April 19, 2012

President Martelly has just survived a situation that could have taken him away from us. An embolism is not a laughing matter and we were personally concerned that a good guy might be lost.  Michel Martelly is a good guy, who loves his people and – I believe – would really like to do something.

Unfortunately, he is surrounded by a wall, created by his inner circle, that insulates him from reality and those who could, and would like to help him make his presidency a good one. These selfish people are interested only in what they can steal for themselves, and they are taking a lot, leaving no cash for distribution to offices that could make a difference: they are expected to produce miracles with “air.”

Parliament is a criminal organization that believes in a pay-for-play situation in which the Democratic process has never played any part. We have the rumor that Laurent Lamothe had to pay $75,000 per Senator for their vote in support of his acceptance as Prime Minister.

This is criminal!!

Having said that, we believe Laurent Lamothe is one factor that can salvage this disastrous situation. He is the only spark in Martelly’s cabinet and makes things happen. Of course, this could also lead to his failure if the President, or Sophia, feels challenged, but that is another bridge to cross.

This entire manure pile reminds me of an incident that happened at a major Los Angeles supermarket several days ago. A man was standing in front of the store, with his Doberman dog by his side. Suddenly, the man grasped his chest,  an embolism?? …and fell to the ground.

It was a survivable heart attack!

Someone called 911!!

Bystanders  rushed to help him, but the loyal, rather stupid Doberman fiercely defended his master, and kept them away.

The man died.

The ambulance and police arrived.

A policeman shot the Doberman and then helped load the  man’s body into the ambulance. The Doberman’s carcass was left there for a janitor to throw into a dumpster.

This story reflects Haiti.

Up until last week,  embassy sources we have contact with all answered “5 years” when asked how long the Martelly presidency would survive.

Just before Martelly’s embolism, I  met with a pair from two major embassies and repeated the same question, as we discussed the current situation. They just looked at each other and shrugged. One said he had just asked his ambassador the same question and, rather than receiving the standard “5 years” answer…he said the ambassador also shrugged…

In other words, the situation in which everyone was committed to seeing the full term realized, has deteriorated to one with little or no optimism.

It is now a Borlette.

Rather than speculating on how the reconstruction can be initiated, those who count are speculating on the length of time before Martelly’s government implodes, creating another crisis for Haiti’s unrepresented 9,000,000.

People want to help  the presidency of Michel Martelly succeed.

His survival is Haiti’s survival.

The ambulance is on its way.

Someone has to shoot the Doberman  (perhaps plural) before we are all dead.