Haiti: Rebel daughter of Africa

By Jean H Charles

I was in Cape Haitian over the weekend, en route to Grand River for the gédé celebration on November 1.   There, I was invited at the posh hotel of Cormier Beach to meet with a group of wholesale travel agents from Germany, Great Britain, Spain and the United States.   They were lamenting to the fact that their own governments are putting obstacles in the way of their goal of selling Haiti as a tourist destination by placing the country on the list of the most dangerous places to visit, while the reasons for such a classification are spurious at best, discriminatory at worst.

Haiti, as an emerging democracy, has no political prisoners; its people, with no clannish tradition, refuse to fight amongst themselves, while surviving with resilience in the most difficult economic situation.   Compared to other nations in the Caribbean and in Latin America, its crime rate is low, it has none of the at risk indices that plague the nations that comprise the so called pestiferous countries.   It includes Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, DR Congo, Syria, Libya (I am sure will be off the list soon) and Haiti.

Que vient faire Haïti dans cette galère?   It is the French translation of the English language term that cannot be printed in this essay.

When you are included in that league, the insurance companies refuse to provide the umbrella of protection for damages, injury and medical coverage.   The travel agents have both hands tied, unable to pour into Haiti the million travelers that cannot wait to visit the last vestiges of pre-industrialization, where the McDonalds and the K-Marts are not king and queen in a bland post modernization culture where Bergen Norway is undistinguished from Bergen New Jersey.

Haiti’s descent into hell started with a quarantine imposed on the young republic in 1806 by the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson.   In between there was gunboat diplomacy and plenty of ostracism from Europe and from the United States.   Closer to us Ronald Reagan, the president of the United States in 1987, told the tourist industry to avoid that country because AIDS is rampant and maybe endemic to the country.   Yet AIDS was brought into Haiti by Canadians and Americans who found a fertile niche in the country with young boys with parents too poor to provide them with education and sustenance.

As a plague when it is affixed on your back, the characterization is difficult to be removed, and the governments of the western countries blindly follow the lead of the United States.   As a self prophecy Haiti has been sinking since, into the abyss of renegade and predatory governments that were too corrupt to lead the proper fight to facilitate the removal of the country from the list of the most dangerous nations on earth.

Worse, one of its own governments invited the United Nations peacekeeping force to set up shop in the country justifying the alibi that the nation is at war.   Yet the only harm endured by any soldier of the United Nations in Haiti is the wearing of military fatigues that multiplies the centigrade temperature on the body by two from the year-round summer temperature.

In the chain of the Caribbean islands, Haiti occupies the pendant with pearls, gold and diamond that made that nation the reservoir of wealth for Europe in general, France in particular for three hundred years.   Why was that reservoir tarnished and stopped in the last two hundred years, when nation building took hold under the command of the Haitians?

It is a story of self flagellation of course but it is also a story of discrimination against a nation that for the rest of humanity dared to stop the world order of slavery of man by man.

The last manifestation of that discrimination is in the placing without proper justification of the Republic of Haiti in the list of one of the most dangerous place on earth to visit.   I have with the detached professional lens of a foreigner visited the four corners of the country.   I have found a nation and a people at peace with itself, labouring every day with meager buying and selling to send the children to school, to eat every day, one day at a time with no protection from and no security in a police presence, yet they are living as though the police presence was everywhere.

While in Cape Haitian, I heard a big commotion in the middle of the night, it was a large crowd yelling, “Baré! Baré!” -- Take hold, take hold!   They were in pursuit of a thief, the stronger ones holding the night intruder until the police arrived to take him to jail.   Haiti’s cultural background that has its roots in the fear of authority, the Catholic Church and the voodoo syncretism offers a natural barrier against hooliganism, criminality and social disruption.

I am in awe every day at two manifestations that would fray the patience and endurance of any other population. In the midst of the extreme misery of the large part of the people, they do not take up arms against their successive predatory governments and they do not succumb to desperation leading to suicide or pathological behaviours.

Even the earthquake of January 12, 2010, that destroyed life and limb on a large scale did not produce a nation in constant mourning unable to recoup but one that keeps moving forward in the struggle for daily survival.   The noblesse oblige attitude sort of national social security net that bonds the poor with the rich that was disrupted under the Lavalas regime is being replaced by an engaging president who believes hospitality for all must be the ultimate goal of its government.

Tourism is to the Caribbean what oil is to the Middle East. Haiti, well positioned in the Caribbean Sea, is unable to reap its share of the green gold bonanza because the Western nations have declared it should not do so!

Aside from good governance, Haiti needs no help or grants from the rest of the world, it needs the lifting of the embargo against tourism in the country.   It has a large population (10 million people), a young population, resilient and very creative that needs to be educated and oiled with the rudiments of sophistication.

Bill Clinton, the nemesis of Ronald Reagan, albeit not from the same party, the Cardinal Richelieu of Haiti imposed by the United Nations, has bread on the ground; he must undo the harm done to Haiti by Ronald Reagan!   He should start the worldwide campaign against the listing of Haiti as one of the most dangerous place on earth, starting with his own government, the United States of America!

November 7, 2011

caribbeannewsnow

Caricom division on Palestine in UNESCO

By RICKEY SINGH

Jamaica and T&T among five abstentions in historic vote

LAST Monday when history was created with an overwhelming vote to admit Palestine as a full member of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), there was division among member states of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) with five — among them Jamaica — abstaining.

Since this was a momentous decision by the General Assembly in the 53-year history of UNESCO -- a virtual household name in all regions of the world, and consistent with the Palestinian Authority's courageous quest to secure statehood status at the UN -- governments of Caricom that opted to abstain perhaps have a moral obligation to explain to their respective jurisdictions why they chose such a political route.

This seems all the more necessary, given the frequently stated commitment of Caricom countries to the Palestinian Authority's Herculean international campaign for statehood status, with sovereign territorial borders alongside Israel.

Having secured overwhelming endorsement at the recent UN General Assembly for its status as a full member — a matter that is expected to come before the UN Security Council later this month, possibly in a week's time — it was logical that the Palestinian Authority would have intensified efforts to gain maximum international support in seeking membership of the 16 UN agencies.

It chose UNESCO as the first hurdle, in the face of aggressive warnings from the Obama administration as well as retaliatory threats from Israel, but went ahead.

More UN agencies

Now, with membership status in UNESCO, and in the face of Washington's likely resort to using its veto weapon in the Security Council to frustrate its strategy to become a full UN member state with voting rights, the Palestinian Authority has already signalled its intention to access membership in all other UN agencies.

These would include specialised agencies such as the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF); the World Health Organisation (WHO); and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

A question of relevance is that, since prior UN membership as a sovereign state was not a requirement to secure admission to UNESCO, why did the five Caricom countries choose to abstain rather than be counted among the affirmative votes?

President Barack Obama's administration and, not surprisingly, the Israeli Government, reacted swiftly in demonstrating their opposition. Washington announced the immediate suspension of its estimated US$60 million annual funding to UNESCO, while Israel lost no time in responding with plans to engage in further illegal construction of "settler homes" in Palestinian territory.

Within 24 hours of the admission of Palestine as a UNESCO member, the Obama administration was again talking about recourse to its veto weapon in the Security Council to block Palestine's statehood membership bid, which was already massively approved by the UN General Assembly.

How they voted

As reported by international news agencies, thunderous applause erupted when it was announced on Monday that of 173 countries that participated in the historic UNESCO decision, 107 voted in favour of Palestine's membership; 14 against and 52 abstained.

Among the Caribbean countries that endorsed the historic decision were Belize, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia, Grenada, Suriname, Cuba and the Dominican Republic.

The USA had the company of Canada and Panama in voting against, while five Caricom countries — The Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis and Trinidad and Tobago — abstained. Antigua and Barbuda and Guyana were absent.

However, while the USA and Israel are continuing their diplomatic lobbying efforts to frustrate the Security Council vote, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Guyana, Suriname, St Vincent and the Grenadines have already officially recognised Palestinian statehood.

Other Western Hemisphere nations that voted in favour of Palestine's membership in UNESCO were Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela.

The United States' annual funding of approximately US$60 million, represents about a quarter of UNESCO's annual budget and it would be of much interest to learn that since the nations in the Middle East enthusiastically voted for Palestine's membership in that body, they -- particularly the oil-rich ones -- would now be disposed to help UNESCO in overcoming its coming budget deficit problem.

Funding concerns

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, in expressing his concerns about threatened loss of financial support for UNESCO by retaliatory measures (mostly from USA, but also including voluntary contributions from Canada), said it was the responsibility of all of the UN's 193 member states "to ensure that all the agencies receive political and financial support".

Washington's quick suspension of further financial support for UNESCO is located in a 1990 decision by the US Congress -- that was largely influenced by pro-Israeli representatives -- authorising the State Department to prohibit funding the UN "or any specialised agency thereof, which accords the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) the same standing as a member state".

Further, by 1994, the US Congress voted to ban funding to "any affiliated organisation of the UN which grants full membership as a state to any organisation or group that does not have the internationally recognised attributes of statehood".

Therein lies the hurdle that President Obama needs to overcome to give effect to his own claimed commitment to a two-state solution to the age-old Israel/Palestine conflict. To date, successive Washington administrations have anchored themselves in rationalisations of support for Israel while engaging in promising gestures towards the Palestinian people.

Questions of immediate relevance, therefore, are: First, will the oil-rich Arab states that voted for Palestine's UNESCO membership now step up to the plate to help meet the agency's budget deficit?

Secondly, does any or all of the five Caricom countries that surprisingly chose to abstain from the vote feel any obligation to offer a public explanation, considering, for a start, that even nations deeply beholden to Washington — like Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait as well as the "new" post-Gadhafi regime in Libya — voted in favour?

Let's wait and see!!

November 06, 2011

jamaicaobserver

Looking in Greek mirror and seeing Jamaica

jamaica-gleaner editorial

Jamaica, West Indies

Yesterday, Greece's prime minister, George Papandreou, shelved his proposed referendum on the austerity package that is to accompany the European Union's (EU) latest €$100-billion bailout for his debt-riddled country.

According to Mr Papandreou, he did so because the opposition has given its tacit support to the programme. He, therefore, has authority to push through the measures, against which Greeks have, for months, engaged in street protests.

The Greek case, including, if it holds, the opposition's support for reform, has especial relevance to Jamaica - not the least that the economies of both countries are gravely ill and attendance on which has for far too long been tardy. Their survival demands invasive surgery.

A few economic facts about Greece are worth recollecting: for instance, its €350-billion (US$485 billion) debt, which represents around 152 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). Last year, the Greek government paid out 12 per cent more than all revenue it collected to service its debt.

Borrowing to provide basics

The government, therefore, had to borrow to meet its other expenses, the effect of which is to push up the cost of borrowing - not only to the state, but also the private sector. A consequence of this debt crisis is the collapse of the Greek economy. It declined 15 per cent in three years; unemployment is 16 per cent.

Greece's crisis has been building for years, but the Greeks paid little attention. Luckily for them, the eurozone has a stake in giving Athens a lifeline. But the Greeks still have to take the bitter medicine, including public-sector wage cuts, the lowering of state pensions, lowering the threshold at which workers have to pay income tax, and a rise in the value-added tax, among others.

Peel away Jamaica's façade and it reveals an economic situation similar to Greece's. For instance, our debt-to-GDP ratio of around 130 per cent appears lower, but doesn't capture many off-book obligations. For years, the revenue collected by the Jamaican Government has been insufficient to service its debt. Our Government borrows for basic housekeeping.

Jamaica's politicians sometimes allude to the problem, but not often in tones that invoke the depth of the crisis and the magnitude and toughness of the decisions to be taken. On the hustings, they, essentially, are Greeks bearing gifts.

engage middle class

Now, though, the crisis is upon us and the politicians must not be allowed to distract people with rhetoric and campaign razzmatazz. That, as the country heads into a general election, is the critical responsibility of the thinking middle class, without which either major party, playing to its Pied Piper-led base, can win, but whose support is important for effective government and governance.

While the thinking middle class must insist on having the critical policy issues as a central part of the campaign discourse, it must also demand that implementation start now. It must penalise those who would play fast and loose with the truth and demand a post-election economic agenda from the parties.

It may be that Jamaica's politics is insufficiently mature for a national unity government to manage the onrushing crisis, but the thinking middle class can demand that the parties agree on the framework for enhanced cooperation and consensus, once the people have voted. They should know that if Mr Papandreou falls in Athens, the Greeks are considering a former VP of the European Central Bank, Lucas Papademos, to lead a unity government.

November 4, 2011

jamaica-gleaner editorial

Bahamas Blog International

...the death of former Argentine president Néstor Kirchner last year was probably the best thing that could have happened to the political career of his wife and current president Cristina Fernández

Cristina, magnanimous in victory?

By David Roberts

It may sound like a cruel thing to say, but the death of former Argentine president Néstor Kirchner last year was probably the best thing that could have happened to the political career of his wife and current president Cristina Fernández.

Without a doubt, the sympathy that the passing of "Mr K" generated for his widow, along with her communication skills in nurturing that sympathy and courting popularity, played a major role in her overwhelming reelection at the polls on October 23. Of course it wasn't the only factor. The failure of the fractured opposition to put up a strong candidate also weighed in, as did the strong economic growth Argentina has enjoyed in recent years. But the turning point was Kirchner's death, and immediately afterwards Fernández's ratings in opinion polls shot up and have stayed there since.

The country's economic success - growing at some 8% annually in recent years - has been largely consumer and export-driven, especially by agricultural exports such as soy for animal feed and vegetable oil, along with natural resources. Perhaps ironically, it has been the initially highly unpopular export taxes on agricultural products, which a few years back led to large-scale protests against the Fernández government, that have provided the funds for social programs which in turn have helped her gain popularity.

Winning a second term in office is, however, only the beginning for Fernández. She now faces major challenges in solidifying Argentina's economy, introducing the structural changes that are needed to ensure long-term stability and wealth that flows, rather than trickles down, to the general population and thereby develops a strong domestic market. There is still far too much poverty, and lack of basic services, in Argentina, a country with so much unfilled potential for so long.

The underlying jitters facing the economy are reflected in the high level of capital flight, estimated at US$3bn a month as more Argentines move their assets abroad, perhaps fearing another economic meltdown. This was something recognized by the government in ordering foreign oil, gas and mining companies to repatriate 100% of export revenues, and in the measures being taken to prevent speculative foreign exchange transactions.

Another major challenge for Fernández is political - she needs to cut out the cronyism, not to mention corruption, we all know riddles Argentina's political scene, among the multitude of both pro-government and opposition parties and all their factions. This seeps through to the country's social fabric and creates the potential for instability, and carries with it the threat that Argentina will once again suffer the "boom to boost" scenario.

But now that Fernández and her allies also have control of the country's congress, the opportunity to face these challenges is there for the taking. A good place to start is to reach out to the opposition and strive to form a national consensus, which she can now do from a position of strength, even dominance. The first signs from the reelected president were positive in this sense, as she appeared to be changing her abrasive "kirchnerista" style to a more conciliatory tone in her post-victory remarks.

bnamericas

The Bahamas: ...it must be made clear that there will be zero tolerance for police brutality in any form going forward, and all officers must be made to understand they will be held accountable for their actions

Time to tackle police brutality

By PACO NUNEZ
Tribune242 News Editor

Nassau, The Bahamas


A young man is at the wrong place at the wrong time. He walks into a grocery store right after it's been robbed and the cashier shot.

Overturned carts, frantic shoppers running about aimlessly, a pool of blood spreading across the floor; the shock of it all sends him bolting back through the door - right into the arms of a responding policeman.

Three hours later, the young man finds himself tied to a metal chair in a small, hot room, trying desperately to suck in air through a taught plastic bag as a burly officer pulls it taught yet again, while his colleague demands to know the name of the accomplice, the one who made off with the gun and the money.

In the end, terrified and exhausted, the young man signs a confession.

Such scenes are the stuff of a thousand detective novels and suspense movies. They are also a regular feature of the real life drama unfolding every day in our court system.

As a staff reporter I spent a year on the court beat, but can't bring to mind a single murder or armed robbery trial where the accused hadn't signed a confession while in police custody.

But when the court date came, they almost always pleaded not guilty. Their explanation? They are innocent, but the confession was beaten out of them.

As grim as violent crime trials can be, the presence of the same two officers, fingered by virtually every alleged victim of police brutality, waiting on the witness bench to tell yet another jury that, no, they didn't beat the accused, became the joke of the day among the Bank Lane press corps.

Of course, we knew that most of the sob stories were pure fiction. But we also knew that some of them had to be true.

Everyone knows suspects are beaten while in police custody; this country is far too small for that kind of thing to remain a secret. And I don't mean officers using force to secure a prisoner who lashes out or attempts to escape, I mean the use of violence to extract a confession, or sometimes just for fun.

Now, many Bahamians don't have a problem with this. This is a society plagued by crime and violence at unprecedented levels and many feel the justice system is just too soft on offenders; someone has to give them what they deserve.

The police are up against men who are little more than animals, and understand only violence, the argument goes.

And, we can be confident the right guy is taking the beating, because we have faith in the integrity of our police force.

But were the people who hold this attitude to pause and really think about it for a moment, they might come to some different conclusions.

Let us leave to one side for the moment abstract ideas of justice, lofty notions of human rights and the presumption of innocence, psychologists' arguments about how violence begets violence, and look at the matter the way a seasoned police officer would: in terms of good old-fashioned law and order.

CONSIDER:

* that while some of us, usually those with more to lose, do have confidence in the integrity of the police, a large and growing segment of the population doesn't - the very segment that concerns us: young men from inner city neighbourhoods, roughly between the ages of 15 and 35.

* that this is probably due in part to the fact that the victims of interview room beatings are usually drawn from this same demographic.

* that these young men, their relatives and friends are precisely the social group the police are taking great pains to reach out to as they continue to push the message that they can't solve crime alone.

* that if your son, nephew or family friend tells you horror stories about their treatment at the hands of police, you're probably less than likely to want to help officers with an investigation.

* that police are competing for the hearts and minds of inner city communities against a host of contrary influences, among them: a drug trade that promises money, popularity and power; a ghetto gun culture imported from the inner cities of our neighbour to the north; and various Caribbean subcultures that see the police as an instrument of oppression.

* that information secured by beatings or under torture is unreliable, as people will say anything to cause the pain to stop. Therefore, it is inevitable that sometimes the police will get a confession from the wrong man, leaving the real violent criminal loose on the streets.

With all this in mind, it isn't difficult to see how police brutality does far more harm than good, promoting the very culture of lawlessness and antagonism towards authority that are at the root of our crime problem in the first place.

Perhaps even more significant is a secondary effect: it erodes the faith in the police of the "majority in the middle", those who are neither the fans of "tough" policing of this kind, nor friends of the criminals.

Do countless suspects name the same two or three tormentors and describe an identical torture room in the bowels of CDU headquarters because they are telling the truth, or because there is a vast conspiracy amongst criminals?

Will officers really beat a man they suspect might be innocent, just because they're under pressure to get a confession?

Questions such as these muddy the waters of right and wrong, and lead many a law-abiding citizen to wonder if it isn't better to just avoid becoming involved at all - which, in turn, leaves the police with even fewer allies in the fight against crime.

How far this attitude can be justified is hard to say.

Senior officers do acknowledge that beatings happen, but put it down to the work of a few "bad apples."

Rogue cops certainly exist, but it is also true that fear and violence are considered important tools of the trade in certain units of the force.

A few years ago, the lead officer in a murder trial admitted to me that the case would be difficult to crack, because unlike most of the matters he handles, the witnesses and suspects were from wealthy families, came to police interviews with expert lawyers on hand, and therefore couldn't be questioned in the normal way.

"We can't beat 'em," he said when asked to elaborate.

Speaking to this officer at length, I got the impression that he genuinely wanted to do all he could to protect the public from criminals, but simply lacked the skills to conduct an investigation in any other fashion.

Officers

Yet police officers around the world employ a variety of reliable, efficient, methods of detection and interrogation that do not involve violence.

The government has made its move in the war against crime, bringing a raft of anti-crime Bills to parliament for debate this month.

It is high time the police force followed suit and acknowledged that a dramatic change is necessary if they want to win the confidence of the public and unite all facets of this society against crime.

The top brass should move immediately to identify the cutting-edge tools and techniques used in other countries that would be best suited to the Bahamas, and either send Police College staff to learn these methods, or bring the appropriate trainers in from overseas.

Most importantly, it must be made clear that there will be zero tolerance for police brutality in any form going forward, and all officers must be made to understand they will be held accountable for their actions.

What do you think?

pnunez@tribunemedia.net

October 31, 2011

tribune242 Insight

At last Haiti has a minister of tourism to match its potential

Haiti’s potential to become a tourist destination is immense

By Jean H Charles


I wrote a column two years ago where I stated that I have found in Haiti three women who deserved the gold standard of summum bonum: Martine Deverson, who created Artisanal en fete, by bringing together once a year all the Haitian artists under one roof; Stephanie Balmir Villedrouin, who almost individually gave life to the ATA, the association of hotel owners; and Danielle St Lot, who put the Haitian artists, the culinary specialists and the organic plant growers together.

President Joseph Michel Martelly and his Prime Minister Garry Conille were smart enough to select one of them, Stephanie Balmir Villadroin, as their minister of tourism. Haiti will have at last a minister of tourism to match its potential!

Indeed, Haiti’s potential to become a tourist destination is immense. I was at the Club Med in the Dominican Republic at the Romana, when I met a group of tourists from Brittany in France, who share our common culture; we have been educated by the priests and the religious brothers and sisters from Brittany, as such creating a natural bond. One of them told me upon knowing that I was from Haiti, he wished he was in a Club Med in Haiti, because the culture is stronger, the hospitality is larger and the view is better.

It has been a common opinion of the travel connoisseurs that Haiti, in spite of its pitfalls, is a destination that can rival Bali in Indonesia or Valencia in Spain. Haiti’s governance has been so delinquent in its performance that it could not achieve, nay, come close to its potential in tourism. The last minister of tourism as well as his general director was bartering for the last eight years a master plan that never reached the stage of application even at the elementary level.

Yet the calendar of cultural activities that the Haitians themselves have developed is rich in ritual, in meaning and in significance for the Diaspora as well as for the foreigners.

Take a peek.

From May 1st to November 1st, the day of All Saints as well as the following day, the Day of the Dead, Haiti is alive with a vibrant succession of religious festivals for the patron saint of the cities, the towns and the rural villages. This phenomenon is reminiscent of the medieval era where the pilgrims in penitent clothing travelled from St Jacques of Compostello, Spain, to the Saint Sepulcher in the Holy Land, Israel. The pilgrims would keep the Christian face intact except that voodoo syncretism has crept into the celebration, giving colour, sometimes squalor to the fiesta, repulsive for some and amusing for others.

Haiti did not leave the medieval era, the clock has stopped there.

From November 2nd to Christmas Day we enter into the season of Noel that could be as splendid and as festive as our neighbour next door in the Dominican Republic. The Dominicans, those from home as well as those from the Diaspora, started their weekend on Wednesday during that season with all the party and the fireworks that go along with it.

From December 26th to January 12th, the country should institute an International Solidarity period with Haiti. It was only two years ago that a strong earthquake destroyed the capital and the surrounding areas. To commemorate that event, when more than 300,000 persons perished, the rest of the world can demonstrate its solidarity with the people of Haiti by visiting with and performing some charity works in the country, with specific projects worked out in advance by the ministries of tourism, culture and social affairs.

From the second Sunday of January to Ash Wednesday, Haiti enters into the Carnival season that was cancelled only twice during in its lifetime. One of them was during the year of the earthquake in 2010.

Trinidad and Tobago, eat your heart out! Haiti is coming after you to rival the throne that you occupied for so long during carnival time! Young and old, rich and poor give themselves up to enjoy, party and make merry all weekend. Haiti has a president that used to be the king of the band leader during carnival time; will he lead the parade of the revelers? Come to Haiti during Carnival to find out!

From Ash Wednesday to Good Friday, the Rara season, or the carnival of the peasants, take place. It is an underground movement that is frowned upon by the good people of God. Indeed the Rara revelers in their songs and their dance blame God and their government for keeping them in such a destitute state. No one pays attention to their supplication. Maybe this government will; it has already taken the necessary measures to institute free education for all children, rural and urban! It has also promised to the farmers, low cost fertilizer for their produce.

It is already Easter and May1st is around the corner to mark the cultural calendar which, as the sun, will rise to shine for all those who cherish life and happiness.

Ms Villedrouin, am I certain will be as the Minister of Tourism of St Lucia, Mr Allan Chastanet or the Minister of Tourism of Jamaica, Mr Bartlett, amongst the best in the field. She has the stamina, the creativity, the simplicity and the humility to start with what can be done now, and achieve later the potential of where Haiti can reach!

Up to the sky! No limit in sight!

October 31, 2011

caribbeannewsnow

The rise of femicide and women in drug trafficking

by Andrea Mares, COHA Research Associate



While men have predominantly run drug trafficking organizations (DTOs), women have participated in them since the 1920s. Their role may have appeared miniscule compared to that of their male counterparts, but they have played key roles such as drug mules and bosses.

According to an interview with Howard Campbell, professor of anthropology at the University of Texas-El Paso, conducted by the Latin American Advisor, women, such as Ignacia Jasso de González (alias ‘La Nacha’) and María Dolores Estévez Zuleta (aka ‘Lola La Chata’) were prominent figures in drug dealing and trafficking in the 1920s and 1950s. [1]. Although women have been active in DTOs for many years, even at times taking on dominant roles, only in the past ten years have they become increasingly visible in the media.

The notion that women do not regularly participate and are not affected by DTOs is demonstrably obsolete. Women today are acting as equal partners in all aspects of drug trafficking, from running crews to laundering funds, resulting in the rise of incarcerated and violently treated women. [2] A glance into women’s association with DTOs reveals an increased crime rate, as well as the adversities that drug trafficking predictably brings upon them, and a clear lack of solutions to these often dangerous conditions.

Direct Effects of Drug Trafficking

In this era, it comes as no surprise that women have become more involved in the drug business. In the past, women could be counted on to struggle for their right to be loosely a part of a male-dominated world, not only in Latin America, but also around the globe. Over time, women have tended to enter many industries that were previously appealing to men. The same is true with drug trafficking, a very profitable business, with between $18 and $35 billion in drug earnings per year, according to US authorities. [3] It is not surprising that women gradually have increased their degree of participation. Once men started recruiting women as paid mules, their involvement escalated, as did the degree of violence.

Government efforts to impede drug smuggling have only increased the level of women’s participation in the business because women were less likely to be associated with drug trafficking and, therefore, could sneak past security with relatively small amounts of narcotics in their chests, or swallow pellets containing drugs. This second method of transportation could be highly lethal if the “swallower”, as they are known, does not make it to the destination in a timely matter, as the packet will disintegrate causing an overdose. [4]

Because a woman could use her appearance to bypass security officers, DTO affiliates began attending beauty pageants held in Latin America in order to approach contestants with the lures associated with drug trafficking and the income it is capable of providing. One example of an extremely successful woman is famed Colombian beauty queen and lingerie model, Angie Valencia, who was supposedly using other young, beautiful models to transport drugs in an international cocaine ring. [5]

Unfortunately, many women are willing to become a part of the drug industry because of their dire economic situations, and the fact that these dangerous missions were capable of rewards of thousands of dollars. The possibility of easily obtaining money to sustain a deluxe life style for their families is appealing to many women who consider drug trafficking as the one way they can gain access to a spectacular life. In addition, women are probably drawn to the excitement, mystery and power of drug trafficking. [6] By way of narcotic smuggling, some women are able to attain opulent lifestyles.

While some women are able to reach a high rank in DTOs, most women who get involved are taken advantage of because they lack alternative economic opportunities. These women are often easily convinced to act as drug mules and are assured it will be a quick and easy trip. The risks are not adequately explained, and, in fact, some women are even sent on missions, totally unaware that they are carrying drugs. What is even more distressing is that women continue to involve themselves in the business, blind to the consequences or too preoccupied with the chance to escape a life of degradation. Coletta Youngers, an expert on the subject finds that, “many of these women are single and poor mothers. The fear they may be ending up in prison or getting involved in the drug business is trumped by their need to provide for their families.” [7]

Indirect Effects of Drug Trafficking

Government crackdowns on drug cartels not only affect women directly, impacting those who may be working as bosses or mules, but also indirectly through a resulting increase of prostitution and sex trafficking. [8] These industries present an alternative when governments place heightened scrutiny on DTOs. According to the International Organization for Migration, sex trafficking alone can produce $16 billion a year in revenue in Latin America. [9] With such high profits, they are obvious choices to mobilize in the midst of increased government control.

Women also get coerced into joining DTOs because of rivalries between competing cartels. As reported in The Guardian, “the big rise in the number of women working for Mexico’s cartels comes in the context of the drug wars raging between different trafficking organizations and between them and the authorities.” [10] These violent altercations often result in deaths of loved ones, usually a boyfriend, husband, or other family member who was providing an income from drug trafficking.

When this occurs, the woman in the relationship is often forced to take over as the breadwinner. Trying to get a legitimate job may be very difficult if the woman has little to no experience or is uneducated; in this scenario, she will most likely enter the drug business and carry on where the deceased member left off, since she may already have easy access into the business.

According to Howard Campbell, drug trafficking affects women indirectly even when “women do not smuggle drugs but are negatively impacted by the male smugglers with whom they are associated.” [11] If a woman’s husband or boyfriend is in a DTO and storing narcotics in the household, he may very well be under suspicion from the authorities, and his house could be raided at any given time. The woman may be held responsible for the drugs if the true owner is not present, regardless of the circumstances.

This was the situation for Veronica Vasquez, who was interviewed by the Los Angeles Times on women in the drug war. Vasquez said her husband “wasn’t at home the night the army came calling and didn’t have time to dispose of the bags of cocaine he had hidden in the bedroom. Now she’s serving five years in the crowded prison in Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa, and he’s still free.” [12]

Overflow of Women in Prisons

The increased involvement of women in the drug industry is not only a problem for the women themselves; it affects the region’s crime rate and prison systems as well. Prisons in Latin America are quickly becoming filled with women imprisoned for drug trafficking; The New York Times reported that since 2007, there has been a 400 percent increase in the number of women jailed in Mexico for activity mostly linked to organized crime. [13] Considering that many countries in Latin America lack proper laws to deal with drug crimes, it is no surprise that women are overflowing the prisons. In some countries, a drug mule can face the same amount of time in prison as a murderer. [14]

There is a critical need for more government intervention and clarification on punishment for drug trafficking, particularly since there now appears to be more women imprisoned for drug-related crimes than men. A study conducted in 2010 concluded that overall, there are more men than women in the Latin American prisons, but a higher percentage of women in prison for crimes involving drugs. [15] As is evident, women will continue to be jailed for drug related crimes and the prison system will suffer overcrowding and worsening conditions unless legislation is adopted that can more forcefully control drug trafficking and related violence. More importantly, this legislation must be properly enforced.

Femicide Emerges

The rise of the number of women in prisons and the surge in their crime rate are symptoms of a prominent issue in Latin America, known as femicide. Femicide refers to the mass killings of women, and reflects the excessive masculinity that is associated with the drug industry.[16] The use of women is often resorted to modes of retaliation against the government for its crackdown on drug trafficking, or as a threat to other DTOs. In May 2011, a 20-year-old woman’s decapitated head was found inside a phone booth, with a message warning the government to stop policies aimed at impeding criminal activity. [17]

Drug trafficking seems to heighten the attitude that women are easily disposable, even though women often hold the family together in these societies. Femicides destroy family structures, forcing children to grow up in an entirely unstable environment. Furthermore, increased violence toward women creates an image that it is acceptable.

Although femicide remains an issue for all of Latin America, it has a greater presence in parts of Central America. For example, the amount of murdered women has tripled in four years, from 2005-2009, in many Mexican states from 3.7 to 11.1 per 100,000,[18] and María Virginia Díaz Méndez, of the Center of Women’s Studies in Honduras, states that, “Honduras comes in second to Guatemala for the highest femicide rate”. [19] Despite growing trepidation of femicide throughout the region, it appears as though there are little to no consequences for committing such crimes.

Where can we go from here?

From big-name beauty queens to poverty stricken women, drug trafficking has the potential to affect every woman’s life in Latin America. Drug trafficking is no longer a man’s world, and it continues to involve women at an increasing rate. As drug trafficking increases, it promotes violence against women and further cripples the legal system.[20] It is a very difficult issue, as policies aimed at cutting down drug trafficking seem only to exacerbate the victimization of women. Nonetheless, there is a need for better laws and efficient enforcement to curb the many pressing issues that drug trafficking poses.

It was perhaps inevitable that women would become involved in the drug trafficking industry. As Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, an assistant professor of government at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College, observed, “globalization, technology and modernization have facilitated the incorporation of women into…drug trafficking activities.” [21] Although foreseeable, no one could have predicted how tragically it would affect women, and it has now escalated into a seemingly immutable situation. Perhaps the only solution is to forcefully push government officials in Latin America to take more aggressive action against the human rights violations that inevitably crop up and the violence that emerges from drug trafficking. Until then, the future faced by growing numbers of women affected by drug trafficking violence remains bleak.

Source: Ethan S. James

References for this article can be found here.

The Council on Hemispheric Affairs, founded in 1975, is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan, tax-exempt research and information organization. It has been described on the Senate floor as being "one of the nation's most respected bodies of scholars and policy makers." For more information, visit www.coha.org or email coha@coha.org

October 29, 2011

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