BETWEEN THE DUTY OF REMEMBRANCE AND THE CHALLENGES OF THE MOMENT

He who despises his past or ignores the history of his country is like a tree without roots, which the wind can easily overturn at any moment. Having become a brainless individualist and a power-blinded hunter for personal gratification, Haitians in general and the dominant Haitian elites in particular push incivility to the point of indecency. In recent times, this incivility has grown disproportionately, tending to become the very cause of Haiti's bankruptcy and destitution. Is it not true that our forts are abandoned and left to decay, instead of being sanctuary spaces for educational and tourist purposes, that pivotal dates and heroes of our history are desecrated, that the raising of our flag goes unnoticed today? Is it not true that many do not know our national anthem, who trample laws and our values to practice corruption, who sell their souls to promote imports against national production? Have we not seen that most public enterprises are held hostage or that others transform into branches to receive imported products that they themselves used to produce? Few Haitians truly live in Haiti anymore. Does not the reality of the last 3 years show that many of those who are still there are only waiting for the next plane or boat to leave with everything the country has given them, leaving it in tatters without remorse or regret. In this descent into hell, can it be argued that the occupation has ultimately consumed the spirit of 1804, and notably dried up the great ideals of Dessalines in our veins? Many facts suggest that we have lost our bearings or that they are blurred. Today's Haitian knows little of his history or ignores a good part of what he should have remembered daily in his mind and repeated in his mouth like a daily prayer. Education in the broad sense does not fulfill its duty of civic education or remembrance. So, instead of turning Etzer Emile's unfortunate statement into a psychodrama, in a punitive and dishonorable electoralist approach, it should rather be placed within the framework of a global problem that runs through Haitian society, which needs to be atoned for and corrected to break with the system that has led the country to the brink of the abyss. Haiti currently seems to be experiencing a pivotal moment, inviting, as Alice Canabate said, « to quests or reconquests of meaning and action », and ensuring that amidst everything, in different places by different actors, one name resonates: Dessalines. Instead of polemicizing for reasons more partisan than objective, historians have the professional and ethical responsibility to clean history of its dusty layers, in order to make the true truth about this man shine, while repositioning him within the context and imperatives of his time, even while recognizing and admitting that like any human, he too has his own weaknesses. Education professionals, as well as those from organizations, study centers, and social science research, in turn have the role of finding ways and means to educate the people. These are some of the social articulations to be put in place to restore to society a sense of history and freedom, while giving us effective and lasting tools to face our own challenges for a new historical social model. There is a consensus on Jean-Jacques Dessalines as a glorious warrior and immortal Founder of Haiti's independence. Was it not Stéphen Mesmin Alexis who said: « Never has a nation contracted a debt as heavy towards a man as that owed by the Republic of Haiti to Jean-Jacques Dessalines ». But few also see him as an icon of universal freedom, and even fewer recognize that he deserves to be elevated on the mountain like a god: Legba Dessalines The Great, just as the Romans, after defeating Romulus, placed him in the sky because he had been the founder of Rome. Let us make our history a great book of lessons learned and a lighthouse that guides our crew through the darkness of the night to reach safe harbor. Abner Septembre
Sosyete Lakou Dessalines
@ Vallue, October 26, 2025