{"id":2720,"date":"2020-12-28T15:21:28","date_gmt":"2020-12-28T15:21:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.haitivision.ca\/?page_id=2720"},"modified":"2021-08-03T08:09:37","modified_gmt":"2021-08-03T12:09:37","slug":"politique","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.haitivision.ca\/en\/references\/politique\/","title":{"rendered":"Policy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Policy<\/strong><\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Articles of interest on Haiti<\/strong><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Archives of international articles of interest on Haiti<\/strong><\/h5>

Common perception among foreigners regarding Haitian society<\/strong><\/em><\/p>

Agnes Gruda<\/strong><\/span>
The Press (01\/25\/2010)<\/p>

The Haitian government is too weak to manage the country's reconstruction alone, says Paul Collier, a former advisor to the UN Secretary-General on Haiti. This economist, who last year authored a major report on Haiti, believes that last week's disaster could provide an opportunity for a new beginning. But on certain conditions. Among them: establishing a kind of government co-managed with donor countries and international organizations, to make the crucial decisions of the next two or three years.<\/p>

Patrick Lagac\u00e9<\/strong><\/span>
The Press (01\/30\/2010)<\/p>

I'm tired of Haiti's charades. Everyone in this country is bullshitting. The state, the politicians, the Haitians, the journalists\u2014those from here and elsewhere\u2014the proverbial international community, the aid workers. It starts with your taxi driver and continues with the rest. Everyone's pretending. I'm pretending that the Haitian mess is only external to the people. By showing the weaknesses of the state, I exonerate the Haitian people.\u00a0<\/p>

The international community pretends that the Haitian state exists. I have heard 10 times more Haitians criticizing not their lousy state, but the UN, the United States, France...\u00a0<\/p>

\u00a0See details below.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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The opportunity for a new beginning for Haiti?<\/strong><\/p>

Agnes Gruda<\/strong>
The Press (01\/25\/2010)<\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>

The Haitian government is too weak to manage the country's reconstruction alone, says Paul Collier, a former advisor to the UN Secretary-General on Haiti. This economist, who last year authored a major report on Haiti, believes that last week's disaster could provide an opportunity for a new beginning. But on certain conditions. Among them: establishing a kind of government co-managed with donor countries and international organizations, to make the crucial decisions of the next two or three years.<\/p>

Caution: this is not about placing Haiti under international guardianship, warns the specialist, that\u00a0The Press<\/em> reached in London yesterday. "We must avoid these big explosive words. What is needed is a political structure where the main international actors will have the authority to act on the ground, in collaboration with the Haitian government."<\/p>

Port-au-Prince is thirsty (image)<\/strong><\/p>

A year ago, Paul Collier presented his report on Haiti to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The central point of this report is that, despite the ill fortune that is beating it, this country is not condemned to poverty. And that, with concrete, job-generating actions, Haiti can become a country at least as functional as the neighboring Dominican Republic.<\/p>

The Haitian government drew inspiration from his report to produce an action plan approved by its international partners. It's true that there was no follow-up, but this plan exists, and we can build on it to rebuild the country, says Paul Collier.<\/p>

Act quickly<\/strong><\/p>

After the four hurricanes two years ago, it took seven months to agree on a reconstruction plan for Haiti. "And after seven months, the international community's energy was gone," recalls Paul Collier. He fears, once again, that aid efforts will fizzle out. "In three months, the world's attention will be elsewhere. If we don't act now, I can guarantee we won't act at all..."<\/p>

The author of\u00a0The Bottom Billion<\/em>\u00a0("The bottom billion") believes that the danger still lurking even among the best-intentioned donors today is that they each pull in their own direction, without coordination. "This is what has been happening for 40 years," he laments. With one week to go before the reconstruction conference in Montreal, Paul Collier therefore recommends learning the lessons of the past. And establishing a joint decision-making structure that would include Canada, the United States, and the European Commission to help Haiti get back on its feet.<\/p>

But doesn't such a proposal risk awakening the ghosts of colonialism? "Let's not drop ideological bombs," he replies. "This tragedy has left 200,000 dead; it's a pure nightmare. It's not about sitting down and telling Haitians what to do, but rather acting in concert with their political leaders."<\/p>

Even before the disaster, the Haitian state was barely functioning: "Basic services were not provided by the government, but by NGOs or the private sector," says Paul Collier. With the devastation that has hit them hard, Haitian leaders are completely overwhelmed.<\/p>

Moving the capital?<\/strong><\/p>

But the earthquake's impact also highlights Port-au-Prince's fragility. Should we consider relocating the capital? It's located in a dangerous location, and in rebuilding the country, care should be taken to decentralize government services and economic activity in Haiti, the expert emphasizes.<\/span><\/p>

Collier hesitates to take the step of moving the capital altogether. But he emphasizes that the reconstruction effort must be "geographically dispersed," if only to prevent more Haitians from flocking to Port-au-Prince in the hope of finding a better life there.<\/p>

How can we finally ensure that the international outpouring of generosity doesn't lead to another dead end? Paul Collier cites three factors for success. First, draw inspiration from the plan already accepted by Haiti and the international community. Second, create a co-managed government for a few years. Finally, keep track of the money and prevent it from being diverted from its intended purpose.<\/span><\/p>

If these conditions are met, Paul Collier believes, the horrific tragedy could provide an opportunity for a new beginning. Because the real challenge is not rebuilding Haiti to where it was before the earthquake. "The real challenge is change."\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Haiti, sick of its charades<\/strong><\/p>

Patrick Lagac\u00e9<\/strong>
The Press (01\/30\/2010)<\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>

It's always something: Tapis-Rouge has the most beautiful view of all the new slums in Port-au-Prince. A breathtaking view of the bay of Port-au-Prince, which forms a turquoise arc before your eyes. In the bay, in the distance, at least 12 boats. Above the bay, a helicopter. A striking scene. The bay, the boats, the helicopter. The spectacle of international aid, the world coming to Haiti's rescue. On the slope I'm descending, trying not to fall flat on my face, there are the smells of grilled chicken, shit, and burning garbage. A few chickens, at least a million children, some of whom are waving kites made from old garbage bags in the wind.<\/p>

A brand new slum<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

In the sky, 100 meters away, above the kites, glittering on the tips of branches tied together, was the blue and red flag of Haiti. It fluttered above the hut of Dielva Duval, secretary general of CAPSE, which serves as a citizens' committee. Mr. Duval, along with Jean-Jacques Faubert, president of CAPSE, heads the committee, which "helps people in all their needs." And the flag? "It indicates where our organization is," said Mr. Duval, a police officer. "People see the flag, they know they'll find information here."<\/p>

Faubert: "Haiti, our beloved country, has been struck. This flag shows our identity. It must always fly."<\/span> \u00a0There's one thing you need to know about this country. Its inhabitants love it madly. Haiti is the state that least deserves the love of its inhabitants. Two hundred years later, Haitians are still galvanized by their history, by their status as the "first black republic," obsessed with their independence, wrested from the French in 1804. In this shantytown here, in Tapis-Rouge, the state is Messrs. Faubert and Duval. Obviously, in Haiti, the state is nothing.<\/p>

I'm sick of Haiti's charades. Everyone in this country is bullshitting. The government, the politicians, the Haitians, the journalists\u2014those from here and elsewhere\u2014the proverbial international community, the aid workers.<\/span>\u00a0It starts with your driver, who, even if he doesn't know how to get to Les Cayes, will lie and tell you he knows how to get to Les Cayes. He'll even tell you it takes two hours. On the way, he'll ask everyone for directions and arrive four hours later. It continues with this state that reeks of grandiloquence, pestered by officials who get hard over titles, uniforms, and grand speeches.<\/p>

As we drove toward Tapis-Rouge, Ren\u00e9 Pr\u00e9val, President of the Republic\u2014Haiti got rid of France but adopted its pomp\u2014was being interviewed on Radio-Cara\u00efbes. Twenty-five minutes of nonsense. Twenty-five minutes of hot air, slogans, wishful thinking. Bullshit. And, unfortunately, 25 minutes of servility from an interviewer who never challenged Haiti's leader, especially not when Mr. Pr\u00e9val explained his appalling silence of several days after January 12. One of the host's first questions: how did the tragedy challenge his faith? Fuck.<\/p>

I'm tired of charades. Everyone's pretending.<\/span>\u00a0Even I pretend. I pretend that the Haitian mess is only external to the people. By showing the weaknesses of the state, I exonerate the Haitian people. Now, sorry, but Haitians, collectively, are appallingly, depressingly, and deleteriously passive. To be cute, like everyone else, I describe this passivity as fatalism.<\/p>

The international community pretends that the Haitian state exists.<\/span> A state does not exist when the UN ensures its security through arms. When a foreign power lands planes after an earthquake that has NOT destroyed its airport control tower. When the friends of Jesus care for and educate its citizens. And there are the NGOs. Full of goodwill, of course. Populated by saints, I say this with sincere admiration. From Doctors Without Borders to the Red Cross: it is saints who come here.\u00a0<\/p>

But all this support from NGOs and foreign countries, in the end, helps Haitians\u2026 to death. Faced with the shocks caused by the humanitarian disaster,\u00a0I heard 10 times more Haitians criticizing not their lousy state, but the UN, the United States, France...\u00a0<\/span> Helping to death. An example. And I know I'm going to get tomatoes thrown at me because it's an isolated case. But I don't care. It's representative and emblematic. I stop at the grocery store this week. Yes, the grocery stores have reopened, no more granola bars. I open the door of the vehicle, my driver puts his hand on my arm: "Will you bring me a bottle of water?" OK, OK, yes. I put my foot down, he says to me (it wasn't a request) something else: "And a beer." The problem is that\u2014media competition obliges\u2014our drivers are very, very, very well paid. Not by Haitian standards. By OUR standards: 200$US per day. A beer, eh? Do you want me to drive while you drink it, too?\u00a0<\/p>

I sound brutal. But that's part of the charade: for fear of being accused of insensitivity or racism, no one is ever brutal to Haiti. Haitians, anyway, wouldn't take it. Brutal among themselves is fine, from dictators to coup plotters, they tolerate it. And when an elected president cuts their balls off, it's the US Marines who kick him out. Not the Haitians.\u00a0But if the criticism comes from a foreigner, then there's an outcry, a flood of emails, endless verbiage on the radio,<\/span>\u00a0This is the accusation of colonialist aims.<\/p>

I'm tired of charades.<\/span>\u00a0I've been heartbroken enough by enough starving children this week. I believe I've described the emergency with enough compassion to be entitled, here, just once, to say that Haitians are actively participating in their misfortune. By passivity, precisely.\u00a0And us? Continuing to help Haiti exactly as we did before January 12th is creating another generation of misery, orphans, and bullshit.<\/span><\/p>

Enough, please. Enough.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Politique Articles d’int\u00e9r\u00eats sur Ha\u00efti Archives d’articles internationaux d’int\u00e9r\u00eats sur Ha\u00efti Perception courante chez les \u00e9trangers concernant la soci\u00e9t\u00e9 ha\u00eftienne Agn\u00e8s GrudaLa Presse\u00a0\u00a0(25\/01\/2010) L’\u00c9tat ha\u00eftien est trop faible pour g\u00e9rer seul la reconstruction du pays, affirme Paul Collier, ancien conseiller du secr\u00e9taire g\u00e9n\u00e9ral de l’ONU sur Ha\u00efti.\u00a0Cet \u00e9conomiste, qui a sign\u00e9 l’an dernier un important […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":250,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2720","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.haitivision.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.haitivision.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.haitivision.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.haitivision.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.haitivision.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2720"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/www.haitivision.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2720\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5599,"href":"https:\/\/www.haitivision.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2720\/revisions\/5599"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.haitivision.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.haitivision.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}