Newspaper Le Matin called it a true popular jubilation and an explosion of madness. Radio Kiskeya reporters witnessed “a massive participation in Jacmel’s Carnival,” as masks, floats and music bands stormed Avenue Barranquilla, manifestly displaying an array of colors, smiles, rituals and traditional dances that seemingly disappeared with the January 12 devastation. Even government officials, including President Michel Martelly, dumped their ties, suits and all formalities on Sunday February 12, 2012, joined participants in the streets of the historic city to officially launch the 20^th edition of Jacmel Carnival and celebrate the richness of Haitian culture.

Striking a poetic tone, Le Matin’s Hudler Joseph wrote,  “Invaded by a euphoriant fever in the streets, maskers lost themselves into lascivious dances to the beats of drums, guitars and the songs of both mini and walking bands.” Festivities started at 2 p.m. and did not end until early Monday morning, leaving lasting images of stunning beauty and grace. “Young men and women dressed with all colors: yellows, reds, blacks and flamingos generated moments of true attractions with their routines performed under the stars,” added Joseph.

Beyond a parade of colors, masks and music, the annual Haitian Carnival was also an economic exercise. Both private and public sectors infused large sums of moneys into the event that captured the entire country, maximizing its radiance and generating publicity. In addition, the mega celebration also boosts Haiti’s small business sector, 90 percent of which is informal and is neither regulated nor taxed.

Celebrating his 51^st birthday, President Martelly threw himself in the heart of the celebrations “Like the good old days,” remarked Le Matin reporter Lionel Edouard. “His last outing at the 20^th edition of Jacmel’s Carnival was once again an opportunity for the president to parade in the spotlight of the media’s cameras,” he added. President Martelly is very familiar with the carnival festivities. He in fact, over more than 20 years, built a reputation as one of the top entertainers of this event that coincided with his birthday. Accompanied by some senators and his security detail, the president drove to Jacmel on Polaris ATVs to not only celebrate his birthday, but also take part in the event that brought him national fame.

It was the spirit of the annual Haitian Carnival concluded Emmelie Prophete, reporting for newspaper le Nouvelliste. “It ultimately binds participants among themselves, carving m the memory and legend of the event: the meringue,” she explained, adding, “These are the songs sung together in an anonymous body-to-body environment, which creates this partition, this release that many argue is the ultimate goal of this festival.”

When he was not dancing in the crowd though, His Excellency was on the official stand, debating political issues live on state TV; something Edouard said made some participants unhappy. “His intrusion in the festivities frustrated some participants who folded their masks and went home,” he wrote. While many observers perceived Jacmel’s 2012 Carnival as the most flamboyant display since the earthquake, it was Martelly’s unexpected debate with senators that buzzed Monday morning talk shows. A week earlier however, the head of state categorically refused to answer questions about allegations over his citizenship status during a press conference and even tossed revilements at inquiring reporters. Playing the role of moderator, Martelly grabbed the national spotlight, not to talk about Haitians culture, rather the persisting political crisis with senators, argued some critics. Nevertheless, for many people, the 2012 Jacmel Carnival left no doubts in their minds; it was an immense success.

Traditionally, Jacmel’s edition preluded the national celebration that has historically been held in Port-au-Prince the following weekend. This year however, President Martelly’s unilateral decision placed it in Les Cayes, Haiti’s third largest city due to the large displacement camp still occupying Camp de Mars in front of the Haitian palace, the normal trajectory of carnival processions. Consequently, many people will migrate to Southern Haiti to savor the grand finale of 2012 National Haitian Carnival that observers predicted would be even more grandiose than Jacmel’s stunner.

Please, read part one here first: Occupy Haiti (I)

Armageddon, two years on…

Reconstruction year 2012…

Prime Minister Garry Conille – Source: Le Nouvelliste

“There was hope that the quake would bring an opportunity to break the country’s fatal cycle of struggle, catastrophe and indifference,” wrote the AP’s Jonathan M. Katz on the quake’s first anniversary last year. “But promises were not kept and no leader emerged, within Haiti or outside,” he added. A year later, “Build Haiti Back Better” stagnates; a collective promise dissipates, as unrealistic messianic emersion frustrates. Instead, news coverage exposed a painstakingly slow reconstruction process hindered by a disengaged international community, runaway non-governmental organizations, Haitian leaders’ ideological bickering and politics of destruction.

Analyzing Haiti’s state of affairs in his recent article “The Haitian President did not turn his policies into music,” Le Figaro’s Thierry Oberle noted, “In Haiti, a country where the president is an artist, politics remains a shadow theatre.” Nevertheless, President Martelly’s State of the Union address delivered at the Haitian National Assembly earlier this year rejected that premise, highlighting what the president perceived as important accomplishments for his administration. His free education initiatives for disadvantaged children, unilateral taxation of the Haitians living abroad to fund education, and clearing many displacement camps topped the president’s list. The Head of State also expressed concerns over the media’s unfavorable coverage, dressing his administration with a meager assessment, rather than exposing real progress.

Former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier with the presidential couple – Source: President's facebook page

Following the president’s speech in the Haitian parliament, Prime Minister Garry Conille declared 2012 the year of reconstruction and enumerated a host of reconstruction initiatives his government would launch this year. Yet, nearly three months since his narrow parliamentary approval, Conille still struggled to wiggle free from Martelly’s shadow. Together however, the executive duo sang in unison: harmonious relationships between executive and legislative branches were instrumental to 2012’s success. While observers agreed such approach would help deflate tensions in Haiti’s hostile political environment, they reasoned the rhetoric did not reflect Haitian actualities. “It was only to save face,” inferred Oberle, referring to the executive’s ambitious goals. “While under the surface,” he added, “Trench warfare between the former singer elected in May and the ancient power-block that controls the parliament paralyzed the country in ruins.” Echoing these sentiments, Caribbean Creole News’ Claude Carre inferred, “Already, as this year begins, the potential for crisis is evident everywhere.” His article “A Country in Limbo, an Inexperienced President” offered critical insights into a saturated political environment decorated with confusion, warning signs and shortsightedness.

It was however the same media that called then candidate Martelly a political novice or outsider not belonging to the reining political élite, characteristics it said made him attractive to his supporters. After a seven-month crash course, rocked by political paralysis, power struggle and constitutional violations, critics noticed a different man emerging in the fragmented Haitian Palace. “The president embodies an entrenched neoliberal tradition,” asserted Oberle. “It has the support of part of the bourgeoisie with friendships rooted into the reign of Jean-Claude Duvalier, former dictator returned to Port-au-Prince just over a year ago,” he added. In the characterization of a diplomat to the popular French newspaper, “Martelly wanted to emancipate himself from certain realities, but he crashed into the wall of parliament,” revealed Oberle. With only two deputies from his party Repons Peyizan in parliament, the executive’s harmonious relationships ideals might prove a herculean task, especially with the president’s unilateral approach to governance. In fact, political isolation often surfaced when affluent analysts attempted to paint brush the administration’s ability to govern. “Even worse,” wrote Carre, “The government not only inherits this state in shambles, but is also headed by an inexperienced president that embraced a nostalgic, outdated vision of public affairs, and—at the same time—is controlled by the same powers that helped him rise to power.”

President Michel Martelly – Source: President's Facebook page

As optimistic the heads of state and government sounded, lawmakers foresaw another tumultuous political year, preluded by the latest eruption over allegations of Martelly’s multiple citizenship status, considered to be a mortal sin by the Haitian Constitution. “A president cannot have three passports,” hammered Senator Steven Benoit on the air of radio station Magik9. “This is serious,” he added, “He must be punished, but we are not there yet.” Predicting a volcanic political year, Benoit who represents the West Department in the upper house admitted, “This crisis was latent. It will explode when parliament reconvene.” The foreign nationals saga is the latest twist in a litany of crises that crippled Martelly’s seven-month tenure, barricading the country’s reconstruction efforts.

Given the senator’s insistence on exposing the man who– not long ago– threatened to dethrone parliamentarians one after the other, the president will have difficulties disarming that bomb. “I could not, in any way, shape or form, make unsubstantiated claims or without evidence,” replied Senator Moise Jean Charles when pressed about the injurious nature of his accusations against President Martelly and several members of his new government. “You can call and ask them for details,” he added.

Senator Charles, a fierce opponent of the president, granted interviews to many popular Haitian radio stations where he revealed Martelly, two Ministers and a Secretary of State held foreign passports. The senator stopped short of providing journalists with the smoking gun he gathered from his personal investigation, but threatened to make the documents public unless his senate colleagues launched an investigation into the matter. The Haitian Constitution explicitly spurned the authority of foreign nationals meddling in affairs of the state, especially a president and high-ranking officers. Irrefutable proof of such flagrant constitutional violation, as many lawmakers argued, could potentially force Martelly out of office, unraveling his young administration. However, should this turn out to be baseless accusations against the president and his staff, Senator Moise Jean Charles who admitted receiving death threats since going public with the information will face serious reprisals from his colleagues as well as the presidency.

Meanwhile, Senate majority leader Joseph Lambert, president of the committee investigating the citizenship status of all 39 members of the new government announced, during a press conference held late last week, two out of 10 government officials investigated thus far held foreign passports. Lambert called on the president and his top officials to surrender their documents, admitting the committee’s first request went unanswered. When questioned about the grave allegations leveled against him, President Martelly replied his priorities were to alleviate the burden of suffering Haitians, rather than entertaining silly accusations. His vague answers prompted several leaders in the civil society to call on him to make an official statement about what they characterized as an act of treason, but to no avail.

Assuming president Martelly survived the citizenship allegations, he would have to brace himself for the House of Deputies’ vindication for his government’s arbitrary and unconstitutional arrest of sitting Deputy Arnel Belizaire last October. While the president denied any knowledge or involvement in the arrest, a senate investigating committee’s report revealed the incident originated in the Haitian palace where the two men had a very animated verbal exchange. Members of the lower house subsequently adopted a resolution demanding the heads of all government officials involved in the arrest. The president’s ability to absorb lawmakers’ rage will not only determine the fate of his presidency, but also indicative of political maturity necessary to deal with complex Haitian politics. That’s not all, however.

The Haitian Senate

Publication of the constitutional amendments constituted yet another point of contention among leaders, triggering an avalanche of criticisms that further divided the country. Many opposition leaders and lawmakers vehemently rejected the idea of the publication, calling on President Martelly to restart the amendment process among the 49th legislature. Opponents cautioned the president against publishing amendments they called vile and fraudulent that could potentially make him vulnerable to impeachment proceedings. Proponents meanwhile, demanded the president kept his promised, publish the amendments and release the country from the grips of suspense and indecision. The final version of the amendments, recently handed to the president for official publication, promised 30 percent representation for women in government, a path to citizenship for Haitians leaving abroad, the creation of a permanent electoral entity and, among several others, the restoration of the Armed Forces of Haiti.

In spite of Martelly’s public promise to publish the amendments, he later recanted, saying he needed more time to ensure proper discourse, as opponents’ vehemence amplified. Framing the confusion surrounding the constitutional amendment, Benoit asked, “Under which constitutional guidance are we today?” The outspoken senator urged the executive to unambiguously clarify their positions on whether or not they abandoned the amended version passed overwhelmingly by the National assembly last May.

Further complicating an already precarious situation, the president failed to set a date for senatorial and municipal elections that should have been held last October, argued Benoit. Last month, President Martelly used a presidential decree to fire the Provisional Electoral Council that oversaw his ascension to power, signaling his resolve to move toward an eventual election date. However, his recent hesitation might have shattered those perceptions and threatened to plunge Haiti deeper into political instability, as 10 senate seats—one-third of the upper house—will be vacated. “With 30 members, the Senate finds it difficult to operate,” reasoned Benoit, “With 20 it will be worse.”

If one believed the executive duo however, Martelly learned a lot during the last seven months, as he admitted in an interview with Le Nouvelliste. Therefore, Year 2012 will put Haiti back on the map with major projects going up throughout the country, especially since Martelly promised to let the head of government do its job, admitting to finally understanding his role as president.

Armageddon, two years on….

Men searching for survivors among dead bodies

Haiti’s conventional image rarely extends beyond succinct summations of a corrupt, dangerous, impoverished and unstable place plagued by a litany of tragedies: man-made and nature-engineered. Perhaps then, it should surprise no one that the tarnished image prevailed, even two years after the cataclysmic devastation.

The reconfigured political landscape some observers characterized as very precarious and fragile in 2009 was completely decapitated on Jan. 12, 2010 when a magnitude 7.0 earthquake cratered the country. Robert Perito, director of Haiti Working Group (HWG), conceptualized Haitians’ cyclical psychological shock to the Columbia Journalism Review (CRJ) a year ago. “Just when we thought things were going well and we’d turn the corner and everything looked good,” he said, “This comes out of nowhere.” Since its 2006 inception, HWG– a program of the United States Institute for Peace—began monitoring Washington’s policy-making on Haiti and encouraging public discussions in its development and U.S.-Haitian relations.

Although Perito’s statement might surprise many Haitians whose frame of reference amounted to abysmal failures from their government, it was not misplaced. In fact, many reports from several economists, studies and political analysts canvassed a soaring sense of optimism that was uncharacteristic of Haiti’s recent history. In “Haiti: From Natural Catastrophe to Economic Security,” a 2009 report economist Paul collier prepared for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, he noted that in spite of its lengthy history of socio-economic fragility, Haiti had “far more fundamentals that the fragile states with which it was conventionally grouped.” Affirming Collier’s findings, the Center for American Progress argued in “Haiti’s Changing Tides,” comparing to the past several decades, the battered country was “experiencing one of the best combinations of open political space and physical security.”

Crumbled Haitian Palace Source: The Atlantic

The flow of optimism did not stop there though; Haiti’s leap in its estimated Gross Domestic Product from 0.8 percent in 2008 to 2.9 percent in 2009 reinforced economists’ perceptions about its potential economic emergence. Furthermore, economist Tyler Cowen’s “The Haitian Renaissance of 2010,” posted on his blog Marginal Revolution moments before the earthquake, perceived the macroeconomic data as the writing on the wall: the beginning of the end for Haiti’s downward spiral. While many skeptics disagreed, arguing the data analyzed was insufficient to make broad generalizations, experts agreed on one thing; the earthquake dispelled all theories. “The state has been completely emasculated,” said Haiti native Robert Fatton Jr. who teaches politics at the University of Virginia. “If you look at what happened with the earthquake, there’s nothing; there’s no state,” statement corroborated in excruciating details by countless survivor accounts, including renown Journalist Erilande Sully’s who worked for Le Matin, a Haitian weekly and the country’s second oldest newspaper at the time.

Armageddon’s torturous legacy….

On Jan. 12, 2012, agonizing testimonies of the dreadful day blanketed Haiti like minacious dark clouds, flooding the nation’s consciousness with overwhelming grief, including Sully’s agony captured during an interview he granted to the Foreign Policy Association (FPA).

Shoeless, Sully and his colleagues laughed outside about their building rocking from side to side, something they neither experienced before nor understood. Only a few seconds earlier, he sat in his office, took his shoes off and put his feet on his desk, in search of inspiration for his next assignment. Suddenly, leaping out of his chair, “It sounded like a tank of war was trying to run over our building,” said Sully, “Like a big tank was shooting on our building, so– without hesitating– I ran,” admitting to never thinking about his shoes. Once outside their dancing building that withstood the earthquake, they joked about Sully’s bare feet and quickness, unaware of the massive devastation taken place within that short period.

However, for survivor Pierre Chery interviewed on the eve of the second anniversary of the earthquake, it was no laughing matter. “Thirty-five seconds was enough to turn everything upside down,” he said, reflecting on his struggle for survival. “Seconds have never been so long,” he added during an interview with Le Matin. Even two years after Armageddon, “Goudou-Goudou,” as Haitians referred to the killer-quake, hunted its countless victims, especially Raphaela whose permanent scars painted a scenario of despair and grace. “I was pulled from under the rubble three days later,” she recounted. “And at some point, I lost all hope of survival; it was a painful moment.” To her, the eventual rescue was a miracle. “Today,” she said, “I consider my life as a divine gift.”

Moments later, it dawned on Sully and company; the laughter dissipated. Port-au-Prince, virtually a war zone, was reeling six feet under, so they scrambled around trying to reach family members, recalled Sully. “When we saw the destruction that was all around us, we realized it was something serious and it shocked me,” he said. The only terms he felt would describe what he witnessed were complete chaos and disaster of catastrophic proportions.

“Petionville was turned upside down. People were running in all directions, as if the people were not themselves,” he said, hesitating. “Like they’ve all gone crazy.” He saw people emerging from thick fogs of dust, completely disfigured. “Some people crawled out of collapse buildings covered in blood, while others desperately tried to remove people from under the rubble,” added Sully. “You realized that it was as if the end of the world was upon us.”

By then, the journalist could not locate any of his colleagues also scattered in the cloud of confusion, trauma, and helplessness, as he described the chaotic scenes. “No one was in control of the people and there were no functioning media to communicate with them,” said sully, moving his hands up, down, up again and in all directions to paint the vivid imagery. The radio, a primary communication medium for the Haitian population, nearly 50 percent of which is illiterate, was muted, as many stations caved to the earthquake’s molestation. “There was no cell phone, so you could not reach your people,” he added, slowly shaking his head.

Rescuers save a frightened little boy

On a parallel plane, amputee Dithna struggled to fight back her tears, as—through her eyes—journalists relived her ordeals. She was sitting on her porch when Goudou-Goudou’s deafening noise caught her by surprise. “The house began to shake with me,” she said. “Even before I had time to save myself, the house collapsed.” After spending two days under the rubble, the worse was yet to come for Dithna. “My neighbors, in order to save me, were forced to cut my leg that was trapped under chunks of concrete,” she added, sobbing. For her part, Marie Marthe admitted losing everything to Goudou-Goudou’s fury. “I’m totally dependent on others,” she exclaimed in a tone reporters described as somber and hopeless. However, it is the memories of her son who perished in the earthquake that made this second anniversary most unbearable for the 67-year-old survivor. “That was an unprecedented event; the experience was painful,” said Marthe. “Something that no one should have to relive.”

Sully agreed: reliving Jan. 12, 2010 would be disastrous, especially since 2-year-old memories manifestly haunted him even today. Those sporadic decrescendos racing up from Vallee de Bourdon to greet him on his way home, and then went silent, followed the reporter everyday since. “You just knew what they were,” he asserted. “To hear the cries of people trapped under the rubble and while you’re walking over the valley, you hear them and then they stop.” It became evident the journalist could not escape the dying voices, as he subconsciously covered his hears while retracing the event. “That moved me to tears”, he continued. “I’m listening to people crying; I’m hearing them screaming, but you can’t do anything for them nor can they help themselves.”

Those unpleasant echoes transcended him and affected him immensely since he could not reach out to help his dying brethren, he explained. Nevertheless, Sully hoped the monstrous human sacrifice was not meaningless. In addition to the current administration declaring 2012 the year for reconstruction, he found solace in this declaration made by Right to Housing Collective during its peaceful march on the earthquake’s second anniversary.

“Remember, you are marching today for those who couldn’t be here. To say to them, we haven’t forgotten; we’ll never forget. And to those that are still here, we will take a stand for the rebuilding of Haiti.”

As many Charlotte residents continue to be concerned about the health of those in Haiti, Haitian Heritage and Friends of Haiti has an event planned in Charlotte on January 12th, 2012 local residents may want to attend.
The event, Remembrance & Reflection of January 12th, 2010 Earthquake, will mark the second anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti that killed over 300,000 people.
The Press Release received from Sabine Guerrier, President of Haitian Heritage and Friends of Haiti, a Charlotte based group also referred to as HHFoH, includes the following information:

Haitian Heritage & Friends of Haiti (HHFoH) is holding a one hour event to commemorate the second anniversary of the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010.

We are inviting the Charlotte Community and beyond to join us in remembering the 300,000 plus victims who have lost their lives:

Date: Thursday, January 12, 2012

Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

Place: Providence United Methodist Church

2810 Providence Rd

Charlotte, NC 28211

The ceremony will include pictures/videos of Haiti prior to the quake, immediately after the quake and the current state of Haiti. We will also have an opportunity to hear testimonials from some of the victims and organizations/individuals who have been helping Haiti since then.

We hope you can join us for this memorable one hour event in honor of those who have perished. We’ll take a moment to pray for those who continue to struggle with the hardship of life and for the well-being of our beloved country Haiti.
Those in Charlotte wanting more details about the January 12th, 2012 Remembrance and Reflection event may contact Sabine Guerrier at 704-890-9903. Also, emails may be sent to hhfoh@live.com. To view the site for Haitian Heritage and Friends of Haiti Group please use this link.

President Martelly Handing car keys to a contest winner

“Mayor Wilson Jeudi has just bulldozed the entire camp,” recounted Connie Watson, CBC Radio’s Correspondent in Haiti. “He showed up with the police at 6 o’clock this morning, stormed through with machetes and clubs, slicing all the tents and knocking down their springy supports.”

Watson witnessed the early morning raid orchestrated in camp Delmas 3; one of many tent cities scattered around the capital and filed a short documentary for the Canadian radio station published on Thursday Dec. 29, 2011. The raid segment was part of a larger report about Haiti’s generational land disputes, often marked by violence, larcenies and/or deaths.

The impromptu raid left camp residents traumatized, vibrating with anger. “I need to know if Haiti really has any human rights,” said Guirlene Pierre, struggling to frame her thoughts, as the police cleared the camp she shared with 200 displaced persons. “I need to know,” she added, “If we are the people who will always be forced to bow down to the higher classes just so the rich can take every little thing we have.”

Justifying the government’s actions however, Mayor Jeudi felt the homeless people were in the way of progress. “If we keep on like this,” he told Watson, “How are we going to attract investors so they can come here and give jobs to the people?” Among his reasons for raiding camp Delmas 3, the mayor enumerated prostitution trades, camps serving criminals’ safe haven and residents enjoying free rent while renting out their real homes, although he did not elaborate on mechanisms the government used to identify those nuisances. “We must search for serenity and peace to attract foreign investors,” stressed Jeudi who later added, “The truly homeless people had a year and a half to find somewhere else to live.”

Under the media’s spotlight though, Martelly’s holiday festivities depicted a harmonious relationship between the president and his people, as he gave away cars, motorcycles, money, TV sets and many other gifts. The presidential couple travelled to various parts of the country, held competitions where people danced for them to win prizes and handed out cash envelopes to cheering spectators. Although the program drew sharp criticism from many leaders across a broad societal spectrum, the first couple perceived it as the best way to put smiles on sad faces that experienced a tough year. The administration allocated $11 million to implement Christmas of Solidarity; a program Prime Minister Garry Conille said would also create about 35,000 temporary jobs for camp dwellers in addition to many holiday handouts.

The jubilant crowd dancing with Martelly hoping to be the lucky winner of a presidential prize differed radically from the infuriated bunch in Watson’s report, fleeing bulldozers, gathering their remaining dignity. Facing eviction from flimsy tents, inhabitants scrambled helplessly with family members. “As they watched the garbage truck in stunned silence,” described Watson, “They’re each handed a cardboard box, containing a bar of soap, some toothpaste and other basics,” from the Haitian Red Cross. “It doesn’t begin to replace what they’ve just lost,” she added. The recurring scenario enraged civil rights advocates such as Patrice Florvilus who decried the mayor’s actions as inhumane and criminal. They young lawyer has helped people leaving in displacement camps fight evictions, though unsuccessfully most times. “They have to relocate them,” he shouted into Watson’s microphone, his choler boiling over. “They have to find a place to relocate them before kicking them out,” added Florvilus whose pleas fell on death hears, as the police carried on, bulldozing lives.

A house in the Artibonite Valley in Haiti, destroyed by those claiming the property as their own. Photo/Connie Watson

Like Martelly’s predecessors, attempting to settle age-old land quarrels bearing a dynasty of contemptuous flares will be as if walking a minefield. As the documentary indicated, the bloodied history of Haiti’s land disputes traced back to the birth of the republic and shared the blame for first Emperor Jean-Jacques Dessalines’ assassination, two years after his historic ascension to power. How does an administration decide who owns a piece of property when several people claim ownership to it? Many of them hold deeds or land titles dating back generations and are even willing to die for it.

For rights lawyer Florvilus though, fraudulent title claims did not justify government raiding homeless camps, challenging the legitimacy of the elite’s claim of the lands. He shared the views of many Haitians who thought the devastating earthquake that cratered much of the country in Jan. 2010 would initiate tangible property reforms. “We thought that after the earthquake the Haitian government would take advantage of this time to try to regulate the whole land ownership issue, but they haven’t done that,” explained Florvilus. He stated that only 5 percent of the country’s lands were legally registered, which left 95 percent for anyone to claim.

In spite of major scarcity of resources, the administration managed to offer some cash incentives to encourage people to leave the camps they have called home for nearly two years. However, it was not the case for Pierre and her 200 neighbors who were served eviction notices instead. Bulldozers and machetes will not diffuse land-ownership’s ticking bomb; neither the perception of harmonious Christmas incentivized by gifts, which according to lawmakers, did not begin to address dire needs of the general population. Instead, this young administration needs a strategic approach to address the plaguing problem, perhaps even Jeffersonian.

Meanwhile, as one side optimistically hangs its hat on Martelly’s promise of law and order to keep what they deemed rightfully theirs, not so fast, cried the other. They too, want justice and are ready to die to get that little half hectare plot back, as Watson explained. In their eyes, there were only two options: “Die for the land or die of starvation.”

Former Dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier with graduating law students in Gonaives. Source: Le nouvelliste

“Here I am in Gonaives this morning after 26 years, answering your invitation, which provoked memories that are not necessarily pleasant,” declared former president-for-life Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier to the graduating class of Gonaives’ Faculty of Law. “Indeed,” continued the honorary speaker, “I’m referring to Jean-Robert Cius, Michaelson Michel and Daniel Israel, fallen almost at the threshold of adolescence.” Surrounded by students and bodyguards, Duvalier added, “Please take a moment, as I ask you to join me in observing a moment of silence in their memory.”

Invoking the memory of the three martyred students by the former dictator was particularly injurious to his victims, activists and leaders of human rights organizations. The Committee of Lawyers for the Respect of Individual Liberties (CARLI French acronym) wondered, in a released note, “How can he invoke the memory of the victims while the perpetrators of this triple murder worked for his regime, therefore making him criminally responsible.” In November 1985, Duvalier’s strong men, the Tonton Macoutes, killed the three students in cold blood in the City of Independence, initiating the eruption of popular uprisings throughout the country that led to his fleeing for France on February 7, 1986. The former authoritarian leader inherited the reins of Haiti’s presidency from his father Francois Duvalier in 1971 and ruled the country with an iron fist until his dethronement by military coup.

CARLI’s leaders denounced the scandalous behavior of the faculty, especially Joseph Patron Jean-Louis, the dean of Gonaives’ School of Law and Economics. “How can law students and officials from a law school ignore the basic principles of human rights and even want to institutionalize the impunity of our political leaders,” asked Renand Hedouville, general secretary of CARLI. He called the school’s choice insulting and provocative, actions he said leaders undertook to slowly reintegrate Duvalier into Haitian society.

Francois Duvalier (right) and Jean-Claude Duvalier (left) Source: the Telegraph

During his speech, Duvalier said choosing him as honorary speaker was a particularly courageous and thoughtful act for which he owed the students a debt of gratitude. However, the Ecumenical Center for Human Rights (CEDH French acronym) disagreed, calling his intervention an “Unjustifiable provocation to the memory of thousands of compatriots, daughters and sons of Haiti,” especially when future legal and judicial leaders made that choice. Protesting the school’s decision, CEDH wondered how Duvalier could roam around the country so freely while a judge placed him on house arrest.

Duvalier, 60, landed in Haiti unexpectedly on January 16, 2011, after a 25-year exile in France; however, state prosecutors charged him with corruption, embezzlement and crimes against humanity two days later. Amid disturbance reports taken place wherever the ex-dictator visited, a judge placed him on home confinement, pending a decision about his case. Recently, two dozen Duvalier supporters paralyzed an Amnesty International press conference, barging in Le Plaza Hotel where the human rights organization planned to released ‘You Cannot Kill the Truth,” a report detailing dozens of unpublished testimonies from political prisoners who survived the authoritarian regime.

State prosecutors still await Judge Carvez Jean’s decision on the merit of the case against Duvalier who declared, “It’s time for reconciliation,” to his young crowd, cheering. However, rather than rewarding impunity, CARLI’s note reminded students “their obligation was to fight against it.”

Merely 15 days into December, two officers of the Haitian National Police (PNH  French acronym) succumbed to assassins’ murderous bullets on separate incidents, one of whom was incinerated. Criminals also kidnapped prominent Banker Edouard Baussan and a nutritionist, held them in captivity for three days, then released them, though not before collecting an undisclosed large sum of money. Equally alarming, a contributor to Radio Kiskeya narrowly escaped her kidnappers when a police unit intervened, according to the station’s report. The sharp increase in criminal activities around the country came as PNH announced a joint venture with the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH French acronym) to increase security ahead of the Holidays.

During a phone interview, PNH’s spokesperson Gary Desrosiers said officer Moise Saint-Pierre, a member of the Motorized Intervention Brigade (BIM French acronym), left his house early morning on December 10, after receiving a phone call that led him to Santo 17, a northern neighborhood of the capital. There, explained Desrosiers, unidentified assailants ambushed the officer, shot him repeatedly, set him on fire before fleeing with his weapon and motorcycle. Although the police opened an investigation into the gruesome murder, the nature of the crime alarmed leaders, who urged the government to take appropriate measures to protect the vulnerable and struggling population. Saint-Pierre’s murder brought this year’s law enforcement’s death toll to 30 officers, admitted Desrosiers.

PNH's spokesperson Gary Desrosiers. Source: Le Nouvelliste

Many lawmakers, namely Deputies Rony Celestin, Martial Despas and Eloune Doreus, decried the government’s actions as a passive-reactive approach, fearing pervasive crimes would ruin the holiday experience. Talking to Radio Kiskeya, Celestin said that although it visibly manifested around Port-au-Prince, the phenomenon was not idiosyncratic behavior and it had in fact spilled into the Centre Department, where criminals constantly prey on his constituents. For his part, Despas told Kiskeya that the sharp increase in crimes was a by-product of rapid economic decline and growing uncertainties about the future. He also enumerated members of his constituency in the West Department regularly victimized by gangsters. Moreover, Doreus, who represents the Northwest Department, perceived the problem as the enemy of foreign investments, a pillar of President Michel Martelly’s long-term development strategies. Since taking office on May 14, 2011, the President pledged to sell a different image of Haiti and attract investors seeking opportunities, a call Foreign Minister Laurent Lamothe said Robert Deniro answered. The actor traveled to Haiti early last week and met with Haitian officials to discuss his plan to build a five-star hotel in the country. Absent comprehensive efforts to reduce the crime rate, Deputy Doreus said the negative affects would repel potential investors such as Deniro.

Haiti’s 10,500-member police force, entrusted the elephantine task of protecting its population of nearly 10 million people, was far from being passive, argued spokesperson Desrosiers. Although nursing a 1-to-1000 officer-to-citizen ratio, PNH recently authorized several raids that netted many gang leaders, dangerous criminals and fugitives, he told reporters. Through Operation Dragon, a plan Secretary of State for Public Safety Reginald Delva introduced last week, the government would actively pursue gangsters and common criminals, and dismantle their nests, officials explained to Haiti’s century-old daily newspaper Le Nouvelliste. In addition, officials added 300 officers to the capital’s patrolling unit, bringing the total to 1,300.

National Police of Haiti

Beyond PNH’s muscular reinforcement throughout the country’s crime-infested streets, the government also adopted a technical approach it hoped would ensure a joyous holiday season for the population. Announcing his remedial strategies, Prime Minister Garry Conille said, “We will undertake rigorous measures to neutralize criminals and prevent their harassing the population.” Starting January 2012, PNH would recruit 2,000 new officers, he announced to the press. The Prime Minister also introduced “Christmas Solidarity,” a $10 million [400 million Haitian Gourdes (HTG)] social program he said would provide temporary employment for Haitians throughout all nine Departments. The new program would help create 30,000 jobs in industries such as tourism, agriculture and social affairs, declared Conille, who emphasized that the Christmas and New Year program topped his government’s agenda.

In addition, MINUSTAH offered a human rights workshop to seven instructors of the National Police Academy to expose leaders to different scenarios they might face and teach them appropriate courses of action. “These are useful and necessary exchanges that will help agents of the National Police of Haiti overcome numerous challenges and fill relative void pertinent to reinforcing the rule of law,” said Jean Miguelite Maxime, director of the police academy, who felt the workshop would strengthen republican institutions he called the great guarantors of human rights.

State Secretary for Public Safety Reginald Delva. Source: Metropole Haiti

Meanwhile, lawmakers labeled the government’s plan an appeasement method that did not address the immediate threats the population faces. Advocating for a sustainable approach to crime solvency, some senators called on government officials to find more pragmatic solutions to halt the cyclical recrudescence of the phenomenon around the holidays.

From a parallel universe however, investigative reporter and Columnist Cyrus Silbert of online news site Haiti Nation offered a distinct perspective in his article: “Insecurity – Traditional weapon of the Bourgeoisie.” His analysis established a linear relationship between the deteriorating security climate and an élite class determined to preserve the status quo. While the State Secretary for Public Safety conceded insecurity could ruin the holidays, he assured reporters that the government has taken appropriate measures to confront the plaguing problem. “We have taken various measures to guaranty public safety during the holiday season,” he said.

Nevertheless, Silbert exhorted vigilance against a class he said perceived pervasive investment and development rhetoric in Haiti as a growing threat to their long-standing monopoly. “If the Ministries of Interior and Justice don’t get proactive, that is, anticipate issues through constant monitoring,” wrote Silbert, “If the managers of these departments focus solely on their administrative duties, the work of the presidency as well as the Ministry of Foreign affairs will be a complete waste.”

Nobel Laureate and Former Costa Rican President Oscar Arias Sanchez. Source: Defend Haiti

“In much of the world, and especially in our region, the military has been the source of the most thankless collective memories,” read a letter addressed to Haitian President Michel Martelly from former Costa Rican President Oscar Arias Sánchez, who advised his Excellency to reevaluate his military plans through a historical lens. “In the best case scenario, the Latin American armies have been prohibitively expensive for our economies and at worse, have meant a permanent source of instability for our democracies,” Sánchez explained.

President Martelly does not have to look beyond Haiti’s borders to learn about the destructive effects of militarization. Malignant scars from Duvalier’s merciless army are fresh on the population’s skin, haunting the dreams of its countless victims. Nevertheless, the president perceives a Haitian army as the bridge to sovereignty, signaling his resolve to fulfill his campaign promise: reconstitute the Armed Forces of Haiti.

In fact, a series of interviews Martelly granted to the press following his first official trip to Venezuela seemed to indicate a president willing to circumvent the Northern powers to pursue his highest ideals. “Now, if nobody wants to help, then we have to think of a way to get that money to reestablish the army,” the AP quoted Martelly  in response to the U.S. and Canada’s reluctance to fund his military initiatives. However, the president later admitted to a journalist of El Universal , a major Venezuelan daily with an estimated circulation of 150,000 readers, “I found a way to finance this force the same way I’ve found money for the education initiative,” mindful of the global attention he has generated. “I understand that many people are watching what we do carefully,” he added, “but we are open to working with the civil society.” Recently, President Martelly created a commission to study and evaluate the return of his army.

But, “Haiti does not need to recreate the army,” countered Nobel laureate Sánchez in his letter published in its entirety on Defend Haiti, an online news organization. Echoing the opponents of militarization, the former leader felt a resourceful, professional and well-trained police force ensuring effective law enforcement and national security would be more beneficial to the country that military aircraft, which he said would “never be more powerful than their neighbors.” Sánchez wrote that it was no coincidence that Haiti, Guatemala and Nicaragua shared a common history with strong armies and reduced social investments in education and health, and occupied the region’s bottom three places in the Human Development Index (HDI) prepared by the UN Development Programme. Reorienting the armies projected budget to social development programs for Haitians and their children, in his view, could be used “to strengthen democratic institutions to ensure minimum political stability in order to restore the confidence of Haitians and the international cooperation, whose help is essential and will remain so for a while longer.”

To his credit however, President Martelly is not the only one with military aspirations; many Haitians strongly support the return of professional armed forces, especially with anti-UN protests erupting like volcanoes around the country and even the Continent. For many Haitians, the army is not a matter of misplaced nostalgia, rather the fabric of the republic. The revolution, liberation and abolitionist movements were embodied by the brave indigenous army’s defeat of Napoleon’s forces, and credited with the birth of the republic.  In fact, in conceptualizing Haiti’s military roots, on Senator proclaimed, “there is no sovereignty without an army.” Such historical and sentimental contexts are often absent from journalists’ reports and editorials, which primarily focus on Haiti’s epic poverty and misery, all points driven home by the ex-Costa Rican President’s letter.

President Michel Martelly and Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Lamothe. Source: Le Nouvelliste

“The difference between the population of a country and another is in education, years of schooling, teaching, diversified and full access to information technology and communication,” wrote Sanchez. His parallel drawn between the two countries’ global ranking provided ample evidence to support his argument; Costa Rica’s HDI ranking was 69 with life expectancy of 79.1 years as opposed to Haiti’s 145-place ranking with a 17.4-year average life expectancy for its children. Nevertheless, President Martelly’s economic and patriotic framing presented equally compelling arguments in the eyes of many Haitian nationals. “But at the same time, why do we need a foreign army to help us? A foreign army that’s costing us much more money,” he told the AP, asking reporters, “why not hire young Haitians? Why not regain our sovereignty?” UN parades his peacekeeping boots in Haiti on an $800 million annual budget, comparing to the projected $25 million to $30 million annual budget Martelly said it would cost to create and maintain the Haitian pride and self-esteem.

As some political analysts pointed out, President Martelly seemed determined to make the Haitian army the central theme of his presidency, looking south of the Continent as North America and Europe barricaded his ambitions. Therefore, a failed army could highlight his 5-year tenure, as they inferred. For Sanchez however, “Reinstalling the army would be an error,” which is why he said indifference was not an option. “Haiti can recover its dignity,” he concluded his letter, “when all children and young people can see the future with hope and the Caribbean winds blow equally fortunate for everyone… That’s what the people deserve, Mr. President.”

President Martelly welcomed by President Chavez source: Le Nouvelliste

“The Venezuelan cooperation is now number one,” said President Michel Martelly shortly before boarding his plane to Caracas, land of Hugo Chavez. “It gives most grants and aids to Haiti,” added the president at Toussaint Louverture airport’s diplomatic room ahead of his first official trip to Venezuela as a member of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).
Venezuela’s pledge of $1.3 billion in recovery aid to Haiti after the earthquake slightly surpassed U.S.’s $1.2 billion pledge, making Caracas the largest among all 58 donors. To that, President Martelly said, “We are grateful to President Chavez for Helping us from the bottom of his heart,” in a recent Associated Press interview. “Sometimes for a simple project, it might take too long for the project to happen,” explained the Haitian president, specifically referring to strict conditions accompanying the U.S.’s and other donors’ aids. “If you’re asking me which one flows better, which one is easier,” added Martelly, “I’ll tell you Venezuela.”
This presidential trip to the Venezuelan capital was also part of a larger event: the launching of new 33-member regional bloc CELAC away from Washington and Canada’s shadows. During the two-day summit held form Dec. 2 – Dec.3, 2011,  leaders focused on shielding their economies from the world’s financial meltdown. In spite of global economic woes, the Latin American region achieved a 5 percent economic growth last year. “The economic crisis should be at the center of our concerns,” said Dilma Rousseff who felt the region needed a new paradigm to respond to the crisis. “Together we can be stronger, together we can grow and that should be stronger for everyone,” she added. Her homologous partner Chavez went straight to the point, noting, “As the years go by, CELAC is going to leave behind the old and worn-out OAS,” referring to the Organization of American States, the Hemisphere’s arbitration entity. “Only Unity will make us free,” he later added.
Whether Haiti, a relatively small fish with a foreign aid economic model, can swim huge currents, as do autonomous economies such as OPEC country Venezuela or Dilma Rousseff’s Brazil, currently nursing the world’s fastest growing economy, remains to be determined. Nevertheless, Port-au-Prince’s warm embrace of Caracas differed vastly from that of his predecessor Rene Preval who looked upon Chavez’s motives with suspicions. With the exception of Brazil and Chile, where China has a strong foothold, the U.S. remains the biggest trading partner of many countries in the region. Yet, Chinese President Hu Jintao’s congratulatory letter, which Chavez read aloud to all 33 regional leaders, pledged to deepen cooperation with the new group, development that could shift the region’s geopolitical balance considerably.
Amid this distinct geopolitical puzzle, some observers noticed the emergence of Martelly’s foreign policy model, gearing his country toward his regional allies in search of sovereignty, rather than rigid Washingtonian conditions who stood between him and his army. Only the future will tell if Martelly’s regional play will favor Haiti’s long-term interests, but the president remained true to his ideals. “Now, if nobody wants to help, then we have to think about a way of getting that money,” said the president to the AP about his dream to reestablish the Haitian army. “But at the same time,” he continued. “Why do we need a foreign army to help us? A foreign army that’s costing much more money, why not hire young Haitians? Why not regain our sovereignty?”

Martelly welcomed at CELAC source: Le Nouvelliste

Although he told the AFP in an interview this weekend, “We no longer want handouts, we want to promote Haiti” in his quest to dissociate his country’s imagery with poverty and misery, President Martelly praised a CELAC’s resolution, promising vast contributions to help rebuild Haiti. Contributing countries included, Ecuador in several areas including security, Columbia in security and education, Chile in education to build 10 schools, and Panama that promised to ease travel restrictions for Haitians. A $40 million grant from Brazil will help restart construction of Artibonite’s hydroelectric plant while the new program “Aba Grangou” promised to reach about 100,000 vulnerable single moms with needed assistance starting January 2012.
However, If Washington’s reaction, still unknown, resembles anything like the 1,918 Haiti-related diplomatic cables revealed by whistleblowing website Wikileaks last summer, President Martelly may soon have a rude awakening as did his predecessor. “What emerges,” wrote the editors of the Nation about the diplomatic cables, “Is an extraordinary portrait of Washington’s aggressive management of Latin America’s first sovereign nation and its bare-knuckled tactics on behalf of U.S. corporate interest there.” If as the Nation deducted, the Haiti cables revealed Washington squaring off against Caracas and Havana, while Beijing and Taipei engaged in fierce diplomatic arm-wrestling that threatened to derail the UN military mission in Haiti, Martelly’s foreign policy shift toward regional allies could prove insurmountable.
Nonetheless, the president held nothing back expressing his frustration with the international community. “I’m the leader of a country that has been neglected for the last 200 years,” he stressed to AFP’s Ramon Sahmkow. “It is my responsibility to bring development to Haiti.”

Prime Minister Garry Conille and Bill Clinton

Haitians began 2011 with heavy hearts as they approached the first anniversary of the Jan. 12 earthquake that crippled their homeland and crushed 316,000 lives. Haitian leaders watched a steady stream of nongovernmental organizations (NGO) invade the country, carrying a $1-billion purse collected on behalf of the victims. Meanwhile the population remained on edge, following violent eruptions over fraudulent elections that left Port-au-Prince and surrounding communities in flames. Still in its very early stage, cholera ran through rural areas like a bulldozer, leaving Haitians in a state of panic while flat lining anything with a heartbeat.
Buried deep under 20 million cubic meters of debris, Haitians outsourced their hope on the international community that pledged $5.3 billion to help the country back on its feet. Former U.S. President and UN special envoy to Haiti Bill Clinton rose to immediate stardom, rushing to the scene and pledging full U.S. support. “In fact, Clinton is the real president of Haiti,” recently proclaimed rights advocates, during a meeting in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Clinton Co-chaired the Interim Commission for the Reconstruction of Haiti (ICRH) with former Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive, a regulatory entity to oversee reconstruction projects patterned on the Indonesian Commission, following the 2004 tsunami.
Only four days after Haitians mourned their dead on the anniversary of the devastating earthquake, ex-dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier stormed the Haitian capital after a nearly 25-year exile in France. “It’s such a critically important time for Haiti and for this guy to drop in from nowhere is very strange,” declared associate professor of International affairs at Trinity University in Washington DC, Robert Maguire. He told the Miami Herald, “What does he bring to Haiti, aside from a lot of confusion. Does he come back with political pretensions? We just don’t now.” However, speaking to reporter of Radio Caraibes, Duvalier said, “I’m not here for politics, I’m here for the reconstruction of Haiti.” Prosecutors leveled many charges against the former president for life the day after his impromptu reemergence, but they have yet to bring Duvalier to trial.

President Michel Martelly

Meanwhile, the Disputed Nov. 28 elections results remained a point of contention for politicians as independent arbitrator Organizations of American States (OAS) recommended excluding Jude Celestin, the government’s candidate, from the second round of the elections. Instead of demanding a recount, OAS put Michel Martelly ahead of Celestin, reversing the official results of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP); thus, paving the way for Haiti’s 56th president. Haitians returned to the polls to either elect former first lady and constitutionalist Mirlande Manigat or former bandleader Michel Martelly, but not before going through another traumatic episode when twice elected and twice disposed President Jean Bertrand Aristide landed in Toussaint L’Ouverture Airport three days prior. “The problem is exclusion,” Aristide proclaimed in a 15-minute address to supporters. “And the solution is inclusion, inclusion for all Haitian people as human beings,” he added. Many people understood that the former leader was referring to the exclusion of his political party from participating in the elections.
“The task is immense, but a new Haiti opens for business now,” declared President Martelly during his inaugural address, promising leadership based on the rule of law. “We want justice for everyone,” he said. Six month later however, the new president went through a series of hurdles that exposed his political inexperience. A constitutional melee over proposed amendments awaited Martelly as parliament rejected his first two nominees for prime minister before Garry Conille narrowly won the nomination. Entrepreneur Daniel Rouzier and former Justice Minister Bernard Honorat Gousse did not survive the ratification process, plunging the country into a 4-month political deadlock. Eventually, American diplomats went to Haiti to express the Obama Administration’s preoccupation with the crisis that threatened to derail rebuilding efforts.

Haitian Senators

With a populist win at his back, President Martelly went on a series of national tours, promoting anything from agriculture to tourism. Instead of talking about those initiatives however, the press cried foul, denouncing the president’s infamous “shut up,” sniped at a highly critical Haitian media, as a deliberate attack on freedom of the press. Similar conflicts followed not only with the press he branded enemy of tourism and development, but also with lawmakers the president called prison escapees hiding in parliament. Hostilities escalated between the executive and legislative branches, leading to the police’s arrest and detention of Deputy Arnel Belizaire, as he returned from a diplomatic mission in France. Those blatant constitutional violations cause lawmakers to denounce a rising Martelly dictatorship, drowning the country into yet another crisis. As a result, lawmakers threatened to fire Martelly’s entire government and to even impeach the president. In addition, Martelly imposed a $1.50 and $.05 tax on money transfers and phone calls made to Haiti. The money collected would fund free education for disadvantaged children, he said. However, the president refrained from using the funds absent any legal framework or parliament’s approval. The Department of Education admitted to using state funds to launch the free education program; meanwhile, several news reports claimed that $26 million went missing from the National Fund for Education, the entity Martelly created to manage the unilaterally imposed tax.
Many reconstruction projects, though undetected by the media’s radar, came to life, particularly numerous efforts to develop a sustainable middle class to promote economic growth in Haiti. Working with the banking industry, the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund eased credit restrictions for entrepreneurs, including the arts and crafts sector he thought had great potential for success. Similarly, Haiti’s famous coffee found new life, resurging in Japanese cups, as well as the U.S., Rotary International, and most recently Columbia in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank that signed an agreement to increase Haiti’s coffee production. Other notable improvements included Martelly’s free education for Haitian children, though critics argued the program was poorly organized and precipitated. Haiti’s mango industry also received considerable attention and restructuring.

Invest in Haiti 2-day forum

Amid the chaos, child trafficking businesses boomed, absent any pragmatic child protective services or border security with the Dominican Republic. Violent crimes against women and girls in vulnerable tents peaked, as did Haiti’s inflation rate. Moreover, a video of Uruguayan soldiers allegedly raping a young Haitian male surfaced on the Internet, sparkling worldwide outrage while fueling anti-UN sentiments in Haiti. The population, angry over UN occupation and the cholera epidemic, charged the public sphere, demanding a complete and immediate withdrawal of peacekeepers on its homeland. Still, a particularly brutal hurricane season battered the crumbled nation repeatedly, flooding several parts of the country and causing widespread panic.
With 2011 in the rearview mirror, many observers perceived Deputy Belizaire’s arrest and overnight detention as the shock of the year, especially when the Haitian Constitution forbade such arbitrary actions. The President’s failure to rebuild the Haitian army within his proposed time frame might be considered a close second given his aggressiveness pursuing its resuscitation. While many people welcomed President Martelly’s outsider status as the catalyst for change, others argued the contrary; inexperience was not what Haiti necessitated. However, former President Clinton emerged as the most influential personality in 2011, leaving gigantic fingerprints on most reconstruction projects. As Haiti anticipates a productive 2012-year, many eyes will be on new Head of Government Garry Conille who has yet to assume full command as Prime Minister. While some people saw his U.N. and Clinton ties as an asset for developing the country, others, suspicious of UN’s goals and objectives, expressed little hope for any pragmatic changes, especially in Haiti’s constant struggle against peacekeeping forces.

Unified Confederation of Workers (CUT) (photo Haiti Liberte)

“Haiti is a country that supported the fight for freedom in Latin America, a country that terrified slave owners across America and is now subjugated to foreign occupation that has nothing to do with humanitarian purposes, as proposed,” said Julio Turra, president of Unified Confederation of Workers (CUT French acronym). “It’s embarrassing,” added Turra during a Nov. 5 meeting of more than 600 multinational in Sao Paolo, Brazil. “Therefore, the Latin American people, Brazil in particular, owes a debt to Haiti, which is a historic duty,” he added.

According to Haiti Liberty, a Haitian weekly, personalities representing advocacy groups, political parties, student and labor organizations rallied, in Sao Paolo capital’s Hotel de Ville, around their preoccupations with the UN Mission for Stabilization in Haiti (MINUSTAH French Acronym). Participants from the U.S., France, Uruguay, Argentine, Bolivia, Haiti, among other countries participated in the four-hour meeting to lend a shoulder to Haiti’s anti-UN movement. “We must express our solidarity, as we cannot accept a gradual troop withdrawal because we do not know when it will end,” said Turra adding, “We must ask the immediate withdrawal of troops and defend the sovereignty of Haiti, as it faces occupation.”

These multinationals were not lone anti-UN advocates; many other organizations also called for troop withdrawal, including Jubilee South (JS), a global network of anti-debt movements. In an interview with Rebecca Burns, reporting for nonprofit and independent newsmagazine In These Times, Beverly Keene of JS agreed U.N. presence in Haiti “does not respond in any way with the reality of an occupying force.” Jubilee South enacted “Haiti No MINUSTAH,” a campaign endorsed by Nobel Peace Prize laureates Perez Esquivel, Mairead Corrigan Maguire and Betty Williams, calling for troop withdrawal.

Keen also said the campaign would oppose U.N.’s ideals: using Haiti as a laboratory for new forms of interventions and control in Latin America. Furthermore, Burns also reported that School of the Americas as well as hundreds of organizations in troop contributing countries also backed this campaign. “Haiti is the only country in the world where peacekeeping mission operate under a U.N. Chapter VII mandate, permitting it to use force, absent an active conflict or an enforceable peace agreement,” wrote Burns in her article “Haitians to U.N.: Please Leave.”

Peacekeeping entered their eight-year of operations in Haiti, following the October 14 U.N. Security Council unanimous vote to extend MINUSTAH’s mandate another year. The Security Council also authorized a force reduction from 13,000 troops and police to about 10,500. However, the 15 percent reduction did not appease anti-U.N. sentiments that intensified amid serious allegations of sexual and human rights abuses, as well as the incidental introduction of the country’s cholera epidemic. Haitians grew particularly contentious over the issue given U.N.’s persisting denial of responsibility, though plenty of scientific evidence placed Nepalese peacekeepers stationed near the Artibonite River at the origin of the outbreak, dumping sewage in the water consumed by locals. Recently, some Haitian organizations called for a redirection of MINUSTAH’s $800 million annual budget as reparation for cholera victims, families of more than 6,000 killed by the disease since its October 2010 detection and to fund cholera prevention.

Anti-UN demonstration in Haiti (photo In These Times)

“In order for Haiti to become a fully functioning democratic state, MINUSTAH needs to continue building the country’s institutions,” explained spokesperson Sylvie Van Den Wildenberg, justifying U.N.’s presence on the island to Burns. However, as her article revealed, “a recent report from the group Harvard HealthRoots charged that MINUSTAH failed in its mandate to support the democratic process when, despite being charged with monitoring the 2010 national elections, it raised no objections to the exclusion of the country’s most popular political party.” A large majority of Haitians, some 65 percent according to a recent perspectives survey on the troops in Port-au-Prince, wanted the departure of U.N. troops either immediately or within a year, reported Burns.

Echoing Haiti’s frustration in Sao Paolo, “The occupations are examples of the politics of oppression,” declared Hugo Dominguez of the Uruguayan Metallurgical Union PIT-CNT, referring to last summer’s video of Uruguayan Soldiers allegedly assaulting a young Haitian male that invaded the Internet. “As Uruguayans,” Dominguez continued, “We are ashamed because of the actions of Uruguayan troops in Haiti.” Moreover, rights activist Colia Clark characterized U.N.’s presence in Haiti as a violation of all the norms about international human rights. “In spite of seven years of an unjustified occupation, there is nothing positive that resulted from its presence,” added Nelson Guevara Aranda representing more than 5,000 workers of the Union of Bolivian Miners of Huanuni. “On the contrary, it has consistently violated the sovereignty and dignity of Haiti,” he added.

1. The Sao Paolo meeting produced the Continental Committee for the Immediate Withdrawal of U.N. Troops in Haiti that pledged to lead an official international campaign on four requirements:
2. Focusing on medical doctors, engineers, teachers and technicians, rather than troops occupation.
3. Forgiving Haiti’s debt.
4. Reparations for both the immoral debt imposed on Haiti following its independence and for families victimized by cholera and human violations
5. Immediate withdrawal of U.N. trips in Haiti.

Laura C. Gonzalez who covered the event for Haiti Liberte described as a moving illustration what she perceived as a growing movement of solidarity with the Haitian people throughout North and South America. Participants, as she reported, left the meeting projecting to stage worldwide Anti-U.N. demonstrations on June 12, 2012 to mark the eight anniversary of MINUSTAH’s official launch with the Day of Continental Action for the Withdrawal of Troops from Haiti.

President Martelly arrival in Cuba

President Michel Martelly took his first official trip to Cuba on Tuesday Nov. 15, 2011, a diplomatic mission he hoped would strengthen bilateral relations and traditional cooperation between Haiti and Cuba while identifying new avenues of cooperation.

“That does not make sense,” said Martelly, talking about U.S.’s embargo against Cuba. “Haiti pleaded the cause of the Cuban people by voting for the lifting of the blockade,” he added. The president’s statements reinforced a senate resolution adopted a week earlier, condemning U.S.’s economic, commercial and financial embargo against the neighboring nation.

Since resuming diplomatic relations in 1995, both countries engaged in intergovernmental cooperation, placing Cuba among Haiti’s strongest and most loyal allies in the region. From literacy programs to agricultural initiatives, the Cuban government’s assistance to Haiti increased gradually, particularly in the health sector with hundreds of Cuban health specialists deployed throughout the country and hundreds more Haitians being trained in Cuba. After the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake, Cuban medical personnel providing free healthcare to Haitians increased from 350 to nearly 700, working alongside more than 400 Haitian graduates of Havana’s Latin American School of Medicine. The two countries suspended diplomatic relations during the Duvalier dictatorship (1957-1986).

Ambassador of Haiti to Cuba, Jean Geneus and Rogelo Sierra, Cuban Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs welcomed President Martelly and his 29-member delegation at the airport. Martelly called his meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro and former leader Fidel Castro historic and unforgettable where he renewed Haiti’s commitment to continuing cooperation with Cuba.

Foreign Affair Minister Laurent Lamothe

For his part, Foreign Affair Minister Laurent Lamothe, among several Ministers that accompanied President Martelly, reported Haiti also securing a $5 million housing project from Indian Ambassador to Cuba Shri Deepak Bhojwani who is also accredited in Haiti. The donation will fund Village Gandhi, a 500-house community that will provide permanent housing for hundreds of Haitian families still living in flimsy makeshift camps throughout Port-au-Prince and surrounding communities.

President Martelly expressed great satisfaction with his trip shortly after his plane landed a Toussaint Louverture Airport in the Haitian capital, although it is unclear how Washington perceived such initiative given its prevailing isolationist policies toward Cuba. “They were very good opportunities for further developing relations between our two countries on the basis of solidarity,” he told the Digital Granma International, official daily newspaper of the Cuban Communist Party’s Central Committee. “The work of Cuban health professionals in our country, the training of more than 700 young Haitians as doctors and what has been done in other areas of cooperation are very important, because they are contributing to the future of Haiti,” he explained to Eduardo Palomares Calderon, reporting for the news organization’s English edition.

President Michel Martelly exits plane

Before the trip, both the president and vice president of the General Assembly declined invitations to join President Martelly, stirring up debates surrounding ongoing conflicts between the executive and legislative branches. “Responding to such an invitation would tarnish the image of the Haitian Parliament,” declared Sorel Jacinthe, president of the House of Deputies. Senate President Jean Rodolphe Joazile also perceived his role in the ongoing senate investigation into Belizaire’s arrest a priority over Martelly’s trip, although he thanked the president for extending the invitation to him.

A political storm blanketed the country when, on October 27, 2011, UN troops and other specialized units assisted the Haitian National Police in arresting and detaining sitting Deputy Belizaire, returning from a diplomatic mission in France. President Martelly denied any involvement in the matter, as both the government and the senate launched parallel investigations to find the hierarchical roots of the flagrant constitutional violations and take appropriate measures against the authors.

Addressing the national crisis before leaving for Cuba, Martelly saw dialogue between the three branches of government as the only sure way to an eventual resolution. Lawmakers meanwhile found their own antidote: “Normalizing relations between the legislative and the executive begins with the firing of all those implicated in the arrest of Deputy Arnel Belizaire,” articulated Jacinthe.

Garry Conille, Prime Minister of Haiti

Facing his first major judicial-political crisis sparked on Thursday Oct. 27 following the unconstitutional arrest and overnight detention of Deputy Arnel Belizaire, Prime Minister Garry Conille created a three-member commission to help uncover the incident’s hierarchical authors and diffuse escalating tensions.
The “Belizaire Affair,” as it is now known, directed the national dialogue for more than two weeks, keeping the population on edge, awaiting a solution to yet another major political crisis. The House of Deputies, on vacation until Jan. 12, 2012, threatened retaliatory measures upon returning to full session to avenge the humiliation the executive inflicted on one of its members. The Senate, meanwhile, tried wriggling free from its own resolution crafted to decapitate President Michel Martelly’s new government. Still, rampant rumors mixed in shades of truths flooded street corners, broadcast and print mediums and the Internet, provoking numerous conspiracy theories and finger-pointing.
“In the democratic context we operate, conflicts are not uncommon,” said Prime Minister Conille during an interview with Marvel Dandin, programming and general director of Radio Kiskeya. “Rather, it is how we resolve matters,” he added. The interview was part of a media tour launched on Monday Nov. 7; community relation efforts Conille said would promote government transparency while improving its relationship with the media. “In me, the press has a strong ally,” he declared to the editing board of Le Matin, a weekly and second oldest Haitian newspaper. Conille’s media strategy sharply contrasted that of President Martelly who branded the highly critical national press the enemy of tourism and development. Conille also announced the creation of an information center to not only facilitate the media’s access to information, but also keep the population informed about government activities.
As Prime Minister Conille answered questions about the political showdown, he attempted to reframe the narrative, calling the crisis a good democratic exercise that had some positive dimensions. He highlighted lengthy senate hearings and government officials’ willingness to answer questions as necessary components of the process. Moreover, Conille suspended police Commissioner Felix Leger pending investigation results from his newly created inquiry commission. “The Committee is completely independent, although it will have to interrogate the prime minister,” assured Israel Jacky Cantave, director of the prime minister’s communications office. “The Commission’s findings will be shared with the assembly of senators before the interpellations procedures scheduled for Nov. 15, 2011,” he said. Refraining from speculations, Conille exhorted patience, emphasizing, he too, awaited the commission’s report and recommendations on legal and administrative mechanism and tools available to prevent further occurrences of such incidents.
Meanwhile, the Senate’s own parallel investigation began Tuesday with a series of hearings, during which, a five-member inquiry commission started questioning 19 people directly involved or with knowledge of the incident. The senate expects the commission’s report by Nov. 15 when it promised to reveal the authors of what they labeled as a kidnapping on the person of Deputy Belizaire and take appropriate measures against them. It is unclear how the conflicting powers will reconcile the reports since Cantave made it clear to reporters there were no links between the two of them. While some senators, namely Moise Charles, saw no problems with the government running its own investigation, he maintained the constitution recognized the legislative branch as the primary regulatory body over the affairs of the state.

Senate's Interpellations session

Political analysts and commentators perceived Conille’s media blitz as an ineffective strategy that would do little to address the immediacy the crisis demanded. They enumerated varying versions of truths already occupying the public sphere, assigning blame and altering perceptions among major obstacles he faced. Nonetheless, the new head of government insisted on fostering cohesiveness, especially within his new team, currently in the cross hairs of legislators. In addition, a released statement from his communications’ office announced a two-day retreat this weekend where team members would search for solutions that addressed the population’s most urgent needs. His governmental retreat, although interfering with the senate’s investigation, aimed at “Reinforcing the cohesion and synergy in government actions that will help facilitate the implementations of various projects under the vision of the Head of State and the promises made by the Prime Minister in his general policy statement,” read the note.
As a result, the senate’s commission postponed government officials’ testimonies it expected to hear this weekend until Monday, including that of the Prime Minister. For his part, Conille expects his two-day retreat to produce a 12-month action plan for the coming year; thus dislodging and dragging the nation’s attention away from the political time bomb and reorienting scarce resources and energy on rebuilding the struggling nation.

Also known as elephantiasis, lymphatic Filariasis infected more than 120 million people worldwide, putting an additional 1.3 billion in 81 countries at risk, reported the World Health Organization. Filarial parasites, microscopic thread-like worms transmitted to humans by mosquitoes, caused the infection of the parasitic disease and Haiti is among four countries in the Western Hemisphere where the neglected tropical disease is still prevalent. The former president foresaw Foundation Carter, his charitable organization playing a pivotal role in eliminating the disease identified in 134 communal sections of Haiti by year 2020.

“Diseases such as Lymphatic Filariasis do more than cause suffering to those who are affected,” stated Ambassador Merten during the launching ceremony. “They prevent victims from reaching their full potential, reduce their ability to support their families and be active and productive members of society.” According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “People with the disease can suffer from lymphedema and elephantiasis and in men, swelling of the scrotum, called hydrocele.” Globally, health authorities recognize Lymphatic Filariasis as a leading cause of permanent disability.

Welcoming the initiative, public health Minister Guillaume declared, “We appreciate the cooperation and support of the U.S. government in the fight against Filariasis,” pledging to mobilize resources from all sectors of Haitian society to ensure the country meets its 2020 goal. For his part, Ambassador Merten praised the Carter Center’s tireless efforts in helping free Haiti from Lymphatic Filariasis. For many years, the organization sought proactive solutions to help cure the parasitic disease through financial assistance and awareness campaigns.

During his week-long trip, the Nobel Peace Prize winner planned to visit Leogane; a city located 18 miles south of Port-au-Prince leveled by the Jan. 12 earthquake, where his organization would oversee the construction of 100 houses for people displaced by the earthquake. “When we see the devastation that took place last year, we are compelled to act and are determined to assist the Haitian people rebuild their communities,” said the former president. “Rosalynn and I are grateful to all of the Habitat volunteers and the families in Haiti who will join us in this effort.” He expected more than 500 Habitat from Humanity volunteers from around the globe, including many partner organizations to join him and his wife as they launched the project. President Carter also indicated he would meet with President Michel Martelly on Tuesday, although he did not say whether their encounter would be political or not.

Deputy Arnel Belizaire

Due to high media coverage and widespread protests over the controversial arrest, the police freed Deputy Belizaire in less than 24 hours; however, that was hardly the norm for thousands of Haitians detained legally or otherwise. In fact, the National Human Rights Defense Network (RNDDH French acronym) recently published “Impacts of Prolonged Pretrial Detention on the Haitian Society,” a survey that examined how family members coped with prolonged and illegal detentions of their loved ones. The RNDDH concluded, “The survey results show once again that prolonged pretrial detention is systemized by the mayors, and to a lesser extent, by the government commissioners that exhibit acute indifference to the law guaranteeing the presumption of innocence of every individual.”
Many people ended in jail without warrants, proper charges or timely arraignments; thus, remained voiceless with no representation while family members, broken and scattered, struggled to survive. “The recent estimates confirmed that 70.33 percent of the Haitian prison population is awaiting trial,” the report said. “In this figure, a large majority is in prison for many years in situations of prolonged pretrial detention.” RNDDH’s report also revealed some alarming statistics from Haiti’s civil detention facilities. While 7254 people made up the country’s civil prison population, only 2152 were tried. The majority of detainees, some 5102 people, sat in prison hoping to someday see a judge.

National Human Rights Defense Network

This vile practice, strictly prohibited by judicial laws, had alarming psychological effects on families who depended on incarcerated family members for survival. “Some children returned to rural areas, hometowns of their incarcerated parents, while others are found roaming the streets, multiplying the number of street children,” indicated the report. “Others are collected by relatives and friends who often exploited them sexually and domestically,” insisted the study that attributed culpability to carefree leaders it concluded “had no respect for the nobility of the function assigned to them.”
As frustration flooded the airways over what is now known as the Belizaire Affaire, addressing human rights abuses at the structural level became the underlying theme for intervening leaders in the civil community. Urging legislators to benchmark the current political crisis as a breaking point with the counterproductive system and take the country in a new direction, leaders pointed out the deputy’s arrest would, like thousands of other cases before it, go unnoticed absent his high profile status .

“We must seize this opportunity to build a case around the problems that threaten the sovereignty of the country to signal a complete rupture with the current system,” recommended Lawyer and political analyst Rene Julien on Moment of Truth, a radio show aired on station Signal FM. “Every crisis presents new opportunities,” he added.