What is happening in Haiti?
We were all set to start the Positive Periods workshop in Haiti, it had to be delayed, but not for long. The project is up and running despite the current challenges in Haiti, more about this shortly.
Here is some news about the current situation in Haiti, which you may not have seen or heard in the National News here in the U.K.
On the 7th July the president of Haiti, Jovenel Moïse, was assassinated in his home, and the first lady is in a critical condition. It is still not clear what happened and rumours abound as to who could be behind this.
Martial Law has been declared and the Dominican Republic has closed its borders with Haiti. To complicate matters, due to an extraordinary array of circumstances, there was no-one who could step in to replace the president.
The country’s constitution indicates that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, René Sylvestre, should have stepped in and taken charge. However, he was a victim of Covid-19 and died just a week before the assassination of the President. So the next in line to take over was the Prime Minister.
But which Prime Minister? Just a day or two before his death, the President had changed Prime Ministers. He had named Ariel Henry for the office but his nomination did not have time to be confirmed so he was not yet sworn in before the assassination, and neither was his new cabinet.
Only one third of parliament was functional at the time of the assassination. It would take too long to organise elections to find agreement on a replacement, so consensus was proposed by all members of other parties that Claude Joseph, the outgoing Prime Minister, would assume the role until elections can be organised. Ariel Henry contests his right to do this and claims that the national leadership should fall to him.
No one knows what is next for Haiti. The constitution doesn’t have a clause for this particular situation. There are only 10 functioning members in parliament right now so nothing in the constitution can be called on, it is certainly unchartered territory and the repercussions are felt throughout the Caribbean.
This is the 5th president in Haiti’s history who has been assassinated. The U.S. has helped in the past, and may at times have got too involved. There has been a history of outside interventions harming Haiti. There is a feeling among many Haitian groups that Haitians need to discuss together their own Haitian solution, and find a solution from the Haitian people, rather than have a solution imposed from outside.
People are still in a state of shock. With a lot of uncertainty and fear, people are understandably very uneasy right now. There is a distrust in the armed forces. Many do not want another US or UN occupation. They want the support of the international community, but don’t want unnecessary interference. They want humanitarian help, businesses are not able to function right now, and there will be difficulty to supply food and medicine at some point. Doctors Without Borders there are concerned about their safety. Schools had ended for the term, but the situation is too tense for the exams to take place.
The government is not asking for a formal occupation, just support to keep vital services open. Haiti is asking help from the OES, UN and US, to secure the vital sites like gas, airports, hospitals. They want to work on capacity building in sectors that were struggling before this event, and even more so now. Maybe it would be more beneficial for the international community to be sending key people to Haiti to help build capacity together.
As an added layer of complication in the years leading up to this, the level of violence and insecurity and active gang activity in the area of the law courts, has paralysed the justice system for the last three years. There is currently a total collapse of the judiciary institutions, the judiciary council is currently not functional.
There is also freedom of information in Haiti, but Haiti has insecurities, and freedom of information is one of the most important issues to solve at the moment too. Only ten days ago, two leading journalists were murdered in the streets and, a day or so later, sixteen civilians were massacred in broad daylight in Port-au-Prince.
The question now is; how can one assist Haiti, not control, not give charity. How can we give hope? Haiti was the pearl of the Caribbean, Haitians from all walks of life will put their minds together, they did something in the past that no-one else could do. They still have that, they will find the solution that works for them.
That’s what The Steve Sinnott Foundation is doing in Haiti. Enabling Haitians on the ground through supporting projects that will enable rather than make others reliant, giving ownership to the projects and enabling others to adapt them, make them their own and use them as their own springboard to success.
Sadly this situation is not headline news in the UK. It’s true that we have a sudden increase in Covid and there was a Football match at the time. The information in this article has come from the Haiti All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) meeting in July 2021. We need to bring Haiti into the news and let people know what is happening there.
Steve Sinnott • July 20, 2021
Mike Fleetham of Thinking Classroom has written a book " Headlines: Inspiration, humour and advice for school leaders ". A collection of original ideas, advice from professionals, quotes, and tips to support and inspire all leaders. Perfect for new and established leaders working in education, especially headteachers. "Being a headteacher is like looking both ways before you cross the road, and then getting hit by an aeroplane." To Enter the Competition To win a copy of Headlines please share your inspiring education or life lesson in no more than 600 words. The winning article will also be published in our next edition of Engage. Send your words of inspiration to admin@stevesinnottfoundation.org.uk 📅 Deadline: 5th September 2025 Stuck on Ideas? Here are some questions and prompts to get you started! What’s the one lesson school didn’t teach you, but life did? Think of a moment that changed your path, what happened? What piece of advice has helped you grow the most? When did a challenge turn into an opportunity for you? What story from your life would inspire someone on the other side of the world? What’s the life lesson that unlocked your next chapter? Your words could uplift, empower and be seen by many. Let your story inspire the world! 🌍💡 Good luck and we cant wait to read all the entries!
This week our CEO Ann and Jude (SSF Ambassador) visited schools in Coventry and heard about the wonderful work that students are doing to foster peace and community connection, as part of Coventry Arts Week. We visited Lyng Hall school in the morning and met with Ms Hagan and four of the schools UNESCO ASPnet ambassadors. They told us all about their recent project. The students took their art and poetry to the 80th Anniversary symposium in Ypres and Dunkirk. They shared with us some of the poetry they had written together with the students on the field trip and some of their own poems too. They also shared their future plans for working with their local primary school on peace and community. We also had the privilege of joining Ms Hagans class where they were looking at Caliban’s tale. Here is one of the students work
For my birthday this year I had the honour to walk 60 miles (yes it was a big 0 birthday) over 3 days to support the essential work of the Steve Sinnott Foundation of which I am CEO. Education in its many forms is essential for all of us to thrive and make the most of life's opportunities. The Foundation works to ensure that as many children and adults as possible across the globe can access the human right of education. The plan was to walk with friends and supporters who I hoped would keep me smiling along the way and it felt like a good way to make use of the Foundation’s “Get Moving” campaign. Here's how my Get Moving Fundraiser went on the first day. The 13th June I started my walk in London by walking from Barnet to west Hampstead and visiting my sister at her shop at Tree of Life where I got served a nice iced coffee to keep me going.
