Monday, October 3, 2022, would have been the beginning of the school year but the dire situation in the country called for the postponement of one of the rites of autumn, when parents and students look forward to resume school after summer vacations. The school year initially set for September 5, 2022, and later pushed forward to October 3rd had to be aborted because of the continuing state of insecurity. On Monday, there were no uniformed students seen in public and the streets were somewhat deserted save for some areas where people used school uniforms to stage improvised marches and criticize authorities for not taking their duties and responsibilities seriously as regards the reopening of schools. In a press release, the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training (MENFP) stated that it is aware of the various calls from educational institutions and different sectors of the population calling for a safe climate and a better framework to facilitate the travel of schoolchildren, parents and teachers for the start of the school year. The ministry also stated it recognizes that the first week of the 2022-2023 school calendar originally scheduled to start on October 3 will be difficult for the relaunch of school activities in several places in the country and expects a gradual and difficult return to school. It was noted that schools, is a public good which must be safeguarded and preserved at all times and it is up to all actors to contribute towards the good and the future of the children.
Meanwhile, health authorities have confirmed new cases of cholera in the country, bringing with it another source of worry and fear to a people already overwhelmed with events both natural and man-made. On Sunday, October 2, 2022, health officials confirmed the first death from cholera recorded in the country in over three (3) years, with several patients hospitalized from the most populous neighborhoods in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area. In a statement from the ministry of health (MSPP) acknowledged there were confirmed cases of cholera in Savanne Pistache/ Decayette areas in the commune of Port-au-Prince and suspected cases in Brooklyn, in the commune of Cite Soleil. According to the director general of the MSPP, Dr. Lauré Adrien, there are two infectious foci identified in Brooklyn in Cité Soleil and in Decayette in Carrefour Feuille, which have caused between 7 and 8 deaths. Unfortunately, the deaths have occurred in the communities so there no exact data on the number of deaths. These cases coming at this time in the history of the country are all the more tragic because weeks of ongoing civil unrest may leave a lot of people vulnerable to a resurgence of the disease because one of the major means of containing and preventing the disease is washing with soap and clean water; something that has become increasingly scarce in the gang infested environment. Water is indeed a scarce commodity now in the country that on Sunday, when the announcement was made, the main water supplier, Caribbean Bottling Company (CBC), embouteilleur de l’eau Culligan said it is unable to produce or deliver clean water because of shortage of diesel, which came about because of the gang blockade of the country’s main fuel terminal at Varreux, now headed into its third week. The United Nations also chimed in stating that they are actively monitoring the situation and are working with the government in an emergency response plan that will focus not only on limiting the spread of the disease but also on informing the population on how to take immediate lifesaving actions at the household level, in addition supporting expanded surveillance, increased water and sanitation provision, and the opening of cholera treatment facilities.
Elsewhere, there are plans afoot to come up with another agreement to get the country out of the political impasse. An agreement is expected by Wednesday, October 5, 2022, that would create new transitional structures and ensure the organization of general elections next year, so that an elected president is sworn in on February 7, 2024. According to former Senator Louis-Gérald Gilles, Secretary General of the New unified orientation party to liberate Haiti, parti Nouvelle orientation unifiée pour libérer Haïti (Noulha), a new document was agreed upon by various stakeholders to implement a national consensus to curb the crisis which is affecting the country. This party was also signatory of the Agreement of September 11, 2021, which came about as a result of negotiations between Ariel Henry and several parties of the former opposition. The new formation has drawn up its recommendations for how a new transitional government would look like. The consensus led to the birth of a new structure, called the High Council of the Transition, Haut Conseil de la transition (HCT), composed of 3 members from the political sector, one from the private sector and another from civil society. The HCT will have a president at its head, while the de facto Prime Minister Ariel Henry, much maligned and targeted by numerous demonstrations across the country, will keep his post. A ministerial reshuffle may, however, take place following consultations between the Council and the current head of government. The Council will work to fill the Cour de Cassation, form a 55-member Government Action Control Body and to set up a Provisional Electoral Council within an unspecified deadline. The negotiation process lasted two months and brought together, among others, members from various political backgrounds, including people linked to the Montana Agreement, others from the September 11, 2021, Agreement, allies of the current regime in place, and people from so-called non-aligned parties.
Finally, two US lawmakers, Gregory Meeks, and Michael McCaul, have called on the US government to sanction the gangs and those who help finance them. During a hearing of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee meeting, the legislators argued that the US government must act against the gangs that have control over vast portions of the Haitian territory. According to Meeks, the US must start looking at sanctions against the gang leaders, and those who are financing them and those who are sending the weapons from abroad, mostly from the US. The gangs have blocked the exits to the country’s main fuel terminal in response to Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s announcement of an increase in fuel prices, leading to critical shortages of gasoline and diesel. Day-to-day activities have grounded to a halt, with key services including hospitals facing closure for lack of fuel to power generators. The congressmen did not name specific gang members or financiers or explain how such sanctions would work, and it is not clear how much gang leaders use the official financial system to move or store money.