“The neo-liberal project in Haiti has failed.”

Robert Fatton, Haitian professor and Associate Dean in the Department of Politics at the University of Virginia, said these words earlier this month at a roundtable discussion marking the second anniversary of the Haiti earthquake.

You can imagine the collective intake of breath from the room full of policy experts from Oxfam, USAID, and the State Department who had gathered at a roundtable discussion to commemorate the second anniversary of the Haiti earthquake. Some were shocked. For others, it was a brutally honest assessment of what has gone wrong in Haiti.

The aptly-titled roundtable on “Aid, Governance, and the Status of Reconstruction” had stumbled onto the discussion about the role of the donor vis à vis the state. This theme is not often discussed, but understanding how the US and other international donors have bypassed the Haitian government in the past is key to understanding the choice that they now face.

Read the rest of this entry »

Sitting in a grassroots and civil society symposium in Haiti last month, I was keenly aware of the palpable energy and excitement in the swanky Karaibe Hotel grand ballroom. It was a gathering of Haitian people from the peasant movement groups in rural areas to academia—all eyes, all hearts, and one central question in the air: “when will Haiti be liberated to take the reins of its own reconstruction?”

The goal of this symposium was to hear Haitians themselves speak about what they needed from their government to rebuild the country. In many respects, it was a unique opportunity for Haitian civil society, which has been a fledgling voice in the reconstruction process, and this symposium was for many groups, the first opportunity to be heard. Many of the participants were clearly fed up with the slow process of reconstruction, the political paralysis, and the never-ending trail of broken promises. One of the moderators told the crowd that initially he did not plan to attend the symposium since Haiti has too many symposiums and nothing ever happens. He received loud applause from the Haitian audience.

This grassroots and civil society symposium in Haiti last month was the first opportunity for many to be heard. Photo by Chris Hufstader/Oxfam America.

The grassroots symposium came on the heels of the long-awaited approval of the Prime Minister. The ratification of Gary Connille, an aide to Former US President Bill Clinton, as Prime Minister ended the standoff between the newly-elected President Martelly and the very powerful Haitian Parliament. For five months, Haiti remained without government ministries or a prime minister, paralyzing the country and creating a vacuum in governance while essentially slowing international aid to a crawl.

What we see in Haiti is a vicious circle of blame for the country’s failures. The United States and other donors continue to write eloquent carefully worded documents that promote working with the Haitian government and Haitian civil society, insisting that these relationships are critical and that development in Haiti cannot occur without them. But, how can development occur with the government as a partner when international donors and NGO’s recognize that the state lacks capacity to fulfill its responsibilities to its citizens and usurp the role of the government in Haiti? The land and housing rights symposium put this paradox that has lasted for decades on full display.

In other countries recovering from disasters, civil society and grassroots groups have come together under a nationally-led authority to rebuild. For example, after the earthquake in Mexico City in 1985 that resulted in an estimated 40,000 deaths, the communities affected by the earthquake formed coalitions, pressured the government, and delivered a reconstruction document that detailed what the government should do for the affected communities. Included in this document was the call for the creation of Programa de Renovación Habitacional Popular (PRHP) at the end of 1985.

Mexico is by no means the most exemplary post-disaster example. Yet, it demonstrates how the reconstruction could be driven by affected populations. The Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC) was created by the international community and donors as an intermediate organization to coordinate international aid. It was intended to be temporary. But the fixed end date, October 21, 2011 has come and gone. The commitment to develop a Haitian led authority for reconstruction has not materialized. Nevertheless, Prime Minister Connille is expected to extend the IHRC’s mandate with no framework in place for a Haitian-led agency to follow.

Many of the participants, keenly aware of their country´s history, expressed concerns that the IHRC could become a permanent fixture in the Haitian political landscape.

Haitian residents try to scratch out a living as they set up their market stalls amidst the destroyed buildings in Port Au Prince's once thriving downtown. May 7, 2010. Photo by Ami Vitale/Oxfam America

“Haiti is not a country….it is just a place,” a 25 year old unemployed Haitian friend told me matter of factly when I last visited. Eighteen months after the earthquake that decimated what was left of the weak country infrastructure, while killing over 300,000 people, the country seemed resigned. Haitians give the impression that they have moved on from the earthquake. They have experienced other natural disasters before the earthquake and they have since begun to reconstruct their lives as best they can.

Driving through Port Au Prince last month, camp cities have become permanent fixtures amidst the slum landscape – the tarps that ordinarily would be used for six months have been in use for 18 months. The heavy rains that come quickly in this part of the world have destroyed them; they hang on poles, limp and decayed, providing almost no respite. The experts say that we ought not to give more tarps as this will encourage people to stay in camps to receive services. But they misunderstand the Haitian context. People will not the leave the camps if they have nowhere else to go. They have no viable alternative whether we give them more tarps or not. The camps have now become a bustling somewhat invisible addition to the daily lives of people in Port Au Prince and other areas like Leogane. Vendors have set up make shift shops, young Haitian entrepreneurs can add minutes to your Digicel phone, women bathe children, and people use coals to cook next to big piles of garbage while big NGO Jeeps honk their horns to navigate around the chaos.

Haitians I talked to who work as domestics for NGOs know that aid will not lead to development. They understand that aid is simply aid. The tarps that are now almost useless to them are also considered aid: it will help today but it is not a home with a future.

Read the rest of this entry »