Haitian-Canadian native of Jacmel, Michaëlle Jean one of the signatories of an open letter published this week which said that Haiti was "dying" and needed international help to avoid becoming a State bankrupt, said rich countries must admit the mistakes they made in Haiti and pressure the country's elite to find a way out of the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Ms. Jean believes that countries like Canada must take responsibility for introducing debilitating economic policies in Haiti and repatriating criminals who wreaked havoc in Port-au-Prince.

Michaëlle Jean says that means building Haitian-led institutions, ending exploitative economic policies, and getting more countries to sanction corrupt leaders who support gangs.

She agrees with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's remarks that a solution requires political consensus, which she says means agreement between civil society groups and unelected Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

Find out more about Michaëlle Jean :

Born September 6, 1957, in Jacmel (Haiti), Michaëlle Jean (niece of the famous poet René Depestre) and her family fled the Duvalier dictatorship in 1968. At the age of 11, she began her new life in Thetford Mines, in Quebec (Canada). She speaks five languages, French, English, Spanish, Italian and Creole. She is married to filmmaker Jean-Daniel Lafond. The couple have an adopted daughter, Marie-Éden, born in Haiti.

Television host, journalist and activist Ms. Jean was, among other things, Governor General of Canada (2005 to 2010) https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-1291-haiti-canada-michaelle-jean-no-longer-governor-general-of-canada.html , UNESCO Special Envoy for Haiti (2010 to 2014) https://www.haitilibre.com/article-424-haiti-unesco-michaelle-jean-c-est-confirme.html (In french) and Secretary General of La Francophonie (2014 to 2019) https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-12879-haiti-politic-michaelle-jean-takes-office-at-the-head-of-the-oif.html

SL/ HaitiLibre