Contributing to Reducing Armed Violence through Development

Initiatives in Haiti

Conference on Armed Violence & Development

Geneva, 21 – 22 January 2008

‘All too often, stories coming out of Haiti only focus on the negative aspects of life here. To be sure,

this is a troubled country, characterized by violence and poverty, with an overwhelming

number of sad stories to be told…

…But it is also a country full of seeds of hope, with passionate and dedicated people working to

make a difference, to make things better. These are the stories that Oxfam GB-Haiti wants to tell – about these seeds of hope that OGB is helping

to sow, to water, and to watch grow.’

– Yolette Etienne, Country Program Manager

Oxfam GB Haiti

A Troubled Country: a brief context to Oxfam GB’s work in

Haiti

…leading up to 2008 • September 1991: coup d’état against first

democratically elected President, Jean Bertrand Aristide

• 1991 – 1994: de facto government; massive human rights violations & murders

• 1995 – 2000: relative peace; expansion of organised crime & formation of gangs

• Contested elections in 2000 ►Political Crisis• 2000 – 2003: government supporters (many from

poor neighbourhoods) armed by the government, used to intimidate the opposition; on-going gang confrontations; severely politicized police force

• February 2004: President Aristide is forced to resign

• March 2004: • Multi-national Interim Force (French, US, Canadian

soldiers) arrives to establish order • Interim government installed

• June 2004: UN Mission to Haiti (MINUSTAH) arrives:

• in 2008: +/- 9,000 soldiers and civilians

• UN DDR and national DDR programs: minimal results

• September 2004: first wave of post-Aristide kidnappings and murders

• February 2006: Democratic elections held; former President and Prime Minister, Rene Gracia Preval is elected

• Haitian Armed Forces dismantled in 1995• Loss of a State-sponsored monopoly on violence• Liberalization & expansion of a “criminalized

economy”• drug trafficking• arms trafficking• contraband

• overwhelming levels of poverty and the absence of the State to respond to basic needs = fertile ground for the development criminalized economy

Development of an Economy of Violence

76% of the population lives below the poverty line living on US$2 per day

• 65% of people living in urban settings and 22% of people living in the metropolitan area, live in extreme poverty

48% of the Haitian population is under 15 years of age

80% unemployment young people from poor neighbourhoods

vulnerable to exploitation by groups engaging in illegal activity

Crushing poverty & Lack of Opportunities fuels Violence

• 2005 survey: 210,000 small arms (legal and illegal) in circulation; less than 3% in hands of legitimate State law enforcement officials

• United Nations Report (2006): almost 1/2 of young women and girls living in Cité Soleil and other conflict-zone slums has been raped or sexually assaulted

• 2006 vs. 2007: significant improvement in security situation

• Kidnappings: 544 cases (2006) ► 246 cases (2007)• Murders: 781 cases (2006) ► 352 cases (2007)• Murders of PNH officers: 41 (2006) ► 22 (2207)• Sexual Violence: 550 cases (2006) ► 467 cases (2007)

Weapons, Violence & Insecurity

Seeds of Hope: contributing to the reduction of armed

violence through development initiatives

‘You see this guy and he needs clothes to wear, and then he has a wife and a child to feed. He has no

job. He has nothing to do to make money.

So when someone calls him and says “go do something for

me and I’ll give you a little money”, he will say ‘yes’.

Violence isn’t really a political problem; it’s a social one for us. Everyone exploits this situation and it will never

change because of the poverty here.’

--P.L., Cité Soleil

Caroline Irby / Oxfam

Reducing Gender-Based Violence and HIV/AIDS transmission in Cité Soleil

Cité Soleil: dubbed by the UN as “the most dangerous place on earth”

• Population: + 350,000• Unemployment is 95%;

schooling and basic services almost non-existent

• Presence of several rival gangs & scene of extreme levels of violence over the past 10 years

• when asked what they wanted most, 90% first said “more to eat”; after that, schools and jobs

Caroline Irby / Oxfam

Project Aims & Activities• Global objective: to reduce the transmission of

HIV/AIDS and the propagation of gender-based violence in Cité Soleil

• Specific Objectives: • to increase the awareness among young men and

women about HIV AIDS and gender equity, especially gender-based violence, and

• to develop economic alternatives for young men and women at risk in marginalized neighbourhoods

• Approach: influencing the behaviour of men and re-integrating victims into community life

• Activities: • Specific training for healthcare educators• Organisation of community dialogues• Peer-to-peer education activities• Micro-credit projects

‘Each leader sent us one or two- including Amaral and Evens [the two major gang leaders]:

both of them sent 2. We trained them and put them onto the streets as health agents.

We pay them 2,000 Haitian gourdes (+/- US$60) a month. Some of these boys were gangsters,

some just people the leaders knew. But I think they have all now left the gangs because of

the opportunity this program gave them.’- Dr Franklin Saint-Fleur, VIDWA

Caroline Irby / Oxfam Caroline Irby / Oxfam Caroline Irby / Oxfam

National Campaign to Reduce Violence in Haiti

• Launched in March 2006• Coordinated by a group of 15 organizations –

3 international NGOs and 12 national NGOs and community-based organizations (education, health, human rights, & community development)

• Principal Campaign objectives:• to carry out research, training, and awareness

generation (on a national level) on non-violence conflict resolution, targeting specifically young people, women, artists, journalists, and educators;

• to support community-based organizations to develop community activities in high-risk zones to promote non-violent conflict management;

• to advocate and lobby for the development of national and international legal frameworks for better gun control

A Highlight of Campaign Activities

• Youth for Peace Clubs • Socio-Professional Training Activities

(new)

• Youth Peace Brigades at Carnival

• Music Training & Contest

• Youth Peace Week• Creation of Youth-Run Community-based

Peace Centers (new)

Working with youth is always a challenge – but even more so with young people

whose lives hang in a precarious balance, traumatized by violence and seemingly

crippled by unfathomable poverty.

It is then so incredibly powerful and moving to witness the level of commitment of

many of these young Haitians in becoming agents of change.

It’s about the process, and not so much the product - the process of reflecting on their role, in finding their unique voice when it

comes to working for peace in their communities.’

- Kristie van de Wetering, Advocacy Officer, Oxfam GB-Haiti

Challenges & Lessons Learned

• Programs aimed at improving the lives of at-risk youth must include their active participation at all levels, seeking to tap into their experiences, unique perspectives, and creativity

• Progressive Approach:• Music Training & Contest ► purely conceptualized by the

Campaign• Youth Peace Brigades ► sought more input directly from

young people, but did not involve the input of the actual actors/beneficiaries (i.e. the “Peace Brigadiers” themselves)

• Youth Peace Clubs ► a Campaign initiative; Clubs run by and activities designed, planned and implemented by youth

Initial Results & Impacts• Continuity in youth participants• Changes in practices, ideas & beliefs of

young people• Commitment & engagement not solely

linked to financial gains• Provision of alternative activities to

mischief and potentially dangerous behaviour

• Change from immediate violence reduction to dialogue on finding sustainable solutions

‘If you offer people money for their guns, it will never work. You might offer $500 for

their .38, but they won’t give it up because they know they can make $10,000 in a

kidnapping.

But if they have an opportunity to have a job, they would give up their guns.’

- Gerald

Initiative to improve access to professional training and

sustainable employment for young people in Martissant

Martissant• Population: +/- 50,000• Unemployment is 85%; schooling and basic

services almost non-existent• Presence of several rival gangs &

unprecedented levels of armed violence over past several years

• Average age of gang members: 20 years old• High levels of gang rape reported• Extreme environmental degradation

exacerbating sanitation conditions

Project Aims & Activities• Global Objective: to contribute to reducing the level of violence

by improving the living conditions socio-professional development initiatives

• Specific Objectives: • to enable 2,000 young people to develop their capacities via

professional-entrepreneurial training in the clothing industry• to enable 500 young people and 50 women affected by

violence to gain access to sustainable employment and income generating opportunities

• Activities: • Professional training for young people (clothing industry,

construction, and computers) • Establishment of small enterprises • Training on management, marketing, and micro-enterprises• Establishment of waste sorting and composting sites• Collecting and treating waste• Establishment of a community-based waste management

structure.