HAITI - Miami-Dade
Southcom chief, Meek tell Haitians not to risk travel
The Southern Command chief toured Haiti as activists here pushed for the release of 101 Haitian migrants.
Tue, Apr. 03, 2007
BY JACQUELINE CHARLES
jcharles@MiamiHerald.com

JACQUELINE CHARLES/MIAMI HERALD STAFF
Rep. Kendrick Meek speaks to a leading member of a United Nations troop at the Cite Soleil slum in Haiti.
Video | Rep. Kendrick Meek talks about trip

PORT-AU-PRINCE -- Fresh from walking the once gang-plagued streets of this capital's most notorious and feared slum, U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek warned Haitians to stay home and not attempt to take risky boat trips from Haiti.

''I want to discourage anyone that is even thinking about it from taking to the sea. Nine times of 10, they will be deported or even lose their life at sea,'' Meek told Haitians after ending a seven-hour trip along with Navy Adm. Jim Stavridis, who heads the U.S. Southern Command. ``I've seen the U.S. Coast Guard tapes of hundreds of Haitians dying at sea when boats tip over at night.''

Meek and Stavridis flew in and out of Haiti Monday, meeting with Haiti, U.N. and U.S. officials, but not before Meek -- a Miami Democrat who represents the largest voting bloc of Haitian immigrants -- also toured Cité Soleil on foot.

Barely a month ago, few would dare venture into the heart of the slum, where gangs freely roamed, bringing kidnapping victims by boat late at night.

On Monday, once-empty streets were full of life as children sang the Haitian national anthem and played with U.N. personnel dressed as a life-size reptile and robot -- all under the watchful eyes of the Brazilian-led U.N. troops.

The message from residents was clear: Life had become more peaceful since the United Nations' crackdown, which last month led to the capture of one of the slum's most notorious gang leaders.

But even with the near disappearance of gunfire by warring gangs, life remains perilous and difficult, residents said.

Few had heard about the old wooden sailboat that washed up last week in Hallandale Beach with 102 Haitians aboard. One man died, and one woman, five months pregnant, was among the survivors.

Those who knew about the migrants' struggles offered a poignant reason to risk such a voyage: ''We are hungry. We have children and we cannot feed them,'' Jislaine Germain said as she and a crowd gathered around Meek.

But hunger and even Haiti's unprecedented wave of kidnappings, which seems to be ebbing in Cité Soleil, are not worth risking death to reach U.S. shores, Meek said.

Earlier in the day, he and Stavridis met with Haitian President René Préval and Prime Minister JacquesEdouard Alexis.

They also met with U.S. Ambassador Janet Sanderson and officials in charge of the U.N. Stabilization Mission here.

`CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM'

''I have cautious optimism,'' said Stavridis,who during meetings stressed international agencies' need to work together.

Stavridis commended Préval and Alexis for their work. He said the command is working on building an emergency operations center for natural disasters in Port-au-Prince, and that this fall, it will send a ship to Haiti to provide much-needed medical care to as many as 100,000 Haitians.

''As I went around today, I saw evidence of wonderful work being done,'' he said.

The proof: Cité Soleil.

In February, life was slowly returning to normal after U.N. troops went in. Now people walked the streets and mothers and toddlers waited for medical care inside an abandoned market in the heart of the now U.N.-occupied slum.

Outside, officers filled jugs with fresh drinking water, while two U.N. soldiers -- one dressed as a huge reptile, and another as a space-age robot -- entertained hundreds of children.

They shared gut-wrenching stories about the difficulty of living in the slum but expressed hope for the progress they had seen.

''My mother is still suffering,'' said Monize Jean, 15, of her unemployed mother, struggling to care for three children. ``I want peace, and I want school.''

MIGRANTS' ISSUE

Préval did not comment on the migrants, and it's unclear whether the issue will be brought up when Haiti's prime minister meets with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday. The meetings were arranged before the voyage.

In South Florida, many of the 101 Haitians met with immigration lawyers on Monday, and one group of activists vowed to hold a hunger strike to press the Haitians' case to be set free.

Shannon LaGuerre, of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, said one woman at the Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach told her: ``God was able to bring me here, so I hope God can keep me here.''

Eighty-two adults are being held in Broward and one at Krome; five remain in a Broward hospital. Attorneys today plan to interview 13 unaccompanied children and teenagers.

''The mood was frustration, anxiety and disorientation,'' LaGuerre said of the adults. ``They had no clue what was going on.''

The group had food for the first 10 days of their trip, then survived on dry rice, she said some Haitians told her.

The pregnant woman said she is doing well, LaGuerre said.

LAWYERS MEETING

About 10 lawyers from the Haitian Lawyers Association plan to meet with the FIAC and other organizations today to discuss how they can help the migrants, said Jeff Cazeau, HLA's president.

''We're all trying to get some representation for them,'' Cazeau said.

Haitian activists plan a hunger strike for Wednesday, said Jean-Robert Lafortune, chair of the Haitian American Grassroots Coalition.

This was Stavridis' first trip to Haiti as the commander in charge of U.S. Southern Command, and Meek's ninth.

Miami Herald staff writers Casey Woods and Trenton Daniel contributed to this report.


http://www.miamiherald.com/460/story/61677.html