BreakingNenel Cassy with an Open Heart: 17 Days That Marked a Journey

I met Nenel Cassy for the first time in 2016 when I was only 15 years old. It was at the residence of former President Jocelerme Privert. At that time, Nenel was still a senator. I still remember the enthusiastic young man I was that day, curious to discover the men shaping the country's destiny. But behind the politician's suit, I especially discovered a man of rare simplicity, humble in his attitude, deeply human in his words. His speech was neither one of hatred nor division: he spoke of conciliation, dialogue, a new Haiti that he dreamed of as more just and dignified.

Nine years later, our paths crossed again on the burning tarmac of Haitian politics. This time, the discussions were no longer those of an admiring teenager facing a senator; they were those of two men confronted with the pains of a country in crisis. We agreed on several points, especially on the absolute urgency of offering a real way out of the crisis for Haiti. He told me about his proposals, his initiatives, his vision. And despite the differences that politics sometimes imposes, I found them coherent, sincere, and driven by a genuine will to rebuild.

Then came the ordeal.

A few months later, SN was arrested. Seventeen days behind bars. Seventeen days of humiliation, forced silence, and anguish for his loved ones. Seventeen days during which his friends, his allies, and all those who still believed in justice denounced what looked like a political persecution orchestrated by the presidential advisor Fritz Jean and the then director general of the police, Normil Rameau.

Yes, Nenel Cassy is a controversial man. But men who dare to take a stand often become so in countries where the truth is uncomfortable. I gave him the benefit of the doubt. I chose to trust the justice of my country, while refusing to remain silent in the face of what seemed to me an attempt to tarnish his name and bring down a man through public opinion before even judging him.

And seventeen days later, the Haitian justice system released him. Cleared. That fact, no one can take away from him. Because the walls of prisons can confine a man, but they are not always enough to imprison the truth.

Today, this personal friend, this man for whom I have great esteem, publishes a moving book in which he recounts his journey into the lion's den. Seventeen days imprisoned for his positions. Seventeen days looking injustice in the eye without giving up his convictions. In this work, the former senator revisits his political career, the appointment of Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, and his vision of a new Haiti.

I invite everyone to read this page of history, because some wounds now belong to the collective memory and can never be rewritten. His arrest was a fact. His release too. And as is often said: the defeat of the law is never final. In his case, it was only temporary.

My friends, I stand by them. Just as I stand by my positions and convictions. Since then, the former senator has become a friend, a confidant, a brother in arms whom I could not support in the shadows.

So, SN, allow me to congratulate you for this work born of pain, ordeal, and resistance. I wish you strength and courage for the future. Continue the fight, because as you often remind me: politics is an eternal struggle. Never give up, dear friend. Move forward.

For there is no difference between the one who surrenders and the one who refuses to fight. Perhaps the former still has the courage of his own weakness, while the latter abandons even his soul.

You, SN, have never stopped fighting, and that is precisely what makes you a fighter. Kenbe La !!!

Tchedly Jackson Alexis