Can't make an omelet without breaking the will of the people...

[bcholmes]

Our findings show that human rights violations were common in the greater Port-au-Prince area in the post-Aristide period. Our estimates suggest that about 8000 individuals were murdered, with almost half of the perpetrators identified as political actors. Sexual abuse, especially among children, was also a frequent occurrence. Our data suggest that 35 000 women and girls were raped during the time period examined; more than half of the victims were children. Death threats, threats of sexual violence, and threats of physical violence were also common occurrences. Criminals, the Haitian National Police (and other governmental security forces), and UN peacekeepers were the most identified perpetrators of threats of bodily harm. Brazilian and Jordanian peacekeepers were the most frequently identified among foreign soldiers.

-- "Human rights abuse and other criminal violations in Port-au-Prince, Haiti: a random survey of households" in The Lancet, a well-respected British medical journal

The article acknowledges that it doesn't have pre- and post-coup comparative numbers. Just to put 8000 murders in context, Wikipedia pegs the population of the whole country at 8,528,000 and the population of Port-au-Prince at 1,277,000.

Canada and the US created the Haitian National Police during the interim government, and its training is a big part of our "aid" to the country.

Comments

[bcholmes.livejournal.com]

The article also includes a table indicating the mean per-head income per week in Gourdes. In Cité Soleil, the poorest area, and one of the most highly-targeted, the average weekly income is 310.2 Gourdes. That's about USD $8.24 per week (based on today's exchange rate, which is pretty close to what it was in mid-2005).

Even in the most wealthy area specified, Petionville, the weekly income was 758.3 Gourdes.