Ralf S. Rho

I once declared with fervent conviction that if certain political actors ran for president again, so would I. But I have come to understand that yesterday’s politics must no longer dictate my purpose. A nation cannot transform while the very political order that contributed to its decline continues to command applause. I will remain outside this electoral race, but never outside the struggle to see my homeland become a developed nation in my lifetime. My faith in Haiti has never wavered, nor will it ever. I have simply outgrown the belief that my commitment to its transformation can only be expressed through the pursuit of political office. My convictions remain unchanged. What has evolved is my understanding of leadership, responsibility, and how best to serve my country.

Kijan fè nou rive la? Kijan prezans yon lame etranje, k ap swadizan ede garanti sekirite nou, rive reprezante yon sous lespwa, yon rezon pou nou selebre? Kote fyète nou? Kote diyite nou kòm pèp? Sa pa fè nou mal? Sa pa dechire konsyans nou? Mwen konprann nou bouke soufri. Mwen konprann nou vle viv. Men, nanpwen okenn kè kontan nan imilyasyon.

Nan lane 2021, mwen te lanse yon apèl pou yon lòt fòm lidèchip. Senk lane pita, ijans peyi a vin pi grav. Lè a rive pou jenerasyon pa nou an pran responsabilite istorik li pou kraze yon sistèm ki kontinye echwe nou tout, refonde leta a, epi bati yon Ayiti kote menm jenerasyon ki poko fèt kapab eritye yon peyi miyò. Sa pa yon chwa elektoral, se yon devwa jenerasyonèl.

Kesyon fondalnatal jenerasyon nou an pa dwe sèlman kiyès ki pou gouvène Ayiti, men anba ki lòd konstitisyonèl, avèk ki lejitimite, epi nan enterè kiyès? Alò refondasyon peyi a se yon desten kolektif.

Jèn ou pa, foli pouvwa ou pa… ou pa ka di w vle Ayiti chanje epi w kandida anba Konstitisyon 1987 la, alòske w wè senk jenerasyon deja sibi move konsekans yon lòd konstitisyonèl ki pa rive kenbe pwomès li. Konbyen lòt jenerasyon nou swete sakrifye sou lotèl menm ilizyon sila? — Ta sanble grangou fè nou pèdi larezon.

Your anti-Haitian prejudice has always been dressed in a statesman’s suit. During your presidency, the 2010 constitutional reform restricted birthright citizenship for children of undocumented migrants, disproportionately affecting people of Haitian descent. Now you invoke Haiti’s suffering as a convenient national security scarecrow. Get lost!

Okenn anbisyon politik, okenn ijans elektoral, ni okenn otorite tranzisyon pa ka pi wo pase souverènte pèp ayisyen. Men, sitou, okenn pòs leta pa vo pou nou mande moun sakrifye lavi yo pou satisfè yon kalandriye elektoral magouy.

Having read the Final Report of the Panel of Experts on Haiti Submitted Pursuant to UN Resolution 2794 (2025), I reflect on my homeland standing on the brink of a profound moral and existential crisis. We are in a space where the boundaries between authority and coercion, public service and private interest, and protection and predation have blurred into indistinction. The survival instinct has overtaken our collective conscience, and illegitimate power has become ordinary. — If these tendencies persist unchecked, this will mark the beginning of the end.

Chak evènman ta dwe fòse nou pran konsyans sou eta nou. Men n prefere pale anpil, fè bri, epi pèdi tèt nou nan diskisyon initil. Kisa ankò nou te espere nan men yon pèp Dominiken rasis ? Men nou menm, fòk nou aprann gade tèt nou nan glas. Nou tèlman manke sansiblite, nou pa menm konprann sa sa vle di pou derespekte yon moun lakay li. Ou pa ka mande respè pandan ou refize konprann limit, diyite ak espas lòt moun.

As I mentioned yesterday, the United States cannot be expected to deliver the truth regarding a Haitian president's assassination. American courts follow U.S. law and protect national security. Haiti therefore cannot outsource its historical truth to a foreign criminal proceeding.

Yon bann kandida pretann pale nan non lajenès, men chak fwa yo louvri bouch yo, yo mete aklè limit konpreyansyon yo ak dimansyon mechanste yo sou yon pakèt dosye. Sa k pi grav la, se kantite konfyans yo genyen lè y ap pale sou sa yo pa menm metrize. Pale nan non lajenès mande plis pase yon mikwo, kèk eslogan ak anvi pran pouvwa. Sispann sèvi ak lajenès kòm eskalye pou anbisyon pèsonèl nou. Si nou vle reprezante l, kòmanse respekte entèlijans li.

Miss Charles, my post does not defend Haiti’s institutional failures. It insists on their responsibility. Five years without answers is an indictment of those entrusted with pursuing the truth, but not a reason to surrender that duty to a foreign power. You ask how Haiti can investigate when the evidence is in the United States. Well, cooperation is essential. But cooperation does not require Haiti to abandon its own pursuit of the truth. And the failure to obtain banking records demands accountability from those responsible; it does not make American convictions a sufficient answer to the Haitian people. My position is clear: justice for President Jovenel Moïse cannot end with what another country’s proceedings establish. Haiti must pursue the whole truth and hold those responsible accountable. Sovereignty carries that obligation. Insisting on it is not moving the goalposts.

Jistis ak souverènte pa ka separe. Yon nasyon souveren pa dwe janm lage nan men yon pouvwa etranje responsablite li genyen pou etabli laverite pou pwòp pèp li. Jistis pou Prezidan Jovenel Moïse pa ka fini sèlman ak kondanasyon nan tribinal ameriken. Ayiti bezwen laverite, tout laverite, ak kapasite souveren pou li tabli verite sa a.

Justice and sovereignty are inseparable. A sovereign nation must never surrender to a foreign power its responsibility to establish the truth for its own people. Justice for President Jovenel Moïse cannot end with American convictions alone. Haiti needs the truth, the whole truth, and the sovereign capacity to establish it.

Pèp ayisyen pa bezwen yon chèf k ap griyen dan, ti souri anbachal, devan moun ki rayi nou. Nou bezwen yon chèf pou kanpe doubout — je kale, pawòl klè, do dwat. Ayiti se yon nasyon souvren. Nou pap mande pèmisyon pou n egziste nan diyite. Sa pa negosyab.

Nan koze asasinay sa, sonje: istwa a fin pachiman anba manipilasyon, akizasyon dwategòch, aparans fè bèl figi, ak bout deklarasyon dezyèm men. Verite a rete antere byen fon toujou. Non yon bann koubap pako menm kòmanse site. — “Chat konnen, rat konnen.”

Sou 39 lane depi Ayiti ratifye Konstitisyon 1987 la, peyi a viv 4 koudeta, 17 gouvènman transisyon, 16 lane san palman fonksyonèl, 10 lane san eleksyon, ak asasinay 1 prezidan… jodi a, pa gen okenn otorite eli. Epi bann gadyen sistèm nan vle òganize eleksyon pou nou vote anba menm modèl echwe sa a. — Repetisyon sa pa yon solisyon. — Peyi a bezwen yon nouvo lojik gouvènans. Nou pap ka bati lavni ni devlope ak menm dokiman, sou menm fondasyon ki mennen nou la.

Kriz Ayiti pa sèlman yon echèk gouvènans, se yon defèt larezon. Yon nasyon pa ka rekonstwi tèt li ak menm lojik ki detwi l. Nou bezwen bon konprann.