State Dept. Seeks Further Weapons Sales, Assistance to Haitian National Police

Sasha takes her analysis a little bit farther, to look at other USAID initiatives and how the bread and circuses serve the same purposes as foreign troops and guns.

USAID is an arm of the US State Department reporting directly to Condoleezza Rice and their stated objective is to use aid to pursue outcomes desired by the State Department. In this case the State Department is eager to for the upcoming elections to appear legitimate as evident in Condoleezza Rice's recent visit to Haiti.

In order for this goal to be achieved it is critical to stifle resistance to the elections. Resistance is being tackled on two fronts. In the past year, thousands of former elected officials and community organizers have been imprisoned, forced into hiding or killed, with many innocent civilians caught in the crossfire. This overt stifling of dissent is implemented by Haiti's unelected interim government through the Haitian National Police, a brutal police forced armed by the United States and under the control of the United Nations.

USAID uses a different tactic for pacifying the poor in Haiti who have been rightfully outraged by the destruction of their democracy, rise in the cost of living and ongoing government-sponsored repression. Understanding the level of desperation in these communities, short-term provision of services is used as a way to draw people away from protesting these conditions with a warm meal. As people are fed they can be quietly indoctrinated with the notion that these camps provide an alternative to the "violence" of Lavalas.

The provision of entertainment and meals may provide a temporary alleviation of suffering but they do nothing to address the underlying causes of that suffering which are deeply entangled in with the disruption of Haiti's democracy in 2004. A full stomach will not end the police killings, it will not free the political prisoners and it will not result in the reestablishment of social programs in Haiti; but it may give a hungry person a moment of peace.

Full stomachs and soccer are excellent tools for temporarily easing suffering to pacify protest and give the country the appearance of calm in the run up to the elections but they are not a sustainable solution to the many problems that prevent these elections from being free and fair, nor will they promote a democracy that truly represents that Haitian people. The long term implications of installing an illegitimate government could far outweigh the short term benefits enjoyed by those attending the camps.

Other questions about these programs include: how long will these programs feed the hungry and what is their effect on pre-existing programs in Petit Place Cazeau, that were not mentioned in the report? Long before USAID initiated the Play for Peace camps in the neighborhood, Father Jean Juste and the St. Claire community were providing vocational training classes, recreational activities and meals to thousands of children in the neighborhood. Now with Father Jean Juste in prison these programs are at risk.

Unlike Father Jean Juste's commitment to empowering the community, USAIDs stated goal of pacifying political protest through aid is decidedly a short-term strategy, and these camps are not likely to provide a sustainable source of aid after political objectives have been met.

If USAID were truly interested in improving the lives of poor people they would support the maintenance of existing programs by joining Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, 29 members of Congress, and over 400 religious leaders in calling for the release of Father Jean Juste, a cornerstone of many community development projects in Petit Place Cazeau.

The report also references plans to increase activities in the northern town of Milot. It reads: The coming weeks will see HTI staff make field visits to Milot, a critical locale outside the Cap Haitien metropolitan area. This place is known as the point from which all northern protests by former President Aristide's Lavalas Party are coordinated.

Like Petit Place Cazeau, Milot represents an area of the country where the poor have collectively organized. Numerous community programs in Cap Haitien and Milot, started under local Lavalas administrations, have lost funding since the coup. Without funding these programs are struggling to provide for the community.

USAID is taking advantage of the economic and political crisis, using food and recreation to placate peoples resistance, to stifle their demands for justice. The timetable for USAID programs is politically determined; their mandate requires that they do so only as long as the programs serve US foreign policy interests. Communities in northern Haiti are already experiencing the loss of social programs since the coup, their absence will be all the more painful when USAID programs evaporate with changing policy objectives.

As stated in the document, the coming weeks will see increased expansion of USAID programs in Petit Place Cazeau and in other key areas like Milot, where Lavalas remains strong. These developments are of interest not only for those concerned with US subversion of democracy in Haiti but also to those interested in understanding USAID's operations throughout the world.

Despite its beneficent name, USAID is doing what it was designed to do, play off the hunger of the starving, and the boredom of the unemployed, to further US policy interests. In Haiti this means propping up and illegitimate foreign government in the face of massive resistance, a difficult task best carried out through a combination of violent repression and foreign aid, the friendly face of US imperialism.

   "maybe it's for cadavers"