Haiti gets another chance. (But needs a lot more help from its friends) | Opinion

The concept of never giving up is so pervasive in Haiti that it gets its own word in Creole, Djanm, often translated as resilience, but really about always getting up when knocked down. Haiti has been knocked down so many times it is easy to lose track – earthquakes, floods, assassinations, gang violence have been more the norm than the exception.

Hopeful to a fault, the Haitian people are always ready to give it another go, and for the first time since the assassination of President Jovenal Moïse in 2021 and the takeover of Port au Prince by gangs, there is a U.S.-led international effort that could help Haitians get back on their feet. But it will take more than what is currently on offer from the international community and from Haitians, and it will require a sustained effort over many years to succeed.

The core of the new effort is a UN-authorized Gang Suppression Force (GSF) of 5,500 soldiers who are arriving in Haiti to anchor a new security drive. The Haitian government has also enlisted the services of private military contractors for key capabilities, and the U.S. has expanded its training of the Haitian National Police, which will add 4,000 to its ranks this year. Other countries have been training the Haitian army, for which the U.S. has lifted its restrictions on assistance. The force is shaping up.

But there are a number of missing capacities that need attention for the effort to succeed.

On the security side, the international force, while robust compared to recent efforts, remains quite small. The Haitian government will need to extend the service of the private contractors and significantly grow its own force, especially the army. These forces will require international trainers and advisors for many years to enhance their effectiveness.

There is also an urgent need to restore the country’s judicial and prison systems. When gang members are arrested, there are few places where they can be held and no one to try and judge them.

Additionally, Haiti needs to coerce younger gang members to trade their weapons for amnesty and a new life. There have been dozens of demobilization programs in Haiti through the decades, hence many lessons learned about what works and what does not.

All of this will depend on Haitian leaders from across the spectrum coming together to support the new momentum to date, the greatest roadblock to progress. Haiti’s political class has been riven with corruption, selfishness, and infighting that has impeded any sustained advances. There is no substitute for solid Haitian leadership at all levels, alongside a structured way for citizen’s voices to be heeded.

The U.S. should also consider more directly addressing the grinding humanitarian crisis, starting with the contradiction of returning 350,000 migrants to Haiti as their Temporary Protective Status ends at the same time it is making a major and costly effort to stabilize Haiti. The last thing the country needs is hundreds of thousands of individuals returning and falling directly onto the rolls of the displaced, even as their ability to provide resources to their families ends.

As security improves, the humanitarian pipeline will be opened and there will be a need for immediate assistance, with urgent opportunities for private sector involvement and investment.

The work in Haiti is extensive, and there are several key players who are absent. The large hemispheric actors such as Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Colombia have been minimally involved even as smaller players such as Jamaica and El Salvador have stepped up.

All those offering assistance, especially the U.S., will need to take a very long approach to Haiti. This kind of stabilization is the work of years, not months, and all players should kick in for the long term.

When offered dignity and structure, Haitians will once again rise to the challenge and do their part to return their country to the hall of nations.

Keith Mines is a former special forces officer and diplomat who served in Haiti in the 1990s and was most recently vice president for Latin America at the U.S. Institute of Peace, where he managed the Institute’s Haiti program. He currently manages the Haiti Working Group in Washington, D.C.