Students, Profs Hope for Haiti

Several Harvard students and Professors express cautious optimism that Jean-Bertrand Aristide's return to power Saturday could lead to political and economic improvements in Haiti.

The Harvard-Radcliffe Haitian Alliance (HRHA) celebrated Aristide's return at Cabot House's Bertram Living Room Sunday night.

"I'm delighted that Aristide has returned, but there is still a lot of work to be done," says Emmanuelle M. Fleurinor '97, a board member of HRHA.

Fleurinor, a Haitian-American born in the U.S., says she hopes the Haitian upper class, which controls most of the country's wealth, and the lower class, which makes up almost the entire population, can work together to increase prosperity in the months and years to come.

"Working together," Fleurinor says, "the people of Haiti should be able to improve the country's infrastructure, help the poor and elevate Haiti to a higher position in the world."

Although many say they are hopeful that Aristide's return signals the beginning of a new era, apprehensions abound.

Eaton Professor of the Science of Government Samuel P. Huntington says that though the current mood in Haiti is Jubilant, "the moment of euphoria will disappear quickly."

According to Huntington, Aristide and the people of Haiti have a long road ahead of them.

"For any reasonable person, its very hard to be optimistic about Haiti," Huntington says.

The future of Aristide in Haitian politics is questionable, Huntington says, and the result's of next year's elections can not be predicted.

HRHA co-chair Nancy Monestime '95 agrees that Haiti's political future is unsure.

"Aristide is at a disadvantage because he has been out of the country for so long," Monestime says. "It's possible that he has lost touch with the Haitian people."

"However, if Aristide accomplishes what he says he will, it is likely that he will be reelected," she says.

Monestime says Clinton's foreign policy decisions had both positive and negative effects on events in Haiti.

Bradford P. Campbell '95, president of the Harvard-Radcliffe Republican Club, says he finds it "suspicious that [former leader Raoul] Cedras abdicated three weeks before the U.S. elections and his U.S. accounts were unfrozen."

"It seems as if Cedras was paid to leave in time to save the Democrats' re-election bid," Campbell says.

Despite the possibility that American electoral politics" played a role in Aristide's return to power, Monestime says "most members of the Haitian Alliance are very happy and are willing to show their support for any means that establish democracy in Haiti."

But not all Harvard students agree that the U.S. behaved appropriately by intervening in an internal conflict in a foreign country.

"It's hard to believe that we risked the lives of American soldiers for a known Marxist [Aristide]," Campbell says.

Marie E. Ambroise '95, a Haitian-American born in New York, says Clinton can still win a foreign policy victory if he handles U.S. troop with-drawal correctly.

"The U.S. should withdraw as soon as possible and let U.N. troops, predominantly from Caribbean nations, replace them," she says.

"It's better to leave the country's affairs in the hands of Haiti and its [Caribbean] neighbors," she adds.

Ambroise, a member of the HRHA board, says she looks forward to a future in which it will be much easier to visit her family in Haiti.

But not all those interviewed say the country's future will be brighter when left in Haitian hands.

Campbell says that although he "hopes that things work out for the Haitian people," he doubts Aristide's ability to make good on his promises of fiscal improvement.

"The Haitians' love affair with Aristide will end when the country's economic lows are not reversed," he says.