A former United States ambassador to Haiti says it is time to throw away the gloves and stop pretending that ‘normal” diplomacy will work in Haiti.
The former diplomat, Pamela A White, who served in Haiti from 1982-85, told the House Committee on Foreign Relations that while she had seen corruption and gang warfare and hundreds of burning tires as well as demonstrations in the streets and violence against innocent civilians “I have never seen anything like the total breakdown of civility that is the current situation in Haiti.”.
Speaking on the theme “Haiti at the Crossroads: Civil Society Responses for a Haitian-led Solution,” she said in her 40 years serving as a diplomat around the world, “it is time to throw away the gloves and stop pretending that ‘normal” diplomacy will work in Haiti.
“As everyone knows who cares about the Haitian people, Haiti is a failed state. There is no legitimate government, no judiciary, no parliament, and a weak police force incapable of stopping the gangs that now rule over 60 per cent of the capital.
“There is no chance of planning elections under the current security crisis.
There is absolutely zero doubt that Haitians are living in hellish conditions,” she said, adding that all social services were terminated months ago.
The former diplomat said that Port au Prince, has the highest number of kidnappings in the world.