Les Cayes Report

By Brian Concannon

31/8/95 - Micivih-Zen

The closest thing to excitement lately in the South was the report of a hurricane arriving on Friday 4 August in the afternoon. On the way in, the storm must have heard what a Friday night in Les Cayes was like, for it never showed up. (Note to prospective visitors -after the usual good night's sleep on Friday night, the local beaches are exceptional, and the accommodations beat those of Port-de-Paix).

The valiant efforts of Base 3 over the last six months have all but eradicated human rights violations in the department, at least the types of violations that the veterans saw in earlier missions, and the rookies expected on arrival. After a brief transition period in which the main activities were 1) entering the latest election schedule in one's date book, and 2) waiting in line for a computer (those who had their date books on the Base's computers had twice as much to do), Base 3 has started transferring its energies to new initiatives, such as civic education and an in-depth examination of the local legal machinery.

Deprived of satellite TV, and consequently deprived of late breaking O.J. trial news, Base 3 observers have compensated by joining the enthusiastic crowds "assisting" (in both the French and English senses of the word) at the Assises Criminelles, discussing trial strategy, criminal procedure and human rights with each other, the lawyers, judges and members of the crowd. In addition to their entertainment value, the trials have offered a window into the criminal justice system, and spawned lively debates back at the office.

Another source of friendly discord at the morning meetings has been the Base's civic education program. As we work out the details of the program, we have had to address issues fundamental to a human rights mission, and our presence here. We would appreciate the benefit of the wisdom of any other bases that have implemented a civic education program, regarding both the practical aspects of your program and the consensuses reached on the "why we are here anyway" questions.

Because we manage to air our disputes without throwing rocks at each other (other than disputes over computer access, which are unresolvable), Base 3 claims some relative expertise in dispute resolution and conciliation. We have taken this show on the road, conducting conciliation meetings in communities afflicted with more than the average allocation of disharmony.

Often the communities we visit have communication gaps that lead to mistrust and human rights violations. Through the conciliation meetings, we have tried to help the participants find ways to resolve disagreements in a constructive manner, using existing leadership and other structures. The meetings have been a success, threatening to eliminate the few human rights violations that still justifies our existence.

As far as actual observation goes, to summarize 175 pages of reports: 1) the new police have not arrived in the South, every location without a continuous IPSF presence is clamoring for one, those with know better; 2) the arrival of new, apparently trained and motivated prison guards in Les Cayes has made a difference; 3) we have partial elections someday in two communes; and 4) we are desperately in need of more computers.

Base 3 welcomes Hussein Aziz and Carolyn Buff, both reincarnated from lesser bases, as well as new observer Anastasia Makarova, and mourns the departure of Atoki Ileka, aussi connu comme Christian, who soon returns with his famous laugh to the Zairian mission to the UN in New York, until MICIVIH 4.