22188: (Chamberlain) Haiti-Leaving in Crisis (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By PAISLEY DODDS

   MAPOU, Haiti, May 31 (AP) -- The American troops who came to Haiti to
keep order after a bloody revolt ousted its president now find themselves
helping out in a different crisis as they prepare to leave a nation
devastated by floods.
   The troops control the few helicopters that can reach inaccessible areas
ravaged by floods that have killed more than 1,700 in Haiti and the
Dominican Republic. In the past few days, they have airlifted more than
100,000 pounds of food and drinking water and evacuated the injured from
submerged towns like Mapou.
   But the Americans symbolically hand over the operation to a United
Nations force Tuesday, even though only a fraction of the planned 8,000
troops and police are here yet.
   Most of the 1,900 U.S. troops will stay until the end of June, but what
happens after that is an open question. The U.N. forces haven't brought
helicopters needed to help flood victims, and Haitians will need all the
help they can get.
   "On the one hand, we'll leave with a sense of accomplishment," said U.S.
Marine Lt. Col. Dave Lapan, spokesman for the U.S.-led multinational task
force that was sent to secure and stabilize the nation. "On the other hand,
there's so much this place needs."
   Most Marines arrived three months ago, in the days following the Feb. 29
ouster of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The Marines had a mixed
welcome, with hostility from Aristide supporters that was much different
from the joyous reception they got in 1994 when they invaded to restore
Aristide after a 1991 coup.
   Then, nearly a week ago, the floods and mudslides brought on by three
days of heavy rain wiped out entire villages in Haiti's southeast corner
around a farming community called Mapou. More than 1,700 people were killed
in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and the Red Cross estimates 1,500 are
missing around Mapou alone.
   The troops' flood relief efforts have muted much of the initial
criticism levied from the Aristide crisis. Hurrying to help people in
submerged villages, the U.S. troops control the few available helicopters
and have become key to getting aid to inaccessible areas. In the past few
days, they have airlifted more than 100,000 pounds of food and drinking
water and evacuated the injured.
   In addition, troops have cleared mini-mountains of garbage, refurbished
slum schools, donated notebooks and pencils and even played soccer with
street gangs loyal to Aristide.
   Some say the U.S. troops should stay longer. U.S. Rep. Kendrick B. Meek,
D-Fla., on Friday urged President Bush to provide more emergency aid,
saying the "American troop presence in Haiti is needed now more than ever."
   Proponents of that view point to the need for a stable, economically
viable Haiti to discourage boat people and to fight drug traffickers who
have made Haiti a major conduit for Colombian cocaine bound for the United
States.
   "Such American involvement will help promote democracy and stability,
thereby reducing the possibility of illegal immigration," Meek said.
   Meek, who represents the U.S. constituency with the largest Haitian
population, called a planned $50,000 in U.S. disaster aid "a pittance and
wholly inadequate to properly respond to one of the worst natural disasters
in Caribbean history."
   The U.S. Marines led a force of 3,600 including French, Canadian and
Chilean troops in a mission where it's clear that with more time they could
do more. Despite a lull in the violence, Haitian factions on all sides
remain armed.
   The rainy season begins Tuesday and more natural disasters also
threaten. A team from the International Committee of the Red Cross spotted
dams near three villages that appear likely to burst if pressured with more
rain, said spokesman Bernard Barrette.
   Desperate Mapou survivors have been stealing food aid from each other.
As military helicopters swooped down every 10 minutes with more aid Sunday,
some 1,000 Haitians stood waiting in the 90-degree heat.
   The mayor of the southern Haitian town of Grand Gosier said many needy
people remain out of reach. Neddy Rabel, the mayor, said he helped bury 103
people in Grand Gosier and another 176 in nearby Kadidier last week. Some
100 people are missing and presumed dead and that would raise the official
death toll to more than 1,700.
   "People have been hiding in corn fields and jumping each other at night
to get rice and other food," said U.S. Marine Cpl. Scott Rossman, 21, of
Altoona, Pa. "But at the end of the day at least they have food."
   With hills denuded of most trees, similar disasters threaten other
towns, straining the U.N. force's original task of tending to Haiti's other
daunting needs.
   "We don't have the luxury of time," Lapan said. The Marines, all from
Camp Lejeune, N.C., are scheduled to go to Iraq next.
   "Even if we stayed here a year there are still things that tear at your
heart," Lapan said. "You could spend years building schools. In a
relatively short time, we've done a lot to help."