Robert Buddan
Rene Preval, Haiti's president, visited Jamaica last week, fresh from the news that his prostate cancer, first detected five years ago, had not returned as had been feared. But another kind of cancer grips his country, and ours, the cancer of violent crime.
Jamaica and Haiti share two common concerns. Gun trafficking takes place between the two countries and both suffer, and have complained, about the impact of U.S. deportations on crime in the two countries. But both countries can take heart from a new ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that will prevent automatic deportations of foreign-born residents, and both might welcome the control of Congress by the Democratic Party from whom the Caribbean would expect to get a more sympathetic ear.
Cuban doctors assured Preval in December that his prostate cancer had not returned. This is very good news for Haiti since Preval stands personally between democratic stabilisation, fragile as that remains, and democratic failure, which the country has not yet safely avoided.
returned to haunt
For a while it seemed as though Haiti's ghosts had returned to haunt the country. Just as it completed its round of municipal elections in December, following presidential and legislative elections earlier in the year, Preval had to travel to Cuba for medical tests. Already, the talk had started in the legislature, that Preval might have to step aside, as required by the constitution, and make way for new presidential elections. The country could hardly have afforded that blow. Its new democracy has come within the grip of rising crime again. This has fuelled two kinds of
dissent with the United States.
The United States prides itself as Haiti's largest donor, and in December the administration passed a trade bill that promises to revive Haiti's free zone textile industry. But this did not stop Prime Minister Edouard Alexis from complaining that Haiti's renewed crime, including rising kidnappings, was in part a result of America's decision to return to a policy of deporting Haitian criminals to the country.
The United States said it would deport between 25 and 100 Haitians a month, a terrible decision for a Haiti, a country so poor, with so many small arms in circulation, with poor relations between urban gangs and U.N. peacekeepers, a weak and inadequate police force, a paramilitary tradition in politics, a new and inexperienced government, a suspect judiciary, a wild bunch of drug traffickers, with borders impossible to control, and little hope of gainful employment for many youth in the short term.
Prime Minister Alexis' complaint was familiar. Deportees were sent back indiscriminately and many had left Haiti as children. They have virtually no social institutions like family and community to provide for them and restrain them. They had added a certain desperation to an already cruel situation by kidnapping and even murdering Haitian children, and they are even mercenary enough to shoot and kill on behalf of the old anti-democratic forces that would prefer the new democracy to fail. The Prime Minister threatened to refuse the deportees. The U.S., he said, threatened in turn to cut aid to Haiti and even refuse visas to top officials. The U.S. denied it did but you can judge for yourself whom to believe. The Prime Minister asked that the U.S. at least send deportees back before they had finished their prison terms in the U.S. so that they could serve out their terms in Haiti, giving Haiti better control over them. He asked the U.S. to help build a high security prison for these and other dangerous criminals as part of the solution to save democracy and protect human rights. He has received no helpful response.
President Preval is grateful for American financial help and the recent trade bill as well. But he still chastised the U.S. for not doing enough to curb arms smuggling and drug trafficking between Haiti and the U.S. In January, President Preval repeated what he said six years ago during his first presidential term. The U.S. is the prime source of guns in Haiti and destination of drugs that come through Haiti. The arms-producing and drug-consuming countries must do more to stop this scourge.
The problem has a political dimension in Haiti. Preval believes that drug traffickers are hoping to corrupt the country's new parliament and executive branch, and that the only real source of security he can rely on is the U.N. peacekeepers. The western countries want those troops there anyway. Haiti was forced to disband its notorious army and the police force is small and corrupt. But many Haitians see the peacekeepers as an occupation force, and the force is accused of raping Haitian girls and women and shooting poor Haitians indiscriminately.
Yet, even the U.N. forces have failed to disarm Haitian gangs and keep the peace. As long as the U.S. keeps deporting criminals, allowing guns and drugs to thrive in Haiti, the tensions and violence will remain between gangs who say they are protecting the poor in Haiti's slums and the foreign forces, which they see as oppressive. Haiti will remain on the edge. President Preval needs a way out and there are a few lights, however dim, ahead.
US RESPONSE
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in December that the federal government could not automatically deport people for drug crimes committed in a state. Minor drug crimes like simple drug possession is considered a misdemeanour under federal law. In fact, those already deported can appeal to go back to the U.S. The court found that the federal government had stretched the meaning of the immigration law and voted 8-1 to overturn the practice of automatic deportation. The ruling will give these persons better protection and right to appeal along with the opportunity to apply for cancellation of removal to re-enter the U.S. The Caribbean should see fewer deportations as a result and, hopefully, relieve the region of some of the burden of those already here.
In addition, the Democrats have now become the official majority party in Congress. Jamaican migrant, Yvette Clarke, becomes a member of the powerful Committee on Homeland Security and promises to see to Caribbean interests. In 2005, Congresswoman Barbara Lee introduced a resolution titled, 'Responsibility to Uncover the Truth about Haiti Act'. This 'TRUTH' Act is designed to investigate the role of the United States in the overthrow of democracy in Haiti. Congresswoman Lee now promises to revive that initiative in the new Democratic House. Senator Edward Kennedy becomes the Chair of the Senate subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Citizenship. Democrats also control committees on the judiciary (relevant to gun rights) and foreign relations. So far, attention is focused on releasing tensions with Cuba. But the Caribbean must get the attention of these committees on the trade in arms and drugs.
President Preval's visit to Jamaica is important because it sets the stage to integrate Haiti in CARICOM and will allow Haiti to use CARICOM's diplomatic resources to strengthen the common front on the U.S.-CARICOM Third Border Initiative. It also allows Jamaica to use its considerable experience to help Haiti with environmental conservation, agriculture, tourism, and organising its diaspora.
The Third Border Initiative is an agreement in which the U.S. aims to protect its border with the Caribbean and promises partnership in security, trade and investments. However, it does not provide any specifics and does not obligate the U.S. to do anything about gun exports and drug consumption. In fact, if there is any place in which the Third Border Initiative has failed it is Haiti, where the U.S. overthrew democracy rather than promote it; and where the U.S. has failed to play its part in controlling arms and drugs. CARICOM must now test the new Congress on what partnership should really mean.
Robert Buddan lectures in the Department of Government, Mona Campus, UWI. Email: Robert.Buddan@uwimona.edu.jm
