Haiti's victory for democracy: why America should care.

I found this article on the recent elections in Haiti to be very insightful.

Let me give you a little background. Two friends of mine at my workplace, Edward and Vladymir, are from Haiti. Before I met them I knew as little about Haiti as any American: just that it was a poor island nation, with a largely black population who spoke French.

The truth I've learned from them is much more interesting than the cardboard-cutout stereotype. I've learned about meringue, vodou, and the U.S. occupation. Haiti is in fact one of the poorest countries in the entire world, and so rife with violence and insecurity that "professional kidnapper" is a common job title. Haiti was the second country in the western hemisphere to declare its independence from Europe, after America. It was the result of the only completely successful slave rebellion in human history.

From Vladymir, who grew up on the mean streets of Cite Soleil - Haiti's worst slum - I learned that it can be a struggle just to survive from day to day. And from Edward, who formerly worked in the Aristide administration, I learned that Haiti's politics are equally corrupt. Under the previous democratic government, in the elections of 2000, there were more than 10,000 polling places open throughout Haiti; in this one, there were barely over 500. The majority of these were put in wealthy neighborhoods, and in poverty-stricken Cite Soleil? Not a single polling place. Furthermore, many potential candidates were locked up by the Haitian government, in order to prevent their candidacy under Haitian law.

A popular political movement in Haiti, called "Lavalas", has repeatedly shown that the vast majority of Haitians, including the poor, prefer their policies; Lavalas has won landslide elections time and time again. And every time, armed gangs of agitators backed by organizations outside Haiti have overthrown its legitimately elected government. Edward (whose name I've changed to protect him) had to flee the country when the Aristide government fell (which involved Aristide, from what I've read, being forced to resign and flown out of the country by the U.S.). Now he hopes to return, since Preval is supposedly a relative of his.

And now, in the article I mentioned, it is pointed out that the opponents of a democratic Haiti have already begun to use the election negotiation as grounds to call the Preval government illegitimate, despite the fact that the closest contender would never have come close even if there had been a second runoff. (Put in simpler terms, the Lavalas mandate is mathematically unequivocal at this point, far more so than the mandate fantasies of Bush supporters in our country.) If past events are repeated, this will again be used as an excuse to deny Haiti international aid and money, dooming the poorest country in the Western hemisphere to another cycle of poverty, violence, and political instability.

On most Americans' radar, the elections in Haiti was probably no more than a random blip. Probably just a FOX News comment and a predictable shot of poor blacks in Cite Soleil "rioting" (in reality, protesting and being fired upon by police). Most people probably shrugged and forgot about it. But when you get to know some of the people whose lives, and whose families' lives, depend on the outcome, it takes on an altogether more human dimension. The way I see it, Preval's victory is a victory for the common man despite every form of coercion and injustice operating in an attempt to disenfranchise them.

Why should Americans care about Haiti's freedom? Because many in the world find it strange that living in the shadow of the greatest espouser of liberty should cause a nation to founder in tyranny. Because Haiti shows that it is still possible for a mass progressive movement to succeed with all the odds stacked against it. And because whether you believe in Karma, Christianity, or just the golden rule, what we do to the least among us eventually reflects upon us to the same degree. As Americans, we should care because Haiti's example is an example of hope.