BRIGAD ENTÈNASYONAL LAPÈ
BRIGADES DE PAIX INTERNATIONALES - PROJET D'HAITI
PEACE BRIGADES INTERNATIONAL - HAITI PROJECT


last updated December 2000

---

BACKGROUND

In 1993 Peace Brigades International (PBI) joined with eight U.S. organizations to form the Cry For Justice Coalition. The coalition placed over 70 international volunteers in Haiti between September and December of that year, mostly in highly vulnerable rural areas. PBI coordinated volunteer training and provided experienced volunteers.

In October 1993, when the U.S. military ship `SS Harlan County' retreated in the face of a dockside demonstration by a few score armed FRAPH members, civilian U.N. human rights monitors also abruptly left Haiti. During this extremely tense and dangerous time, the Cry for Justice Coalition remained the only significant international human rights presence in the Haitian countryside, increasing their numbers at that very moment.

THE LONG-TERM PROJECT

PBI began its own long-term presence in Haiti at the invitation of the Haitian Commission for Justice and Peace and the Bishop of Gonaives. Despite the rapidly changing situation, the early experiences of the PBI team in Haiti confirmed the need for an international presence, and brought to light possibilities for fruitful work, including:

• Nonviolence Workshops: training in nonviolent conflict resolution was felt to be a crucial contribution to the consolidation of democracy in Haiti. The team facilitated workshops with peasant communities, local branches of the Justice and Peace Commission, human rights activists, and Justices of the Peace and other magistrates.

• Collaboration with Haitian Facilitators: following a training for trainers which we set up in June 1996, the team collaborated with Haitians to form a local network of activists prepared to facilitate their own workshops in nonviolence and conflict resolution.

• Accompaniments: we participated in several protective accompaniments that reassured Haitians who were trying to confront judicial injustice and impunity, but still felt threatened or frightened despite political openings. These accompaniments also helped to create a space for them to continue carrying out their human rights work.

• Land Disputes: in the tense Artibonite Valley region, we accompanied a local mediation process seeking to resolve land disputes between peasants. The issue of land conflicts is extremely complex in Haiti, and as in many countries, access to land is one of the most vital questions for poor rural populations.

To support this field work and broaden the team's sources of reliable information in Haiti, the team was also active in public relations, holding regular meetings with other non-governmental organizations, state officials, the diplomatic corps, United Nations agencies, etc. The team published a bi-monthly bulletin in French and English.

The project was closed in July 2000 as the project committee felt that Haitian groups that the PBI team had worked with were organized and knowledgeable enough to carry on the team's work.