MissiOnLine.org After the Earthquake Haiti's Ngos denounces: «Totally excluded from the donor conference» Haiti, earthquake, ngos «The path set out for Haiti’s reconstruction cannot respond to the expectations of the Haitian people as it has not been conceived to stimulate development, but for restoration»

More than 26 Haitian civil society organisations and movements condemn the process that has been established for the formation of Haiti’s ‘grand reconstruction plan’ – which has been the basis for discussions at the donors’ conference which ended yesterday in Santo Domingo. The process has been characterised by an almost total exclusion of Haitian social actors themselves and scant and disorganised participation of representatives from the Haitian state.

The path set out for Haiti’s reconstruction in the Preliminary Damage and Needs Assessment (PDNA) cannot respond to the expectations of the Haitian people as it has not been conceived to stimulate development, but for restoration, even though the Haitian context demands a complete rethink of the model of development.

It’s regrettable that this document, produced by a group of 300 technocrats, was presented to donors ahead of anyone else, without having first engaged in a wide consultation process with Haitian social actors themselves.

We believe that the meeting scheduled for 19 March, with a number of Haitian civil society organisations in Port-au-Prince, cannot substitute the real mechanisms for participation of the different components of Haitian civil society as they define their collective future.

The crisis generated by the earthquake presents us with a challenge to initiate an alternative process, with the view to defining a new project for the Haitian nation, which considers serious strategies to overcome exclusion, political and economic dependence. In order for this new reality to become possible, and drives us towards a new era of prosperity, we need to break with the paradigms we have followed until now and develop an inclusive process which mobilises social actors. To achieve this, we must have:

1. An end to exclusion
Breaking the dynamic of exclusion is essential if we are to achieve real integration, based on social justice and strengthening national unity. This means the participation and mobilisation of the social forces which have traditionally been excluded such as women, peasants, youth, artisans etc. It also means turning the current, official structures of oppression on their head and the creation of a new state which operates on the basis of transparency, institutionalism, social justice and respect for diversity and human rights.

2. An end to economic dependency
The construction of an economic model which stimulates national production, with particular emphasis on agriculture and agro industry directed above all towards meeting our own food needs (cereals, root vegetables, milk, fruit and fish, meat etc.) This new model should not be dominated by the logic of excessive accumulation of wealth, nor by speculation, but oriented to the well being of the Haitian people, the appreciation of the national culture and the recovery of our forests. It should also reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and promote moves towards the use of the immense renewable energy reserves available in our country.

3. An end to the excessive centralisation of power and public services
To develop a model of governance based on the decentralisation of decisions, services and resources and the strengthening of the capacity of local government and the creation of mechanisms which guarantee the direct participation of Haitian civil society itself.

4. An end to the current land ownership models
To implement a process to reorganise the physical space in rural and urban areas which allows for the development of public spaces and public services such as public schools, public parks, housing etc. This means carrying out a process of integrated agrarian reform and urban reform which would provide solutions for hundreds of thousands of homeless people. To ensure this takes place, the role of the state and its mode of operating must be redefined.

The construction of a new model of development requires extensive, constant and wide mobilisation of the popular sectors with an interest in decentralisation and improved access to public services (health, education, drinking water, sanitation, communication, electricity and housing). Exploited and excluded sectors should be the central protagonists of this process.

This national project we dream of - for the integrated development of Haiti - should ensure a new public education system which facilitates access to a quality education for all of Haiti’s children, without discrimination, that the Creole language, spoken throughout Haiti, is properly valued, and a strong drive to raise awareness of the need to protect the environment, and of the need to prevent risks when faced with natural phenomena.

The health system also needs to be reorganised in the different departments, traditional medicine should be valued, and particular attention should be given to women’s health; a justice system which offers access to justice for all and which fights corruption. In terms of governance, we want a state which has control over the management of the country and which takes a lead on and coordinates international aid.

As far as international relations are concerned, Haiti should develop new relations with friendly countries, strengthening its capacity to defend its interests and promote friendship between states and nations. We need to formalise relations with the Dominican Republic on various issues, such as commerce, bi-national markets and migration. We call for the cancellation of all of Haiti’s debt. We hope that the tragedy of the earthquake does not become an opportunity to throw the country into further debt.

The social movements which endorse this declaration issue a call for people to mobilise and pledge to organise in the near future a Haitian People’s Assembly, which will address these challenges and define strategies for the alternative construction of our country.

Signed by:

PAPDA, JURISHA, ENFOFANM, AAR, Fondation TOYA, AFASDA, Gammit Timoun, GIDH Group entevansyon, MPP, CROSE, KSIL, KONAREPA, PADAD, MOREPLA, SOFA, Mouvement scolaire Foi et Joie, Media Alternative, Comission Episcopale Nationale Justice et Paix, CHANDEL, ICPJLDH, REBA, TKL, Cellule Réflexions et d’Actions Sj, Confédération des Haïtiens pour la Réconciliation, VEDEK, CODHA

*This document has been translated from the spanish language by Progressio UK