22463: (Chamberlain) Haiti-US Troops (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By AMY BRACKEN

   PORT-AU-PRINCE, June 22 (AP) -- With their mission in Haiti drawing
close to an end, U.S. Marines on Tuesday presented slum residents with a
refurbished soccer field they created by removing trash, laying dirt and
setting up nets.
   U.S. Ambassador James Foley and Haiti's U.S.-backed interim Prime
Minister Gerard Latortue spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony for the field
in Cite Soleil, an area plagued by grinding poverty and violence.
   "This is an area that's one of the most forsaken places on Earth, at
least in this Hemisphere," said Foley, referring to the slum of tin-roofed
shacks.
   Troops cleared garbage and rocks, and laid dirt and seed for grass on
the field residents had created out of a space in an abandoned housing
project. The field, however, had long been neglected.
   While soccer remains one of the most popular games in Haiti, political
turmoil, civil unrest and poverty have kept the game from being played
seriously. Haiti's national soccer stadium is dilapidated and unable to
host official matches.
   Residents praised the field on Tuesday, but said that without programs
to tackle poverty and crime, the field will be useless.
   "People get killed all around here," said Williams Pierre, a 31-year-old
resident who said he worries about violence each day.
   Lt. Col. David Lapan said U.S. troops have conducted patrols in the area
and worked on several small construction projects in Cite Soleil, including
cleaning a canal and repairing schools and clinics.
   The 3,600 U.S. troops leading a multinational task force were sent to
Haiti after rebels launched a three-week rebellion that led to the ouster
of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide on Feb. 29.
   The United States will hand over the mission's responsibility on Friday
to Brazilian troops, who will head a six-month U.N. peacekeeping mission
that is expected to swell to 6,700 troops and 1,622 civilian police. Only a
dozen or so U.S. troops will stay on as part of the U.N. mission.
   Latortue promised Cite Soleil residents continued improvements.
   "You can count on us. We're counting on you," Latortue said.