28176: Hermantin(News)Less poverty, more hope (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Wed, Mar. 29, 2006


HAITI
Less poverty, more hope

BY RENE GARCIA PREVAL


Ten years ago, when I became the 55th president of Haiti through democratic 
elections, little did I realize that 196 years of strife, foreign interventions 
and poor governance would be so difficult to overcome. Yet even against the 
odds, our government worked to redress two centuries of inequality. We tried to 
tackle, with extremely limited means, some of the most daunting problems that 
have afflicted our country. We built schools, roads and irrigation systems. We 
initiated a much needed agrarian reform. We confronted the evil of corruption 
and addressed the dire shortcomings of an ailing judicial system.

Today, I believe, we could have done better.

So when a delegation of peasants urged me in the summer of 2005 to become a 
candidate for the upcoming elections, my immediate reaction was to decline. But 
the insistence of my neighbors, whose determination deserved respect, gradually 
weakened my resistance. I also had become increasingly involved in local 
projects and aware that successful local programs had to be extended to other 
distressed localities in Haiti via structured national policies.

Thus, on Feb. 7, nearly two million Haitians braved doomsday scenarios and 
organizational lapses to send a message to the world: We, too, want to live in 
peace and dignity and build a better life. They queued in the hot Caribbean sun 
for hours to demonstrate to the world that violence is not, as it had been too 
often written and uttered, a ``Haitian trait.''

Now I have become the 57th president of my troubled nation. Here is a thumbnail 
sketch of our predicament:

• An astonishing 50 percent of our population lives under poverty line.

• The infant mortality rate is 61 per thousand.

• The unemployment rate affects more than one fifth of our labor force.

• After years of willful neglect, our infrastructures are quasi nonexistent.

The challenges are great. I know that we are a resilient and proud people 
nurtured by a glorious past, but we have failed to take advantage of many 
opportunities to turn the tide. Now, we must reconcile and reunite to avoid 
getting deeper into this abyss in which we find ourselves.

The first thing that the government that emerges from parliamentary elections 
and I must do is to reach out to all our compatriots across the political and 
class divides that have paralyzed our country for two centuries. To that end, I 
have already begun consultations with many leaders of other political parties 
as well as those from society at large. Their positive response has, thus far, 
encouraged me to continue that dialogue and work on a positive agenda:

• Develop an environment to attract investments from local entrepreneurs, from 
Haitian living abroad and from international investors. That environment 
constitutes a prerequisite for job creation in the private sector. Providing 
security and building our basic infrastructures are key to that end.

• Create a truly independent justice system and a national police force that 
serves community interests.

• Restore our environment while affording farmers means to feed our children.

We cannot accomplish much of our goals alone.

While the U.N. Stabilization Mission in Haiti has performed admirably, we 
believe its composition should be modified so as to focus more on the training 
and strengthening of our police force and on reinforcing our institutions. We 
hope that the international community will continue to help us lay the 
groundwork for a better Haiti.

We are further encouraged by recent reports suggesting that the Hemispheric 
Opportunity Through Partnership Encouragement Act, an offspring of an earlier 
version called Haitian Economic Recovery Opportunity Act, is being once again 
seriously considered. Introduced by Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, the bill will 
allow up to 3.5 percent of total U.S. imports to arrive from Haiti duty free, a 
quite needed boost to Haiti's failing economy.

This will not be a panacea. But it is estimated that the passing of this bill 
could generate around 80,000 jobs. Jobs need to be created here. And we must do 
it fast to bring a lasting solution to the endemic violence that has plagued 
some of our cities.

We also strongly believe that the rich human resources of the Haitian diaspora 
can be an invaluable asset in rebuilding Haiti. We are appealing to the many 
Haitians living abroad and working in technology, the environment, health and 
education to provide our ailing country the resources it needs to recover and 
flourish.

A brighter future

We are aware that all the assistance in the world cannot make up for poor 
governance. And, as the state has grown to be the country's largest employer, 
corruption and lack of efficiency have permeated all levels of government. This 
must change.

Though ravaged, Haiti is not the wretched land as so often described in the 
media. It is a land of hope for more than eight million people. I cannot 
achieve miracles, nor have I been promising any. But I feel I have the 
responsibility to the Haitian people to open doorways on a brighter future: 
less poverty, less inequality, more wealth, more hope.

This is why I ran again for president.

René Garcia Préval is president-elect of Haiti.