29809: Hermantin(News) 'Les kidnappings' are Haiti's latest misery (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>



'Les kidnappings' are Haiti's latest misery
In Haiti, no one is immune, no time of day is safe from the threat of 
kidnapping. Police seem helpless to prevent the abductions.
By NANCY SAN MARTIN
nsanmartin@MiamiHerald.com

PORT-AU-PRINCE - One victim was grabbed in the afternoon on her way home from 
work. Another was stopped at gunpoint in evening traffic and yanked out of the 
car. A third victim, this one a child, was snatched at midnight from inside a 
house as family members remained helpless in saving the child from heavily 
armed thugs.

Les kidnappings, as the crime is referred to here, is at an all-time high, 
averaging at least one a day after a short period of relative calm following 
the election of President René Préval in February. At least 47 citizens and 
foreigners were kidnapped last month -- the highest number so far this year.

''I thought they were going to kill me,'' said a woman released by kidnappers 
last week after three days of captivity. ``I was so scared. All I kept thinking 
was that I wanted to live. I didn't want to die.''

Almost everyone in this overpopulated city has heard about someone who was 
present one moment and gone the next. No one is immune from capture, no time of 
day is safe. The problem has gotten so out of control, U.N. Secretary General 
Kofi Annan is likely to discuss the matter with Préval during a visit to Haiti 
today.

BEATEN, THREATENED

''Nobody wants the situation to stay like this,'' said the kidnap victim, who 
was beaten, burned and threatened with guns. ``My hope is that things will get 
better.''

Préval's government has taken some steps to deal with the crime issue: a former 
police official was recently appointed to serve as the national security 
undersecretary, the prime minister has promised a ''carrot and stick'' approach 
to reduce violence and the police chief has spoken out against a judicial 
system accused of accepting bribes in exchange for releasing suspected 
criminals without charges. But those efforts have yet to yield any results.

Although Haiti has a long history of political unrest and violence from warring 
gangs, kidnappings have been unusual. More than 100 cases have been reported so 
far this year -- nearly half of those in the month of July.

The problem is so prevalent, the U.N. security force last year formed an 
anti-kidnapping unit, which includes several Haitian-American police officers 
from South Florida who provide technical assistance to the understaffed Haitian 
National Police. The police component of the international security force, 
known as UNPOL, recently tried to raise public awareness by releasing tips on 
kidnapping preparedness. Among the advice: Don't discuss private affairs in 
public, install an alarm system and don't talk on the cellphone while driving.

TOP OF LIST

Those calling for an end to the violence place kidnappings at the top of the 
long list of Haitian problems, but authorities are at a loss on how to combat 
it quickly -- unless the 8,800-strong U.N. peacekeeping force is allowed to 
take on a stronger role in assisting the Haitian police force.

''Kidnappings are the biggest threat right now,'' said Leslie Dallemand, 
coordinator of the anti-kidnapping unit for UNPOL. ``So many people are making 
financial gains, that it's become widespread. Every day, when you step out in 
the street, you're a potential victim.

''Those kidnappers are very well-organized and armed, probably more armed than 
[Haitian] police officers,'' said Dallemand, a retired Miami police officer and 
one of about 15 Haitian Americans that form part of the international 
peacekeeping mission.

The Haitian National Police do not have the manpower, equipment or training to 
launch an effective offensive, and the U.N. officers can only provide technical 
assistance. They are not allowed to make arrests or enforce the law, although 
there is widespread consensus that the Haitian and international security 
forces must be allowed to deal with the problem immediately.

''I can't tell [Haitian] police officers what to do,'' said Emmanuel Nelson, 
another retired Haitian-American officer from Miami-Dade County. ``I can only 
show them, if they are willing to learn.''

The woman abducted last week, a foreigner who has lived in Haiti for more than 
six years, is a typical case.

She was a passenger in a vehicle when several men climbed in and ordered the 
driver to keep going. The kidnappers put dark glasses over her eyes.

''When they put the glasses on me, I knew what was happening,'' said the woman, 
whose identity is being withheld because of the ongoing investigation. The men 
took her cellphone, had the driver take them to an unknown location and placed 
her into a room alone.

AFRAID TO SEEK HELP

''Three people took turns hitting me,'' the woman said. The kidnappers told her 
they wanted money and threatened her with guns to make their point. ``I had 
like three or four firearms pointed at me, as if one wasn't enough to kill 
me.''

UNPOL has tried to address the kidnapping issue within the limits of their 
power.

They provide assistance with investigations, document cases and a year ago set 
up a hot line for citizens seeking help.

But victims' families are often too afraid to seek help because there is little 
faith in Haiti's severely broken justice system, even when arrests are made. 
Few kidnappers remain behind bars for long.

''They need to prosecute them fully, punish them,'' Dallemand said.

Nelson, a 25-year veteran who served with Miami-Dade police and retired as a 
lieutenant for Surfside, said recruiting more Haitian Americans for UNPOL could 
help bridge a cultural gap that is hindering efforts to properly train Haiti's 
understaffed police force.

''There is no country that can operate in a climate of insecurity,'' Nelson 
said. ``This is a real problem and that has to change. The only ones who can 
change that is a professional police force.''