by Claudy Briend Auguste (cba)
Haiti’s Forgotten Diplomats: Silence, Salaries, and a Failing State
For over four months, Haiti’s diplomatic missions have functioned without any financial support from Port-au-Prince. According to multiple diplomatic sources, no salaries have been paid to ambassadors, consuls, or contractual staff across missions in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Some have been forced to cover rent for embassy buildings out of their own pockets—an indignity rarely witnessed in international service.
“I feel ashamed to face the landlord,” one diplomat admitted, speaking under condition of anonymity. “I’ve used personal funds to pay for what the Haitian state should have covered months ago.”
This institutional silence and financial paralysis come at a time when the de facto Prime Minister, Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, claims to hold more than $65 million in reserve—money allocated for a bogus referendum many legal experts say violates the Haitian Constitution. Meanwhile, significant sums are reportedly being channeled to corrupted political parties within the country.
As foreign missions fall into disrepair and staff remain unpaid, questions loom large: What remains of Haitian diplomacy when its emissaries abroad are left without the backing of the very state they represent?
cba