30845: Wilson (reply) Security for Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Richard Wilson <riwilson_6442@msn.com>

This is a general observation from one having spent five years in higher 
education in Haiti and elsewhere and who reads the Corbett List regularly. 
Everyone I read (right, left and center; humanitarian and religious) recognizes 
the dire needs of this lovely and and its desperate people.  Some see 
government as the ultimate answer; others not.  Let me make a suggestion though 
concerning the development of Haiti.



The major role of government must not be care of the people, medically or 
economically.  It's role is to provide a secure environment in which the people 
can care for themselves.  This means eliminating corruption at all levels in 
the government so that people can feel secure in dealing with bureaucracy. 
This will encourage local development as well as international economic 
development.



In order to do the above the government must establish an incorruptible 
judiciary, as nearly as is humanly possible (including the police).  The 
judiciary (judges and prosecutors) must be unflappable in the face of threats 
and bribery making sure all are equal before the law.  Further, they must not 
allow themselves to be used by one vested interest or another as tools of 
vengeance but rather as a tool of justice (recognizing that on a human level is 
never possible, only God is able to provide perfect justice).  My impression in 
reading anguished cries for "justice" on the list is that justice is not the 
goal but personal or group vengeance and as long as that is the case nothing 
will be accomplished of any lasting or valuable results.



Police must seek the ideal of the old U. S. show "The Untouchables" who fought 
organized crime in Chicago.  These men are, of course human, but their 
commitment must be to enforcing the law equally and without rancor.  The lack 
of police nationally is a severe detriment to security in Haiti.



One unforgettable memory indelibly burned in my memory is the sight of a crowd 
chasing a young man past the house I was living in in Delmas.  In a few minute 
they returned dragging the youth along and swinging 2x4's at his head.  I asked 
one of my students what was going on.  he replied the man ahd stolen a gold 
necklace from a woman down the street.  The neighborhood crowd became a lynch 
mob because I asked my friend, "What will they do with him?"  He answered, 
"They will take him down the street and kill him."



The above short story illustrates several things:

    1.    Lack of law enforcement has in the past, and is now, requiring lynch 
law.

    2.    The need for a system by which the local citizens can call upon law 
enforcement for comfort and protection.

    3.    A judicial system that people can trust to do their best to provide 
redress to their grievances and hurts.



Haiti will never be economically independent of its neighbors.  It has neither 
the natural resources nor the infrastructure to do that.  What it does have is 
a great supply of willing and motivated workers who can succeed if they are 
given a level playing field upon which to play economically.  No one, "nwa blan 
oswa blan blan" can be induced to invest in a country and economy in which they 
are doing the same as if they were investing in the gambling tables of a 
casino.  The house wins.  In this case, the house is made up of the corrupt 
politicians, gangs, profiteers, and drug dealers who use Haiti as their own 
private cash cow.



Insist on outside forces, such as the U. N. and E. U., U. S. providing the 
initial infrastructure to establish a secure environment in which  Haiti and 
it's people can grow and thrive.



Richard F. Wilson