Campus workers reflect on current Haitian crisis

Since Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide swept purportedly flawed elections in 2000, discontent in this country of 80 percent unemployment has skyrocketed, culminating in the bloody uprising that began three weekends ago.

On Feb. 5, rebels seeking to oust the president stormed police headquarters in Cap-Haitien along Haiti's northern coast, claiming the country's capital, Port-au-Prince, would be next.

Several Haitians employed by the University, including Dining Services employee Robert Charles, seem to agree that the cause for which the Haitian insurgency is now fighting is a just one.

"I'm happy that something is being done about it," said Charles. "We need change because the country is down. Everything is too expensive."

The recent takeover of Cap-Haitien follows a string of protests which began in mid-September, when the widow of a murdered military leader conducted a seance and claimed that her husband's spirit had identified his killers as Aristide supporters.

As a result of her claim, the Cannibal Army, which formerly supported Aristide, promptly reformed as the Gonaives Resistance Front. The rebel group began killing prominent Aristide supporters and seized the city of Gonaives on Feb. 5, pushing the number of casualties since Sept. 2003 to more than 70 and the country to the brink of civil war.

Charles noted that when Aristide was elected in 1990 — following over three decades of the Duvalier dictatorship — he had thought Aristide worthy of the presidency.

"But he does nothing for our country. Nothing, nothing, nothing!" Charles said.

His brother, Roosevelt Charles, who also works for Dining Services, agreed.

"Duvalier was a dictator but the country would have been better off with him," he said.

Another University Dining Services worker of Haitian descent, speaking on condition of anonymity because he would like to be able to visit Haiti "without being killed," called the current president a liar.

"Everybody thought that because he was a minister he was telling the truth, but opinions have changed," he said. "Before, everybody had security. You could go outside at night, get a drink and there was no problem. Now, there is no security. People can knock on your door, take everything and kill everybody. Your wife, your kids, your home."

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On Sunday alone, two people from his hometown were killed, he said.

Like Roosevelt, he thinks the country was better served by the Duvaliers' dictatorship.

"There was only one president who was good for me – 'Papa Doc' [Francois Duvalier]," he said. "Everything was cheap. Then 'Baby Doc' [Jean-Claude Duvalier] came in, and the economy was so-so. But now, everything is finished. The economy is way down."

According to a Wall Street Journal report last April, former Haitian president Jean-Claude Duvalier, who is currently living in exile in France, may resurface in Haiti. He has allegedly been meeting with supporters in an effort to restore himself to power, according to the article.

Peace plan

Aristide is now calling for a stop to the violence and has accepted a peace plan proposed by the United States which mandates the appointment of a prime minister approved by both the current government and the opposition, as well as the disarming of pro-government militia.

Marjorie Young, director of the University's Community House and a native Haitian, said, "If President Aristide's decision to accept the US-backed peace plan brings us one step closer to a new era of peace in my homeland, then I say 'Hallelujah!'"

The plan, however, which also requires that the rebels meet for discussion with Aristide, was rejected by the opposition — political representatives of Haiti's business elite — who have said they will accept nothing short of Aristide's resignation.

It will take the active engagement of the Haitian community, "coupled with the international community's sincere intervention and commitment, to begin the healing and reconstruction of Haiti," Young said.

The U.S., which in 1994 sent 20,000 troops to help return Aristide to power after the overthrow of the Duvaliers, now blames Aristide for the current situation in Haiti and has no plans to send troops to restore order, the Associated Press reported yesterday.

The Pentagon did send 50 U.S. Marines to the embassy in Port-au-Prince in response to a request from the U.S. ambassador to Haiti yesterday for added security against rebel attacks, according to the AP.

Music of protest

Also in Port-au-Prince right now is Princetonian Richard Morse '79, the founder of one of Haiti's most popular bands, RAM.

RAM's songs have been called protest anthems, which Morse attributes to the current political climate.

"The words are parables and subject to multiple interpretations. We are very concerned about the situation here so that's bound to come out in the music," he said. "And if the press can't say something, sometimes it falls on the shoulders of the artists."

Morse also manages the Hotel Oloffson, which he reopened in 1987. Since that time, Haiti has experienced approximately 19 governments, Morse said.

"I thought all of this was going to play out years ago, but the Haitian people have been blinded by hope," he said.

He does not, however, foresee Aristide as having a long future as the president.

"Aristide has been quite a disappointment, largely because unlike other previous dictators, people actually believed in his good intentions," Morse said. "However, 'you reap what you sow' and it's harvest time in Haiti."