Live From Haiti: Baby Doc Returns

Port-au-Prince—Tonight, former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier retuned from exile in France. His arrival was unannounced. There is already reports here of his supporters and detractors taking to the streets to burn tires and perhaps riot.

Mr. Duvalier was the dictator of Haiti from 1971 to 1986 when a popular uprising forced him from power and into exile. He fled to France where he has since lived in relative wealth from the money he stole from the national treasuries during his rein.

His sudden return comes amidst a period of political instability and chaos here in Haiti. The recent elections marked by fraud and irregularities has left in place a political vacuum that some suspect Mr. Duvalier means to take advantage of. President René Préval, the current president of Haiti, and fairly unpopular, has had his term of office extended while the Organization of American States (OAS) worked to review the election results. The OAS has since recommended that Preval’s favored candidate, Jude Celestin, be disqualified, while the other contenders, Michel Martelly (a.k.a. Sweet Micky) and Mirlande Manigat be allowed to continue into a run-off election.

 There is now speculation, including with this reporter, that Mr. Duvalier plans to take advantage of this delicate timing to stage a return to power, possibly by a coup d'état. Mr. Duvalier still commands large numbers of supporters around the country who would be delighted to see him in power once again. It is unclear what kind of support he commands with the nation’s police and military forces, organizations whose support would be essential to any successful coup.

The streets are currently quite here in Delmas 75. However, there are reports of his supporters burning tires in Cité Soleil, the sprawling slum here in Port-au-Prince (and purportedly the most dangerous place in the western hemisphere). Other slums are also said to be mobilizing. Only daylight will reveal what Mr. Duvalier’s intentions actually are.

Live From Haiti – Arrival

Port-au-Prince—We descended through the clouds in the 737 and suddenly the coastline of Haiti appeared. It was déjà vu all over again. In June of last year I had gone to Haiti to see for myself the aftermath of the terrible earthquake that had obliterated the island-nation. Now, I was looking down again at the land that Graham Greene, the famous English author, had once called the “Nightmare Republic.”

I was apprehensive about what I might find (or not find, for that matter). Back in June I was shocked by how slow progress was in the reconstruction efforts. People languished in squalid refugee camps while nations and aid organizations congratulated themselves on how great a job they were doing. Billions of dollars promised to Haiti was never delivered. The Haitian government continued its long tradition of corruption and robbery. People continued to suffer.

The scenes that I glimpsed today did not give me great reason for hope, unfortunately. Port-au-Prince still looked much like I remembered it: an apocalyptic landscape of tents and rubble. Obviously, the money that the international community promised Haiti still has not arrived—or, if it had, it has not found its way to the people who need it the most here.

Ironically, I had come back to cover a story I thought would offer a glimmer of hope in an otherwise horrendously tragic story. This is a story of a group of 42 New York City EMTs, paramedics, and civilian volunteers who have come to Haiti to train the Gwoup Aiyisen pou Ijans (GIA—Haitian Emergency Group)—an all-Haitian outfit of 128 first emergency responders.

These EMTs, all volunteers and working under an umbrella of different organizations, will spend the next four weeks helping their Haitian counterparts to establish Haiti’s first operational emergency medical service. They will try to succeed where larger organizations, with far more resources, have failed. We shall soon see if they can pull it off.

From January 10th to the 17th, I will be traveling with these EMTs and documenting their efforts in training their GIA counterparts. I will also be here for such momentous events as the anniversary of the earthquake.

Meanwhile, stay tuned for real-time blogging, dispatches, photos, and video from field.