We spent the night at the airport so as not to miss our flight to Cap Haitien. I have had very little sleep and done a lot of research. We board the plane at 7 a.m. and will land in Haiti at 9.30 a.m., where we will be able to see for ourselves. International media coverage has long since written off the long-overdue elections. They were supposed to take place tomorrow.
The U.N. is already trying to exert pressure to ensure that the elections can at least take place on the newly proposed date – 7 February 2026 – and do not have to be postponed again. The people I have spoken to so far see the problem as a lack of willingness to change on the part of the transitional council. Elections alone will not be enough to restore confidence among the population. Haiti is a country that urgently needs decisive action, and the people will not settle for anything less. Whoever is elected, if anyone is elected next year, will have to deliver concrete results that are noticeable in everyday life in order to actually lead the country out of crisis.
I am very excited and will probably soon discover that there, too, there are simply people living their everyday lives. I think I will have to be prepared to hear some difficult stories and find the balance between closeness and distance that allows me to remain human and still stay focused.
Here we go!