Haiti Hurricane Relief and background information
posted September 27, 2004
Dear Friends,
Following is an appeal for relief for Haitians victimized by Hurricane Jeanne from Brian Concannon, an attorney and founder of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti. Brian worked for many years defending massacre victims in Raboteau, a neighborhood of Gonaives, and knows the region thoroughly.
Following Brian's letter is an article by Kevin Pina, laying the political background for the tragedy and explaining the relationship between the US sponsored coup earlier this year, and the inability of Gonaives residents to be able to respond better to the catastrophe. I can personally attest to what Kevin writes. When I was in Haiti in April i met 3 men from Gonaives who were all in forced exile from the city. One young man's eyes were blank - he was obviously in shock. All three had been workers for President Aristide's Lavalas Party and involved in the adult literacy program. They had all had their homes burned and had family members killed or threatened. They said that between 10-15% of the population of the city had been forced to flee as a result of the repression.
Charlie
Hurricane Jeanne hit Haiti hard this week, especially the city of Gonaives, population 250,000, situated on low-lying land on the coast. Torrential rains caused the water to rise ten feet high at street level in many areas, enough to cover the majority of the city's houses. The number of confirmed dead was at 1,200 Thursday, and keeps climbing. Another 1,200 are reported still missing six days later, and 200,000 are reported homeless. The one hospital is knee-deep in mud.
The Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI) is a group of lawyers in Haiti that provides legal assistance to victims of human rights violations. The BAI is part of the US-based Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH, www.ijdh.org). Our biggest case, the Raboteau Massacre trial, took place in Gonaives, and we have worked closely with the 50- member Raboteau Massacre Victims' Association (RMVA) for eight years. Raboteau is perhaps the most vulnerable part of Gonaives: low enough to flood in a light rain, and right by the shore. Most houses in Raboteau are poorly constructed by Haitian standards.
Many people in Raboteau were killed by the flooding, just about everyone else lost all their possessions. The hurricane is the latest incident in a very bad year for RMVA members: two had their houses destroyed in political violence in January, one was arrested and executed after the coup d'etat in February, and several have been in hiding all year.
A lot of people have asked us what they can do to help, so the IJDH is collecting money for RMVA members who survived this catastrophe, and for the families of those who did not survive. We will deliver every penny collected for hurricane relief directly to the victims, taking no expenses for administration or overhead. Please send checks to IJDH, Box 806, Key Biscayne FL 33149, with "Gonaives Hurricane Relief", in the memo line. For more information, contact IJDH at info@ijdh.org or 541-432-0597.
Thank you,
Brian Concannon Jr.
Director Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti
The Tragedy of Haiti: Victims of the Storms
By Kevin PinaSeptember 26, 2004
A political storm hit northern Haiti long before Tropical Storm Jeanne came along. On March 20th, Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue flew into Gonaives where a huge and boisterous crowd of thousands welcomed him. Latortue embraced gang elements and the former military that helped overthrow the democratic government of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide as ìfreedom fighters.î Since then, Latortue and his government have done little to take control of Haitiís third largest city and has allowed gang leaders like Buteur Metayer and Wilfort Ferdinand to run it like a private fiefdom. This has had serious consequences since Tropical Storm Jeanne arrived to stake her claim of Haiti's misery.
The political storm took many victims as well and left Haiti ill-prepared for the devastion brought about by Tropical Storm Jeanne. One of its first victims was the Civil Protection Office following a rampage led by the "freedom fighters" against suspected Aristide supporters. This politically benign institution had been established in cooperation with the local municipal government by grants provided by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and administered through the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF). PADFís own website confirms that, ìPADFís emergency response and reconstruction efforts are complemented by community training in disaster preparedness. Mitigation training promotes the development of civil action plans that enable communities to identify priorities and reinforce key infrastructure. Last year, 23 local civil protection committees were formed and over 5,000 people were trained in disaster awareness, leading to safer communities.î Unfortunately, with Washington, Paris and Ottawa ushering in a man-made disaster with the destruction of constitutional authority in Haiti, all of the tax dollars USAID invested in preparing for natural disasters like Tropical Storm Jeanne were wasted as well.
Tropical Storm Jeanne is exactly the type of disaster USAID and PADFís programs were set up to manage. There were components that monitored incoming tropical storms and provided an advanced warning and preparedness network designed to plan a response BEFORE disaster struck. Plans included advising communities in advance of approaching storms and preparing for them by storing large supplies of drinking water, food, medical supplies and portable tents for those displaced from their homes. When Tropical storm Jeanne hit these structures no longer existed and all of the trained and competentparticipants in the program had long been driven outof the area and their offices pillaged and burned. Nowhere was this more evident than in Gonaives wheremany associated with the Aristide government and the Lavalas party were reportedly dragged through the streets and burned alive.
Instead of reasserting control of the State and rebuilding the necessary infrastructure that was destroyed following the coup of February 29th, Latortue followed a policy of benign neglect and accommodation with thugs in the region that has led toneedless death and suffering in the wake of Tropical Storm Jeanne. In all fairness, the fault does not lie exclusively with the US-installed government. The Bush administration shoulders much of the blame for the current situation with an ill-conceived regime change that has replaced what they considered a failed state with an even more failed state.
The United Nations also bears a large responsibility for the armed gangs and elements of the former military currently hampering relief efforts in northern Haiti. Like Latortueís accommodation of the gangs in Gonaives, the UN forces have stood by while the former military has taken over several towns in the north. The official excuse of the UN has been that they do not have enough forces on the ground to challenge the former military from seizing control of the region. It seems that by the time they do have the necessary forces they will wake up to find themselves bunkmates with the very forces they claim to want to keep out of power. This does not bode well for the inhabitants of Port au Prince should a natural disaster ever strike the capital to combine with the current political disaster as it has in Gonaives.
In the end, the UN and Latortue are victims of their own failed policies and ultimately the failed policy of the Bush administration in Haiti. The ones who will suffer the most as a result of these failures are the very people they claim to have come to this island nation to help. The disregard for institutions destroyed during the latest coup and the lack of planning and response for natural disasters is only a symptom of a political storm that is far from over in Haiti- a storm that is being feed by poor political judgement. Sadly, this has resulted in more needless suffering for the people of Haiti during this time of crisis.
Kevin Pina is an independent journalist, filmmaker, is Associate Editor of the Black Commentator, and currently resides in Haiti.
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