Myrtha Desulme, Contributor
THE LAST few months have been fraught with pain and anguish, as I have watched my country descend into an abyss of anarchy, and teeter on the brink of civil war. What's more, the number of journalists, historians, politicians, scholars, business leaders, experts and laymen, who have been falling all over themselves to administer "one last lick" to Haiti, in this its hour of pain and darkness, has been, to say the least, interesting.
From the branding of Haiti as a "failed state", which CARICOM should reconsider inviting into its fold, to the Observer's irresponsibly alarmist and sensationalistic front page of a Gonaives crowd, supposedly scrambling for food, captioned with the big, bold 'Jamaica Braces Itself For Haitian Refugees', which could have no other purpose but to foment panic, prejudice and xenophobia, through the succinct denomination of hell, in the poorest country in the world, no hyperbole has seemed too great.
The stridency has only increased, as the days have gone by, even including some offensive articles about pig farmers fearing contamination. I have been heartened, however, by the many ordinary people, who have called in on talk shows, or been interviewed in vox pops, pledging their sympathies to the Haitian people, and affirming that: "Even if we nuh have it, we must can find a way fi wi help dem, man!" So many have expressed love, concern, caring, understanding and pain for the unravelling of the Black Republic.
The Jamaican Government has dutifully, and I would even say, magnanimously, come to the rescue of the Haitians, while in the face of appeals from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, a cold-as-steel George W. Bush, declared US borders closed. Reports of an outpouring of kindness from the citizens of Manchioneal, Port Antonio and the surroundings multiply daily.
I was particularly moved by the lady who said, in a Power 106 vox pop: "Make we draw up we foot pon di bed, an make room fi dem, nuh." Never have I heard a finer example of brotherly, or in this case, sisterly love.
BOILING POINT
The Haitian crisis has reached a boiling point. Despite the clamour of the Opposition for President Aristide's resignation, no one is sure how much support he still has on the ground, and removing him could cause an implosion.
International mediators, wary of rushing in where angels fear to tread, are walking a very fine line. It seems that they have so far decided to continue dealing with the devil they know, by maintaining Aristide in place, while searching for avenues of dialogue and rapprochement with the Opposition.
The formal Opposition consists of two groups 'The Democratic Convergence', which comprises all of the Opposition political parties, and 'The Group of 184', which is an umbrella organisation of civil society institutions, whose mission is to promote a proactive civil society.
The organistions of the 'The Group of 184', which includes the private sector, labour unions, the peasant sector, teacher associations, the youth and student sector, women's groups, the press, NGOs, human rights organisations, civic groups, popular organisations and professional associations, do not intend to take the place of political parties. They intend, however, to exert control over public officials, to make sure that these accomplish their mission, and comply with the laws and norms of the Haitian republic, as well as the universal principles of democracy.
To this end, they have drafted a social contract, which reads in part: "The independence of Haiti in 1804 was the outcome of a revolution for a national liberation, which ended slavery; however, it did not come up with the constitution of a democratic society, nor did it allow a nation to be built ... Our difficulties stem from the fact that we have never been able to create a nation in the modern sense of the term, but have rather built a state on the principle of the exclusion of a majority ... As for the principle of equality, it presupposes that in order not to be the exclusive privilege of a selected few, the inalienable rights of the citizen must be accessible to all.
The new social contract must allow us, out of a national dialogue of various sectors, to:
Take a new start together.
Define new rules that will govern our collective life.
To build an integrated society, endowed with a new type of state that will henceforth, be at the service of all Haitians..."
THE GENESIS OF HOSTILITY
I have been asked repeatedly, what is behind the relentless barrage of hostility against Aristide?
In 1990, after the 30-year dictatorship of the notorious Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier, capped off by his son and daughter-in-law's conspicuous excesses, the pendulum swung all the way to the other extreme, to a benevolent priest, who was to be the healing of the nation.
The name "Lavalas", which he chose for his party, means "a cleansing flood", which carries everything before it. However the social chasm in Haiti being as immense as it is, means that it is almost impossible to defend the interests of one class without alienating the other.
Aristide was never the man of the elite or the army, but rather than trying to find a modus vivendi, which would have permitted him to coexist with them, he instead, made the grievous mistake of exacerbating the class conflicts.
On September, 29, 1991, at the height of his popularity, Aristide made a shocking "Pere Lebrun" speech, sanctioning the "necklacing" (burning of tyre around victim's neck), for the "People's enemies". In 2001, he made another equally scandalous "zero tolerance" speech, which was condemned by human rights organisations, for creating an upsurge of violence.
The Opposition claims that he should be tried for High Treason to the nation.
That in spite of his claims, that he only wants to retain power in order to respect the constitution, from which he has received his mandate, and establish a democratic precedent, he has, in fact, been guilty of running afoul of the 1987 constitution in the most blatant ways.
He is charged with:
Dismantling the Haitian Army, Protector of the Nation, and bringing a foreign army on Haitian soil.
Politicising the police.
Arming gangs to kill, maim, rob and kidnap
Violating article 59 of the constitution, which guarantees the separation of the judicial, legislative and executive powers, by encroaching on the judiciary, appointing Justices along political lines, making them accountable to the Minister of Justice, firing them at will, disregarding court orders that political prisoners be released, and passing agrarian and judicial reform legislation by decree.
Sanctioning the assassination of high profile journalists Brignol Lindor and Jean Dominique, by gangs, who have publicly claimed the murders, had gone unpunished. (Jean-Dominique was actually one of Aristide's staunchest supporters, who helped him to power through his radio station, but later defected. That radio station and many others have been burned down).
Sanctioning kidnappings for ransom.
Sanctioning the slaughter of innocent citizens, carried out by the police, while searching for enemies of Lavalas.
Sanctioning break-ins into meetings of unions, political, civic and student groups, and the beating up of participants.
Violating article 41, which states that no Haitian shall be deprived of his nationality, by victimizing opponents, through the refusal of the issuance of passports, notably to Group of 184 leader, Andy Apaid.
Violating article 7 of the constitution, which forbids personality cults.
ARISTIDE'S OPPONENTS
The falling out of Aristide with Amiot Metayer, was the catalyst for the emergence of the 'lunatic fringe' of the Oppostion, formerly known as the Cannibal Army. On December 17, 2001, an assassination attempt was foiled against President Aristide. Amiot Metayer was imprisoned for the crime.
His gang of followers broke him out of jail, and he made a public declaration, that he had been given money and weapons by Aristide to stage the assassination attempt, as an excuse for a crackdown. He promised to make more revelations about the murder of opponents, but was soon found murdered, which sparked the bitter vendetta of the Cannibal Army against their former leader, Aristide.
The Cannibal Army has now been rechristened the National Resistance Front, under the leadership of some new players: Butteur Metayer, (Amiot's brother), Winter Etienne, Louis Jodel Chamblain and Guy Philippe, ex-policemen and soldiers, who have returned from exile in the Dominican Republic, to enter the fray.
Though the official Opposition has sought to appear peaceful in its demonstrations, and taken the moral high ground, going to great lengths to distance itself from the Gonaives rebels, it is the rebels who have caused the three-year deadlock to escalate to this red alert top priority crisis.
The spectre of a bloodbath, coupled with the ensuing humanitarian crisis of a refugee problem, raised by the rebels, has forced the international community to step up their involvement from mouthing platitudes from the sidelines, about "the restoration of democracy", to a UN National Security Council emergency meeting, to discuss the deployment of peacekeeping troops, and even the consideration of Aristide's resignation.
The bicentenary of their independence has been a cathartic experience for Haitians, as it has been a jolting reminder of a monumental, yet unfulfilled promise.
When on January 1, 1804, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, standing at the edge of a new dawn, drunk with euphoria, pronounced the Declaration of Independence, he stated:
"Citizens, It is not enough to have expelled from your country the barbarians who have for ages stained it with blood ... It is become necessary, by a last act of national authority, to ensure forever the empire of liberty in the country which has given us birth I have assembled on this solemn day, those courageous chiefs, who have lavished their blood to preserve liberty. Generals, unite with me for the happiness of our country; the day is arrived, the day which will ever perpetuate our glory and our independence ... Let us swear to the whole world, to posterity, to ourselves, to renounce France forever, and to die, rather than to live under its dominion, to fight till the last breath for the independence of our country ndependence or Death! Let these sacred words serve to rally us ..."
The requiem is for the dream of Dessalines, who thought that he could build a black empire, in the New World, even while surrounded by a sea hostility. Two hundred years later, Haiti is still not free. But the Chinese word for crisis is written with two signs, one means danger, and the other, opportunity.
Let us work to see to it that this bicentenary crisis is nothing more than the labour pains, leading to the birth of a new and peaceful Haitian Republic.
