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6236: Responding off-line (fwd)
From: archim <archim@globelsud.net>
Dear Amy,
I am VERY pleased that you questioned the presence of the Caricom
visitors in Haiti during the election on 21 Nov. I will even try to
get their names for you if you wish. You are exactly correct; there
were five persons (2 men and 3 women) who were in P-a-P during the
election, and were identified as being Caricom representatives. They
stayed at the Olofson Hotel. They were not "official" but they were
observing in downtown P-a-P. They did not go anywhere else; they were
not in Petion-Ville where I live.
Since they were not official "observers", and since Caricom states
that it did not send any observers, then I would take it that John
Compton's statement was likewise un-official, and as a matter of fact,
UNREPRESENTATIVE of the situation in Haiti. Since those visitors were
not official, I find it hard to accept the statement of John Compton
regarding the percentage of voters, situation of voting stations, etc.
I hope you delve further into this. We who live in Haiti and KNOW what
is going on are completely ignored by the news media and persons like
John Compton.
I have lived in Haiti for almost 15 years and I am pretty-much of
an authority on Haitian ways and activities. For instance, I gave a
portion of our front yard to the polling station workers. The station
was set-up in front of my house. I watched them all day long, except
for the hours 9am - 11:30am when I was at church. I sent a report to
the Corbett List and it was posted. It was an "on-site" report. We
even made lunch for the polling station workers, provided them with
water all day long, and loaned them our outside chairs and table. The
guys in my house (we are a youth hostel) gave out free limeade to
those who came to vote...for part of the day. We even loaned a radio
so they could play music! It was a great day and we participated and
WE observed first-hand, and I can OFICIALLY state that many, many
persons came to vote. I did not count, but it was a big crowd and an
all-day affair. They opened at 8am and closed at 6pm when I drove the
workers down the hill to the local police station. Additionally, two
of our residents worked at another local polling station in Pelerin 2,
and the same situation existed there: lots of voters!
Now, most of those coming to vote were the regular Haitians, not
any particular select crowd. Although I live in the middle of the
"elite" section, most of the "elite" persons did not come to vote
because they knew Aristide would win and were opposed to him. The
"elite"comprise no more than 5% of the Haitian people. In other words,
the PEOPLE chose their president, which is what democracy is supposed
to be all about, and they are ecstatic, as am I. None of the
opposition candidates even speak to one another, let alone try to work
for the development of Haiti
So, please look into the situation with the Caricom
"representatives" and see what you can do; I'm tired of trting to
straightgen them all out!
I am going to forward a copy of this to Bob and let him decide if
it is something he wishes to post. Also, if the article is still in my
file, I will forward a copy of my "Rooters" press release.
Best wishes,
Fr. Michael Graves (archim)