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May 21, 2012, 8:00 am

The Selfish Generational Leadership

By: Lince Semerzier, Nosvoix Magazine

 

Historically all great nations become great because of patriotic unselfishness leadership of great men and women who had progressive vision for their country, children and for the next generation to have a better future and life. In the words of late American President John F. Kennedy “Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You! But Ask What You Can Do For Your Country.” If only our forefathers and past leaders had the concept of What Can They Do For Haiti! instead of What Haiti Can Do For Their Own Interests and Pockets! the country would have been in a different position as we start this 2012 year. Growing up I often hear my parents said that Haiti used to be “the Pearl of the Caribbean.” However, today in my opinion Haiti is the Charcoal of the Caribbean for my generation.

 

In the book Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no vision, the people perish” It’s only fair to say that our forefathers vision were for Haiti to become a free sovereign nation, nevertheless they did not have a comprehensive blue print for the country beyond getting their freedom. Many of these leaders were motivated by their individual power and greed (Dessalines, Christophe, Petion, Boyer and the other 52 presidents) as a result today Haiti is still stuck in the state of 18th century.

 

As we celebrate the 208th anniversary of our independence as “the first free black nation” in the western world, the question we should all ask ourselves today is What do we have to show for it? While the original intent to fight for our independence by our forefathers was to become free men and women not only for themselves but for generations to come.

 

A generation of 208 years of political power, greed and self interest rather than futuristic development of sustainable projects that could have put the country in a much better position than the current crisis that it is in today. What would Haiti look like today had our past leaders  established sustainable agriculture, infrastructure, energy, schools, jobs and a reliable judicial, transportation and healthcare system for all its citizens since 1804 to 2012.

 

Of course all the blame cannot rest on the shoulders of leaders. We also need to take the following factors into consideration:

• The education level of the forefathers as well as the political state of the world at the time.

• Slavery was still prominent in other powerful nations which made for very bad political relationships with those powerful nations.

• The US allied themselves with France and required Haiti to pay the French for being free.

 

The past and present generation has contributed to the problem as well; we are so accustomed to putting our personal interest first before country. This has created a generational culture that leads to a corruption acceptance mentality for our kids from an early age. Many of us in the Diaspora have good intentions to help our country to the best of our individual capacity. As result, collectively we have become the fiscal financial backbone of the Haitian government.

 

We are proud of being the first free nation yet Haiti is occupied by international nonprofit organizations, and a foster child government that report directly to Bill Clinton and the U.S State Department. As we reflect on our independence and freedom, let us also reflect about the 600,000 people are still living in tents, in inhumane conditions, while political actors and non-governmental organizations involved in the process claim to have spent more than $4 billion in Haiti. As we enter 2012, Haiti is still crippled by the lack of agriculture, infrastructure, energy, schools, jobs, a reliable judicial, public transportation and healthcare system for all its citizens. We are a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) charity dependent nation.

 

Like many of you, I am very thankful and proud of our forefathers’ boldness to give their lives so you and I can claim the title of Haiti first free black nation. However, I am ashamed and sadden we are celebrating 208 years of independence and we have absolutely nothing to show for it because of the selfish actions and the political greeds of our past leaders. Nevertheless we can start making better decisions and taking better actions today so fifty years from now Haiti can be a better place for the next generation of Haitians and Haitian-Americans. Happy New Year!