Restoring Hope in Haiti

Sister Carol Ries and Lori Richardson of the Washington, D.C.-based Quixote Center painted a terrifying picture as they described their recent trip to Haiti. "People cannot gather in more than groups of two," they said, "so if there are three, even in church, people are taking a risk. In fact there have been occasions where the military has moved inside and shot people."

They spoke of messages pressed into their hands advising them of clandestine meetings with Haitians who had walked more than seven hours to tell their stories. The two women heard accounts of priests being beaten; they heard of the people's pervasive fear of the brutal "section chiefs," the lowest level of the Haitian military hierarchy, who are at the heart of the human rights violations there. Ries and Richardson said that the infamous Tontons Macoute (Haitian death squads) of the Duvalier dictatorships have reappeared and form yet another fearful element of repression.

Haiti remains a police state since the military's September 1991 overthrow of democratically elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Aristide ascended to governance less than a year before with 67 percent of the popular vote, and it is to forestall popular support for his return to power that the forces of repression operate with impunity in Haiti.

International efforts to reinstate Aristide, especially those of the Organization of American States, have failed. Some say this is due to complacency with Haiti's status quo on the part of the Bush administration and others. Nevertheless, grassroots movements in the United States and elsewhere have pressed unceasingly for Aristide's return as Haiti's legitimate head of state.

HAITI SOLIDARITY Week, a major effort in support of Aristide's reinstatement, is planned for February 7-13 across the United States. The week is a bid to place Haiti in the national spotlight through public events including media presentations, signature ads in prominent newspapers, lobbying efforts with Congress, and a national demonstration in Washington, D.C.

Organizers hope the week helps to expand and strengthen the network of grassroots organizations acting in solidarity with Haiti, increase the public's understanding of the situation there, and spark citizen actions aimed at a change in U.S.-Haitian policy. The principal coordinators of Haiti Solidarity Week are Clergy and Laity Concerned (CALC) and the Quixote Center.

The Haitian people are looking with hope toward Washington and the soon-to-be inaugurated Clinton administration. Many Haitians expect a near miracle from the new U.S. chief of state. They heard candidate Clinton declare that he would give refugees a hearing before decisions are made about their fate. In Haiti this was interpreted as a promise of U.S. asylum for everyone.

In addition Haitians believe that President Clinton, a Democrat, will bring democrat Aristide back to power. While many in Haiti are trying to temper these expectations, Evans Paul, the mayor of Port-au-Prince and an Aristide supporter, said, "There is a perception that Clinton is a savior, a god."

Whatever the mindset of the Haitian populace, it is clear that Haiti stands as one of President Clinton's first and more important foreign policy challenges after Somalia. The Bush administration outraged human rights and refugee organizations with its cruel decision in May 1992 to turn Haitian boat people away from U.S. shores without so much as a hearing. Clinton should repudiate this practice immediately.

In addition the embargo against the rogue government in Haiti must be reinforced. Carol Ries and Lori Richardson, and others like them, refute the argument that the poor in Haiti will suffer from an embargo. "The embargo is not the problem," the women said. "It's the coup d'etat that's the problem. The embargo does not prevent humanitarian or food aid from getting in there."

Finally, President Clinton will have to reignite the negotiations aimed at President Aristide's return. In this he may already have a head start. His reputation has preceded him among the Haitian military--who, according to reports after Clinton's election, offered to meet for the first time with Aristide's representatives.

All of this comes down to a very simple and still-tragic reality--the continuing frustration of a people's will. When given the opportunity after 38 years of Duvalier dictatorships, the Haitian people voted overwhelmingly for a president of their own, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Within months of that democratic action, it was rejected and Aristide deposed. A determined President Clinton can help to restore hope to a nation that has suffered quite enough.

Joe Nangle, OFM was outreach director of Sojourners when this article appeared.