OPINION | From The Haitian Pulse
No One Is Coming to Save Haiti—We Must Save Ourselves
By LJ Cange | May 31, 2025
On June 12, 2025, Ambassador Henry T. Wooster is set to begin his assignment as Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Haiti, replacing Ambassador Dennis B. Hankins, who has held the role since May 3, 2024. This change comes as Haiti remains caught in a spiral of political paralysis, institutional breakdown, and unrelenting insecurity.
Ambassador Wooster is, by all accounts, a highly capable figure. A decorated diplomat, a former ambassador to Jordan, and a U.S. Army veteran, he brings decades of experience navigating geopolitical crises. He’s served in some of the world’s most volatile regions and is no stranger to high-stakes diplomacy.
But let us be clear: he is not Haitian. He does not carry our trauma, our history, or our dreams. Nor is it his burden to do so.
We’ve seen diplomats with polished résumés and polished promises. And we’ve seen our streets crumble further, our sovereignty erode, and our institutions rot. This is not a critique of Wooster’s qualifications—it’s a critique of our continued dependence on foreign saviors.
The Haitian crisis is not a diplomatic puzzle to be solved from an embassy. It is a spiritual, political, and social reckoning that only we, the Haitian people, can confront. For too long, we’ve pinned our hopes on outside forces—France, the United States, Canada, the UN. We’ve waited for the cavalry. We’ve prayed for envoys, elections, interventions, saviors.
But here's the truth: no one is coming.
No foreign power has the will—or the moral clarity—to repair what ails Haiti. We are at a crossroads. And there is only one road left: radical self-determination.
We must stop thinking of ourselves as a crisis to be managed and start acting like a people determined to shape our own future. That means organizing in our neighborhoods, reclaiming our dignity, and creating systems of governance that reflect Haitian values—not the dictates of Washington or Brussels.
Ambassador Wooster will do what diplomats do: advise, negotiate, and protect U.S. interests. Let’s not confuse that with liberation. His arrival may bring a veneer of order, but our soul remains sick until we rise for ourselves.
This is not a call to reject every form of help. It is a call to center ourselves. Haiti lit the flame of Black freedom with the world’s first successful slave revolt. If any soil on Earth can give rise to a new model of justice, it is ours.
So yes—let us welcome Ambassador Wooster with respect. But let’s not look to him for salvation. Let’s not mistake presence for purpose. The real work begins and ends with us.
The question is no longer whether the world will help us.
The question is: Will we help ourselves?
💬 We want to hear from you. Do you believe Haiti’s future lies in its own hands? What do you think about Ambassador Wooster’s role?
Leave a comment below and be part of the national conversation.
— LJ Cange, for The Haitian Pulse
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