Haiti: Death, Delay & Dilettantes

Read an email today about a friend from NC who's written a book on her experiences in Haiti.  They Suffer in Faith is compiled from stories she's heard on her several trips to Port au Prince, Fondwa & Belbedede (sp?).

 

Just about the same time, I've heard about Haiti twice in the news this week.

 

1st, the Brazilian head of UN operations there committed suicide.  From AFP, via Yahoo:

In its statement, MINUSTAH described Da Matta Bacellar as a "professional and honourable soldier" who had done "his utmost to uphold the right of the Haitian people to freely and fairly elect a president and government of its own choosing."

MINUSTAH (Mission des Nations Unies pour la Stabilisation en Haiti--a nearly hopeless task) is charged with everything from stabilizing the political climate, organizing elections, coordination of humanitarian aide, protecting human rights, establishing and assuring security, to AIDS education.  They cannot even get voter registration cards out! 

 

One can certainly understand Bacellar's despair.

 

2nd, the elections have once again been delayed. Given the disarray that was present before Artistide left/was removed (pick your political stance and whom you lest worry about angering), I cannot imagine that any election result will bring peace to those who are so angry in Cite' Soleil.  From the BBC:

Haiti - one of the poorest countries in the world - has been plagued by political and criminal violence.

In announcing the election's fourth postponement, Haiti officials said many of the country's 3.5 million registered voters had not received their electoral identification cards.

But the head of the OAS mission in Haiti, Denneth Modeste, said the cards had been ready in September, but election officials had asked the OAS to hold off distribution because polling stations had not yet been chosen.

The Electoral Council's Secretary-General, Rosemond Pradel, said last week he was sick of watching foreigners sit around spending money without achieving results.

Wow, isn't that telling...

 

The Provisional Electoral Council, on its website (let's talk about access to the web and/or regular electricity!) reminds Haitians that the wealth of a country resides in its people, that the future is [in] their hands, and urges them to vote.

 

Votez
La richesse d'un pays re'side dans ses gens
Le futur est entre votre mains

 

Un jour. Toutes les fois que nous circulons aux élections d'établissement du programme...

 

Lest we be overwhelmed with the hopelessness of it all, along comes this bright spot, via ABC news:

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti Jan 13, 2006 — Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt brought a rare dose of Hollywood glamour to this beleaguered Caribbean nation during a visit Friday.

The couple, who recently announced they are expecting a baby this summer, flew to Haiti from the neighboring Dominican Republic, where Jolie is filming the movie "The Good Shepherd," directed by Robert De Niro.

They traveled in a convoy through the capital of Port-au-Prince, protected by police and U.N. peacekeepers as crowds cheered them along the way.

Glad to see UN troops able to have some success in their mission.