At vigil in Elmont church, Haitian Americans pray for peace

Haitian Americans and others gathered at an Elmont church Saturday afternoon to pray for peace and unity in Haiti, which is in turmoil in the aftermath of Wednesday’s assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.

The prayer vigil at Bethany French Baptist Church, which was in a mix of English, Creole and French, came as the Caribbean nation of more than 10 million people is mired in uncertainty and division. Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph and Ariel Henry — whom Moïse had selected to replace Joseph a day before he was killed, but who had not yet taken office — each claimed they were prime minister.

On Friday, Haitian senators selected Joseph Lambert, the president of what remains of the Senate after most senators’ terms expired, as provisional president, and recognized Henry as prime minister.

"We’re asking the leaders to put their heads together and work out a consensus … ," said Nassau County Legis. Carrié Solages (D-Lawrence), who is the son of Haitian immigrants and helped organize the vigil, which was attended by about 30 people. "This is a terrible time for the history of the country. We have to make a public demand for peace. This is unacceptable. Our young people are watching this and are like, ‘Whoa, is this democracy?’ This is not democracy."

The pastor of the church, the Rev. Edy Bichotte, said prayer was desperately needed to help unify Haiti.

"In this time of turmoil, of disturbance, of crime, we need this kind of spirit, the force that can guide us, the spiritual force that can lead us to the word of God," he said.

Haitian-born Marie Carmel Houanche of Freeport said members of different factions in Haiti needed to come together in a roundtable discussion, to reach a consensus for a way forward.

"We have to get together as a people, because right now, people are fighting over power, who’s the president now, who’s the prime minister," she said. "There’s so much going on that the whole nation’s confused."

Marthe Desdunes, chairwoman of Haitian Americans Family of Long Island, said the assassination and the battle for the country’s leadership that followed "is devastating to see, because the people are the ones who suffer."

Haiti, which declared independence from France in 1804, is the first free Black-led republic, "so it’s very difficult to see Haiti still struggling in order to continue," she said.

Before Moïse’s killing, Haitians disagreed on whether he was the legitimate president, with some saying his term had expired and his supporters saying it had not. Desdunes said no matter what people thought of Moïse, they should agree that the way his presidency ended was a tragedy for the country.

"The biggest issue was, one, a person was killed," she said. "Beyond a person being killed is, he was killed in his home, and the way he was killed was so brutally. There has to be a sense of transition. It’s OK if you don’t like the person in power, but there has to be a transition where it’s not a killing that ends up happening."

With AP

By David Olson

david.olson@newsday.com@DavidOlson11

David Olson covers health care. He has worked at Newsday since 2015 and previously covered immigration, multicultural issues and religion at The Press-Enterprise in Southern California.