More on Haitian Elections

[bcholmes]

With sadness in her voice [Haiti activist Ronique] mentions Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine, one of the most internationally recognised [Fanmi Lavalas] leaders. He was abducted in late 2007, just after announcing his intention to run in senatorial elections, and remains missing. A leading human rights activist, he worked tirelessly to bring former death squad leaders to justice.

— Jeb Sprague, " Fanmi Lavalas Banned, Voter Apprehension Widespread"

Tonight, I went out to see a screening of Haiti: We Must Kill the Bandits. One of my cow-orkers dropped a leaflet on my desk the other day; apparently his church was hosting a screening, followed by a discussion with Michael Keefer. I first encountered Michael Keefer a few months ago at the Ottawa Initiative and, as he did in Ottawa, he brought up Lovinsky's disappearance.

(There were some really good parts of the evening. I ran into Sister Mary Alban, who I know from the guest house in Haiti. She's apparently in Toronto having some medical things taken care of. Sounds like she'll be here for a while. Sister Mary Alban's funny: she's so acclimated to Haitian weather, she gets cold if she's under a fan in Haiti. Today's the first beautiful day of spring, here in Toronto, but Sister Mary Alban was bundled up like it was snowing. The event had a good turn-out, but there were a lot of 101 questions. "What role do you think racism plays in the situation in Haiti?" How do you answer that question?)

Later, a handful of us (including Michael) went to a nearby pub to chat. I was asked to tell the Lovinsky story, and I did. And then I came home and read this piece on the Haitian elections by Jeb Sprague.

I didn't know Lovinsky for very long. I met him for the first time seven days before he was abducted. Admittedly, those were seven days out of probably the most intense two weeks of my life. We were squeezed into an SUV for up to twelve hours at a time more than once during those seven days. We were often cranky from having no rest and no personal space, and we weren't always at our best in that time. But I liked Lovinsky. I liked him a lot. He was quiet and smart and insightful and warm.

On the first full day of the delegation, Lovinsky asked to change our schedule so that we could attend the funeral of a Lavalas member who'd recently passed away. While we were at the big cathedral, in downtown Pòtoprens, we got the first glimpse of just how important Lovinsky was. He wore a Lavalas pin in his lapel, and he chatted with a number of other Lavalas government officials. That's when I first learned that he was going to run for office.

Knowing all I know now, I believe that he could have one day become president of Haiti.

Today, Lavalas is being kept out of the Senate elections this weekend -- the elections that Lovinsky would have run in. Yesterday, 4 Lavalas activists were holding a hunger strike in the Parliament building. And Kevin Pina, whose film I watched tonight, is calling this Obama's first foreign policy disaster.