Although citizens may enjoy the freedom to choose where and how they live, they should not falter in their commitment to protect their nation in times of existential threat. The obligation to defend the sovereignty and security of one’s native country is a shared civic obligation that transcends personal comfort or individual preference. When the survival or future of a nation is on the line, the readiness of its citizens to stand in its defence becomes the utmost collective responsibility.

In other words, civic apathy is the worst enemy of any nation. Citizens are too passive if they think that the issues facing the nation are not their concerns. As the Anglo-Irish statesman and political philosopher Edmund Burke rightly put it, “When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice, in a contemptible struggle.”

For too long Haiti’s political, economic, and intellectual elite inside and outside the country have been divided and unable to devise and implement a viable strategy for the country. Well-known Haitian historian Roger Gaillard, in an interview before he died, lamented that the Haitian elites were incapable of proposing a project that could begin to uplift the country out of poverty.

The 29 years of the Duvalier dictatorship can help explained this political paralysis because it has conditioned many Haitians to remain politically disengaged. For decades citizens learned that participating in politics or speaking out against those in power could have devastating consequences. Anyone who expressed views that were not aligned with the regime risked persecution, imprisonment, torture, assassination, or exile. As a result, the culture of fear that helped the Duvalier stay in power for so many years discouraged civic participation and left a legacy of political inertia.

The migration of millions of Haitians abroad has done little to shift this pattern. If the Haitian Diaspora has provided an economic lifeline by sending billions of dollars in remittances to relatives back home every year, it has, nonetheless, remained mostly absent when tasked with coordinating civic and political engagement aimed at transforming the country’s institutions.

Today the situation in Haiti requires the educated portion of the Haitian Diaspora to organise themselves and engage more politically to respond to the dire situation that Haiti has been facing.

The Haitian people cannot continue to wait for any foreign powers alone or combined to save Haiti; international efforts such as the United Nations security programme have only brought more hardship, such as the cholera outbreak that reportedly stemmed from the Nepalese contingent. This is the moment for the Diaspora to come together; not simply to discuss Haiti, but to develop and implement a meticulous project capable of changing Haiti’s direction.

The time has come for a Haitian leadership that can unite communities, mobilise resources, defend the rights of Haitians abroad, and invest strategically in Haiti.

There are not only those living on the island who are affected by Haiti’s crisis. It is a challenge to Haitians everywhere — and, more broadly, to the Caribbean community that shares a common history of colonialism, political struggle, migration, and the pursuit of self-determination.

The threat to end temporary protected status (TPS) for Haitians in the United States should be a wake-up call for the Haitian elites leaving abroad, particularly in the US, not only because of the fate of these eventual deportees, but also the dire situation that awaits them on the island — a country in shambles.

The Haitian Diaspora has competence, resources, knowledge, and talent in variety of sectors. It’s high time for the Diaspora to unite, organise, and share a common vision to save our country. Haiti is waiting impatiently for a ray of hope. The Diaspora must answer.

Alain Gaillard is a former journalist in Haiti. Send commentst to the Jamiaca Observer or gtilain01@yahoo.com.