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<div class="entry-date">October 24, 2013<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/10/24/justice-and-reparations-in-haiti/">http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/10/24/justice-and-reparations-in-haiti/</a><br>
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<div class="subheadlinestyle">Signs of Hope</div>
<h1 class="article-title">Justice and Reparations in Haiti</h1>
<div class="mainauthorstyle">by FRAN QUIGLEY</div>
<div class="main-text">
<p><big><big>The month of October brings an unwelcome anniversary for
Jacqueline Olonville.</big></big></p>
<p><big><big>A 54 year-old mother and grandmother who sells plaintains
by the road that runs through the village of Bocozelle, Haiti,
Olonville was one of over half a million Haitians who were sickened by
the massive cholera outbreak of October, 2010. Olonville’s affliction
followed cholera’s frightening, filthy pattern—severe stomach pain
followed by uncontrollable diarrhea and vomiting. Fortunately, she
reached a hospital in time.</big></big></p>
<p><big><big>When I spoke to her during a visit last year, I asked
Olonville if she knew people in her community who did not survive the <i>kolera</i>.
“<i>Wi. Anpil</i>!” she replied. Many. Especially children and old
people.</big></big></p>
<p><big><big>Indeed, 8,000 Haitians have been killed by cholera, and
hundreds more die each year. Haiti had avoided cholera for a century
before the outbreak triggered by United Nations troops systematically
dumping untreated, infected human waste into the country’s primary
river. Despite overwhelming evidence of the UN’s responsibility,
evidence that includes the analysis of the UN’s own experts, Haitian
victims have not received so much as an apology for their grievous
losses, much less a remedy.</big></big></p>
<p><big><big>But, after three years of UN stonewalling, the outlook is
finally improving for Jacqueline Olonville and other cholera victims.
Earlier this month, at a Geneva ceremony honoring the work of Haitian
human rights attorney Mario Joseph, UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights <i>Navanethem Pillay </i>deviated from her prepared remarks.
“Those who suffered as a result of that cholera (should) be provided
with compensation,” Pillay said.</big></big></p>
<p><big><big>It was the first time a UN official had made such a
statement, but it did not emerge from a vacuum. Pillay spoke on the eve
of the filing of a long-anticipated class action lawsuit against the UN
by the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, the U.S. sister
organization of Joseph’s Bureau des Avocats Internationaux. The claim
filed in U.S. District Court in New York asks the UN to provide the
water and sanitation infrastructure necessary to stop cholera’s spread,
issue an apology to the Haitian people, and compensate the victims.</big></big></p>
<p><big><big>The lawsuit is just the most recent in a series of actions
initiated by the people of Haiti. Street protests began almost
immediately after the cholera outbreak, then evolved into a
multinational campaign for justice that includes an award-winning
documentary, raucous demonstrations from New York City to
Port-au-Prince, and online petitions that have achieved global reach.</big></big></p>
<p><big><big>In response, over 100 members of Congress have publicly
called for the UN to take responsibility for Haiti’s cholera damage, a
significant development given the U.S.’s status as the UN’s top funder.
And the UN itself has committed or raised over $200 million towards the
cost of the desperately needed sanitation system. That amount is a
fraction of the total necessary to address the monumental harm caused,
but it is a start at addressing Haiti’s number one public health
problem.</big></big></p>
<p><big><big>This activism is a descendant of other momentous social
movements. Haiti’s campaign is rights-based, like the Solidarity
strikes in Poland, the South African anti-apartheid movement, and the
sit-ins and boycotts of the U.S. civil rights era. Haitians suffer
because their basic human rights are not respected, a fact
well-illustrated by considering the massive criminal and civil
liability that would have crashed down on the UN if it had killed 8,000
Americans with its recklessness.</big></big></p>
<p><big><big>Accountability by the powerful is the cornerstone of human
rights, which is why the cholera movement is so important. If the UN
acknowledges its responsibility to Haitians, it will set an example
that resonates around the world, where hundreds of millions struggle
for access to the most basic of rights.</big></big></p>
<p><big><big>That is Jacqueline Olonville’s goal. Never politically
involved before, Olonville now attends demonstrations and even speaks
to the crowds about cholera’s impact on her village. Some of her
neighbors, citing Haiti’s long history of impunity for the powerful,
tell her she is wasting her time.</big></big></p>
<p><big><big>But even before the recent hopeful developments, Olonville
said that she has faith that “something” will come of all the activism
and lawsuits and petitions. When I asked her what that “something”
would be, she gave a three-word answer.</big></big></p>
<p><big><big>“<i>Jistis ak reparasyon</i>.” Justice and reparations.</big></big></p>
<p><big><big><i><strong>Fran Quigley</strong> is a clinical professor
at Indiana University McKinney School of Law. He is the author of the
forthcoming </i>How Human Rights Can Build Haiti</big></big><i><big><big>
(Vanderbilt University Press). </big></big><br>
</i></p>
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