At Haiti roadblock, a lesson in power dynamics

[cali]

Frustrated by the dumping of bodies in their area near the capital, young men block traffic on a key road. The plot swells with angry drivers, bribes, U.N. troops and even U.S. choppers.

By Joe Mozingo

January 17, 2010


Reporting from Carrefour, Haiti - They built the roadblock across the highway out of whatever they could find -- burning tires, the shell of a refrigerator, a rusty bed frame, a palm tree stump, a beaten-up camper shell and eight bodies, one in a makeshift coffin, another stuffed into a suitcase.

The young men of the Carrefour suburb of Port-au-Prince then furiously interrogated drivers Saturday about what they were carrying in their cars.

They were sick of people from the earthquake-wrecked capital dumping the dead on their streets in the middle of the night.

"There were only three people who died in this area," shouted Pierre Maxim, 21. "The next day we wake up and see bodies all over."

Roadblocks are common in Haiti, ranging in mood from tense civil disobedience to outright violence.

Saturday's played out over two hours in a way that demonstrated, in almost perfect form, the dynamics of power in the country and even highlighted Haitians' troubled love of Americans.

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http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-haiti-roadblock17-2010jan17,0,2659470,full.story

[malaise]

1. Community organizers are needed at this time

Any bet it's the middle class and upper class folks paying people to dump those bodies. I get the impression that the US military has been given clear instructions not to fire a shot. Bravo team Obama.

[Pirate Smile]

2. "After God, we believe in America," said Charles Anes Adams, 34, gratefully drinking some of his H2O

"The posturing and yelling and slipping of cash went on until about 10:15, when the two U.S. helicopters flew in low, approaching to land.

The giant gray Hueys came from the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson. There was no sign from below of their intention: Were they delivering relief, or Marines?

The crowd began to run, but not away. Hundreds poured across the highway and down a rutted dirt road to a rocky field along the shore, where a collapsed blue sloop listed in the surf.

The prop wash from the landing choppers kicked up grit and small rocks. The people kept running. They piled up at each copter door as the rotors wound down, grabbing and shouting words that the crews surely didn't understand.

The Americans didn't fly off, or open fire. They handed out boxes of bottled water.

When they had finished, they told everyone to back away, which they did, and flew off.

"They came to save our lives," said Golen Parveles, a stout man in a faded golf shirt.

Americans have had a rough relationship with Haiti since the mountainous French colony became the second free republic in the New World after the United States. In modern history, Washington supported the brutal dictatorship of the Duvaliers as part of its Cold War chess game. And three U.S. administrations -- those of George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush -- took an inconsistent approach to Aristide and the army and paramilitaries who successively ousted him.

Still, Haiti's hopes are always aimed at the U.S.

"After God, we believe in America," said Charles Anes Adams, 34, gratefully drinking some of his water under a mango tree.

Back at the roadblock, about 80 yards away, two Haitian SWAT officers arrived and persuaded the brigade to move. "One hour! If they don't come and get the dead bodies, we're going to war!" declared Sierre Stanley, 25. "It's been three days."

They took down the roadblock, for the time being."

[KharmaTrain]

3. Considering There's No Civil Authority....

I've been impressed with how peaceful things are in Haiti...despite attempts to frame this by rushpublicans as some primitive, lawless society. This is especially the case as the country's leadership either perished or just overwhelmed by the scope of the disaster.

That said, with the lack of authority, everyone was on their own and with it will be friction as people will do whatever they can to survive. Now that things are starting to move inland, it will be important to restore some kind of government infrastructure and I suspect we'll be seeing that happen in the week ahead.

[Pirate Smile]

4. kick