Haiti Herald, May 15, 2010

Manifestations Demand the Resignation of Preval
Protesters are demanding that President Preval resign. His term was due to end in Feb. but presidential elections may not be held until Nov. because the earthquake destroyed voting records and polling places.

The entire lower house and one-third of the senate are no longer sitting because the earthquake prevented Feb. legislative elections from taking place. Effectively, the parliament is ceasing to exist as a governing body. This concentrates power in the hands of the President and the international commission that has been set up.

The commission, co-chaired by former President Clinton is to oversee the $9.9 billion US for foreign reconstruction, money pledged at a March conference, a sum 40% larger than Haiti's entire gross domestic product.

Many protesters say that Preval has sold the country to foreign powers, while the commission violates Haiti's sovereignty. (Haiti Globe)


Four months after the quake, and people are still living in tents. "We've heard that foreigners have given lots of aid money. But we are still living the same way as before, and we're still dying the same way," said Davery Nulmeus. Haiti's needs are still enormous, but more than 100 days after the quake, the plan for dealing with them is unclear. (Haiti Press)

Reconstruction Blackout (Haiti En Marche)

The earthquake killed 300.000 people and destroyed 500,000 homes. With international aid, the government is taking inventory of the losses. Some buildings are a total loss, others need to be demolished. Some can be repaired but need to be reinforced to prevent hurricane damage or further damage from more earthquakes.

But while we wait, those who are in charge have been totally vague. No one seems to know what to do.

No one knows what Port au Prince will look like in 6 months, one year or ten years - or even if the capital is condemned to remain in its present state. At this stage, nothing seems impossible. In any case, the Reconstruction that everyone else is talking about seems to be a foreign word for the administration.

The people await their words of wisdom. Everyone realizes they need to be understanding of the difficulty of the situation, even those who have the means to begin reconstruction. But the officials continue in their silence.

Even if they don't know the agenda for the future projects, they at least have some idea of what is being planned. They would do well to inform the population - if only to be able to inform them that they will not continue living in this situation indefinitely, to give them some spark of hope that there will be some kind of order in this monstrous cacophony that reigns now in the capital.

Who knows what the capital could look like after this huge earthquake that affected each and every one of its inhabitants? This is the subject of conversations in all of Haiti. Rumors are flying. But the people involved are the last ones to know.

The people are forced to get their information from foreigners. The people being affected are the last to know. That is the rule in Haiti.

So everyone tries to keep on hoping. Do the people who actually live here have a voice in the plans? A city should be built for its inhabitants and not just for the pleasure of building.

We need to reawaken the spirit of being a good neighbor, not just trying to protect our own territory. The people dream about a change.

We hear people say all the time: "If I rebuild, and the the State decides to put a community center next to my house - behold the chaos".

With regard to the Reconstruction, it seems that everyone's mouth has been sewn shut.

Until now the population has remained calm. But if the hurricane season causes another catastrophe, the absence of information will leave the people only one choice, as a popular refrain says: Each one for themselves and all for God.

And that will be the end of everyone's dreams.
(This article taken from Haiti En Marche, May 12, 2010)