The fall of a rising star - in memory of Francky Altinéus Francky

In the current situation of our beloved Haiti, we could have spent hours together discussing… reflecting on the decay of human life, talking about politics, discussing the evil and cruelty of the country’s political, economic, and intellectual elites. But, unfortunately, it is often said that times of crisis are always propitious, fertile for the advent of new ideas, new reflections, new theories. That is why, dear Francky, we are launching “this blog” today, whose first issue is a tribute to you, our dear brother and colleague.

From 2016 to 2024, 8 years and a few months have already passed since you left us. This happened not according to the principle of Nature: “everything is born, everything lives, everything perishes”, but by a devastating and exterminating political project, elaborated and implemented by the external and internal enemies of the Haitian nation. When, in 2016, after brilliantly defending your master’s thesis entitled “Agrarian spaces in Haiti: land structure and rice production in the Artibonite department”, you chose to return to your country without having completed the selection process to enter the doctorate, didn’t you want to show how much our country meant to you? In fact, we remember perfectly that when you were conducting your Master’s research, we had many discussions about the relevant aspects of your research, about Haiti’s potential, about our attachment to the homeland, and about our desire to give our full contribution to the re(des)construction of Haiti.

Your attachment to your homeland, your desire to promote Haiti and to contribute to changing the country cost you your life. Despite the insistence for you to complete the doctoral selection process, out of love for your country, didn’t you choose to return home to put your skills at the service of the country? Weren’t you on your way to teach at UPAG - Université Publique des Gonaïves - when the enlightened criminals decided to execute you? Yes… You were murdered on your way to work, going to share your knowledge with thousands of university students hungry for knowledge, haunted by the desire to learn and to fully contribute to the development of the country. In a country where the State fulfilled its primary and sacrosanct function of ensuring public security, would you have been so cowardly murdered? And even if this had happened, wouldn’t justice have already been served? Ah…! Too many questions… our dear colleague. Today, our beloved Haiti is turning into a pandemonium.

All the institutions of society (the family, the school, the police, the State, educational establishments, the press) have been destroyed by the enlightened criminals thirsty for money, blood, and power. It is in this context that we are launching this “blog”, with the aim of regularly sharing our reflections on the socio-political, cultural, and economic issues that affect not only Haitian society, but also to think about Haiti in relation to other countries in the world. Honoring you with this issue is just a sign of our deep gratitude to the rising star that you revealed to us during your short passage on this earth.

Author: Dieumettre Jean

Translation: Frantz Rousseau Déus