EvanL
05-20-2004, 11:39 AM
Things have been fairly quiet in Haiti.
And that's a good thing, considering we have troops from CFB Gagetown stationed in the Caribbean country.
Soldiers with The Second Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment are part of Canada's 450-member contingent which is part of a larger United Nations force tasked with bringing stability to the island nation.
The Daily Gleaner sent reporter Mike Staples to Haiti to find out how the soldiers are making out and to talk with them about what they have seen and experienced.
In a story published in Tuesday's paper, Staples talked with Cpl. Dennis LeBlanc of Fredericton.
LeBlanc talked about arriving in the capital city of Port-au-Prince in March and there being so much garbage on the streets that it was hard to drive a vehicle. As well, raw sewage was running down the street.
In Monday's report, soldiers Staples spoke with said that murder is still common in Port-au-Prince. Shortly after they arrived in the country, when things were still very tense, Canadian patrols found two men with their hands cut off and their heads barely attached to their bodies.
Along with providing security, the force is delivering food to orphans, helping out at schools and assisting in the cleaning of the city.
Our troops are in a country that has been torn apart by strife for many decades.
Leader after leader has failed to bring much stability to Haiti.
During a rebellion to rid the country of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, dozens of people were killed in the weeks leading up to the arrival of foreign troops in Haiti.
A Miami Herald report on the weekend revealed that dozens and dozens of women were raped during the strife, which eventually led to the end of Aristide's rule.
The report stated that girls as young as six had been raped. In Haiti, rape is considered a crime against honour, and is a crime which, surprisingly, can at times be settled with a payment to the victim's family.
And it is not the rapists who are vilified. Often it is the woman or the girl who was raped that bears the scorn of others.
It's obviously a complicated place to bring peace to.
That fact might be highlighted today as Canadian troops brace themselves for Flag Day, a national holiday in Haiti.
Thousands of people are excepted to gather in Port-au-Prince, and that could be a recipe for disaster, say the Canadians.
"There are still people here who want to cause problems," said Capt. Dave Quick of the Canadian Army's National Command Element. "Anyone interested in making a statement can use this as a platform."
We hope all of our soldiers remain safe and look forward to more stories from our reporter.
It's a complicated mission, but one that is worth the effort if the women and men of Haiti are allowed to live in peace.
And that's a good thing, considering we have troops from CFB Gagetown stationed in the Caribbean country.
Soldiers with The Second Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment are part of Canada's 450-member contingent which is part of a larger United Nations force tasked with bringing stability to the island nation.
The Daily Gleaner sent reporter Mike Staples to Haiti to find out how the soldiers are making out and to talk with them about what they have seen and experienced.
In a story published in Tuesday's paper, Staples talked with Cpl. Dennis LeBlanc of Fredericton.
LeBlanc talked about arriving in the capital city of Port-au-Prince in March and there being so much garbage on the streets that it was hard to drive a vehicle. As well, raw sewage was running down the street.
In Monday's report, soldiers Staples spoke with said that murder is still common in Port-au-Prince. Shortly after they arrived in the country, when things were still very tense, Canadian patrols found two men with their hands cut off and their heads barely attached to their bodies.
Along with providing security, the force is delivering food to orphans, helping out at schools and assisting in the cleaning of the city.
Our troops are in a country that has been torn apart by strife for many decades.
Leader after leader has failed to bring much stability to Haiti.
During a rebellion to rid the country of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, dozens of people were killed in the weeks leading up to the arrival of foreign troops in Haiti.
A Miami Herald report on the weekend revealed that dozens and dozens of women were raped during the strife, which eventually led to the end of Aristide's rule.
The report stated that girls as young as six had been raped. In Haiti, rape is considered a crime against honour, and is a crime which, surprisingly, can at times be settled with a payment to the victim's family.
And it is not the rapists who are vilified. Often it is the woman or the girl who was raped that bears the scorn of others.
It's obviously a complicated place to bring peace to.
That fact might be highlighted today as Canadian troops brace themselves for Flag Day, a national holiday in Haiti.
Thousands of people are excepted to gather in Port-au-Prince, and that could be a recipe for disaster, say the Canadians.
"There are still people here who want to cause problems," said Capt. Dave Quick of the Canadian Army's National Command Element. "Anyone interested in making a statement can use this as a platform."
We hope all of our soldiers remain safe and look forward to more stories from our reporter.
It's a complicated mission, but one that is worth the effort if the women and men of Haiti are allowed to live in peace.