Caribbean News
Haiti reluctant on Covid-19 Vaccine, Residents say they don’t wear masks because they cannot afford them
#Haiti, April 14, 2021 – Haiti, the home for over 11 million people, is in the latest Coronavirus pandemic controversy for their reluctance in applying for Covid-19 vaccines despite the rising cases of Covid-19. For more than a year of the Covid-19 pandemic in the nation, the national response towards combating the disease remains very poor, as the residents cry foul over the scarcity and high prices of masks.
“The state government is supposed to give us masks, give us masks to wear for the coronavirus. But they don’t give us the masks, and we don’t know where to go and buy them. They sell them at a higher price for us to be able to afford them. We are poor; we can’t afford them. Therefore, we don’t wear masks. The coronavirus hasn’t hit us. I’m not saying it’s not here; it hasn’t hit us”, said a vendor, who was one of the respondents interviewed.
Even though Haiti is among the Caribbean countries that did not meet the deadlines for the requirements needed to get vaccines, the virus seems not to have taken a toll. Most of Haiti’s residents know no meaning of masks, and a few who believe in self-protection can hardly afford one.
Given that Haiti hasn’t imposed strict Covid-19 measures or a serious lockdown, the residents go on with events and activities almost like it was in the Pre-coronavirus days. Despite the government citing a lack of proper vaccine storage facilities, the Haitian culture has historic issues with vaccines, as some are suspicious the coronavirus vaccine could make them sterile.
While Haiti could have receive its first batch of vaccines for a pilot program, they country showed no interest in the UN-backed COVAX vaccine. Being among the 92 low-income countries listed by the UN as qualified for free doses, Haiti is set to receive the first batch of 756,000 doses of Astrazeneca vaccines in May.
On the other hand, Haiti’s story is also one of remarkable success. A low infection rate despite hardly any break from cultural norms. The country still held its annual Karnaval in February, which attracts thousands of people; no obvious spikes in the contagion were reflected.
According to data, Haiti, with about 11 million people, recorded about 12,700 cases with only 250 deaths, while the neighborhood Bahamas, with nearly 400,000 people, recorded around 9,400 cases with around 200 deaths.
Comparing the two countries, Haiti seems to be doing incredibly well, even though the data is suspected to be underreported; but this is said of just about every country.
With 104 new cases of the coronavirus recorded in the past 15 days, many not believing in the existence of the Covid-19, very few public health restrictions, and hardly anyone wearing masks due to high poverty levels, the country appears to be in no grave danger of Covid-19 and this takes the foot off the accelerator of securing vaccines for Haitians.
By Deandrea Hamilton | Magnetic Media
October 14, 2025 – It’s being called political theatre — but for citizens, constitutional watchdogs, and democracy advocates across the Caribbean, it feels far more serious. Within a single week, two national parliaments — in Trinidad and Tobago and St. Kitts and Nevis — descended into turmoil as opposition members stormed out in protest, accusing their Speakers of bias, overreach, and abuse of parliamentary procedure.
For observers, the walkouts signal a deeper problem: erosion of trust in the very institutions meant to safeguard democracy. When Speakers are viewed as political enforcers instead of neutral referees, parliaments stop functioning as chambers of debate and start performing as stages for power and spectacle — with citizens left wondering who, if anyone, is still accountable.
October 6: St. Kitts Parliament Erupts
The first walkout erupted in Basseterre on October 6, 2025, when Dr. Timothy Harris, former Prime Minister and now Opposition Leader,
led his team out of the St. Kitts and Nevis National Assembly in a protest that stunned the chamber.
The flashpoint came as the Speaker moved to approve more than three years’ worth of unratified parliamentary minutes in one sitting — covering 27 meetings and three national budgets — without individual review or debate.
Dr. Harris called the move “a flagrant breach of the Constitution and parliamentary tradition,” warning that the practice undermines transparency and accountability. “No serious parliament can go years without approving a single set of minutes,” he said after exiting the chamber.
The Speaker defended the decision as administrative housekeeping, but critics were unconvinced, branding the move a “world record disgrace.” The opposition’s walkout triggered renewed calls for the Speaker’s resignation and sparked a wider public discussion about record-keeping, accountability, and respect for parliamentary norms in St. Kitts and Nevis.
October 10: Trinidad Opposition Follows Suit
Four days later, on October 10, 2025, the Opposition United National Congress (UNC) in Trinidad and Tobago staged its own walkout from the House of Representatives in Port of Spain.
The UNC accused the Speaker of partisan bias, claiming she had repeatedly blocked urgent questions, ignored points of order, and allowed government members to breach standing orders without consequence.
“The Speaker has failed in her duty to act impartially,” the Opposition declared in a statement. “Parliament is not the property of any political party or Presiding Officer.”
The dramatic exit was seen as a culmination of months of rising tension and frustration, with opposition MPs arguing that parliamentary rules were being selectively applied to silence dissenting voices.
Political analyst Dr. Marcia Ferdinand described the twin walkouts as “a warning sign that parliamentary democracy in the Caribbean is teetering on the edge of performative politics.”
“When chairs become political shields rather than constitutional referees,” she said, “democracy becomes theatre, not governance.”
A Pattern Emerging
While St. Kitts and Trinidad are very different political environments, both incidents point to the same regional fault line: the perception that Speakers — the guardians of parliamentary order — are no longer impartial.
In Westminster-style systems like those across the Caribbean, the Speaker’s authority depends not on power but on public confidence in fairness. Once that credibility erodes, parliamentary control collapses into confrontation.
Governance experts say the implications are serious: eroded trust between government and opposition, declining public confidence in state institutions, and growing voter cynicism that “rules” are flexible tools of political advantage.
Why It Matters
Parliamentary walkouts are not new in the Caribbean, but what makes these recent events different is their frequency and intensity — and
the regional echo they’ve created. Social media has amplified images of lawmakers storming out, with citizens from Barbados to Belize questioning whether the same erosion of decorum could be happening in their own legislatures.
Analysts warn that if this perception takes hold, it risks diminishing the moral authority of parliamentary democracy itself.
“Once opposition MPs believe the rules are rigged, and once citizens believe Parliament is just performance,” said one Caribbean governance researcher, “you’ve lost the most valuable currency in democracy — trust.”
Restoring Balance
Political reformers across the region are calling for tighter Standing Order enforcement, independent parliamentary service commissions, and training to strengthen Speaker neutrality. Civil society leaders say the public must also play its part by demanding transparency and refusing to normalize partisan manipulation of parliamentary procedure.
Whether these twin walkouts become catalysts for reform — or simply another episode of Caribbean political theatre — will depend on what happens next inside those chambers.
For now, democracy watchers agree on one thing: when opposition leaders feel the only way to be heard is to walk out, the entire democratic house — not just its Speaker — is in danger of collapse.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
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