24572: Burke (comment) Now I believe Blan means foreignor

[sak-pase@bimini.ws]

kathleen burke <kathleenburke704@hotmail.com


As the Senegaleze, SriLankan, and Asian troops here are referred to as 
"Blan."

Last night, the full moon was just slightly waning, taking the curse off our 
return to blackout conditions.  Battery-powered Radyo Ginen played a 
festival of wonderful old songs, when compas was king and musicians REALLY 
enjoyed strutting their stuff - accordians, flutes, drums:  Tropicana(still 
with us); Nemours Jean-Baptiste; El Saieh (note for Pete and Gage:  What was 
El Saieh's name before he changed it?) - it went on and on as Ti Boss and I 
sat on the terrasse, feeling the cool breezes.
Earlier in the day, Mark, the agronomist missionary from Michigan, stopped 
by after church and horrified me (and entertained me as well) with the story 
of how he was nearly caught in the crossfire last Sunday at Terre Rouge 
(which, despite AP, VOA, and Delva reports, is not in the Central Plateau, 
but just outside of Port au Prince).  An ancient ashram there was first 
converted into private dwellings and then taken over by the ancien militaire 
under Ramissainte Ravix.  Mark had taken public transportation, in the front 
seat of a truck.  The driver was stopped and the passengers told to get out 
and walk.  Further down, unbeknownst to Mark, were two friends of his who 
were at a different road block.  According to his perception, the MINISTAH 
and AM were both trying to get civilians in the middle.  "But they were not 
aiming guns at me."  It was not until after he left that it occurred to me 
that this was Sunday, the 20th, of which he spoke, and I had neglected to 
ask whether he was there before, during, or after the shooting.  One of my 
neighbors, Marisol, told me one of the U.N. soldiers killed was American, 
but I have not seen this anywhere else yet.
Every night, I see dark gray rain clouds passing overhead, and hope they 
stop and unload; so far, they have continued on to the North.
When I first came here in December of 99, the ceramics, woodworking, and 
metal ateliers were thriving with many workers.  When I moved here in 2000, 
it was the artisans of Papay who made the doors, on carved with the 
hospitality veve, and the bookcases, cabinets, and beds for the house I 
still occupy, formerly the home of a Belgian priest.  Now the ateliers are 
silent.  One of the former workers tells me how much he misses Bazelais 
Jean-Baptiste, "When he was here there was work; he got things going."  
Denis misses Bazelais, too.  "He got up each morning thinking of how he 
could help Haiti and Haitians."
Things started sliding badly by the end of 2001, when the president and 
vicepresident of BHD disagreed on policy and were stopped completely when 
Aristide sent his CIMO in January 2002 to shut down the Bois Verna bank, 
"the only bank run by peasants."  The then head of the Central Bank 
announced it was for the good of the depositors.  He was later exposed as 
corrupt, and a photocopy of a check made out to the Aristide government for 
$645,000.00 and signed by him was published by someone on this list (I 
forget if I got it directly or through the list).  Now there is a new head 
of the central bank, and the former president of BHD, who spent two months 
in jail when he tried to go to Florida, was trying to reopen it under his 
own auspices last year.  No depositor has been contacted.  There is a 
foundation for reimbursement for victims of cooperatives, another issue 
completely - these were unconnected to a bank and Aristide had encouraged 
his followers to invest in them.  Mostly, the directors took the money and 
ran.  They were not under any surveillance or control of the Central Bank.
With the fall of BHD, Koperan offices all over Haiti failed as well, and the 
boutiques in Bois Verna selling Haitian art and clothing next to the bank 
also failed.  Computer equipment and furniture were also seized.  I don't 
know what happened to the bank license.  The brick making enterprise in 
Papay (BHD was made of 240,000 golden bricks) has failed.  The tourist 
enterprise for Bassin Zim is gone.
(Guest houses were being constructed, and a restaurant, way back in 99 and 
00.  I understand from a beekeeper friend that a system like this was up and 
running successfully in Petit Goave in 2001.  Imagine it's been taken over 
by the ancien militaire).
There is concern about the large encampment of ex-militaire here in Hinche, 
which has moved from the agricultural school in Papay to another, larger 
facility on the outer borders.
Time for a Coke.   Kathleen Burke