By Nelson del Castillo

PUERTO PRINCIPE, HAITI

From the moment you arrive at the international
airport a few miles from the center of Puerto Prin-

Cipe, you feel the presence of the repressive milit- -

ary police who, with cold expressions on their
faces, check the passports of the arriving tourists.
In the background a billboard with a picture of
25-year-old dictator Jean Claude Duvalier reads:
“My father made the political revolution, I will
Make the economic one.”’

It has been six years now since Duvalier made

this decree. But for the millions of inhabitants in
Haiti a desolate poverty and perpetual fear pre-
Vails. “We are careful not to speak about politics; it
Could be dangerous,”’ a young man said when ques-
tioned about the general situation of this Caribbean
Nation. Nevertheless, he admitted that “for us (the
young people) opportunities are minimal.”
The young dictator was appointed hereditary
President by his father, Francois Duvalier, who
-80verned the country for 14 years in a climate of
terror. Hundreds of political prisoners were killed
during that period. Today, six years after the death

of his father, Duvalier wants to give the impression.

abroad that Haiti is experiencing a period of
liberalization. Little is written, however, about the
recent political repression — the imprisonment
and assassination of opponents-of the Duvalierist
regime, such as the case of 23-year-old journalist
Gasner Raymond and radio reporter Marie

_ Therese Feval, who was imprisoned in 1975 and
nee one year later in the dungeons of the dictator-
Ship. -

Recent statistics clearly reflect the oppressive
Socio-economic situation in Haiti. It is estimated
that since 1970 the national foreign debt has in-

| Creased five times due to so-called foreign aid,
_ primarily from the United States. In the past year

Haiti has received some 75 million dollars worth of

loans from international financiers, money which

“never filters down to the thousands of poverty
stricken people who try to make a living in any way
they can. ; .

- An average worker in Haiti earns the equivalent
of $1.30 a day, has no union protection and works
under extremely difficult conditions. Unemploy-
ment and underemployment have reached scan-
dalous proportions, affecting more than 80% of the

- Population, which suffers chronic hunger, malnu--

trition and anemia. Over 50% of the people have

been inflicted by tuberculdsis,-one ofthe most ‘

Common diseases here.
There is one dector for 115,000 persons, there-
fore the majority:-have no access to medical care.

i

One of the streets that border the P

on

2.33

ee & . : & mm 4
Very few hospitals or private clinics are found ac-
ross the country.

There is no future for Haitian children. Their
main struggle is the immediate day-to-day exis-
tence. Only 20% go to school; the rest, who never-
receive and education, are forced to hustle for work
in the streets of Puerto Principe and other cities.

- More than 80% of the population is illiterate. There

are only four technical schools in the entire coun-

‘try; the National University has only 2,000 students

in its slum-like buildings located in the suburbs of

_ the nation’s capital.

Only 15% of the national budget is spent on edu-
cation, while 65% goes to the armed forces and

Typical housing of Haitians living in the countryside.

Nelson del Castillo

uerto Principe marketplace.

_ ~~» . & EE

other repressive bodies which carry out the task of
preserving the power of the dictatorship.

Not everyone in Haiti is poor. You need only to
go to the sections of the city where the national
oligarchy live. There you see luxurious mansions,
the majority of which have expensive European-
made automobiles parked in front.

Meanwhile, it is estimated that 60% of the Hai-
tian population lack housing, while others live in
make-shift shacks. Alongside them the family dead
are buried, since families cannot afford to trans-
port them to the cemetery. “It is very difficult for
the people who live here,’’ commented a young
tourist guide to a group of tourists. ;

Eighty percent of the work force is concentrated
in the agricultural sector, which comprises ap-
proximately 50% of the net national product. Like
many other Latin American countries, Haiti has
not overcome its underdevelopment due to the
economic dependence théy find themselves sub-
jected to.

The U.S. multinational corporations, like Ken-
necott Copper Corporation and Reynolds Mining,
and the French Penniroyal, make extensive in-
vestments here. They also extract the rich mineral
resources of the country, while the people receive
no real benefit. In the past year the number of
North American banks in Haiti have increased —

_ topping the list are Citibank and Chase Manhattan.

In spite of the internal repression, carried out by
the Tonton Macoutes and The Leopards, the popu-
lar resistance continues to grow and the campaigns
for international solidarity have had positive .re-
sults. Recently more than 100 political prisoners
were released.

It is difficult, however, to predict how long this
situation will go on. But those in power in this na-
tion of Black people are sitting on a powderkeg that
could explode at any moment.

Translated from the Spanish
by Cindy Hawes.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MARCH 31, 1978—Page 7