French Beninese writer and activist Kemi Seba is in Haiti this weekend on a humanitarian mission.
Seba traveled to the Caribbean nation to show support for the PetroChallenger anti-corruption movement and for the residents of the poorest slums of the capital.
VOA Creole spoke with the activist as he was distributing sanitary kits in Port-au-Prince.
“We wanted to show that we are capable and that we don’t have to wait for the government to act, we can take action ourselves to show our support,” Seba said.
“Although we have meager resources we only exist when we can share what we have with others in the context of this dimension, this dynamic,” he added. “We have medical staff with us, midwives, specialists who are not only distributing the kits but also doing free consultations. They are volunteers who gave their time to make this happen.”
French Beninese writer and activist Kémi Seba is visiting
President Moise denies the corruption allegations and in recent weeks has taken steps to address the protesters’ concerns, such as naming new Cabinet ministers, visiting local businesses, and speaking directly to the people on traditional and social media. He has also called for a national dialogue to discuss ways to resolve the political impasse, but the opposition has repeatedly rejected the offer.
Activist Seba told VOA he hopes his effort will spark future progress.
“We hope this will not be a just drop in the bucket, but rather the beginning of a process to address this issue with sister institutions and medical partnerships who are already working here. I want to especially thank the medical staff who helped us bring this mission to fruition today,” he said.
The local residents, who did not wish to be photographed, expressed gratitude and thanks to Seba and his team for taking the time to visit them and address some of their most urgent needs.
Jacquelin Belizaire and Matiado Vilme in Port-au-Prince contributed to this report.