22516: (Hermantin) Miami-Herald-Haitians arriving to discuss plans to rebuild (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Fri, Jun. 25, 2004


Haitians arriving to discuss plans to rebuild their nation

Haiti's Group 184, which helped oust former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide, brings its vision for a new Haiti to South Florida this weekend.

By JACQUELINE CHARLES

Miami Herald


For two years, they pounded the pavement of Port-au-Prince, demanding the
departure of Haiti's first democratically elected president.

Now with former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide gone and their
homeland at a critical crossroad, Haiti's civic leaders are ratcheting up
the rhetoric once more, hoping to rebuild the momentum they had before
Aristide's Feb. 29 ouster.

But as 20 of them arrive in South Florida today to promote their ''Caravan
of Hope'' -- a long-awaited discussion of their vision for a new Haiti --
these leaders will find a Haitian community still polarized over Aristide.

Many in the community are wondering whether the so-called Haitian
bourgeoisie has changed its mentality enough to understand it has to engage
with the masses and that its future in Haiti is tied to the welfare and
development of the country's poor.

The answer, say Haitian Americans, is essential in determining whether Group
184 will succeed in convincing all Haitians that Haiti's bourgeoisie and
economic elite is serious about ridding itself of the label ''Morally
Repugnant Elite'' by creating a ''new social contract'' that advocates
social and economic parity.

Group 184 is a Port-au-Prince based coalition of 184 groups that united in
Haiti to demand change under Aristide. Its hallmark is the ''new social
contract,'' a document that aims to break the barriers in Haitian society by
bringing all the classes together.

`VERY SKEPTICAL'

''The masses have been very skeptical about trusting the one on top,'' said
Eric Boucicaut, a South Florida Haitian activist helping to organize Group
184's visit, which includes a Saturday town hall meeting with the Haitian
community at Barry University.

'It has been both ways. Now with the `social contract,' we realize we have
to work together. The bourgeoisie cannot do it by itself, never. The masses
can do it, but it will take 200 years.''

But convincing Haitians of all class, color and political persuasions to put
politics and centuries of distrust aside is no easy feat. Neither is
convincing South Florida's Haitian community, which heavily influences
relatives back home.

''I am not entirely convinced that the business owners and so-called Haitian
elite have really come to terms that many of the problems emanating out of
Haiti -- the poverty, the hopelessness, the social upheaval and lack of
social parity -- are partly due to their refusal to infuse real social
change in the country,'' said Marvin Dejean, vice president of Minority
Empowerment & Development, which works with Haitians in Broward County.
``They may not be the sole source of the problem, but they certainly are
part of the problem.''

Lucie Tondreau, a Miami-Dade Aristide supporter, said before discussing a
new social contract with Haitians, the group must talk about making
reparations to Haiti's poor masses by helping them improve their quality of
life.

''We are talking about a small group of families that have run Haiti and
today they are talking about a new social contract? With whom and for
what?'' she asked.

``These people are giving us lip service . . . Show me you are investing in
the country, show me what you are doing to invest in schools, hospitals.
These people are there to grab and not give.''

SEEKING KEY ROLE

Andy Apaid Jr., a Haitian businessman and leader of Group 184, said civic
leaders are serious about playing a critical role in Haiti's future, a role
that requires the support of all Haitians, not just those on the island.

His group, he said, includes a coalition representing every facet of Haitian
society, from the business elite to the peasantry.

''We want for members of the diaspora to better understand what the group is
and what it is made of, its historical role for today and the future and
what historical role it wants to play,'' said Apaid.

He plans to take his ''Caravan of Hope'' to Orlando on Sunday, and then to
the Northeast United States and Canada later this summer.

Among the group's goals: good governance, fair and clean elections and
delivering to the Haitian people by the end of this year, a document that
every Haitian can sign. That document -- the ''new social contract'' -- is a
commitment by every Haitian to do away with polarizing barriers that have
haunted Haiti for so long.

''This document is supposed to bring about a commitment by all these social
classes in a way we have never seen in our history,'' Apaid said.

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