Gya: Caricom's deadly games with Haitian lives

There were conflicting reports as to whether Aristide wanted to be temporarily in Trinidad and Tobago or in Jamaica, the latter country which, like The Bahamas, is often the choice of Haitian refugees fleeing their homeland with the US as their preferred ultimate destination.

But yesterday, as lawyers for Aristide in France and the USA were moving to mount legal challenges to the circumstances of his removal from office amid widespread violence and chaos, Prime Minister Patterson was ready for a public statement.
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"Mr. Aristide has expressed a wish to return to the Caribbean with his wife and to be reunited with their two young children who are currently in the United States.

"At his (Aristide's) request", the statement added, "arrangements are being made for his travel and accommodation in Jamaica. He is expected to arrive here early next week.

"We have communicated our decision to our CARICOM colleagues and to the Governments who were originally involved in working together to seek a solution to the Haitian crisis".
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Prime Minister Patterson, having communicated to CARICOM, and other involved governments, his administration's decision to "host" Aristide and his family for the requested period, said:

"I wish to emphasize that Mr. Aristide is not seeking asylum in Jamaica. His stay in Jamaica is not expected to be in excess of eight to ten weeks. He is engaged in finalizing arrangements for permanent residence outside of the region."
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Aristide himself has, however, stated from Banqui, capital of the Central African Republic, that should he eventually move to South Africa, it would be "a stop on my way back to Haiti, where I rightly belong...I am still the lawful President of Haiti".

Prime Minister Patterson said that CARICOM remained "committed to the goal of restoring and nurturing democracy in its newest member state as well as to social and economic development of the people of Haiti".

There are four significant points. The first is that the possibility of Aristide's return to Haiti will stir more violence as his supporters agitate and kill. Naturally enough, the rebels and their supporters will retaliate. The result is that Haiti will once more descend into chaos, and Haitians will head out to sea in rickety boats. The U.S. will not take the refugees; so one can only hope that the Bahamas and Jamaica will have the resources so to do, especially in light of PM Patterson's irresponsible meddling.

The second point is Aristide's claim that he is not seeking asylum in Jamaica. If not Jamaica, then Haiti is Aristide's goal, and his intent to return is a contradiction of his soi-disant concern to halt bloodshed in Haiti. The rebels will not accept Aristide's return with equanimity, and the U.S. will not allow its Marines to be a buffer between Aristide and the rebels. Then, one must ask, from where will Aristide's support come? Are his supporters in Port-au-Prince so well armed as to stave off a rebel attack? Does the sale of 300K rounds of ammunition to some unknown party in the DR have anything to Aristide's determination to return to Haiti? Is Aristide's alleged Colombian drug and, by extension, terrorist connections in the Muslim Triangle (the nextus of Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina) the reason for his confidence that he will be able to return to Haiti without getting a rebel bullet in the head? It is possible that Aristide is just interested in martyrdom, which will have a drastically negative public relations impact for the U.S. which refuses to support him. This is an election year, and many factors, apart from campaigning by the candidates, may be in play. Will Aristide be willing to give up his life after running from Haiti like a girl? It is possible, pride and ego are wonderful things, and he may be seeking to cover his shame over having fled. Hence his claim that he was kidnapped at gunpoint; his declaration that his resignation was unofficial; his lawsuit filed against the U.S.; and his assertion that he will return to Haiti because he is "still the lawful President of Haiti."

The third point is the contradictory claims of PM Patterson's and of Aristide. Either Aristide is seeking permanent residence outside of the Caribbean or he is not. The issue of where Aristide will be is not a matter of both-and, unless Patterson's choice of "permanent" is significant. Which is to say, PM Patterson might be signaling that Aristide will be frequently enough in the Caribbean. If this is so, then Aristide's ongoing presence is enough to maintain turbulence and instability in Haiti, which is not good for Caricom. Instability in one island can spread to another only too quickly. The slave masters of an earlier age knew that, so the governments of this age had better learn it quick, fast, and in a hurry.

Finally, Patterson assertion that "CARICOM remained 'committed to the goal of restoring and nurturing democracy in its newest member state as well as to social and economic development of the people of Haiti'" is highly questionable and open to interpretation. Does Caricom mean that it will act to restore Aristide to power in Haiti? If Caricom does, then each country had better lay in a healthy supply of body bags because their soldiers will be going up against the Marines, the most feared and seasoned fighting force in the world. Caricom's principal objection to Aristide's demittal was that because the U.S. had pulled a coup in Haiti, the constitutional process and rule of law had been set aside and democracy harmed. Therefore, it must follow that Caricom's "goal of restoring and nurturing democracy" has to do with the re-installation of Aristide as president of Haiti.

Words mean things, and the heads of Caricom, clever men all, know this for Caribbean people are logophiles. They are very attuned to the subtleties and nuances of language because, historically, attentiveness to such was the difference between life and death. Therefore, it is particularly distressing not only to learn PM Patterson's welcome to Jamaica, but also of his commitment to the "goal of restoring ... democracy" especially when that goal may be interpreted to mean civil war in Haiti for the sake of Aristide. Blind adherence to constitutional process and to rule of law will only serve to create greater harm for Haiti. Aristide, quite frankly, is not worth the loss of one more Haitian life.