Close Topic Options

Haiti - Page 4

EX-PARAMILITARY LEADER ACQUITTED IN HAITI

A jury on Tuesday acquitted a leader of a paramilitary group blamed for
killing some 3,000 people, after a 14-hour murder trial that angered human
rights groups and provoked criticism of the new U.S.-backed government.
Ref. https://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/americas/08/...n.ap/index.html

Haiti

OUSTED ARISTIDE BLAMED FOR UNREST

Haiti's interim prime minister accused ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide
of backing a wave of violence from exile in South Africa, while a Chinese
police unit arrived to join a U.N. peacekeeping force that has increasingly
faced gunfire in the streets.
Ref. https://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/americas/10/...e.ap/index.html

Haiti Caribbean / Tobago & Trinidad

Haiti: Death of a democracy
By Andrew Buncomb

Gangs of killers roam freely, rape is systematic and the poor eat mud to survive. In Port-au-Prince, Andrew Buncombe finds a people crushed by the dark hand of US foreign policy.
Ref. https://207.44.245.159/article8182.htm

Page 4 Haiti

I spent 2 years in Haiti as a missionary (2001-2002). On an average day I spent at least 9 hours speaking with Haitians, yes mostly about religion, but I also learned and experienced a great deal about what was going on in the country, politically.

There is no doubt in my mind that Aristide was very corrupt. Many Haitians, when given any power, become this way (and it's similar around the world, not just for Haitians). I am happy that Haiti will get new leadership, but I am afraid that their new leader will become corrupt just as many in the past.

Corruption that was evident - President Aristide had a street gang, mostly teenagers, whom were paid to kill his enemies (and are still doing that TODAY). In Haiti, people would always remind me to be careful of what I said about the government, because if they heard you speaking badly you risk being killed.

On the US news you might have seen a lot of Haitians, who liked Aristide, protesting saying that it was a U.S. backed coup"¦ You have to consider one important thing here, these are Haitians in the U.S.! How do Haitians get to the U.S.? Most of those ones have money. From my experience, the Haitians who were "rich" or even fortunate enough to come to the U.S. usually did like Aristide, some of them got rich because of the corrupt government. The majority of Haitians were poor, and didn't like Aristide, but of course, the poor don't have much of a voice in Haiti.

There were too many Haitians that didn't like Aristide as a leader. He had too many broken promises. He said that things would get better in Haiti, but they didn't. Millions of dollars in aid stopped coming in because of the corruption of the Haitian Government. They didn't do what they said they would do with the money.

An experience with the church I belong to - when we would send cargo from the U.S. to Haiti, the government officials who worked customs at the shipping yards would take what they wanted from the cargo before allowing the Church in Haiti to receive it. Many organizations experienced this same problem. Many other organizations that wanted to send help wouldn't because of the corruption. For example, if you donated clothing to Haiti, most likely the clothes that were meant to be given out for FREE, would actually end up being sold for money. It's the same with most donations to Haiti.

Aristide campaigned on the promise "Lape nan tet, lape nan vant." (peace of mind, peace in the stomach), but Haitians often complained about how they never got that. Aristide promoted a reading and writing program "alfabetization" which was only slightly successful in helping a small amount of people learn to read and write. Aristide also convinced people to invest in Cooperatives (businesses that used money invested by others to make more money), and promised that it was not risky and would be beneficial to the country. Many Haitians lost their life savings in these Cooperatives, when the people running them disappeared with all the money. I was in Haiti when this happened - these Cooperatives were so popular, and suddenly within a matter of weeks most of them were gone. Many Haitians also believed that Aristide was in on the drug rings as well, but I didn't personally see that, just heard it from Haitians.

I got to Haiti shortly after the re-election of Aristide. Haitians would tell me stories of ballot boxes being stuffed with illegitimate votes for Aristide, and they couldn't do anything about it. I even knew someone who was in charge of supervising one of the voting locations, and he couldn't stop the ballot-rigging, he would have been killed if he did. In the U.S. we have the Republicans and Democrats as the majority parties with nearly an even split, plus many 3rd small third parties. In Haiti, there is the dominant Lavalas (Aristide's Party) and then the smaller, non-significant parties. (Though now since Aristide's removal, the Lavalas are being hunted and persecuted!) Aristide may have still won even if the elections were fair, because as Haitians explained it to me, there were no other influential candidates. No one else had a chance because of the monopoly the Lavalas Party had at that time. I remember about a year after the election there was a man who campaigned against Aristide, claiming to be the rightful leader of Haiti, because of the election fraud. I don't remember his name now, but I remember that was a big issue at the time, and cause some confrontations.

Even now, it might not matter who is in power, or which political party is in power, unless a miracle happens, I don't think things will get better. Haiti has been through corrupt leader after corrupt leader for 200 years since becoming the first "black" Republic. I can't say that the next leader won't be as corrupt or more corrupt than Aristide. Even Haiti's first emperor, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, was murdered by his own people.

There is a myth in Haiti that when they got freedom and independence in 1804 it was because of a deal that had been made with the devil, a 200-year contract. If this is true, the 200-year contract with the devil has ended and things in Haiti will go uphill from here. I can only hope.

Haiti

HAITIANS PREPARE FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Haitians will go to the polls on Tuesday to finally choose a successor to ousted president Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
Ref. https://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/200...aiti060203.html

Haiti

PRÉVAL DECLARED WINNER IN HAITI

Haiti's interim government and the electoral council have declared Rene Preval the winner of the presidential election, ending frantic
negotiations aimed at stopping violent street demonstrations in the
impoverished Caribbean nation.
Ref. https://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/200...eval060216.html

Haiti - Page 4

I did not realize there was such a significant population of the 'elite' that needed scolding. Based on what they show on television it seems as though the common man is in control.

Haiti Trinidad & Tobago / Caribbean - Page 4

Haiti MPs reject new PM candidate

Haiti's parliament rejects the president's choice for a new PM after the last one was sacked over food riots.
Ref. https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/a...cas/7397541.stm