Ever since the massive and savage attack carried out by gangs in Kenscoff—which even extended into the sanctuary of a church—and its heavy toll on human life, we all have a dark premonition that we are heading down an unknown path and that fate is condemning us to tears and bloodshed. The government and the security forces project the unsettling image of being increasingly out of touch with reality. Listening to the Director General of the PNH this past Monday, August 24, brought back to mind an anecdote that a former minister in the Lescot government had told me long ago. Appointed at the time by the president to represent Haiti at an international conference on the law of the sea, and aware of his lack of expertise in the field, he had sought the advice of Me Corvington, who was an authority on the subject. After some thought, the latter advised him not to express an opinion. “If you open your mouth, your lack of knowledge of the law of the sea will be obvious. On the other hand, if you remain silent, people will assume that the subject is familiar to you.”

Facing the journalists questioning him, the police chief, by speaking, did not ease our concerns, because his answers were distressing. All things considered, he should have expressed exasperated anger and courageously denounced the lack of resources at his disposal. Instead, that day he merely glossed over the truth about an imaginary combat deployment and sowed illusions. As for the Prime Minister, he missed the opportunity to assume the role of a leader. He should have been the first on the scene to show that he was driven by a fierce determination to force the course of history by forcefully announcing the full mobilization for war of the entire repressive apparatus at the State’s disposal. Instead, his office issued a statement using the same bombastic language, but with no impact on insecurity.