Haitian democracy needs re-evaluation, says head of Caritas Haiti

Published: 2004-07-30

QUITO, Ecuador (CNS) -- Haiti is in need of a new kind of solidarity from the international community, the head of Caritas Haiti told delegates at the Americas Social Forum. Father Wilnes Tilus suggested that international efforts to build democracy in Haiti over the last 11 years are off-track and need to be re-evaluated. "There can be no democracy in a country where the people live in misery," Father Tilus said at a July 28 workshop, "Is Another Democracy Possible?" "We need a minimum base of economic conditions to ensure a base for democracy." Father Tilus decried the fact that the international community has just spent millions of dollars on a new development plan for the country without any real consultation with the country's poor. The Haitian priest spoke at one of about 300 workshops and activities scheduled at the July 25-30 forum in Quito.

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