IJDH’s Brian Concannon shares his wish for Haiti in NPR.

“As a lawyer who has spent the last 28 years helping to establish democracy in Haiti, I want 2023 to be the year that the U.S. and other powerful members of the international community allow Haiti to run free and fair elections.

When I first went to Haiti with the U.N. in 1995, I felt part of a broad international effort to help Haiti escape its history of dictatorships. I believed that my experience growing up and practicing law in a stable, prosperous country like the U.S. would provide useful lessons. But too often since then, I have found myself joining Haitians forced to fight for their democracy against the policies of the stable, prosperous countries. Gangs are overrunning the country that now lacks a single elected official.

I am hopeful that the U.S. will draw a useful lesson from the Jan. 6 threat to our own democracy and recommit to allowing Haitians to escape its history of both dictatorial government and foreign interference.”

Read the full article here.