I wrote a letter to the New York Times on Wednesday, responding to their article extolling the virtues of the UN in Haiti in cracking down on gangs. From all accounts in the many independent news reports I read (while procrastinating studying), what's actually happening is the UN killing innocent civilians in an attempt to take control over Cite Soleil, one of the world's absolute worst slums. Repression by violence, no effort to address the desperate needs of the residents. December 22 was the most extreme massacre, but the killing has continued. Furthermore, the UN makes much less of an effort to disarm gangs in other areas, like "The Little Machete Army" or the paramilitary groups that still create terror. As one commentator put it, MINUSTAH is "Peacekeeping by Paramilitarism."
I would link the original Times article, but I'm a little worried about copyright issues...It was a February 10 piece by Marc Lacey entitled "UN Troops Fight Haiti's Gangs One Battered Street at a Time."
So here's the letter, since the Times would never publish something so critical of their reporting:
To the Editor:
The article “U.N. Peacekeepers Fight Gangs in Haiti” (Feb. 10) ends with a sentence that is tragically false when applied to U.N. actions on a whole in Cite Soleil: “Nobody was hit.”
In fact, many non-militant civilians have been hit. As “collateral damage” resulting from MINUSTAH’s efforts, dozens of unarmed people, including women and children, have fallen victim to UN bullets. Two young girls, Alexandra and Stephanie Lubin, were killed in a February 1 assault on the Boston district. Doctors Without Borders, which runs a hospital in Cite Soleil, reported at least 6 dead and 63 wounded in the past month from UN operations.
MINUSTAH spokesperson Wilmhurst’s denial of civilian death in Mr. Lachey’s article lies in direct contradiction to numerous reports by both Haitian human rights organizations and mainstream media. The Times simply failed in accurately reporting the inhumane consequences of the U.N.’s peacekeeping mission.
Sincerely,
Brennan Bollman
I was actually prompted to write the letter by the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti. I subscribe to their weekly "half-hour for Haiti" action ideas, though this was the first I've done so far. So it's not that impressive.
ReplyDeleteIn general, I think UN peacekeepers are a very good institution. Some sort of multinational law enforcement is essential to providing global security. We need a peacekeeping force in Darfur right now. Even in Haiti, I don't think the UN is universally evil (nothing's ever that black and white). However, I do think their tactics are counterproductive, and don't respond to the needs of the poor majority.
This--my friend--is a situation unique to Haiti in which foreign governments and the popular press simply will not tell the truth about the country. Haiti has been serving foreign (mainly US and French) interests for its 203 year sovereignty...delineated very well by Paul Farmer in "The Uses of Haiti."
So to wrap this up and answer your question, I don't expect to hear from the Times. Likely, it's not really one person's fault that these untruths are perpetuated. Just the result of much ingrained attitude against Haiti.
So don't believe "the media" is all bad. Thanks for your interest!
Interesting to know.
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