Since Haiti's new president, Rene Preval, took office in February, five police officers have been gunned down in the capital of Port-au-Prince, $950 million in international assistance has been withheld, and political infighting has endangered structural reform.

Yet these profound problems are considered solvable in the minds of Haiti-based Christian leaders, who have been re-energized by the return of democratic rule, the end of economic sanctions, and a new hopefulness among everyday Haitians.

"It seems like everything is a priority right now," says Marilyn Allien, spokesperson for Haiti's office of World Vision (WV), the international relief-and-development organization. "Since the crisis, everything has to be rebuilt."

Not all of Haiti's problems are "due to material things," she says. "There's a lot of need, a lot of poverty. But a change of heart is needed."

That change of heart among Haitians will not come overnight, many Christian outreach workers admit. And in spite of the return of former President Jean- Bertrand Aristide in October 1994, the lives of many Haitians have remained largely unchanged. "The mountain people still walk six hours to get their garden and fruit products to market," says Lena Siegers of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), an initiative among Mennonite and Brethren churches to resist violence in Haiti and in other hot spots around the world. "But they used to be able to make a living doing that. Now, others can't afford to buy their goods. There is so much rotting produce, the pigs can't eat it all."

In the Port-au-Prince neighborhood of Cite Soleil, the largest and worst slum in this country of 6.5 million people, recent flooding meant children had to sleep on tabletops instead of the dirt floors of their shacks. Some parents stayed up all night to make sure their young children did not roll off tables and drown. Nearly 70 percent of child deaths are due to diarrhea and malnutrition in Haiti, which has the highest infant mortality rate in the Western Hemisphere.

In response to the seemingly insurmountable number of "top priority" problems, Haitian Christians have redoubled their efforts in key outreach areas, realizing the necessity of cooperation, not competition, among hundreds of ministry programs in Haiti.

At the Adventist Relief and Development Agency (ADRA), "Our plans are to focus on development, rather than just relief. Relief can't last forever," says spokesperson Tamara Platez. "ADRA in no way takes a political stand, and, to be honest, that's why we've been able to be so successful. We cannot be political." At the same time, other Christians have taken up the task of social and political intervention. In broad terms, Christian outreach in Haiti is refocusing toward lasting social, political, and economic reform--a struggle for just and fair treatment via Christian ministry, development, and outreach.

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ENDING THE VIOLENCE: The most immediate threat for most Haitians is the possibility of renewed violence. During military rule from 1991 to 1994, an estimated 3,000 people were killed in political assassinations and reprisals. Since 1994 there has been a sharp drop, but not an elimination, of the killings.

According to Daniel Wiens, Haiti director for the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), violence by zenglendos, armed young men who roam the country, is on the rise. Banditry has filled the vacuum created by the evacuation of the military and its rule. In some cases, vigilantes have assumed the role of judge, jury, and executioner, hanging people accused of crimes.

This month, a special team from Christian Peacemakers will be on assignment in Haiti, working to reduce violence. Although more than 30,000 firearms and individual explosive devices were confiscated or bought back by American and United Nations troops, widespread fear exists that stockpiles of weapons remain hidden throughout Haiti's mountainous regions.

CPT member Joanne Kaufmann says, "Many of the weapons that the U.S. Army collected were very old, very ancient weapons. The people who turned in weapons were the ones who really needed cash. [Militants] who had the power aren't going to give it up just like that."

Ari Nicole, a Haitian businessman and a Christian, says, "When the Americans came [in 1994], the first thing we believed would happen was disarmament. We do not want to appear ungrateful, but the good accomplished by the intervention was very small because disarmament did not take place."

Haitians suspect that, once the remaining 1,900 UN troops are withdrawn, these hidden weapons could be used by the gangs or former military officers to topple the new civilian government. A young and inexperienced civilian police force is the sole law-enforcement entity in control after the military was dissolved last year.

During the CPT effort, Christians will be involved in resolving land and other disputes, visiting courtrooms, and "just being a presence," according to Siegers. She has spent the past two years confronting judges on behalf of poor people who have been arrested under questionable circumstances or who are involved in disputes.

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CPT's Carla Bluntschli says, "Wealthy landowners have a way of working with corrupt judges to get the results they want in court." CPT is planning a major initiative in Haiti from August through January that will include a significant presence in Haitian courtrooms.

ECONOMIC INEQUALITY: The prevalence of economic injustice in Haiti has fueled violence and crime in some cases. At present, an international aid package of $950 million for Haiti is on hold until the Preval government undertakes "privatization" reforms, such as selling off key state-owned industries, a move stridently opposed by Aristide.

While Haitian officials and international bureaucrats negotiate aid agreements, smaller scale projects, often sponsored by Christian ministries, are already in full swing, unencumbered by international politics.

The Florida-based relief organization Food for the Poor (FFP) carries out its work with the goal of bringing self-sufficiency to the poor. "In the past, millions of dollars in U.S. aid has traditionally been funneled through government channels and used to support the people in power," says FFP spokesperson Kathy Koontz. "We provide direct support to ministries working among the poor."

Among FFP's projects in Port-au-Prince is the replacement of dilapidated shacks in Cite Soleil slums with concrete homes, at a cost of about $2,600 apiece. Koontz says, "We believe that housing is the first step toward self-sufficiency."

FFP is by no means alone in its attempts to redevelop Haiti's economic base. Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) is overseeing a $5 million, three-year project financed by the Canadian government. Jean Claude Cerin, MEDA's country manager in Haiti, says the project employs Haitians in labor-intensive activities. These include building roads and bridges, as well as soil conservation and reforestation work.

MEDA also coordinates a rural credit program. Cerin says, "We are trying to provide the financial resources to people who already have the knowledge and the land they need to succeed in small business."

However, there are other economic issues that transcend stimulating economic activity. Haiti's child labor laws are antiquated, according to some leaders. "We are trying to get laws to protect children," says WV's Allien. "It is totally legal here for children to be employed as unpaid domestics."

Parents who cannot afford to care for their children often send them into the city to work as domestics in exchange for the child's education and food. "Very often, these children are treated like slaves," Allien says. There are an estimated 300,000 child domestics in Haiti.

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Few are more frustrated with Haiti's shattered economy than Attilio Stra, an Italian priest in Haiti for the past 20 years. Most evenings, Stra can be found roaming the streets of Port-au-Prince, offering street children and homeless teenage boys a chance for a different life.

At Lakay, an institute for boys, they will have a bed in which to sleep, ample food to eat, and an opportunity to go to school to learn a trade, such as carpentry or metalworking. Unfortunately, for many Lakay graduates, Stra concedes, "There is no hope for a job."

While WV's Allien is quick to acknowledge the huge unemployment problem--currently 70 percent--she also comments, "Haitians are self-starters. If you teach a man to be a shoemaker, he will find a way to start a shoemaking shop." World Vision and other groups help local tradespeople through small business loans.

POLITICAL REFORM: Since the process of economic reform is closely linked to government policy, several ministries have taken the step of becoming directly involved in stimulating political reform and working with the Haitian government.

Marco Barzman, an assistant coordinator with the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), says his organization has been involved since 1991 in organizing community groups at the grassroots.

"We provided training on how to form groups, how to hold meetings, what democracy is, and on basic human rights, women's rights, and children's rights." With the return of democracy, AFSC has been cooperating with the government in organizing health education programs in villages.

Focusing on legal and judicial reform, Leslie Demangles, a Haitian native who is a religion professor at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, says, "New criminal laws need to be put on the books. Also, the courts need to be totally revamped.

"Judges need to be retrained to understand the laws," Demangles says. "There needs to be consideration given to the interpretation of the laws and enacting justice. Judges are not aware that they can [interpret the laws]." Demangles says the legal system needs to be updated to provide for greater flexibility beyond simply putting criminal offenders in jail.

Christians also have initiated local cooperatives as a means of stimulating a sense of community commitment, a critical step in reform. Former Mennonite missionary Ron Bluntschli now works on behalf of the Foundation for International Development, a Christian organization attempting to build economic infrastructures while building respect and self-worth among Haitians.

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Working as a resource person for Haitian-led initiatives, Bluntschli provides technical support to cooperative farming efforts. He says, "A cooperative is an ideal vehicle for achieving democratic principles, since all members share profits equally and develop organizational and business skills along the way."

The formation of farming cooperatives is among the ways Christian ministries are trying to address what they regard as exploitation of the poor by the small but powerful wealthy class.

SEEKING SELF-DETERMINATION: Christians who are most familiar with Haiti, whether conservative or liberal in theological and political orientation, support the view that Haitians must be given a greater voice in determining their own future.

Bob Dargan, World Team missionary in Haiti, says, "People from other countries have come to Haiti wanting to do good, wanting to help, but they don't understand this culture. They want to do everything, instead of allowing Haitians to do for themselves."

Roger See, a veteran UFM International missionary in Haiti, observes, "You don't do everything for the people you are helping. It takes away their sense of pride and ownership."

Beyond Borders missionary David Diggs is optimistic about Haiti's future. "I think we'll be surprised at how, given some space, people will work together to improve their lives."

MEDA's Cerin points out that, despite the difficulties of Haiti's present, no one wants to return to the past. "The spirit of the country is not the same as it was during military rule. There is greater respect for human rights and human life."

Nevertheless, Cerin believes Haiti's most fundamental need is for "moral conversion, not spiritual conversion necessarily, but a greater sense of compassion in every area of life." So far, Cerin gives high marks to his country's new political leadership. "They have been very straightforward in telling the people what they are doing."

But no matter how well-intentioned and capable Haiti's leaders are, lasting change will require long-term commitments and an investment of time. Many Haitians cannot see very far into the future. Mothers in the slums, their breast milk run dry, have only water with sugar added to give their infants to keep them from crying. Reflecting on these conditions of absolute poverty, FFP staff worker Craig Cole comments, "You wonder how they survive." After pausing briefly to reflect on his own words, he adds, "They don't."

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