19517: (hermantin)Miami-Herald-South Florida Haitians divided on reaction to Aristide's (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Mon, Mar. 01, 2004

South Florida Haitians divided on reaction to Aristide's flight

BY CAROLYN SALAZAR, OSCAR CORRAL AND RONNIE GREENE

rbrand@herald.com


As chaos enveloped Haiti on Sunday, South Florida's Haitians wondered -- and
worried about -- what President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's departure means for
them and relatives back home.

Gathered in churches, restaurants and barbershops, and sometimes on the
streets, they were harshly divided over whether Aristide's departure was
warranted. Some disputes became heated.

But most local Haitians were united in concern about what comes next. Those
worries were echoed Sunday from Little Haiti to Haitian-American strongholds
in central Broward and Delray Beach.

''Hopefully, the international forces will come help so that there will be
peace, otherwise there will be chaos,'' said Davidson Pierre, a University
of Miami graduate student, walking toward the Siloe Pentecostal Church of
God in Little Haiti.

As about 100 worshipers gathered at Fort Lauderdale's Bethel Evangelical
Baptist Church, the conversation centered on two issues: Where is Aristide
and what's going to happen now.

Prayers for Haiti and its citizens filled the church.

''We always pray for Haiti, everytime there is trouble we pray for Haiti,''
said Carole Dolce, of Lauderdale Lakes. ``We are praying for Haiti several
times today.''

Some of the questions being discussed in South Florida's Haitian population,
which was conservatively listed as 214,893 in the 2000 Census:

Who will rule? Will order be restored? Will Haiti be stronger?

''You don't know whether to celebrate or what to expect, because now there
is no commander in chief,'' said Robert Duverny, 30, an accountant.

>From the pulpit at Notre Dame d'Haiti in Little Haiti, the Rev. Reginald
Jean-Mary said in Creole: ``The problem is not solved. We can't call this a
victory for one group or another group. It is a defeat for us, the Haitian
people.''

''Haitians should not be taking sides right now. They need to come together
and help Haiti move forward,'' Jean-Mary said.

Little Haiti's Tony Antoine, 49, was among those happy for change. ``We
don't need Aristide in Haiti. There have been too many killings.''

But many expressed anger that Haiti's first democratically elected president
was ousted before he could finish his term. As parishioners spilled out of
the church, some shouted at journalists that Aristide should not have been
forced out.

''There is no better person to replace him. It's only going to be worse for
Haiti,'' said Baliston Elidor, 49, of Little Haiti.

LITTLE HAITI

Little Haiti is bounded by Northeast 36th and 83rd streets, Biscayne
Boulevard and Northwest Fifth Avenue. The heart of Little Haiti is Northeast
54th Street between Biscayne Boulevard and Miami Avenue.

In Broward, some Haitian Americans were hesitant to cheer until more is
known. ''Will the new government -- whoever that is -- be able to forget and
forgive the past . . . or will there be more fighting?'' minister Lasse
Joseph asked outside Bethel Evangelical church.

Daniella Henry, director of the Delray Beach Haitian American Community
Council, said many Palm Beach Haitians did not think the president would
leave after hearing him speak on a local radio station Friday night.

''He told the people of Haiti that he wouldn't shame them,'' she said.

Now, she and others are flooded with different emotions.

''People are experiencing grief, happiness,'' Henry said. 'The biggest fear
they have is `What is next? What now?' For the past 200 years Haiti has been
unstable.''

On Creole language Radio Carnivale (1020 AM), commentators discussed the
reasons for Aristide's downfall, and ways the new leadership can keep from
making the same mistakes.

''Aristide himself was the engineer of his own destruction,'' said Haitian
journalist Ady Jean Gardy. ''No one in history ever had this much
popularity, this much of a chance to rule to country like Aristide had, and
he systematically destroyed his support.'' Tensions flared at times.

CHASING HIM

At one point Sunday morning, the crowd at a rally of the pro-Aristide Veye
Yo group in Little Haiti became agitated when Aristide opponent Louis Menard
drove past them twice.

Some tried to chase him, shouting ``Menard macoute!'' -- a reference to the
Duvalier-era secret police, the Tonton Macoutes. Menard, a radio commentator
and former friend of Aristide, was not a member of the Macoutes.

Menard drove off, and police pushed back the crowd.

Haitian flags fluttered at the rally, where about 200 protesters gathered to
denounce President Bush because they believe the United States forced
Aristide's ouster.

The chants: ''No more Bush,'' and ``Coup d'état, no! Democracy, yes!''

The numbers were a contrast to the thousands who celebrated when Aristide
returned to power in 1994 after three years of exile.

In the past, political shake-ups in the Caribbean have meant everything from
mass migrations to tent cities under Interstate 95 in Miami. It was not
unusual for local governments to be taken by surprise. This time, things
looked a bit different.

For weeks, Miami, Miami-Dade County and federal officials have been
preparing plans to deal with potential migrations, protests and
celebrations.

The immediate plan: block off Northwest 54th Street in Little Haiti to allow
people to protest, divert traffic and if the crowds get big enough, try to
funnel people into the Orange Bowl.

Only the first part of the plan was necessary.

''The demonstrations broke out suddenly on 54th Street without any advance
notice to us,'' Miami Police Chief John Timoney said Sunday. ``If it's an
ideal world, you get them into the Orange Bowl, provide sound systems and
the whole bit, but it's not an ideal world, so we deal with it.''

MAYOR'S THOUGHTS

Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, who visited the protests in Little Haiti with
Timoney, said he is not worried about having another Mariel-style influx.

''I think the U.S. government has learned from the past, and I think they
are more prepared to deal with those kinds of issues than they were in the
past,'' Diaz said.

Although the federal government would eventually take the lead in the event
of an exodus of Haitians, local agencies would first have to stabilize the
situation, Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas said.

''We are prepared in case that does happen,'' Penelas said.

Herald staff writers Richard Brand, Wanda J. DeMarzo, Daphne Duret, Ashley
Fantz, Sara Olkon and David Ovalle contributed to this report.

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