Policing Haiti TIME's Kathie Klarreich
visits with U.N. peacekeepers in the troubled
Caribbean nation By
KATHIE KLARREICH
January
5, 2006 - As Haiti prepares for its on-again,
off-again presidential vote, the chief guarantor
of stability is the U.N. Stabilization Mission
in Haiti (MINUSTAH). And even that guarantee is
a limited one. The 9,600 person force is made up
of combined civilian police and military
personnel from several dozen countries and is
led by the Brazilians who are proud of their
humanitarian work--building and road repair,
medical treatment and trash collection, all
crucial tasks in a country where basic services
have all but collapsed. (The U.S., which sent
20,000 troops into Haiti in 1994, is not part of
MINUSTAH and has refused to commit troops.) The
Brazilians, however, recognize that the Mission
has been unable to provide widespread security
or stop the crime and political killings that
plague Haiti. The proliferation of guns
continues to increase along with drug
trafficking across the porous border of the
Dominican Republic and miles of unmanned
coastline, making the country particularly
difficult to stabilize. Some gang leaders work
for themselves and profit from the judicial
vacuum, while others have ties to various power
sources, including politicians and businessmen.
According to international observers and
political party activists, controlling the
streets is a way to control the upcoming vote,
so gang warfare will continue to escalate as
voting day grows near.
“Security is
the first step to solving Haiti’s
problems,” says Fernando Cunha Mattos of
MINUSTAH’s Brazilian battalion, “but by
itself, it is not enough.” And most
believe that, given Haiti's wretched
track record, the government can’t
provide security without outside help,
even though many see international
assistance as ineffective at best;
insiders call MINUSTAH the trash
mission, pointing to rejects from other
missions installed as department heads,
and only underdeveloped countries, such
as Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Uruguay, as
participants. “Our track record is
lamentable,” admits a UN official. And
as crime encroaches on once safe areas
such as Pétionville and Péguyville,
southeast of the capital, frustrated
Haitians are becoming increasingly more
hostile toward MINUSTAH. So far the
Mission has lost eight people, the most
recent on Christmas Eve when gunmen shot
and killed a Jordanian peacekeeper on
patrol.
—Kathie
Klarreich is based in Miami and covers
Haitian affairs for Time. Her book
"Madame Dread: A Tale of Love, Vodou and
Civil Strife in Haiti" was published
recently by Nation Books. (madamedread.com)
January
5, 2006 - As Haiti prepares for its on-again,
off-again presidential vote, the chief guarantor
of stability is the U.N. Stabilization Mission
in Haiti (MINUSTAH). And even that guarantee is
a limited one. The 9,600 person force is made up
of combined civilian police and military
personnel from several dozen countries and is
led by the Brazilians who are proud of their
humanitarian work--building and road repair,
medical treatment and trash collection, all
crucial tasks in a country where basic services
have all but collapsed. (The U.S., which sent
20,000 troops into Haiti in 1994, is not part of
MINUSTAH and has refused to commit troops.) The
Brazilians, however, recognize that the Mission
has been unable to provide widespread security
or stop the crime and political killings that
plague Haiti. The proliferation of guns
continues to increase along with drug
trafficking across the porous border of the
Dominican Republic and miles of unmanned
coastline, making the country particularly
difficult to stabilize. Some gang leaders work
for themselves and profit from the judicial
vacuum, while others have ties to various power
sources, including politicians and businessmen.
According to international observers and
political party activists, controlling the
streets is a way to control the upcoming vote,
so gang warfare will continue to escalate as
voting day grows near.