13487: (Chamberlain: news feature) Haiti-Spirit Politics (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By PAISLEY DODDS

   PORT-AU-PRINCE, Oct 30 (AP) -- Shaking bundles of pungent leaves and
swaying to a frenzied drum beat, hundreds of Haitians flock to a temple to
beg the spirits for U.S. visas and lucky lottery numbers.
   At a time of deepening poverty and despair, many people in this
Caribbean country see only one way out.
   "Voodoo is Haiti's only hope," says Solange Patrice, a 19-year-old
street vendor who took Wednesday off to make meager offerings of coins and
candles at a voodoo temple. "We have nothing else -- unless you're willing
to risk your life to make it to the United States."
   On Tuesday, more than 200 Haitians did just that, jumping from a ship
that ran aground in Miami with the Coast Guard in pursuit.
   The journey was one of hundreds each year by Haitians who brave the sea
in rickety, overcrowded boats. Dozens have died in such attempts this year.
And unlike Cubans who reach dry land, Haitian migrants usually are returned
home.
   "We are all desperate," said Marie Pierre, a 35-year-old vendor in
Port-au-Prince's chaotic marketplace who sells leaves, candles and
moonshine as offerings to the spirits.
   The government blames the situation on the lack of international aid,
suspended after the Lavalas Family party of President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide swept flawed elections in 2000. Two years later, the country is
locked in a political stalemate. Two-thirds of workers are unemployed and
crime is on the rise.
   Until foreign aid is restored, people will continue to flee to U.S.
shores, said government spokesman Mario Dupuy.
   But even in the best of times, Haiti is a country of scant resources,
with much of its arable land ravaged by decades of deforestation.
   For people who make do on less than a dollar a day, voodoo
understandably has strong appeal.
   "Voodoo has always been about survival when hope seems lost," said
Laennec Hurbon, an anthropologist and author of several books on the
religion that evolved in the 17th century when the French brought slaves to
Haiti. "When people feel abandoned, that desperation manifests itself in
voodoo."
   On Tuesday at the Desermite temple, songs asking the gods for U.S. visas
and lucky lottery numbers reverberated against the concrete blocks as
believers stomped their feet. Some fell to the ground, believing they were
possessed.
   "Open the door for us if it is closed!" worshippers wearing brightly
colored satin scarves sang in Creole as they waved white candles.
   Practitioners believe in a supreme God and spirits who link the human
with the divine, and who are petitioned by offerings that include
everything from rum to roosters.
   "Every day we make offerings and people come to see me," said Exilien
Francois, 75, a voodoo priest or houngan. "Even though they don't have much
to give me or the spirits, we will keep praying. We have to."
   Voodoo, or Voudou, as preferrd by Haitians, only became recognized as a
formal religion in 1987, under a new constitution that recognizes the
rights of all religions. But this fusion of West African beliefs has long
been seen as a path toward emancipation.
   In 1791, an escaped slave named Boukman gathered thousands of followers
in the forests of northern Haiti and sacrificed a wild boar. He pledged
that with the spirits' help, he would liberate his people and free Haiti.
   After 10 years of bloodshed, slavery ended and Haiti became the world's
first black republic, making Boukman a hero and giving special prominence
to the religion.
   Slaves forced to practice Catholicism remained loyal to their African
religions in secret by adopting Catholic saints to coincide with African
spirits. The Virgin Mary became Erzulie, St. John became Ogun, a warrior
spirit.
   Still, voodoo worshippers were persecuted, with a church-led campaign in
the 1940s leading to the destruction of temples and sacred objects. Voodoo
only became recognized as a formal religion in 1987, under a new
constitution that recognizes the rights of all religions.
   Today, voodoo is an inseparable part of Haiti's rich culture of art,
literature, music and film. Hymns are heard on the radio, and voodoo
ceremonies are broadcast on television along with Christian services.