USAID Field Report Haiti Sep 2004

Program Description

In response to the recent political turmoil in Haiti, OTI initiated the $5 million Haiti Transition Initiative (HTI) in May 2004 with implementing partner, the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The program emphasizes building stability in key crisis areas through the implementation of quick, visible small projects designed to:

• help restore citizen confidence and hope in the process of political development and positive change;
  
  
• empower citizens and government to address priority needs in communities; and,
  
  
• build cooperative frameworks between government activities and citizens as examples of positive change and progressive political development.

Country Situation

Tropical Storm Jeanne inundated cities and sent deadly mudslides through towns and villages in Haiti this month, particularly the city of Gonaives. The storm and its aftermath have left approximately 2,000 dead, 900 missing, and 300,000 homeless. Residents grew increasingly agitated from a lack of food and potable water, and health workers continued to fear an epidemic from unburied bodies, raw sewage in drinking water, and in-fections from injuries. Relief supplies are starting to reach the worst-hit areas, but the pace has been slowed by waterlogged roads and problems with security. To date, USAID/OFDA has contributed a total of more than $3.5 million to fund emergency activities and relief supplies.

Violence continues to destabilize Haiti and insufficient security has left the population open to kidnappings and attacks. The Rev. Moleste Lovinsky Bertomieux, a well-known radio personality, was shot to death on his way to work at independent Radio Caraibes. Additionally, the French Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Renaud Muselier, was attacked late last month in Cite Soleil, a Port-au-Prince slum. He was visiting a hospital in the Haitian capital when pro-Aristide protesters opened fire on the French delegation, injuring one soldier. These protesters have threatened to continue their violent demonstrations until Aristide is returned to power. They are also responsible for beheading several police officers in a campaign reminiscent of the insurgency in Iraq. Brazilian-led U.N. peacekeepers are being criticized for not doing more to prevent violence in the capital. However, some 750 of the 3,000 peacekeepers are protecting relief supplies and trying to keep order at food distribution points in Gonaives. The peacekeeping force currently numbers about half the 6,500 initially promised by the U.N.

Another source of insecurity, mostly affecting areas outside the capital, is illegal militia groups. These groups, many of which include members of the ex-FAdH, are occupying government buildings and demanding payment of pensions, back-pay, recognition for their role in ousting Aristide, and reinstatement of the military. Problematic for the Interim Government of Haiti (IGoH), the public has appeared to welcome the ex-military as a security force limiting gang and criminal activity, underscoring the IgoH's inability to provide security and control the use of force outside Port-au-Prince.

The IGoH formed the Presidential Commission in Charge of Negotiations with the Demobilized Military to ini-tiate a dialogue with the ex-FAdH. The ex-FAdH have established a civilian commission to represent their in-terests to this government commission. The groups met several times this month to discuss their respective mandates and try to agree on principles to enable them to move forward, including the ultimate authority of the government, peaceful evacuation of government buildings, and claims of the soldiers (pensions, recognition, etc). An agreement was reached to form a Bureau for the Management of Demobilized Military, under the Prime Minister's office, to manage the registration, profiling, training, and employment of former soldiers. In exchange, police stations controlled by ex-FAdH are to be vacated and arms and other equipment relinquished to the government.

USAID/OTI Highlights

A. Narrative Summary

In September, the OTI program expanded into Gonaïves and continued to make significant strides working in at-risk, conflict-prone communities in Port-au-Prince, St. Marc, and Petit Goave. OTI signed several new grants aiming to alleviate tensions between communities and bolster the legitimacy of the central government. For example, grants were funded to improve water distribution, establish new public spaces for community dialogue, and develop employment opportunities to mitigate youth participation in gangs and violent conflict. However, progress has been hindered by implementation delays caused by the two hurricanes in rapid succession and gang violence. In Cite Soleil, for example, violence increased sharply in recent weeks, prompting community members to warn project staff to avoid the area on several occasions due to gun battles in the streets. Work on affected projects has progressed intermittently between such outbreaks of violence.

OTI is contributing to the emergency response to Hurricane Jeanne. Through implementing partner, IOM, OTI is working with the Ministry of Public Works in developing and implementing a three-part plan that will: 1) provide road improvement materials to allow trucks to bring needed potable water to affected areas; 2) facilitate coordination of efforts to clear roads covered by mudslides; and, 3) increase readiness for future crises through equipment rehabilitation. An initial OTI grant will support the effort to provide aid trucks safe access to Gonaïves by installing stakes along three kilometers of road currently not navigable due to the flooding. A second grant will support repairs on the Gonaives water system to enable it to provide a sufficient supply of clean water and prevent a water-borne disease epidemic.

OTI continues to work closely with the U.S. Embassy and IOM to develop options for a reintegration program for former combatants. Training and management specialists of the Kosovo Protection Corps, a civilian re-sponse unit consisting primarily of former Kosovo Liberation Army members, have been brought to Haiti to assess how the Kosovo model might be applied there. OTI and IOM have also closely followed the negotiations between the former military and the IGoH. The creation this month of the Bureau for the Management of De-mobilized Military presents an opportunity for OTI and the international community to support IGoH efforts to resolve the conflict with the former military. Coordination efforts with the U.N. peacekeeping force, IGoH, and other stakeholders are underway.

B. Grant Activity Summary

C. Indicators of Success

OTI is focusing on alleviating tensions between communities and supporting them in their efforts to provide alternative recreational, training, and employment opportunities. The Petit Goave office approved a new grant to help the Secretary for Youth, Sport, and Civic Education fight juvenile delinquency by increasing access to sports activities for a large number of young people. The grant will provide sporting equipment to a school located in one of the most violent areas in Haiti, where a growing number of idle youth are particularly susceptible to gang recruitment. Similarly, in Gonaives, OTI approved a grant, initiated by the Ministry of Education with community collaboration, to renovate two national schools that offer subsidized education to youth living in volatile neighborhoods.

In St. Marc, eight new grants were signed to mitigate conflict and reduce costs associated with insufficient access to water. Throughout the region, stakeholders have identified hand-pump repair as an urgent need. When a hand pump in one location does not work, members of that community are forced to find water elsewhere. This puts more pressure on supply and distribution in these areas, increasing tensions between communities. Func-tioning pumps can mitigate conflict, increase safety for women and girls, and possibly increase families' disposable income, since they will no longer have to pay for water from other communities. Each project requires a concerted effort by community members and the central government to coordinate the activities in a location-specific manner. A key component of this effort is a plan for sustainability, under which the community is re-quired to set up a multiple-signature bank account, overseen by a water committee, to pay for future repairs.

C. Indicators of Success

OTI grants are showing signs of success in the most conflict-prone neighborhoods. By bringing together communities and local and national governments, the program is forging effective linkages and avenues for dialogue. As a result, conflicts within communities are being brought to light and discussed productively, while at the same time addressing the perceived neglect by the national government and incapacity of the local government to respond to their basic needs.

Illustrative of this progress is the rehabilitation of the Saint Bernadette School football field in Martissant, a Port-au-Prince slum home to a large number of pro-Aristide gangs and criminal elements. Access to the football field had been a source of disagreement in Martissant for some time. Due to increased gang activity and abuse of the facilities, the school restricted access to the field, prompting a negative reaction from local youth and in-creasing tensions in the community. The situation was brought to the attention of the State Secretary of Youth, Sport, and Civic Service by an association formed by the youth who had been restricted from the field. The Sec-retary approached OTI for support and contributed his agency's own engineers to design the project, while the community provided labor and other resources. Throughout the process, committees were formed to include various segments of the population and consensus decisions were reached about the hiring of laborers, masons, carpenters, etc. The collaborative effort between the community and government resulted in the rehabilitation of the field, increased communication between the school and surrounding community, a place for area youth to engage in constructive activities, and eased tensions in the neighborhood.

NEXT STEPS/IMMEDIATE PRIORITIES

In the next month, OTI Haiti will:

• explore possible linkages with other USAID Mission programs, including media, civil society, HIV/AIDS, and microcredit;
  
  
• evaluate grants made thus far and consider possibilities for re-focusing efforts based on geography, target populations, and/or nature of activity; and,

• continue to support the Mission, Embassy, and IGoH on options for reintegration and assistance to the new Bureau for the Management of Demobilized Military.

For further information, please contact:

Katherine Donohue, OTI Haiti Program Manager, 202-712-0498, kdonohue@usaid.gov