It must be said, I was also curious to find a plausible answer to a question friends back in Europe continued to ask me: why is Haiti so much poorer than the Dominican Republic ? One of the obvious answers seems that with millions of tourists each year the Dominican republic is able to gain a lot of money through that industry. Almost 4 million tourists visited the Dominican Republic in 2008. By contrast Haiti received only just over 300.000 tourists the same year. That number seems pretty high considering that in the three and a half years I have lived here I have seen a group of tourists in Haiti just once. I’m pretty sure I was staring at them as much as Haitians around.

Anyway, even if we consider those numbers of yearly tourist visits as accurate, thirteen to one is an important difference. The question is: why ? In three weeks I wasn’t able to find an answer based on hard facts. Except perhaps that infrastructure is in a better shape in the DR, and that for less money you can find budget hotels that have more comfort than their equivalents in Haiti. Still, some people are looking for a bit more adventure in public transport on dirt roads and don’t mind sleeping in a room without airconditioning, television and a fridge. Others looking for more comfort don’t mind paying a lot for their hotels. After all, the history and patrimonium of Haiti is extremely impressive, there is more than 1500 kilometers of Caribbean coastline, and yes, if you really want there are fancy hotels in Haiti, and you can just stay on the paved roads and still see a lot.

Yet a more inspiring answer came in the form of questions from the tourists I met in the DR: “Is Haiti really so dangerous ?”, “Do you think it is safe to cross the border ?”, “Did you see a lot of violence ?”, “Do you get ripped off a lot by corrupt officials ?” and so forth. Those questions were interesting since in more than three years in Haiti I never saw anyone firing a gun, and have never been asked for a bribe by officials.

By contrast, in the first week in the DR I saw a gunfight in broad daylight over the national highway. It happened for a second time – again on a national highway and in broad daylight – a few days later. In Port-au-Prince I heard just once a gunfight in the middle of the night: the sound woke me up. Once hearing it in three and a half years, compared to two times seeing it in less than three weeks time. So as far as the danger goes, there is no doubt Haiti feels more secure.

As far as corruption by officials goes, I have never been in a situation where I felt that paying in Haiti might help. Actually, I heard that a friend got jailed because he tried to bribe a policeman. But when I tried to cross a small border-post to get in the DR the customs were obviously playing with me in the hope I would lose my patience and ask them “if nothing could be arranged so I could move on.” It didn’t work since I had the whole day if necessary. I just lost about two hours on obviously invented “infractions” with Dominican law such as not having an entry-stamp for Haiti in my new passport. As if a entry stamp to Haiti could possibly matter to Dominican border officials, especially since I had my Haitian exit stamp and residence permit.

I could have lived with that. I wouldn’t even mention it if there hadn’t been that other experience at the main border between the DR and Haiti: Jimani / Malpasse. A bunch of guys jumped on me before even arriving at the actual customs office. Obviously they all asked my passport to help me out. I sort of pushed my way through them, making sure to get the official looking exit-card all of them were waving with. They had already filled in that I was a US citizen, called George Something, so for some change I got a blank paper and a pen. When it was my turn on the booth, I handed over my passport and the card, and promptly got the passport back with the stamp I was looking for. That was the easy part.

I jumped back on my motorbike and drove it slowly to the gate some 50 meters from there. Just beside the gate I was stopped by some guys all wearing different clothes, although the marine blue T-shirt might have been a bit more prominent. Anyway, no uniform, no badge, who are those guys ? Oh yes, of course, these 6 or 7 persons that had just surrounded me at 5 meters from the gate all had visibly a pistol stacked in the back of their pants.

“The papers for your motorcycle !”
They weren’t uniformed, neither identified by a badge, but standing in the open beside the gate in front of what looked as a small office. I gave them the papers they asked for.
“No, not this, the one from the customs”, strategically pulling the papers they were holding already behind their back. I handed over the paper from the Haitian customs.
“Not this one, the Dominican one.”
I was out of paperwork to hand out to them, but knew I had shown them all they could legally ask me to see. Despite having lost two hours at the small border post getting in the DR, those guys all had confirmed I had what I needed for driving the motorcycle through the DR.

So it was obvious this mess at the Jimani border was just a scam. Despite the fact they weren’t uniformed or identified they might have been some kind of officials, or at least somehow related to them through the Dominican border scam. Trying not to loose my patience – yet now the border was closing in less than an hour – I showed them the tourist tax ticket I had paid while explaining them I knew there was nothing else they could ask me for. I took care to mention I had all reasons to doubt they were officials in the first place. So for five minutes or so they did all they could to work on my nerves – that is their job after all – while I was trying to stay calm and find a way out of this scam. I could finally seize the opportunity of a disagreement among them to get back my papers and pull the gas handle to get quickly through the gate others had just opened for a passing car.

The contrast couldn’t possibly be greater. At the Haitian side a uniformed custom officer wearing a badge gestured me to stop, turn of my engine and hand him over my passport. There is some logic in such a procedure. He looked briefly at my passport, then walked to the office with my papers while a few other – uniformed – guys asked me to come over. It happened to be they were just curious about where I came from, where I lived, if I liked their country and so on. After a few minutes talking to the guys I was handed over my passport after paying what I officially owed.

True, when I was about to go they asked me if I could spare some small change. I hesitated a moment, then realized I was in a good mood to be back in Haiti while they hadn’t tried to rip me off, so I offered a Prestige, the Haitian prize winning beer. As much as I enjoyed changing my horizon at the other side of the border, there is no doubt I feel safer and less harassed by officials in Haiti as in the DR. So if you would be in the DR and hesitate to cross the border out of fear for you personal security or scams, be sure you’ve already seen the worst side of the border.

Le tremblement de terre a laissé des traces profondes dans les vies des survivants et rapelle des fortes émotions desquelles les survivants tirent des leçons pour le futur. Le president de la République Dominicaine ouvre officiellement le campus universitaire Henri Christophe au Nord du pays. La construction du campus était une promesse du gouvernement Dominicain, une promesse tenue contrairement à beaucoup d’autres promesses internationales. Un hommage était donné par la Faculté des Sciences Humaines à l’intellectuel professeur Jean Anil Louis-Juste qui avait été assasiné ce même 12 janvier 2010, quelques heures seulement avant le tremblement de terre. L’enquête sur l’assasinat n’as pas encore indiqué des suspects et des coupables. Des mouvements haïtiens marchent dans  les rues de Port-au-Prince pour exiger le droit à un logement décent, ils critiquent la communauté internationale et sa commission de reconstruction CIRH. Dans un moment d’une exceptionelle silence à Port-au-Prince une sirène marque l’heure exacte du tremblement de terre d’il y a deux ans: 16h53.

Les stations radio suivantes ont été enregistré dans le montage: Scoop FM, Radio Kiskeya, Radio Metropole, Radio Guinee, Radio Caraïbes, Signal FM, Radio Solidarités. Entre les animateurs vous entendez les voix de: Michel Brunache (Ministre de la Justice et de la Sécurité Publique), Jocelyne Casimir (Doyenne du Tribunal Civil de Première Instance), Alta Jean-Baptiste (Directrice de la Protection Civile), un extrémiste réligieux non-identifié, Michel Martelly (Président de la République d’Haïti), Beverly Oda (Ministre de la Coopération Internationale du Canada), Leonel Fernández (Président de la République Dominicaine), Jean-Vernet Henry (Recteur de l’Université d’État d’Haïti), Camille Chalmers (Professeur à la Faculté des Sciences Humaines), Groupe de théatre Cercle Gramsci, Reynel Sanon (FRAKKA), Thomas Jean Dieufaite (MOREGAF), Colette Lespinasse (GARR), les manifestants du Collectif Défense pour le Droit au Logement.

 - stereo (11,5MB) – 12 minutes – download

“Tectonic Shifts is a must read for anyone who has ever heard the word ‘Haiti’ and would like to know more. Guiding us way beyond the usual narrative tropes and sound bites, this konbit of a book peels away at centuries’ worth of misinformation about this much maligned but magnificent country. A phenomenal contribution to Haitian history, politics, culture—and survival—both before and after the earthquake.” – Edwidge Danticat, author of Brother, I’m Dying

Tectonic Shifts – What Haiti’s massive earthquake exposed about the country’s past —and tells us about the present. One of the chapters is written by the editor of avec-papiers.be who has conducted an in-depth research on the Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission (IHRC).

The 7.0 magnitude earthquake that shook Haiti’s capital on January 12, 2010 will be remembered as the single, deadliest disaster the island faced in over 200 years. The quake exposed centuries of underdevelopment, misguided economic policies, and foreign aid interventions that have contributed to rampant inequality and social exclusion in Haiti.

Tectonic Shifts offers a diverse on-the-ground set of perspectives about Haiti’s cataclysmic earthquake and the aftermath that followed. Starting with a critical analysis of Haiti’s heightened vulnerability as a result of mismanagement by officials and the recent changes in neo-liberal economic policies, this book addresses a range of contemporary realities, foreign impositions, and the struggles that the people of Haiti face today.

Through a collection of essays by the voices of Haiti themselves – scholars, journalists and activists – Tectonic Shifts provides lessons on how the people of Haiti managed during the relief and reconstruction periods, and offers hope for those seeking social justice and real transformation in the world. What the people of Haiti teach us is to start by changing ourselves.

The book is co-edited by anthropologist Mark Schuller, assistant professor at York College-the City University of New York (CUNY) and affiliate at l’Université d’État d’Haïti (UEH) and Pablo Morales, former editor of the NACLA (North American Congress on Latin America) Report on the Americas. It includes 46 chapters written by individuals and groups, half from Haiti: Ayiti Kale Je/ Haiti Grassroots Watch Batay Ouvriye, Rachel Beauvoir-Dominique, Roland Bélizaire, Beverly Bell, Jean-Yves Blot, Brennan Bollman, Bri Kouri Nouvèl Gaye, Bureau des Avocats Internationaux, Myriam J.A. Chancy, Manolia Charlotin, Lisa Davis, Lise Marie Dejean, Eramithe Delva, Fritz Deshommes, Disaster Accountability Project, Isabeau Doucet, Etant Dupain, Alex Dupuy, Kevin Edmonds, Yolette Etienne, Carine Exantus, Marshall Fleurant, Patrice Florvilus, Fòs Reflekson ak Aksyon sou Koze Kay ann Ayiti (FRAKKA), The Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH), Louise Ivers, Kim Ives, Chenet Jean-Baptiste, Hervé Jean Michel, Mario Joseph, Valerie Kaussen, Janil Lwijis, Isabel Macdonald, MADRE, Melinda Miles, Anthony Oliver-Smith, Veerle Opgenhaffen, Deepa Panchang, Nicole Phillips, Renaud Piarroux, Rishi Rattan, Jane Regan, Margaret Satterthwaite, Lindsay Schubiner, Mark Schuller, Jeena Shah, Mark Snyder, Patrick Sylvain, Evelyne Trouillot, Gina Athena Ulysse, Malya Villard, Charles Vorbe, David Walton, Mark Weisbrot, and Joris Willems.

]]> http://www.avec-papiers.be/Home/?feed=rss2&p=1582 0 http://www.avec-papiers.be/Home/?p=1574 http://www.avec-papiers.be/Home/?p=1574#comments Tue, 10 Jan 2012 04:38:44 +0000 Zorro http://www.avec-papiers.be/Home/?p=1574 The New Internationalist interviewed anthropologist Mark Schuller on the reconstruction and humanitarian aid in Haiti an excellent overview is given of how foreign intervention happened in the two years following the earthquake. “There is a clear failure here. The world can make a clear signal that if Haitian reconstruction is what we want, then we have to play a backup role and not impose our vision, our priorities and these top-down foreign unaccountable, unelectable structure to implement.”

While most of the sector clusters were in fact taking over the responsibility of the government were held in English and excluded Haitian participation, the one exception is the Water and Sanitation cluster: “I don’t think that it is a coincidence that the one cluster that was co-chaired by the Haitian government got more results. Because they were on the ground, they had the authority that NGOs don’t. They have a structural accountability to all Haitian citizens that others don’t.”

Addressing the issue of the weakness of the Haitian government Schuller states that “It is more a question of political will than capacity question of the Haitian government. If there is a government agency that is working, then they should be given the resources so that they can do a better job.” But apart from government ownership there is a great need to include the Haitian people themselves: “It was just more expedient to just deal with two people in the camp committee than it was for them to have a longer community meeting. It was the easier out for the NGOs, but it replaced a system of solidarity, that those of us that were in Haiti immediately after the earthquake saw, with a system of the same old exclusion that even donors say is a big problem.”

Staying optimistic Schuller states that it is “not too late to reverse some of that. I think that with proper guidance, with unified political will, it is possible that a real decentralization can happen. But it requires peoples ownership of the process. NGOs can play an important role in this, if they understand that their role is a support, is an accompaniment. Too often however NGOs inflict themselves.“

Mark Schuller, assistant professor at the State University of Haiti and the City University of New York, is a leading anthropologist who has been publishing extensively on Haiti. He is one of the few academics that have done in-depth research on the conditions of the internally displaced people in the camps. His book “Tectonic Shifts: Haiti after the earthquake” that just appeared, is an anthology of Haitian and foreign views on the Haiti that pulled itself out of the rubble after the devastating earthquake of 12 January 2010.

Audioreportage (13’23″)

Yannick Etienne van Batay Ouvriye, één van de syndicale organisaties die mee mobiliseerden voor de mars voor waardig werk kloeg aan dat de Haitiaanse overheid rondbazuint dat « het belangrijkste economische voordeel van het land is dat veel mensen willen werken en dat er bijgevolg lage lonen kunnen worden betaald. Ze roepen buitenlandse investeerders op om deze goedkope werkkrachten te komen uitbuiten. Wij zeggen neen ! Het klopt dat we werk willen, dat we werk nodig hebben, maar het moet waardig werk zijn. Dat wil zeggen een salaris dat mensen toestaat te leven, sociale bescherming, de mogelijkheid om andere werkomstandigheden te onderhandelen met de werkgevers en het respect voor fundamentele rechten van de arbeiders. »

Sinds lang voor de aardbeving promoot de internationale gemeenschap de zogendaamd gunstige economische perspectieven van Haiti : haar gedereguleerde arbeidsmarkt en de nabijheid van een belangrijke exportmarkt, de Verenigde Staten van Amerika. Nog meer als voor de aardbeving is de internationale gemeenschap voorstander van nieuwe vrijhandelszones en assemblage-industrieën. De werkomstandigheden in deze fabrieken laten echter te wensen over en repecteren geenszins de Haitiaanse wetten en de internationale standaarden. Een recent rapport van Better Work wees uit dat in 61% van de bezochtte fabrieken de wet op het minimumloon niet werd nageleefd.

Bij de officiële lancering van de vakbond voor arbeiders uit de textiel- en kledingsector (SOTA) midden september verduidelijkte Secretaris Generaal van de Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA), Victor Baez Mosqueira, dat het niveau van organisatie van de vakbonden erg laag is en dat sectorale vakbonden zoals SOTA een deel van de oplossing zijn. Voor Baez zijn er vier sociale prioriteiten voor de rechten van werknemers in Haïti : « vrijheid van vereniging, collectieve onderhandeling, sociale bescherming en ook gezondheid en veiligheid op de werkvloer ». De steun voor sectorale vakbonden zoals SOTA volgen de lijn van de syndicale roadmap die werd uitgewerkt kort na de aardbeving en omvat onder andere professionele training, ontmoetingen, discussies en de pleitbezorging op internationaal niveau.

Elien Saint Wilner, een van de ontslagen delegués van SOTA verklaarde tijdens de mars afgelopen vrijdag dat hij « de officiele documenten van SOTA om 9 uur ‘s ochtends afgaf op de personeelsdienst om een collega te kunnen bijstaan. Om 3 uur werd ik opnieuw naar het kantoor geroepen waar ze me vertelden dat ik onslagen was. » Jean Jacques Wilner, een andere delegué van SOTA verduidelijkte dat « ze ons lieten weten dat wanneer je deel uitmaakt van een vakbond, je ontslagen wordt. Ze zetten zelfs de arbeiders in de fabriek onder druk door hen te vertellen dat je buitenvliegt als je deel uitmaakt van een vakbond. Zelfs ordinaire sympatisanten werden ontslagen. En als we naar het ministerie van sociale zaken gaan dan geven ze niets om wat we hen te zeggen hebben. Zij werken voor de werkgevers, niet voor ons. » Naar aanleiding van de ontslagen lanceerde Batay Ouvriye een internationale campagne.

De mars van vrijdag was georganiseerd door een groep van 5 syndicale organisaties. De Haïtiaanse nationale politie en een gepantserd voertuig van de VN veiligheidsdiensten begeleidde de mars naar het SONAPI industriepark waar Haitiaanse oproerpolitie de toegang belemmerde. Op een nabijgelegen stand deelden de organisatoren kreoolse kopieën van de Haïtiaanse arbeidswet uit en riepen fabriekseigenaars en overheidsdiensten op de rechten van de werknemers te respecteren : « werknemers moeten kunnen leven, niet gewoon overleven » aldus Yannick Etienne.

[Show as slideshow]

The last shots from the report date from a few months ago. While the report does not mention the IHRC’s (Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission) failure, neither addresses the present political situation after the scandalously legitimated elections, still very much worth seeing.

Very much recommended. A part of the picture illuminated.

Fasten your seatbelts !

avec-papiers.be / Radio Centraal -

Terwijl veel kampen bedreigd worden door gedwongen uitwijzingen ontbreekt intussen aan daden rond zelfs de meest bescheiden plannen voor de bouw van nieuwe permanente huizen of heropbouw van buurten. Het risico is reëel dat de tijdelijke shelters – de enige alternatieven voor de tentenkampen die per honderden worden neergezet – al het geld voor de heropbouw zullen opsouperen.

Op politiek vlak zit de recent aangetrede rechts-populistische president Martelly (a.k.a. “Sweet Micky”) in een impasse met de aanstelling van een Eerste Minister. De twee louche en uiterst conservatieve figuren die hij tot nu voorstelde werden wandelen gestuurd door het parlement. Zowel parlement en senaat – die eveneens vernieuwd werden eerder dit jaar – blijven stevig in handen van Inité, de partij van ex-president Préval die onverbloemd massaal fraudeerde bij de verkiezingen. Bij de “correcties” van de kiesresultaten voor de presidentsverkiezingen had de internationale gemeenschap immers “vergeten” de resultaten voor parlement en senaat onder handen te nemen. Een perfect recept om het land onbestuurbaar te houden en zo de aanwezigheid van een arrogante internationale gemeenschap en haar gewapende hand – de MINUSTAH blauwhelmen – verder te legitimeren.

Daar stonden we dan met z’n vieren mekaar dwaas aan te kijken voor twee gesloten deuren. Ja dit was een schok. Hadden we nu naar beneden moeten lopen of naar boven ? Mijn reflex was het dak op. Liever ik op een instortend huis dan een instortend huis op mij.

De schok van 3,5 Richter veroorzaakte paniek en bepaalde de conversaties van de dag. Verschillende mensen raakten gewond bij het buitenspurten. Gebroken armen bij het vallen van de trap en dergelijk meer. Toch beter gewond als vermorzeld denk ik dan. Geef mij het dak maar.