Haiti: Rebuilding our Symbols, a Pressing Matter

According to Wikipedia, “A symbol is something that represents an idea, a process, or a physical entity. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning.”  On the other hand, Carl Jung, who studied archetypes, proposed an alternative definition of symbol, distinguishing it from the term sign. In Jung’s view, a sign stands for something known, as a word stands for its referent. He contrasted this with symbol, which he used to stand for something that is unknown and that cannot be made clear or precise.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbol

In our lives, as individuals or as communities, symbols play an important part.  We all need a flag, regardless of creed, color, religion or might.  That flag represents and embodies the concept of nation, that  which defines,unites and binds us.  At the Olympic Games or in any other situation, seeing that flag flowing with dignity and majesty gives us a sense of pride almost impossible to describe and almost to strong to bear…Well, at least that’s how I feel when I see my flag.

When the January 12, 2010 earthquake struck Haiti, it left the Departement de l’Ouest (Western Department) devastated and the city of Jacmel in total disarray.  In the capital city of Port-au-Prince the Champ de Mars, which is the center of our Government, was totally destroyed.  What remains, and thank God for that, are the many statues of our Independence heroes; they stood and continue to watch as if to remind us that it will take more than an earthquake to topple them.  I appreciate the symbolism of their survival more than words can express.  As for our buildings, they have all been destroyed.  Our beautiful National Palace was brought to its knees as were all of the other offices that housed the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches.  If we refer back to the above definition of symbol, it would be fair to say that as we stand today, all of the sites, structures and buildings that symbolized our Sovereignty have been erased by that quake.  The government today has to function in temporary shelter or borrowed space.  But, for how long?  If the flag must continue to flow even in the face of danger and tragedy it is because it symbolizes the mere existence of a nation and its right to stand free.

I wonder about the symbolism behind a country without governmental structures; both figuratively and literally.  When our Executive branch continues to function in temporary shelter built on the ruins of the National Palace, are they sending a message that their purpose is transient?  While I do understand that caring for the wounded and providing shelter for those rendered homeless was a priority of priorities, the second urgency on that list should have been rebuilding the Center of Government.  Yes, promises have been made for a new downtown.  Yes…blueprints of a new town are circulating all over the net and yes we are all dreaming of a new Port-au-Prince with gorgeous waterfront properties, free of “bidonvilles” (slums) with well manicured parks.  I am not holding my breath.  The International Community, in whose custody we are  these days (what a shame!), is very skilled at making promises and even more skilled at not keeping them.  The truth remains that rebuilding or building anything or any part of our territory must be first and foremost our responsibility as a free and sovereign people.  We have to sever that hand that keeps reaching out for the smallest handout, it diminishes us and it offends our Forefathers.

The current administration has tremendous challenges to overcome.  They have clearly expressed their desire to do and accomplish great things that will in a foreseeable future change the face of Haiti.  The desire is there and the love of country is certainly there, I do not doubt that.  What lacks, it seems, is a coherent plan of action to turn those desires into accomplishments.

After 1 year in power, it is true that many victims of the earthquake have been relocated; but, too many continue to call the various parks and empty lots their home. As for the Champ de Mars, which still resembles a postwar zone, it is imperative that it be completely free of makeshift shelters and that it be given back its rightful place as the heart of the Government.  The National Palace must once more stand majestic and pure in its white robe while willfully beckoning the stare and the pride of the passerby.  If the purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning, today the Haitian Government is saying that it is scattered, temporary, chaotic and incoherent.  Rebuilding the Center of Government is a pressing matter, one that should have the immediate attention of our decision makers.

Cassandra Honorat

June 17, 2012

What Haitians Want, a Plea for Responsible Leadership

“La patrie est aux lieux ou l’ame est enchainee.” ( Our country is that spot to which our heart is bound)  Voltaire

What do we want? Do we know? And if we know what we want, do we know how to transform those wants into attainable goals? And, if we have goals, how do we reach them?

Before I bore you with unanswered questions, let us backtrack a little and let us define the “who and what”.  The “who” mentioned here is none other than us, all of us, Haitians living in Haiti and abroad; that’s who. Those of us who have stayed home continue to exist in malfunction; I do not accuse, I simply observe.  I see overcrowded slums where the business of choice for many is the life of crime, millions of children with very little hope for a better tomorrow, a middle class in full flight investing all existing resources to get the hell  out of there.  I see piles of garbage adorning the streets of the capital that turn into a river at the first sight of rain.  I see despair in the faces that dare to laugh still.  I see hardworking  parents doing their best to guarantee a better future, they are an endangered species.  I see MINUSTAH soldiers lazing around, earning big bucks for very little accomplished.  I see the few rich hiding behind tall gates too afraid to react, to disconnected to care.

There is yet another “Us”, those who have left and who are abroad.  We are everywhere but mostly in North America, the Caribbean and France.  We work hard and most of us do the utmost to benefit fully from what we find elsewhere…opportunities; we hardly had any of those back home.  The truth is, most Haitians abroad have a tough life, not as tough as the one they left, but tough nonetheless.  Here in the US, the vast majority of Haitians are employed in custodial jobs in hotels, restaurants, airports and hospitals.  They break their backs (literally) to take care of their families both here and in the mother land.  Oh yes! Those precious remittances, without them many back home would have already perished.  It has been reported that the yearly amount sent home by Haitians living abroad is greater than all of the aid Haiti receives in a given year.

The “what”, is what we all hold dear, what we share and what defines us, sustains us and distinguishes us.  We are indeed proud of a glorious past, we hold on to our historical legacy and we do not hesitate to clamor, at the very first sight of provocation, that we are the First Free Black Republic in the World.  Indeed!  History…so far and sometimes so pointless.  We hold on to it because that is all we have; we refer back to it because within it lie our only reasons to be proud.  There is another “what”, what we have become…A broken nation and a devastated ecology, a dysfunctional state unable to perform the most routine of tasks, corrupt governments after corrupt governments all remain oblivious to the obvious chaos: we are a civilization in danger of extinction.  WHAT DO WE WANT?! 

Ask any Haitian, here or there, ask them and they will all tell you the same tale.  We want safe streets and electricity around the clock.  We want schools for our children and we want jobs.  We know what we want, that is easy, all we have to do is look at what we do not have.  People are endowed with unalienable rights no matter their color, creed or culture.  Human beings want pretty much the same thing; the possibility to develop and acquire wealth and the proper environment to grow and prosper.  When for centuries, the means of production and all their benefits have been monopolized by the same group, it ensues a distortion so profound that the very core of society is broken and bent, sometimes beyond repair.

If our goals are basic, how to attain them is quite complicated because it involves shaking and dismantling a system and a way of life.  How do we topple a system when those who benefit from it hold on to the reigns with all their power and might?  Is it an impossible task?  I have hope but we must begin somewhere and we must begin soon.  The earthquake of 2010 taught us one valuable lesson, in the face of tragedy we can come together regardless of social position or lack there of.  Those pieces of concrete did not discriminate on the basis of color, gender or wealth, they struck mercilessly and took hundreds of thousands of our precious lives.

Well, Haiti today is a tragedy, and it commands our unity for a common purpose.  The time to act is now in order for future generations to have better than what we have.  In the history of every people, there are times for struggle and chaos, there are times for building and there are times for prosperity.  We have done and redone struggle and chaos, we have perfected the art of destroying one another; perhaps it is time to think about nation building which is inextricably linked with establishing the rule of law and educating the youth.  Let us then begin with the arduous task of finding responsible leadership that will make space for competence, knowledge and integrity which will lead to effective and efficient policy-making.  I believe it is possible.

Cassandra Honorat

April 30, 2012

cashon1604@hotmail.com

Haiti: The Senate Vs President Martelly

In Port-au-Prince, Haiti, two wrongs make a right.  Yesterday, amidst the usual rumor ridden atmosphere, that has characterized Haitian politics for a long time, President Martelly announced a press conference for 4pm.  He would be accompanied, we were told, by members of the Diplomatic Corp, among them, possibly the American ambassador to Haiti and the Papal Nuncio.  The purpose of this was to, once in for all, bring light to the controversies around the president’s alleged dual citizenship.  Shortly before, three senators, Buissereth, Lambert and Latortue, now die-hard fans of President Martelly, earned their own little place in the spotlight by announcing that they had resigned from the Senate Committee in charge of the investigation.  In his interview, Senator Lambert predicted a “kouri” (creole word for panic) in the hours that followed.  Needless to say that, after the small earthquake of the previous night, the population with nerves already weakened indeed fell prey to the “panic” and in a matter of seconds the capital had been turned into a state of uncontrollable frenzy.  It appears that reason and logic continue to evade us as a society and we still desperately await the leadership that will bring on real change.

If the accusations of Senator Moise Jean-Charles provoked a senate investigation, the way   it was handled is at best embarrassing.  The committee did not proceed with professionalism, gave in to propaganda, casually accepted any evidence, did not distance itself from manipulation nor did it denounce the attempt to bring into this prestigious body a falsified document.  As a result, many were inclined to dismissing these allegations; others still wanted the president to end the folly and to put all questions to rest.  That press conference could have been a God sent, though a little late, would have still been welcomed by those who have Haiti’s interests at heart and who are eager to see all branches of Government really hard at work to bring about much-needed change.

The substance that was missing from the Senate investigation, should have come from the Presidency.  Instead, we were graced yesterday, circa 4:30pm, with a performance the likes of which can easily be seen, on any given, day in a Broadway production.  President Martelly, with the Prime Minister nominee on his right, his former Minister of Interior on his left and surrounded by members of the “Religion pour la Paix” (Religion for Peace), put on a show.  He flashed a total of eight (8) Haitian passports as proof of his citizenship and informed that on May 2nd 2011, he had returned his American Green Card in exchange for a tourist visa.  The shock came when the American ambassador, Mr. Kenneth Merten, stood up to proclaim before the press and the world that Michel Joseph Martelly was a Haitian citizen.  We understand that Haiti is under UN occupation, we get it; and although President Martelly claims that the ambassadors are there to “help and assist” Haiti, we know that representatives of the international community are there to serve and protect the interests of the countries they represent.  But we digress; if President Martelly wanted to put this matter to rest, why did he not use a Haitian institution to do so?  What is the role of the Haitian Office of Immigration?  Why couldn’t the director of that said entity, vouch before the Senate with supporting documents in hand that Mr. Michel Joseph Martelly was indeed a Haitian citizen who had never renounced his Haitian citizenship?  Mr. Kenneth Merten is only able to speak on behalf of American citizens, he does not have the legal authority to declare anyone a Haitian citizen.

By involving the American Ambassador to Haiti, President Martelly is contributing to weakening the very institutions he has sworn to protect and he is declaring before the world that the institutions of his own country are not good enough; in so doing, he has set a very dangerous precedent.  President Martelly took his oath of office before the Senate, obtained ratification of Dr. Gary Conille from that body and is hoping that his actual Prime Minister nominee receive approval from that same institution.  However, he has so very little respect for them that he did not deem it necessary to submit to them the documents that would establish his Haitian citizenship.  He chose to give a performance made in Hollywood and publicly made a mockery of a procedure that should have been handled with the utmost level of professionalism.

Now the Haitian citizenry awaits.  We are all eager to hear from the Senate Committee in charge of the investigation.  They found that three members of the cabinet indeed are foreign nationals and their names were released to the press.  Today, they owe us an explanation in the case of the alleged dual citizenship of the Haitian President.  They will certainly owe us an apology for having proceeded with such maladdress.  They and President Martelly, after all, have to answer to those who have voted them into office; that is, if we hope to ever build this democracy in the name of which we commit such blunders.

Haiti is a minor child, abandoned by his parents, who now is the ward of the international community with the United States of America as the powerful Godfather.  For those who ever doubted, yesterday’s play was designed to dispel the ambiguity.  If those who have sworn to uphold the Law have no respect for it, how can we ever hope to move from dysfunctionality to functionality and eventually to efficiency?  We do not pretend to have the answer to this conundrum; but, it is evident that as a society we desperately lack the drive, the motivation, the commitment and the will to initiate gradual change toward building a just and law-abiding society.  We hope one day for a new generation of Haitian men and women who will have the level of education necessary for the implementation of the democratic process and who will have the foresight to elect in office those men and women who will have the very delicate task of protecting all democratic ideals.  Today we have before us a classical case of a dream deferred but never lost.  Haiti will survive.

Cassandra Honorat

March 9, 2012

Haiti: A Case of Irresponsible Leadership

Nationality:

When Senator Moise Jean-Charles told the press that President Martelly was not a Haitian citizen, a gasp of astonishment could have been heard from Haitians everywhere.  What! The president is allegedly holding multiple nationalities, reportedly Italian and American.  Now, coming from Senator Jean-Charles, accusations are no surprises.  He’s accused the current administration of careless spending, violations of Human Rights and even of secretly plotting the creation of a Militia called the “Milice Rose”.  He feels this is his job as a member of the opposition to contribute to destabilizing the current administration by every means necessary.  It is clear that he has a very limited understanding of what the Opposition should do.

A couple of weeks after the allegations of the senator, the Senate convened a formal meeting at the end of which a committee was formed and an investigation ordered.  We could only conclude that the Senate, in all its Majesty, had enough substantial evidence to warrant an investigation that would not stop at the head of state but would reach deep into the many folds of his Cabinet, or so we thought.  A passport bearing a photograph of President Martelly was submitted and has been circulating on the net.  A letter was released by the US Embassy in Port-au-Prince: “the passport presented has nothing to do with President Martelly and the embassy will never release any personal information on US citizens (what!); this would be a violation of privacy laws”.  It was later reported that the said passport may belong to a Haitian-American woman who had lost her documents in 2010 while visiting Haiti during which trip she and her husband had been the victims of kidnapping.

In the meantime, in the midst of the “investigation”, the Haitian Office of Immigration decided to set archived files on fire.  Among the burned victims, a countless number of boarding cards, filled by all persons en route to Haiti.  On it, pertinent information such as length of stay, purpose of visit and (oh yes!) nationality.  The director of Immigration who was heard in the Senate claimed that every 3 years such “old and useless” documents had to be burned and the incineration usually took place before two Justices of the Peace who, we assume, write a report.

If the Senate wants to retain a shred of dignity, if its distinguished members want to display the level of leadership this country needs, they should dismiss this case for lack of evidence or they should produce, and fast, credible evidence to back the accusations.  For now, we retain the right to classify this investigation as bogus and a waste of valuable time and energy that need to be spent in a more productive manner.

The Audit:

Dr. Gary Conille, now former Prime Minister of Haiti, took office about 5 months ago and resigned on Monday February the 20th.  One of his major undertaking during his short administration was to set in motion a series of reforms and new measures that would in time be instrumental in strengthening the State by promoting much-needed transparency and accountability.  What could be wrong with that? In a country where the status quo is constantly at war with progress and the rule of law, Dr. Conille’s agenda may have angered more than one.  He ordered an audit of the administration of his predecessor Jean-Max Bellerive who is allegedly a current adviser to President Martelly.  Reportedly, contracts were signed with extremely lenient terms and conditions for the Dominican companies, and to the detriment of Haiti.  Furthermore, some claim that kickbacks from these deals were used to finance President Martelly’s campaign.  Oh boy!

For further details please refer to the following article: http://www.prlog.org/11807971-scandal-and-corruption-threatens-political-stability-on-both-sides-of-haiti.html (article in English)

The Prime Minister:

Today, Haiti is plunged in yet another crisis.  It has become a system.  Another Prime Minister has to be chosen by President Martelly and approved by Parliament.  The Constitution stipulates that if there is no party holding majority in Parliament, the president after consulting the Presidents of both Chambers chooses a Prime Minister.  Contrary to Constitutional provisions, President Martelly submitted three names to the attention of Parliament. He has since chosen among the three names his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Laurent Lamothe.

In the meantime, Senator Wesner Polycarpe has submitted a project to the Senate.  If adopted, the Senate will cease all forms of consulting and dialogue with the president until he bends to the following demands:

1-  The president must truly commit to respecting the Constitution of 1987

2- Disarm and prosecute all paramilitary groups

3- Publish the electoral calendar

4- Publish and promulgate the most recent constitutional amendments

oh yes, last but not least

5- Provide all clarification concerning certain obscure points in contracts awarded by the administration of Jean-Max Bellerive and brought to light by the audit ordered by former Prime Minister Conille.

For further details please refer to the following article http://www.lenouvelliste.com/article.php?PubID=1&ArticleID=102947&PubDate=2012-02-29  (article in French)

Some have argued, and I am one of them, that President Martelly should have long ago stopped the madness surrounding his alleged dual citizenship.  After all, to display responsible leadership is to avoid unnecessary conflicts and to offer, when needed, top-notch leadership skills to resolve ASAP any issues that may  potentially destabilize the state.  A lesson President Martelly has yet to learn.  He is willfully contentious,  has shown  disrespect for the rule of law and has a penchant for propaganda.  That being said, it doesn’t mean that the last 8 months in office have been a total waste.  No, not at all.  Hundreds of families victims of the 2010 earthquake have been relocated, some even got new houses and are now proud home owners in a country where access to credit is denied to most.  This is certainly a step in the right direction.  Furthermore, President Martelly has made it a point to meet former Haitian heads of state who, for the first time in our history, find themselves all living in Haiti.  It is an important gesture of good faith toward a possible national reconciliation if we are ever to have one.

Eight months in office, it would be safe to say that all is not lost for the current administration.  But certain important adjustments have to be made if the remainder of their term in office is to be an improvement of the last months. All hope that the current administration has yet the ability to muster up the courage to put Haiti first and ahead of their own petty interests.  Some remain optimist, most are tired of waiting and continue to be frustrated and discouraged with governments that can never deliver.  President Martelly’s campaign slogan of choice was “change”.  We are still waiting for this Haiti they claim is “open for business”.  The lack of support shown to Dr. Conille on his quest for accountability and transparency, denotes a propensity for “business as usual”.  As I hum the very enthralling tune “dekole” (take-off), that was the musical theme for the 2012 Carnaval, one cannot help but come to the sad realisation that Haiti’s take-off is not for tomorrow.

Cassandra Honorat

March 1st 2012

UN (MINUSTAH) Pakistani Soldiers Rape 13 Year Old Haitian Boy in Gonaives

It happened again! This time, in the Département de l’Artibonite in the city of Gonaives.  The victim, 13-year-old Roudy Jean; the pedophiles, three Pakistani UN soldiers.  The MINUSTAH, for those who are unaware, is the Mission of the United Nations to Stabilize Haiti.  They have been there since 2004 and they arrived shortly after former president Aristide was whisked away in an American airplane en route to South Africa.  Yes, the MINUSTAH…powerful multinational deployment comprised of nearly 40 different countries represented by their military units.  Each with a mission, carefully written down and drafted with the utmost care.  What goes on in Haiti is a different story and has very little to do with what is on paper.

Late in January 2012, in Gonaives, at around 8:00 Pm, in a van parked near the Place d’Armes des Gonaives (symbol of our Independence), 13-year-old Roudy Jean was raped by three (3) Pakistani soldiers.  That vile act was witnessed by 3 of Roudy’s friends who happened to be looking for him that night.  Roudy, nicknamed Ti Tet (small head) is a victim of choice for those soldiers; not only is his family very poor but he suffers from some type of developmental delay.  It appears that this rape was not the first one; the Pakistanis would give him either money or food to bring home every time they forced themselves on him; reportedly this ignominy happened 6 or 7 times.  This time, unbeknownst to them, there were three witnesses who went to the local Police and told the story.

When the  commander of the Pakistani unit found out the story had reached local authorities, he and a Haitian accomplice (who is now in jail) kidnapped Roudy Jean and took him to Cap-Haitien to another MINUSTAH unit where he was asked to be kept until February 27th.  The Gonaives head of Police acted quickly and was able to locate the Haitian accomplice who confessed and Roudy was brought back from Cap-Haitien two days later and was seen by doctors.  The medical report confirmed that the 13-year-old had been repeatedly raped and was suffering from multiple lesions and bruises in the anal area.  Kudos to Senator Youri Latortue who was in Gonaives to assist and witness the investigation; these details I have, come from the Police and Medical reports which he shared with the population during a live interview on Vision 2000 (Haitian radio) this morning.

What are Haitian authorities going to do?  According to Senator Latortue, this is the 12th (reported) case of rape by MINUSTAH soldiers.  Not one soldier has been prosecuted to date; in a similar case in Cap-Haitien couple of years ago, the UN Secretary General refused to lift the immunity of the criminals.  Senator Latortue hopes for a different outcome, he feels that this case is stronger because of the many witnesses.  The Haitian Senate is going to officially request that the immunity of the Pakistani soldiers be lifted by the Secretary General.

We Haitians have to raise a very loud voice to denounce these crimes. Our children who are already prey to kidnapping and poverty have to contend with one more dangerous predator…the MINUSTAH.  This is certainly not limited to the Pakistani unit; Uruguayan, Peruvian and Brazilian units have all been involved in similar cases.  Why is it that the Cap-Haitien unit agreed to keep this 13-year-old boy, a minor, without his parents/guardians consent?  In so doing, they involved the entire organization.  Senator Latortue asks (and so do I) whether there is within the MINUSTAH an understanding to hide and conceal such occurrences.

Haiti is a small economy, 2/3 of the population is living with less than $2 per day because most citizens don’t have a stable income.  The middle class is small and most children do not have access to basic healthcare and education.  This is how we are seen by the International community which has decided that the best thing is to turn an entire nation into a charity case.  We see ourselves differently, we are the proud descendants of slaves who won their independence in blood.  We sponsored and financed freedom wars throughout the Americas, we have a beautiful culture…We have tripped but we’ve not fallen, we have dignity and we deserve respect.

It is inconceivable that such things continue to happen and it is a shame that the UN continues to dismiss those cases as unimportant in order to save their reputation.  Roudy Jean is the proof that we have not taken care of our children, we Haitians have not worked hard enough to empower the less fortunate.  It is our responsibility as Haitians to not let these rapes and other crimes go unnoticed.  The International Community will not rebuild Haiti, the MINUSTAH will not protect Haiti, NGOs will not promote development….Those are things we Haitians must do if we ever hope to reclaim this land as ours.  “Ki yes kap di ou mo pou Roudy Jean”?

Cassandra Honorat

February 6 2012

Power or Leadership?

Susan Ward defines leadership as: ” the art of motivating a group of people to act towards achieving a common goal”.  This is certainly a concise, precise and to the point approach of a concept which has been debated throughout our recorded human history.  Our aim here is neither to redefine nor discuss the meaning of Leadership rather than it is to underline the differences that exist between that concept and the one of Power and how confusing both has hurt Haiti tremendously.

If we go back for a minute to Susan Ward’s definition, the responsibility of the individual who aspires to lead rests in his/her ability to direct others.  Therefore it would be fair to add that those who are meant to be led determine whether or not the leader is successful.  If the common goal isn’t reached and if people are not motivated to work toward that said objective, then the leader has failed.  On the other hand, those who have power don’t depend on those they rule or direct to succeed.  They depend on the tools available (legal system, army, money) and on their ability to use those tools effectively to get what they want.

What is Power? The dictionary offers an array of definitions depending on the context.  We’ve retained three:

1. The ability or capacity to perform or act effectively.                                                2. The ability or official capacity to exercise control; authority.                                         3. A person, group, or nation having great influence or control over others.

Power! When limited to the political realm, it simply means having within the hands of the individual, social class or political party the legal means to exert authority over the rest of society.  Those who run for office usually do so in order to gain power but, in order to succeed, they must possess those qualities needed to become a good leader.  One who has leadership qualities will sooner or later gain power; however, most who have power don’t necessarily lead because they are too concerned with controlling.  Throughout human history, the less fortunate, who happen to be in greater numbers, have been kept in line because of power and because of a realistic fear of what it can do.  There have been times when leadership was born out of grave injustices to right the wrongs of our world.

Having just spent 16 days in Haiti, one cannot help but ponder those two concepts.  Before the magnitude of the work to be done, one has to ask whether or not our collective illness isn’t simply due to a terrible deficiency in quality leadership.  Oh, there is plenty amount of power in Haiti and countless numbers of Haitians who vie to hold it for as long as they can and by all means necessary.  Since 1804, and because of national and international conspiracies, the Haitian people has not been properly led.  We’ve had our fair share of powerful and authoritarian heads of state.  A small group of families, whose interests do not align with those of the rest of society, has been very successful at holding and keeping power and all means of production; they have yet to lead a society desperate to find itself.

There is an infrastructure that needs rebuilding and modernizing, construction codes to be updated, an educational system in desperate need of restructuring, jobs to be created, a legal system that needs a facelift and our collective dignity to be regained.  Power only begets more power and it has the uncanny ability to quickly corrupt the foolish.  But honest and effective leadership begets true vision and wisdom to lead a people onto the path of human progress.  Haiti today needs builders of nation and makers of dreams to rise once more out of the ashes of destruction.  Two fundamental questions remain:  Can a society that is deep in crisis recognize those qualities that make a good leader?  Is Haiti forever condemned to having as heads of state those power seeking individuals who never concern themselves with leading?  The answers, I leave to you.

Cassandra Honorat

February 2, 2012

HAPPY HOLIDAY!

I often wonder what it is about wishing a ”happy holiday” that seems to be so offensive to some Christians. It is true that when I was growing up, this time of year was associated with the most famous Christian holiday of all, Christmas; well, so it seemed to me but the reality is that I was always in locations where there was a predominance of the christian faith.  I like to believe that my view of the world has widened since childhood…  People of my generation are certainly more accustomed to hearing the cheerful “Merry Christmas” and they wish it to all as it has become, for many, an end of the year “mantra”; that’s fine, as long as we remember that the world is made of an interesting array of colors, shapes and sizes and we all have our share in it.  Noel/Christmas/Navidad is after all the celebration of the most miraculous birth of all, God who humbled Himself enough to walk among mortals for the salvation of their sins.  It is a wonderful feast and a day for rejoicing because it symbolizes the gift of life and love…nothing can top that if you are a Christian.  Therefore it will always be right to wish to Christians the world over a very Merry Christmas!

Other religions  have holidays which are equally important to them and to which they dedicate a special period of the year and their celebration, if they don’t include a manger or a tree, must certainly have their own endearing rituals. To the rest of the world therefore we must wish a Happy Holiday!

It seems to be a need we humans have to want to dedicate a day (or two, or three) to bow before what we know to be greater than ourselves.  There is nothing wrong with that and if faith brings us nothing, it certainly affords us the opportunity for humility…we could all use a healthy dose of that.

Happy Holiday!  Simply put (at least for me) it means that whatever you are celebrating this time of year I wish it to be happy.  Whether you are Jewish or Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist, Atheist or Agnostic, Spiritual or “still searching” you are a member of my race (the human race) and an adept of my faith (Love).  To all of us who are part of this ever so large family I wish Love of self and of others, Peace on earth and in our hearts, Wealth and Abundance to be enjoyed by all and Serenity of mind, body and soul.

The end of the year gives a chance for a new beginning, a possibility for renewal and the time to mend and fix and hope while looking to the future.  Jews celebrate the Rededication while Christians look to an innocent baby boy for Salvation and Redemption.  Take the time this Holiday season to appreciate the Universe and the Creator, be grateful for what you have, seize the moment and hold it close to your heart as if it were your last…Live not a life of details but one of true meaning and pursue your purpose until your last breath.

Those are my wishes for this time and for the year to come.

HAPPY HOLIDAY TO YOU!

Cassandra Honorat

December 24, 2011