Haiti Insight Volume 8, No. 1

Viewpoint

by: Jocelyn McCalla

Haitian democracy reached another milestone this month: for the last 10 months, its government has functioned without a leader; the few cabinet ministers remaining at their posts are handling several portfolios simultaneously; several seats in the Senate remain vacant due to contested 1997 elections; and the economy? Well, it's on the brink.

There is one bright spot, however. Several Haitians met in late March at Princeton University to discuss issues of import to them and to the country. Participants included Bishop Willy Romulus, Marc Bazin and Claudette Werleigh (both former prime ministers), several political leaders, representatives of trade union and business associations, and yours truly. The initiative took place under the auspices of the International Peace Academy, with the cooperation of the Canadian Center for Research and International Cooperation, the Norwegian Institute for Applied Social Science, and the Friedriech Ebert Foundation. Representatives of the United Nations, the United States, and Canada observed the meetings.

Over the course of three days, the participants hammered away at issues of leadership, institution-building, development of a national compact, and increasing popular involvement in national affairs. In between, they discussed the current political impasse and its implications for the future.

This was the second in a series of meetings that will be held over the next several months. At the next session it is hoped that several other government and political leaders will join the forum, making the circle complete.

It was significant and heartening to see these leaders and opinion-makers discussing several sensitive issues without reaching for each other's throat, or walking out in a storm of recrimination. Perhaps, it was because -- at the urging of Bishop Romulus -- hundreds of parishioners from the Grande Anse region of Haiti had been feverishly praying for the success of the encounter. Perhaps, it was because, as one participant exclaimed, after more than a decade of severe violence, political cat fights, and increased impoverishment since the demise of the Duvalier regime, "the warriors are exhausted" and have realized they should focus on the commonality of their agendas, not on their differences.

The press release issued after the meeting characterized the mood prevailing at Princeton best when it noted that the participants "maintained the spirit of collaboration, dialogue, and frank talk needed to develop the trust necessary for seeking practical solutions to the concrete problems facing Haitian society." If this spirit can be maintained, then there may be light at the end of this dark tunnel, after all.