12692: Discontented residents foresee unrest in Haiti (MH - Aug 12,2002) (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Antoine Blanc <amprblanc@yahoo.fr>

Miami Herald, Mon, Aug. 12, 2002

Discontented residents foresee unrest in Haiti
BY NANCY SAN MARTIN
nsanmartin@herald.com


CAP-HAITIEN, Haiti -- In the streets of Haiti's second-largest city, the
traditional harbinger of political upheaval, the atmosphere of discontent is
almost palpable. It can be seen at the corner gas station, with its
shotgun-wielding guard. It can be heard from self-styled popular leaders.

''A lot of people are fed up. They are tired of hunger and poverty,'' said
Wilkenson Charles, 27, the head of one of the biggest grass-roots
organizations in Le Cap, or ''The Cap,'' as the locals call Cap-Haitien.
``The Cap is definitely next in line, but before we do anything, we have to
decide on a strategy.''

The ominous mood is the product of a variety of factors, principally the
political stagnation and economic deterioration that have characterized the
past two years of Jean-Bertrand Aristide's rule. Add a critical shortage of
fuel and the rumble of protest elsewhere in Haiti and the ingredients of
potential upheaval appear to be in place.

Even since a gang broke down a prison wall in Gonaives, which lies halfway
between here and the capital of Port-au-Prince, residents have been waiting
for some sort of cue to take to the streets. So far, there has been little
open defiance, but many say the future will bring turmoil.

''Most likely there will be trouble here,'' said Herve Jasmin, 30, an
unemployed house painter. ``It usually starts on the outskirts and then
moves into town.''

''Most people are not satisfied with Aristide, only those who have jobs are
satisfied,'' Jasmin said. ``Gonaives was first [with the unrest].
Petit-Goave is usually second. After that it's us. This government won't be
able to control it. They will have to go.''

The attitude is widely shared, and the fear of speaking out that pervades
the capital is generally absent here. Said Gilbertson Pierre, 40, a money
changer: ``If something happens here, things will probably blow up.''

The jailbreak, in which 159 prisoners escaped, sparked defiant
anti-government protests in Gonaives and random outbreaks of violence spread
to various parts of the country, but they have not yet reached Cap-Haitien,
which has often served as a barometer of national political attitudes.

In 1986, the anti-government protest movement that swept Jean-Claude ''Baby
Doc'' Duvalier -- the scion of a hated dynasty that ruled for more than 30
years -- out of office began in Cap-Haitien before there was a hint of
violence in the capital.

''If Cap-Haitien radically comes out against Aristide, that would send a
signal through the country, and it would especially resonate in the
capital,'' said a Western diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity.

''Everybody knows that if people from The Cap make trouble, there's going to
be trouble for a long time,'' said Charles, the grass-roots leader. ``We've
got a lot of power to make any kind of manifestation we want.''

Asked when action might be taken, he said: ``Maybe tomorrow. Maybe the next
day. I can't really say.''

Jean Myrto Julien, the highest-ranking official in Cap-Haitien, blames the
opposition for staging the jailbreak in Gonaives and trying to spread chaos
in order to destabilize the government.

''They sent people here to the hot areas to give money and try to incite an
uprising,'' said Julien, adding that an opposition group has been identified
and one suspect is behind bars.

''This person was found with seditious material,'' he said. ``But the trap
they set for the government has failed. This disease in Gonaives has not
affected Cap-Haitien yet and will not affect us.''

But maintaining order will be a challenge.

In addition to festering discontent, police in Cap-Haitien also have been
confronted with an increase in street crime and rising tensions due to a
fuel shortage.

A two-day delay in shipment during the weekend escalated into crisis mode
with the cost of fuel doubling on the black market and frustrated residents
lobbing bottles at night to keep robbers from entering homes and business
during electricity blackouts.

''What a coincidence that we don't have fuel at the same time there are
problems in Gonaives,'' said Jean Yves Cidor, 23, a car mechanic. ``The
government did that. Most of the power is in the hands of bandits.''

''We have problems because people are pretty aggressive when they don't have
gas,'' Michele Henoz, an armed guard at a Texaco station, said as he shooed
away angry motorists. ``I hope the situation doesn't get worse.''

Cap-Haitien, a city of about half a million, is one of the few lined with
sidewalks. Centuries-old buildings are reminiscent of a fading French
Quarter. Nearly every street is cluttered with vendors selling produce,
clothes and home products. But the economy relies heavily on fishing.

Those who are dependent on the trade said they are too busy trying to
survive to be bothered with politics.

''We don't pay attention to what is going on because there are problems
every day in this country,'' said Katy Joanis, 25, who lives in a fishing
village on the outskirts of town called La Rival. ''I wasn't for Aristide
from the beginning. Usually, presidents only take care of their own clans,''
she added.

''There is no Aristide for us,'' said Dieu Fait, a lifelong fisherman. ``We
put these people in power, but once they're in power, they don't worry about
us.

''Aristide has been here many times. He knows this village and the problems
we have here. If he wanted to, he would help,'' said Fait, 46, who has 10
children. ``I worry about my fishing, that's it. If I don't catch fish, my
children don't eat.''


http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/3851576.htm




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