It could be said that our blog posts up till now haven’t
been very informative but have given
you a glimpse of some fun pictures and stories from our near 11 weeks in
Haiti.
Now that it’s Friday evening and I’m sitting in our living
room while my poor husband lays sick in our bedroom (stomach bug perhaps?) I think
I will take this opportunity to share about some of the important events from
Haiti this week and our work. Within these updates, I think you will find some
specific ways you can be praying for us and for Haiti.
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| 'Baby Doc' Duvalier |
Last Saturday, Haiti’s infamous dictator from 1971 – 1986, “Baby
Doc” Duvalier died of a heart attack. He returned to Haiti in 2011 and almost immediately was charged with crimes against humanity, though he
has been allowed by current President Michel Martelly to “roam free” even with serious charges pending. Public anger here and abroad mounted as word leaked from the
National Palace that President Martelly was considering giving the ex-President
a national funeral. Baby Doc Duvalier is charged with having stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from the
State and having up to 30,000 of his opponents tortured and killed during his reign. How could the State consider
spending more funds to “honor his memory” in such a public way? The Palace decided
to not fund the funeral – which will take place tomorrow morning.
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| Ex-President Aristide |
Meanwhile, ex-President Aristide – who was the first
democratically elected President in Haiti in 1991 – has faced charges of
corruption and embezzlement of government funds during his Presidency. A couple of months ago, a judge with a questionable
record summoned Artistide to court. When he did not show up, the judge placed
him under house arrest. Two weeks later, the armed guards protecting Aristide’s
house were “secretly” ordered to move, thereby leaving Artiside’s home
unguarded. Outcry came from Haiti and the U.S., from big names such as actor
Danny Glover and Congresswoman Maxine Waters. Today, crowds gathered outside of
Aristide’s home again as the judge ordered Aristide’s immediate arrest.
Many people saw this as President Martelly’s attempt to “get
rid” of Aristide, and also to distract from the biggest political news in
Haiti, which has been the government’s failure to hold important elections for the past 4
years. A bipartisan group from the U.S. Congress has urged President Martelly
to ensure that elections are held before the end of this year, but this does
not seem likely to happen. Six opposition senators in Haiti are refusing to
vote for a new electoral law, which would allow elections to go forward. Many
people here feel that President Martelly is corrupt and has a vested interest
in not holding senatorial elections, which could allow him to consolidate power
in early January 2015 as the senate would be rendered ineffective.
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| MINUSTAH troops in Haiti |
In 2004, after President Aristide was ousted from power a
second time, the UN’s peacekeeping force established a mission in Haiti
(MINUSTAH), and they have been here ever since. There is much public discontent
over MINUSTAH’s presence. Their mission is costly (it is about to be renewed for $500
million for another year), and there has not been a recognized conflict in Haiti
for the past 75 years. In addition, MINUSTAH’s troops, over the years, have
faced hundreds of allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation. There is no
formal complaint mechanism established for victims to file claims. Most
drastically, MINUSTAH’s Nepalese troops were responsible for introducing
cholera to Haiti in 2010; the epidemic has killed over 8,500 Haitians since,
and the UN will not claim responsibility.
MINUSTAH’s mandate is up for renewal again this coming October 15th.
On top of this, October 19th is the 4 year
anniversary of Haiti’s cholera outbreak. The outbreak started when sewage leaked
from the UN Nepalese soldier’s base camp into Haiti’s main river and water
source – the Artibonite. Various scientific reports have concluded that
MINUSTAH’s base camp was the source of the epidemic.
On October 23rd, a court in NY will hear oral
arguments concerning the UN's "immunity." This is one success in a long-standing effort by human rights groups to hold the UN accountable and seek reparations for families who lost loved ones due to the cholera outbreak.
All this to say, people are sad and tensions are
running high. It’s easy to feel the outrage in the public discourse, both here
and in the U.S. Yesterday, the UN held a donor conference in Washington DC, to
plead for funding for their 2.2 billion dollar Cholera Eradication and Sanitation plan for Haiti.
The results of the conference were not promising. Only ten percent of their plan has been funded to date. Many people balk at the large sums being spent to keep MINUSTAH in Haiti, while funds are lacking to actually improve health and sanitation systems in the country.
As you can see, there is a lot going on this week. And this doesn't touch even touch on other issues we are engaged in such as: mining in the north of Haiti, and Haiti's housing crisis, around which we are working on planning a conference in Washington DC.
It would mean a lot to us if you took note, and took the time to pray over some of these areas, as well as our presence and work here.
(I am happy to report, that by the end of my writing this blog post, Ted is feeling much better.)
