30639: Forrest (reply) RE: 30613: Kathleen (reflections) 30588, 30598 (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: fmooy@tulane.edu

I live in down town Port-au-Prince (La Ville) and all I can say in response is 
that the security situation really has gotten a lot better. I am not a Haitian 
native, but my sense is that any Haitian would tell you the same. Of course, 
the situation is not perfect (seems that nothing ever was in Haiti), but people 
(including myself) feel generally safe here now. As you say, violent attacks 
like rape have not become a "non-issue" but I would argue that the same is true 
in the United States (or wherever you happen to live).

There are bad people out there who would do bad things, both here in Haiti as 
well as my hometown of New Orleans and all over the world, but that will not 
prevent me from living my life here any more than it would back home and all of 
my friends here feel the same. Last Sunday evening I went to a carnival-type 
parade near the National Capital here. There must have been at least 3,000 
people present, all dancing and laughing and singing well into the night. 
Concerts / parades of that sort are not unusual here in the capital now which 
is a dramatic change from the previous several years here.

In the end, the question of security is a personal one. For me, there are 
places in the United States that feel more "unsafe" than Haiti does to me right 
now, but that does not mean that Haiti's problems are over.

Your Friend,

Forrest Mooy
Fonkoze S.A. Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Juris Doctor Candidate, May 2009
Tulane University Law School
email: fmooy@tulane.edu