Whoa. The word “challenge” appeared way too much in this title. I should probably change that.
As a political science student, I have been exposed to political situations and told to examine why it was a success or a failure. From the articles I’ve read and the discussions I’ve had with both my professors and people in my surroundings, I can tell you one thing: the way the Petrocaribe challenge started and is going, it’s going to be catastrophic and a waste of time.
The Petrocaribe challenge as most of you know, is a challenge that started on social media (initiated with a picture from a Facebook user), which incites Haitian people from all corners of the world to demand action towards the obvious corruption (not so obvious to the Haitian government) scandal regarding PetroCaribe and the money that was suppose to be saved and redirected to social programs and economic growth in many Latin American/Caribbean countries. It really is a movement unique in it’s way at least for the Haitian public because it happened to reach multiple social classes and bring them together on one issue which seems to be of interest to (mostly) everyone.
As a little reminder of the term Petrocaribe, it’s a term that comes directly from an agreement between the Venezuelan government and many Caribbean and Latin American countries, allowing them to buy oil at a better price and allowing them to pay over a certain amount of years (kinda like a payment plan, for my fellow college students hellur). I don’t think we need to establish how that could be beneficial to a nation; specially to a nation that’s developing its economic potential.
I think this movement has the potential of becoming big and effective BUT i think there are some issues about the way it’s been going and that could be the reason why it won’t go anywhere. And we don’t want that.
First of all, you can probably trace the movement to one person but not to a group of people, not to an organization (NOT A POLITICAL PARTY, THERE’S A CONFLICT OF INTEREST IF POLITICAL PARTIES ARE INVOLVED) and we all know Haitian political parties are everywhere, even when they shouldn’t be. So to me the first obvious problem is structure, there are no teams of lawyers actively working and investigating the Petrocaribe files. And that is probably the most difficult task, to get access to information, to government documents (if such things exist). Our bureaucratic system is not the best, to say the least, which means that if there’s going to be an effective national movement it can’t be without a head and strategic team. The words transparency and legitimacy have to mean something and have to be the basis of this campaign and movement. The Haitian government has a severed and almost irreparable relationship with it’s people and this brings a culture of skepticism. How are we to believe that you will hold EVERYONE accountable in your investigation? How will we know there’s no hidden interest in what you’re after? So this is issue number one, to me.
The second big thing this campaign needs to do is identify it’s goals and describe the way it wants to get there, citing what entities and institutions have to answer to the people (this is a democracy, last time I checked) and who needs to be investigated. Get a quick website on its feet, propose a plan, have a board with a secretary and a treasurer and things like that. HAVE AN OFFICE. A center where people can come and get the information, can understand the specific goals of the movement and of the organization standing behind it. This works to reinforce the legitimacy of the movement at least in the eyes of moi. It’s important to me that if i’m gonna go protest I know why I’m doing it and what I’m expecting out of it, it’s also important that the group is assured that protesting is the best way of getting to that desired point.
The third big thing is that as a collective and as a group, the organizers (please let yourself be known!!) have the responsibility of making this movement a non violent one. The moment you have tires burning and closed roads and people fearing for their physical well being, you are 100% like any other failed movement Haiti has seen. The reason you want to be a part of the Petrocaribe Challenge is because you want to hold people accountable for their actions, you want to have the group of people responsible for an economic and social developmental setback tried before law and that is great. It means that you care, that you want your country to thrive, so how in the world could you support a movement that destroys Haiti’s income sources? or Haiti’s infrastructures (roads, bridges etc.)? How could you support a movement that hold thousands of students at home when they should be in school learning (there are thousands of studies that support the correlation between literacy and education to economic development and a more functioning democracy, so don’t take that lightly).
The potential of the movement is great, just like the beginning of every other citizen-led movement but we have to be careful. We have to be focused on our goals (hence, why we need to write them down, and publicize them) and we have to gather a team of people responsible, experienced and passionate enough to do the work. Community organizing and community activism is not part of our political culture, we need to change that.
I was reading this article for a class and the author had put out a quote by Tocqueville that says “Only those who have nothing to lose ever revolt” and as much as that sounds true and definitely is, we know that we’ve hit rock bottom when we’re willing to risk it all, I want you all youngsters (and, hopefully older readers) to remember that what is at stake is your nation, your identity, what separates you from the next human being. Don’t destroy your country, don’t destroy the basis of your future.
There’s different ways to get to the same point and we’ve tried this one many times, it’s time for us to l-i-t-e-r-a-l-l-y pave the way to a new road.
With that not being the last time we talk about this (I am unfortunately sure),
I thank you for reading!
Kira P
[featured image courtesy of: Miami Herald]
Kira Paulemon 