20833: Morse: Life during Aristide (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: OLOFFSONRAM@aol.com

 D. was arrested on a Thursday night as he was leaving the Oloffson after
 a RAM concert. He was a radio promoter and worked for a few bands. At the
 time many journalists in Haiti were in hiding or trying to get out of the
 country. Jean Dominique had been shot and killed and Lindor Brignol had
 been macheteed to death.D. was taken from the gates of the Oloffson to
 the Croix des Bouquets jail a couple of towns over, right behind the
 church. The Croix Des Bouquets jail had replaced Fort Dimanche in
 notoriety. One cell, one corner to sleep, one corner to go to the
 bathroom and somewhere between 15-25 prisoners. Everyone stood. Typically
 at 3am they would call out the names of a few of the prisoners, who would
 then be taken outside and shot (they called it <escape>). D was taken
 along with about twelve other people and paraded around on television as
 an accussed kidnapper. I asked around and was advised not to go visit him
 at the jail. I got myself a driver and went anyway. It was D's wife, 18
 and pregnant, somewhere between child and adult, that told me where he
 was. When I got to the jail, I walked up to the two guards, said hello
 and asked them how they were doing. They asked me if I would be going out
 for Carnival. It was then that a young girl came out of the small prison
 house, looked at me and said <Monsieur Richard, they have my father>. She
 broke out into tears. Empty plates in her hands. D's 12 year old daughter
 had brought him some food. I looked at the guards and asked permission to
 enter. They nodded yes. In we went. It took a bit for my eyes to adjust.
 I could start to make out sillouettes of the heads inside through the
 window. D came to the front, in tears, <mr Richard, look what they've
 done to me!>. Another prisoner sang from the back <you got to love
 everybody>, reference to a song we had on the radio.A night or two later
 15 people were taken out and shot (escaped). D was left to live. After a
 month we got him transferred to the Penitencier Nationale, another month
 later he was released and a few weeks after that we got him out of the
 country. He survived. Grace a Dieu et Sán pa we yo.

Richard Morse