29496: Vedrine (article): What to do with the Haitian army? (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: E Vedrine <evedrine@hotmail.com>


"WHAT TO DO WITH  THE HAITIAN ARMY?"

By Emmanuel W. VEDRINE
Boston Haitian Reporter,
November 2006

It’s not a question of rushing to say “long live” or “down with” the Haitian 
army. One of our problems is that Haitians are very emotional. They act upon 
emotions for any little thing.
For a long time, I’ve been following the psychology of some (conservative) 
Haitians on the internet on how they would approach issues regarding the army. 
The worst is that those that I notice who so-called got far in school don’t 
even take time sometimes to do some logical analysis. Rather, let their emotion 
and fanatism carry them away.  Therefore, “Voye monte” or just talking for 
talking, somehow, has always found a little spot.

If some of us would agree to see the army’s return, I believe that we’d have to 
be very precise in terms of exactly what army we’d like to see:
• Would most Haitians like to see the return of a repressive army again?

• Would the Haitian people like to see a puppet army that’s only waiting for 
orders from abroad to kill its own people?

• Would the Haitian People like to see an army that would be doing coups back 
and forth in order to put people it wants in power?

• Would the Haitian people like to see an army that is in favor of a small 
group, and one that is defending only the interest of foreigners?

I don’t believe in just talking for talking when we want to address, for sure, 
important issues concerning Haiti. It is quite clear that the few men enrolled 
in the Haitian Police, without having real or heavy weapons, won’t be able to 
do an efficient work to provide security for the whole population, to disarm 
bandits, kidnapers who are still circulating in the country and who are 
terrorizing the population through their crimes. But, nevertheless, does it 
require the return of the old army that gave repugnance to the Haitian people 
after its disappearance? Here, we say “disappearance” because it’s not really 
functioning since a long time and neither the Haitian parliament yet voted on 
its physical elimination.

Yes, Haiti needs an “armed forces” that does not need to be called “the army”. 
Me, personally, I see a national guard corps that would be spread out 
throughout the country and to give at the same time, the reinforcement needed 
by  the national police force. How to recruit these people? A crucial question 
for us to think about. Should they include in it former servicemen who already 
had records, those who have their hands dipped in all sort of crimes? Another 
question to think about: Who is going to train them and to serve whom? And I 
don’t believe the most important thing would be to teach them only how to shoot 
as skills.

In our discussion, I rather see a whole program focusing on civics. That is, it 
would be important for them to receive a formation that would define the 
purpose of their works towards the motherland, a formation where they would not 
be seen as the people’s enemy (the way the people see the old army), but rather 
friends who are protecting the people. It’s not just writing long literature in 
the French language about this issue (as I’ve read some writings related to it) 
thinking that’s going to solve Haiti’s complex problems. But instead, it would 
be better to come around the table, participate in on-line forums in order to 
exchange ideas, and to think together about Haiti’s all problems and see the 
possible solutions.

What does Haiti really need? Gosh, so many things that we would include in this 
answer. First, when analyzing the problems from the time of Duvalier’s 
departure (February 7, 1986) up until now, we notice such a big gap, what some 
people would call “political vacuum”. We see talking for talking in almost all 
great issues that should have been carefully discussed, we see more fanatism, 
and some people who are labeling themselves as communists, Marxist-Lenists, 
liberalists, socialists, indeed all “ist” we could cite. But meanwhile, the 
real problem is never tackled on a basis to end up to anything concrete in the 
advantage of the mass who has been suffering for so many years.

It’s clear that it is not such and such political party or a particular leader 
or such and such presidential candidate who is going to solve the country’s 
problems. We need laws (not “lwa” or “native spirits inherited from Africa” or 
gods who are dumb since the word ‘lwa’ (in Creole) carries the meaning of laws 
and spirits in the Haitian language, but rather “real laws” voted by the 
parliament and principles for everyone to follow. Laws should have been one for 
all; in other word, observed by everyone without any distinction and those who 
violate them should have been punished. First of all, a president or a prime 
minister shouldn’t have had any right to act the way they want to as supreme 
chief. A real parliament should have been there to question them about what’s 
going on, why the abuse of power and bring them to justice. But, do we have yet 
such a parliament? What have been the work of group of individuals, the civil 
society, so on and so forth in issues like this, in watching to see if those 
who are leading are violating the laws or they aren’t above the law, or if laws 
are being used as toilet tissues?

The answer to all of these questions remain to be a mystery for many of us who 
are still dreaming of changes in Haiti. Again, Haitians act with emotions in 
almost everything they are doing. Let’s take our time, let’s calm down in order 
to analyze together Haiti’s problems. It’s not only a single leader, or 
political party which is the source of the problems, but rather a legacy for 
more than two hundred years and the mentality that need to be changed. So, 
let’s go to the source of the problem to analyze it and then see what we can 
come up as prescription for Haiti. And most of all, by begin to change our way 
of thinking and acting.

E. W. Védrine is an author and linguist who writes frequently on cultural 
issues related to Haiti and its Diaspora. He lives in Boston.

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