When Americans hear about a country where only four of ten people have clean drinking water¹, eight of ten live in poverty, one in twenty lives with AIDS or HIV, the life expectancy is just 51 years old, only half of the population is literate², and political unrest is the way of life, most would think of Africa. It would be very surprising to most Americans that these bleak statistics belong to a nation in our very own backyard: Haiti.

Haiti has been in the news this month following a rebellion against the government in many Haitian cities by the Artibonite Resistance Front. The ARF is seeking to overthrow democratically elected president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. This rebellion has led to the deaths of over 60 people and the takeover of Gonaïves and Cap-Haitien, two of Haiti's largest cities. Many in the international community are fearful that the rebellion could grow larger and more violent, following recent reports that ARF leaders are supported by influential anti-Aristide figures who led a 1991 military coup in which Aristide was overthrown. The ambitious and violent goals of the ARF, which was formerly known as the Cannibal Army, were articulated by its leader in Gonaïves, Butteur Metayer, who, stinking of rum, declared on February 5, "We have a plan to take St.-Marc [an embattled city south of Gonaïves]. Then we will march to the capital. And there is only one goal when we get to the capital: the palace."³

To understand this recent violent uprising, it is important to understand the history of Haiti. Haiti was born out of violence in the late 18th century when the slave majority began an uprising against their French masters. By 1804, the slaves had defeated the French and formed the Republic of Haiti, which Haitians proudly call the first black republic.

Over the next two centuries, violence was a way of life in Haiti; It has experienced 30 coups in its 200 year history. The government went from one dictatorship to another, including several military-led governments, and even a brief period of American occupation in the 1920s and 1930s. This occupation set the stage for a century of American aid and influence in Haiti.

The AIDS epidemic and the loss of tourism as a major market, coupled with the continued dictatorship of the oppressive Duvalier family, intensified the suffering of the Haitian people in the 1980s. Protests against the government began to fill the streets of Haitian cities crying for the end of the dictatorship.

The cries were answered in the form of Jean-Claude Duvalier's fleeing the country, and a temporary military takeover that promised democracy. After a few failures, Haiti finally conducted elections in 1990 and elected Aristide, a leftist Roman Catholic priest, by an overwhelming majority. Unfortunately, the political violence that had plagued Haiti throughout its history reared its ugly head just the next year when military leaders, sponsored by wealthy Haitians who felt alienated by Aristide's reformist policies, deposed Aristide and resumed dictatorial rule.

For three years the international community resisted using forceful intervention in Haiti, but in 1994, following a massive influx of Haitian refugees, the United States deployed 21,000 troops to reinstate Aristide. The leaders of the overthrow were sent into exile, and Aristide resumed rule.

Following his reinstatement, Aristide went about the paranoid business of removing institutions that posed a threat to his rule. Among these threats were the military and the police. Aristide restructured the police force, placing mostly political cronies in positions of power.⁴ At the same time, Aristide became reliant on armed, pro-government gangs, many of which were provided guns. The weakened police force left Haiti ripe for the political unrest of its history.

In 2000, Aristide was re-elected in elections that many Haitians and outside observers viewed as fraudulent. This corruption alienated Aristide's opposition and the international community whose financial support is so vital to Haiti's well-being. The US and the European Union cut all funds for Haiti in the wake of these elections, crippling an already disastrously impoverished nation.

This brings us to the past few months, in which Haitian gangs, many of whom were formerly the pro-government forces that Aristide armed in 1994, became frustrated both by the irregular elections and Aristide's inability to combat Haiti's social problems without the foreign aid on which they have relied for so long. Armed with Aristide's guns and rage against a democracy that does not seem to be working for the people, the rebels have conjured up images of past violence.

The question in all of this is, of course, what role should the US play in helping Haiti find peace? A US-brokered deal that would have created a multi-party cabinet system while allowing Aristide to remain in power was rejected by opposition leaders who seem intent on seeing Aristide's removal from office.⁵ From the beginning, the Bush administration has stated that Aristide should finish his term, but that he must be willing to make political concessions. They have also resisted requests from some to become involved militarily. "There is, frankly, no enthusiasm right now for sending in military or police forces to put down the violence that we are seeing," Secretary of State Colin Powell said. "What we want to do right now is find a political solution, and then there are willing nations that would come forward with a police presence to implement the political agreement that the sides come to."⁶

Following the failure of the aforementioned peace plan, it seems that the policy that Mr. Powell outlined may not be effective in helping to stabilize Haiti. Clearly, no plan that does not involve the removal of Aristide will appease the rebel forces.

If the US and the rest of the world do not come up with a plan soon however, it may be too late. Rebel forces are continuing to take new cities, and they appear to be strengthening their alliances amongst each other, and with the major players from the 1991 coup. Should these partnerships come into fruition, an intensified armed conflict would be inevitable. "You now have the real possibility of civil war, and you have a government that is facing depleted capacity because of the weakness of the police force," says Robert Maguire, an expert on Haiti from Trinity College.³ Such a conflict would have a catastrophic effect on an already tortured population. The US cannot allow this to happen.

It is vital that the US does not allow Haiti to slip away from democracy. The peace plan offered by the US was a positive first step in solving the problem. It is a good thing to keep Aristide in office. If he were removed, it would be a message to the Haitian people that in the face of violence, democracy crumbles. It is also a good thing to involve more opposition leaders in the government. Loyal opposition and compromise are the cornerstones of democracy. The peace plan is also just in its plan to ensure fair elections when Aristide's term is over in 2006. It is vital that Haitians feel that the voting process works and is fair. We must now be willing to offer the necessary tools to make that plan possible.

First, we need to send troops to Haiti to put back the violent rebel groups that threaten the current government. We should do this not for Aristide, but for the people of Haiti whom these rebel forces are endangering. If the Bush administration can justify our actions in Iraq under the umbrella of humanitarian aid, then how can they justify not using our military to protect the civilian lives of tortured peoples within a few hundred miles of our borders? Without this force, we cannot ensure that the violence in Haiti will stop.

Second, we need to resume giving financial aid to Haiti, and encourage the international community to do so as well. This year, we will give 200 times more money to Baghdad than we will give to Haiti, despite the fact that even after the invasion of Iraq, Haiti is in far worse shape.⁷ Without the necessary funds to provide the social services that Haitians so desperately need, the government will lose the people's trust, and further violence will ensue.

It is time for the US to come up with a long-term solution for helping Haiti. This is a nation that is in our backyard, and suffers some of the worst living conditions in the world. It is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and suffers from one of the most severe AIDS epidemics outside of Africa. Perhaps the most tragic element of Haiti's current situation is the loss of hope. "Even before now [the violent rebellions] we had no food, no money. If Aristide stays or goes, we still will not eat," says 17-year old Dieline Menard, in a depressing illustration of the way that Haitians see their situation. Our government has for too long been willing to accept the situation in Haiti without trying to change it.

Footnotes:
1 "Haiti's AIDS and voodoo challenge", Nick Caistor, BBC News 11/20/03.
2 CIA World Factbook, http://www.cia.gov.
3 "Chaos Becomes a Way of Life in a Rebel-Held Haitian City", Lydia Polgreen, New York Times, 2/15.
4 "Haiti's Man of the People Lost His Way", Amy Wilentz, New York Times, 2/15.
5 "Lacking Accord, Diplomats Leave a Divided Haiti", Tony Smith, New York Times, 2/22.
6 "US Declines to Use Force to Put Down Haitian Strife", Christopher Marquis, New York Times, 2/18.
7 "A Way Out for Haiti", James Dobbins, New York Times, 2/19.