Haiti, the Land of Justice Forgotten
Bruno Stevens
Haiti is one of the world’s poorest countries. The carelessness of successive governments, the protection at all costs of the interests of a tiny minority, and overpopulation, all these factors have contributed to maintaining the majority of the Haitian population at a very low level of development.
Despite the return to democracy initiated three years ago, living conditions in Haiti have scarcely improved, and the political deadlock which for the past 18 months has prevented a government being formed has fuelled increasing discontent amongst the population. Crime has flared up as a result of extreme poverty and the spread of shanty towns, compounded by massive rural exodus.
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The Haitian judicial system is powerless to process the huge quantity of criminal cases engendered by these circumstances. Suspects are arrested, sometimes only as a result of being informed on, and must wait months, if not years before they can be heard by a judge who, in most cases, owing to a lack of ressources, cannot order further investigation. And as the judges are under-paid, corruption is rampant. What is more serious, minor offences are heard at best once a year before the court of summary jurisdiction; most detainees have therefore never had a trial, and may spend two to three years in jail in preventive custody on suspicion of a minor offence. The overcrowding of prisons is worsening and has become a very urgent issue. The National Penitentiary Administration, APENA, although supported by many international organizations, is working hard to establish liveable detention conditions for the thousands of Haitian prisoners who are denied justice.
Food, consisting mainly of rice and a bit of sauce, meat or sardines, is of poor quality and is the cause of many health problems. Only those prisoners with relatives in Port-au-Prince can enjoy special treats such as fresh food, new clothes and a bit of money; others must live like paupers. The prison infirmary is rudimentary, and most inmates cannot afford the medicines they are prescribed. As a result, mortality is very high.
Reforming the country's derelict judicial system must become a priority for the Haitian government as well as the international community, so that the thousands of men, women and children who, from within the prison walls, long for justice to be done, can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Bruno Stevens
