The surprise arrival of Jean Claude Duvalier, known as “Baby Doc,”  confirms the curse on Haiti. Baby Doc has made a miscalculation, profiting from the chaotic situation in Haiti to present himself as their savior. After 25 years in exile, he thought that cases against him for human rights abuses would be forgotten.

We have seen the cheers in the airport to welcome him. The truth is that humankind has a tendency to forget easily the pain of a dictatoral regime. In Iraq, some people regret already having lost Saddam Hussein.

It is unclear how a broken country such as Haiti will be able to arrest Duvalier for his crimes. Corruption is the gangrene of society and money can buy influence. We just hope that Haiti will not miss this opportunity to catch him. As the Swahili of Tanzania say, “An artful bird can be trapped in a rotten cage.”