In the News: What’s driving ‘Baby Doc’ Duvalier’s return from exile?

by Sonia Verma
Globe and Mail, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2011

Jean-Claude Duvalier spent his first full day in his homeland holed up in the Karibe, a luxury hotel with a swim-up bar, day spa and room service. He met with supporters before cancelling a news conference, leaving long-time Haiti observers absolutely bewildered as to the motives behind the deposed despot’s return after nearly 25 years spent in exile.

Speculation over 59-year-old “Baby Doc’s” return ran the gamut from a secret plot by Haitian President René Préval to divert attention away from a fraud-filled election to an international conspiracy to destabilize Mr. Préval himself. Virtually the only thing analysts seem to agree on is that Mr. Duvalier’s apparent reasons for returning are false: “I’m not here for politics,” he told Radio Caraibes. “I’m here for the reconstruction of Haiti.”

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In the News: Unstable Foundations: Human Rights of Haiti’s 1.5 Million IDPs

by Mark Schuller, Huffington Post

Haiti’s 1.5 million homeless have once again become invisible. Because they are not seen or heard in mainstream media, most people assume things are improving, the problem solved.

Unfortunately they are wrong.

While it goes unseen, and therefore the U.S. Congress is not being pressured during this midterm election season to end the deadlock that is holding up 1.15 billion dollars in promised aid to Haiti, the situation remains quite urgent.

I ended my last posting — while finishing a study on the camps for 1.5 million people made homeless by Haiti’s earthquake — by asking: like the thousands who are contemplating moving back into their damaged homes, are Haiti’s 1.5 million IDPs just falling through the cracks, or is the foundation itself unsound?

Unfortunately the answer is that the foundation itself appears to be unsound.
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Exagerated Claims: Assessing the Canadian Military’s Haiti Earthquake Response

by Roger Annis
Published in Haiti Liberte, Vol 3 #12, October 6, 2010

For the past several months, the Canadian armed forces have staged speaking events in cities across Canada to vaunt its role in Haiti in the month following the earthquake. Vancouver got its turn on Sept. 17 when one of the commanders of the two warships sent to Haiti shortly after the earthquake spoke at two events.

Commander Josée Kurtz of HMCS Halifax spoke before a small public forum hosted by the Liu Institute for Global Issues at the University of British Columbia. For several weeks prior, the Institute featured a large photo display at its entrance of the military's presence in Haiti following the earthquake, a mission it calls Operation Hestia.

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In the News: Players, Pimpls, and Hustlers: Democracy at Work in Haiti

by Jaja Atenra. Originally posted at Examiner.com

There is a famous Haitian proverb that says, Dye mon, gen mon, “beyond the mountains, more mountains.” This proverb sums up Haiti’s 200 year struggle for independence. The latest mountain facing Haitian people’ struggle for independence is there effort to implement democracy in Haiti which has been undermined by the players (U.S. foreign policymakers), pimps (Haitian government officials), and hustlers (Haitian elite families).

A “player” is defined as someone who is skilled at manipulating (“playing”) others by pretending to care about them, when in reality they are only interested in physical gratification or monetary gain. U.S. foreign policymakers have acted as “players” when devising U.S. foreign policy in Haiti. U.S. foreign policy has for decades been influential in defining the economic and political system in Haiti.

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