to trust who may be honest or who can get the job done after all the political rhetoric is put to rest and the wheels need greased.  Living here, I feel a great distance from the politics of the US and have little to do with politics here in my adopted country. 

Unity Makes Strength.  I think whoever has the number #10 next to his name will have an excellent chance of winning.