Situation 'impossible' as Haiti's woes deepen

[seemslikeadream]

The New York Times PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti The pile of garbage behind the spot where Marie Joseph sells tins of tomato paste started out small, the usual primordial goo that coats this grimy capital's streets, binding a putrid mélange. But in the two months since President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Haiti's first democratically elected leader, was forced from power by an armed rebellion, the pile has swelled like a rapacious tumor in the heart of the city center.
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"I have never seen anything like this," Joseph said last week, squatting near the pile, more than 3 meters, or 10 feet, high, wrinkling her nose at the stench. "How can we live like this?"
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Difficult as it may be to believe, people here say, life has become worse in the past two months.
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Mounds of garbage choke the streets. Electricity in the capital has been scarce for weeks. The police force has fallen deeper into disarray and crime has spiked, with a rash of kidnappings aimed at wealthy businesspeople. The price of rice, the Haitian staple, has crept up by a

http://www.iht.com/articles/518513.html
Haiti a seething pit of unrest as it awaits global aid
New government in jeopardy as living conditions worsen

Of a 6,000-member force, as few as half its officers can be counted on to show up, police officials said. A recent recruiting drive brought thousands of candidates, who rioted as they waited to fill out applications; a student was killed in the stampede.

Privately, ministers of the new government marvel at how Aristide was able to keep Haiti's government going.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/05/05/MNGKF6FR9N1.DTL

Haitians see little aid, worsening conditions

Latortue now faces an exhausted treasury, a corrupt and demoralized state work force, wary international donors and lingering doubts about the manner in which Aristide left the country.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/171963_haiti05.html

[ugarte]

1. As soon as he straightens out Iraq

Bush will fix this.

[Nlighten1]

2. No shit...

Can we call for impeachment yet?

[seemslikeadream]

3. ‘To be Lavalas is to be a criminal’

Lavalas youth in the Belair neighborhood, flashing the five-finger sign that means President Aristide must serve out his five-year term, set out on a march to the National Palace on March 11, the last major pro-Aristide demonstration before the new puppet regime, backed by U.S. Marines, began a slaughter of Haitians accused of supporting Lavalas.

http://www.sfbayview.com/050504/tobelavalas050504.shtml

[Webster Green]

6. Bush broke this!

This was a coup backed by the US to install murderers and drug runners, after we got rid of the popular, democratically elected president. Chimpy's thugs (including colon bowel) are all over this mess, as usual.

[leesa]

4. But Colon said everything was wonderful in Haiti! He wouldn't lie to us,

would he?

[seemslikeadream]

5. Maybe he doesn't read the papers either?

Deepening Poverty Breeds Desperation in Haiti

Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

A girl runs past a dumpster overflowing with burning trash. Since the ouster of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide two months ago, Haiti has sunk even deeper into poverty.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/05/international/americas/05hait.html?ex=1084334400&en=1dc89f1d819598f7&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE