ON the eve of the 49th Regular Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) now underway in Montego Bay, St James, a hopeful light was switched on that may help to brighten the way ahead for downtrodden Haiti.

A partnership led by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Caricom Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) launched the Capacity Building for Strengthening Quality Infrastructure in Haiti, a project meant to be a crucial step toward strengthening that country’s integration into regional and global markets.

The launch, which came on June 30, 2025 in a virtual ceremony, immediately took on added significance.

It took place only days before the United States Administration confirmed it would not change its mind about throwing out an estimated 500,000 Haitians — some there legally for up to a decade — by ending their Temporary Protected Status (TPS) that shielded them from the absolute horror unfolding in their home country.

The initiative, CDB says, is to be carried out in tandem with the Bureau Haïtien de Normalisation (BHN), the European Union through the Economic Partnership Agreement, and the Caribbean Single Market and Economy Standby Facility for Capacity Building at CDB, at a cost of €342,136.

If the one-year technical assistance project succeeds, it will enhance the institutional and technical capacity of BHN, the national standards body of Haiti; and strengthen Haiti’s national quality infrastructure; improve service delivery; and support private sector competitiveness — particularly among micro, small, and medium-size enterprises (MSMEs).

As if Haiti did not have enough from natural and man-made disasters, the devastating January 12, 2010 earthquake killed hundreds of thousands and displaced more than 1.5 million as a result of collapsed buildings and infrastructure.

It severely weakened the Government’s ability to respond to the crisis. Much of the service delivery infrastructure in and around Port-au-Prince was destroyed, including critical stretches of the primary road network linking the capital to heavily damaged southern cities.

The best estimates put damage and losses stemming from the 7.0-magnitude earthquake at US$7.8 billion — representing 120 per cent of Haiti’s gross domestic product (GDP) — and the price tag for reconstruction now stands at US$11.3 billion.

When the US withdraws TPS the Haitians can be expected to start a frantic search for countries willing to share with them the milk of human kindness. But as empathetic as some nations will be, not many countries have the capacity to absorb large numbers of immigrants.

Many, we expect, will seek haven in Caricom countries, while some will be forced to return to Haiti to face a life of uncertainty marked by daily violence, rape, hunger, and homelessness unleashed by marauding gangs who have taken control of much of the country.

The Montego Bay summit, which no doubt will be discussing the dire Haitian situation, would be well advised to craft a plan, with support from friendly nations, to handle the possible influx — difficult as it will be — in the hope of providing some degree of dignity for a Caricom member country.

More efforts, such as that of the CDB-EU-Caricom infrastructure project, are going to be sorely needed.