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Peace with
Poverty is not Peace: -
The Greater
Caribbean This Week |
July 13, 2007:
 THE
INSPIRATION for this article came to me from a news report
by the AFP entitled “PEACE RETURNS TO CITÉ SOLEIL, BUT
POVERTY PERSISTS”. The report gives an account of the fight
against the armed gangs that held that poverty stricken area
in Port au Prince, Haiti, hostage to violence. Dr.
Rubén Silié Valdez is the Secretary General of the
Association of Caribbean States
We have to first of all ask ourselves how those groups with
such meagre resources were able to acquire weapons, to the
extent that they managed to seize physical control of that
area, preventing the National Police from gaining entry for
a long time and keeping the blue helmets of the UN Mission (MINUSTAH)
in check. It is a well known fact that the process of arming
those groups is an age old practice encouraged by groups
that hold power, who at some point in time understand that
unscrupulous people can be used to create an atmosphere of
general terror, or they can be used as a shock troop to
intimidate political adversaries, or simply to carry out
criminal activities. |
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Such a practice
has not been exclusive either to this era or to Haiti; it is
rather an historic resource used by powerful players to gain
control of new spaces. For example, during the 19th century,
the expansion of military leaders in both Haiti and the
Dominican Republic was driven by the large companies that
wanted to acquire production zones or which sought to
persuade governments so that they could receive tax
exemptions. The procedure involved offering weapons to a
gang that would support them and confront those who opposed
them. Thus, more and more weapons fell into the hands of
individuals or groups who would not have been able to gain
access to such arsenals on their own strength. A similar
situation has occurred with the conflicts in Afghanistan, or
the case of the former associates of Bin Laden. In both
cases there was a change in allies and those who helped to
arm them regretted doing so.
However, the serious and delicate aspect of the current
situation in Haiti is that since the collapse of the
Duvalier dictatorship (1986), the practice of arming gangs
has been recurring in Haiti, and we know that once there is
a shift from a chaotic environment to true institutional
normalcy, a plan is announced to disarm the civil
population.
Nevertheless, such plans have emerged on several occasions
and with varying results in each case. We are also certain
that weapons are never removed entirely from the possession
of those groups, with some always being left in the hands of
those directly involved, thus leading to an increase in the
number of weapons in civilian hands. Many of these
individuals usually change their allegiance from one gang
leader to another, while others take their own initiative
and create new small groups that end up acting of their own
accord.
What is striking about this entire situation is that the
vast majority of the bullies who join gangs come from the
most socially excluded areas, where poverty serves as fodder
for such negative behaviour. Usually, it involves young
people who are frustrated over the impossibility of finding
decent ways in which to insert themselves into a society
that ends up excluding them. Therefore, reading the news
report that peace has returned to Cité Soleil, yet poverty
persists, we wonder how lasting this return to peace will
be.
In Haiti, there is a need to continue working toward
so-called “positive peace”, which according to the formula
of the Philosopher Spinoza, “is borne out of the strength of
the soul, of harmony and justice”[1]. Without a doubt, the
situation of non-violence is imperative in order to commence
community development efforts, but it does not mean that the
confrontations have ceased, since the contradictions and
conflicts that stem from poverty, such as exclusion and
inequality, continue to await a response. In that sense, the
peace that exists in Cité Soleil is a peace that is still
limited.
The political success enjoyed by the Haitian Government with
support from the MINUSTAH, requires a boost from the
international community. It is an excellent opportunity to
bring to fruition the assistance offered, since there is no
doubt that the young people, from whom weapons have been
seized or who have simply relinquished them, would be
potential candidates to take them up again, if new levels of
social insertion are not achieved in a timely fashion.
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