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AFRICA: Somaliland Takes On The Pirates

The walls of Hargeisa's prison loom over the city, giving shade to the peddlars and bored soldiers who sit and chew hallucinogenic khat leaves. Opposite the prison a barber works like crazy while the mechanic next door tries to fix a bike using a rock.

"Get outta here! F**k you!", shouts one of the soldiers, brandishing his rifle. In his faded uniform and red flip-flops he cuts a rather comical figure. His colleagues do not react so he takes matters into his own hands and attempts to scare me off by himself.

He is not fooling around. The fight against pirates, who fill the prison, is a very important matter for Somaliland, which lies on the Gulf of Aden-- a piracy blackspot. Since declaring independence from Somalia in 1991, Somaliland has never had such a good chance to make friends with Western governments.

Somaliland has still not been officially recognised by any country. 2 decades of stable Islamist government have ensured rapid economic growth-- at least by the Horn of Africa's standards.

In contrast to Somalia, Somaliland is safe and is, theoretically, a democracy although corruption is blatant and widespread. "Somaliland inherited the rule of law from its British colonial rulers. Somalia inherited the mafia from the Italians-- it is swarming with black mafiosos, an African Naples." So jokes one of the hundreds of currency dealers in Hargeisa.

The currency dealers sit in the streets with bags, and even sacks, of money. To buy 1 dollar you need a large wad of Somaliland shillings- 6,000 in all. Despite the droughts and famines which have ravaged the Horn of Afria recently, one can still eat several solid dinners with their 1 dollar / 6,000 shillings.

My 'guide' expects to be paid 600,000 shillings in return for gaining me access to the new 'pirate prison' in Hargeisa- through unoffical channels, of course. "You will have to pay another 600,000 to the prisoners if you want to talk to them." He does not hide the fact that if I do not pay, he will betray me to the authorities.

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Piracy is still a hot topic on the Somali coast. They are no longer small-scale, independent bandits but instead work for 'clients' who equip them with kalashnikovs and better boats, but who also treat them as cannon-fodder. "We risk our lives but we only end up with a quarter of the ransom money" said a former pirate in an interview with the local press. His 'clients' came from Jemen and Kenya.

On the Somali coast piracy is still good business. Young boys dream of following in the footsteps of famous local pirates who live in relative luxury. Often, relatives of pirates who have been killed or arrested decide to take to the seas. The concept of revenge still plays a large role in the Somali clan society.

A decade ago, 335 attacks on shipping were reported around the world. Last year there were 895 and more than half took place in the Gulf of Aden and off the Somali coast.

The tally is still rising: In the first half of January the Somali coast alone saw 8 pirate attacks. The pirates are not only better armed, they are also becoming more and more brutal. They are playing for significant stakes-- 12 billion dollars according to American estimates.

The government of Somaliland sees the fight against piracy as a golden opportunity. "This could be a step on the road to recognition of our country from the UN and the USA. It is high time that the world took notice of our development and efforts to achieve full sovereignty," says Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo, who occupies the posts of both president and head of government.

One of his ministers, who refused an official interview, admits that as long as piracy remains a problem, Somaliland has a chance of gaining international recognition. "When the pirates have been defeated everyone will forget about us. Who is going to care about the problems of a desert country in the Horn of Africa?"

The desire for recognition is the main factor behind Somaliland's war on the pirates. In 2 years over 300 pirates have been imprisoned by the Somaliland authorities. In the long-term, however, Somaliland is not equipped to win the war. There are no laws in place which can punish pirates for attacking ships at sea.

"In Holland, Somali pirates have been sent to prison for 7 years. In the USA they have been given life sentences and in Jemen they have even been sentenced to death. We can put them in prison for 8, 10 or 20 years for illegally entering our territorial waters, for possessing a firearm or for armed robbery. We can not put them on trial for piracy." says a high-ranking offical from Somaliland's Justice Ministry.

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Somaliland's capital, Hargeisa, is a compact city in the central part of the country. The sandy streets are host to a handful of government buildings, a large hotel and numerous street markets and mounds of rotting rubbish. Hargeisa throbs with life and the traffic jams start at the crack of dawn, the din of car horns falling silent only when the imans' calls to prayer issue from the Mosques.

Here and there someone rides past on a camel. Life flows to the rhythm of the hallucinogenic khat leaves. Drivers chew them behind the wheel, the police chew them and so do the guards at Hargeisa's new prison, opened last April thanks to 1.5 million dollars from the UN and EU. 87 of the most dangerous Somali pirates are incarcerated inside.

Last September Somaliland set up a dedicated anti-piracy task force. Funds have been ring-fenced for the Coast Guard in order to purchase more boats, guns and GPS systems. It is still not enough. About 600 guards have to patrol over 850 km of coastline. Mission impossible 24 / 7.

Admiral Ahmed Osman, head of the Coast Guard, recieves visitors in a small dark office in the centre of Hargeisa. "99% of the pirates are from Puntland. They are young men who are looking for one big payday to set them up for life. Most of the pirates we catch are just beginners. The ones who give the orders stay well away from trouble but they are the ones causing the trouble," he says.

Some of the Admiral's men have been trained by US Marines in Texas and Virginia but there is little they can do when the older boats break down, or when jeep patrols have to be cancelled due to petrol shortgaes at the end of each month. Still, they are faster and better-equipped than the pirates.

"If one looks at all the pirates attacks last year, one will see that not a single attack took place in Somaliland's waters-- that is down to our success. We have a great intelligence network, people inform us whenever the pirates come ashore to buy supplies. Often, when they cannot flee, they throw their weapons overboard and tell us that they are fishermen. That is when I ask them 'What are you fishing with? Your bare hands!'" The Admiral's laugh reverberates off the walls, which are covered in diplomas and maritime maps.


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Somewhere on the asphalt road between Hargeisa and Berbera there stands the wreck of a tank, a relic of the days of the dictator Siad Barre. Under a blazing sun a tired-looking woman hangs up laundry from the gun barrel. This sad picture does not mean war is a thing of the past. A border dispute with neighbouring Puntland (another Somali region which has de facto independence) is still ongoing.

Undefined borders, which prevent Somaliland being recognised by the African Union, are just one of the country's problems. Another problem is the fact that several key politicians have been accused of channelling funds to Al-Shabaab, the Somali terrorist organisation which wields power in Mogadishu. Al-Shabaab is currently under attack from Kenya, which has the support of the Obama administration.

Somaliland's window to the world has always been Berbera, the prinicpal seaport of the region. For years the city was awash with pirates who came to town to spend their loot-- mostly on cars, electronics and camels. Today, according to the admiral, the pirates only come into port when the Coast Guard tow them in. "Once 2 desperate pirates stole a camel and escaped inland. Idiots! They are only fast at sea" says Mohamad, a fisherman from Berbera. He has not become a pirate himself. Yet. "Who knows? If I start to run out of money, maybe I will risk it. But don't write that!" he laughs.

For every pirate from Somaliland there are 99 from Puntland, another self-declared republic albeit one which is far less successful in terms of stability, democracy and prosperity. In Berbera one can hear stories of a Coast Guard officer who, frustrated by meagre pay (32 dollars a month), become a pirate himself. His former colleagues now keep him under lock and key in the capital. In an linguistic irony, badaadinta badah-- 'pirate' in the local language-- literally means 'guard of the coast.'

It is in Berbera, a small city blasted by 40 degree heat, that one finds the second 'pirate prison'. Built in 1884 by the Ottomans, it does not give an impression of impregnability and sports craked walls and terrible sanitary conditions.

Admiral Ahmed Osman says, "We should catch the pirates and the world should help us incarcerate them. We can catch a hundred but a thousand will take their place. Only a strong and efficient justice system can deter them from piracy."

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On of the Hargeisa prison gaurds, his teeth green from khat, is prepared to talk about life for the pirates behind bars in exchange for a few dollars. "If someone once lived as free as a fish in the sea then it must be difficult to be cooped up. Some of them never see their families, there is no real procedure for visiting." The he tells me the story of a certain Ahmed who spoke to a foreign journalist during the prison's opening ceremony. "He told the journalist with a smile that he planned to go back to piracy as soon as he got out. Now he'll have to wait for a second life" laughs the guard.

A few months previously 2 pirates escaped from the prison in Berbera-- Farah Ismail Idle and Abdirashid Ismail Haji who are both known on the coast for their audacity. The prison guards had been bribed with over 100,000 dollars in cash. Government radio and TV did not dwell too much on the story. After this incident, only a miracle can gain one access to the prisons via offical channels. One needs permission from several Ministries-- Information, Foreign, Justice and Interior.. In total, 7 permits, dozens of offices, hundreds of wasted hours, one passport confiscated by a civil servant fishing for a bribe and in the end.... Nothing.

No Minister wants to talk any more about fighting piracy and full independence. The nervous chewing of khat, the wind above the desert..."The sand always brings change" smiles the prison guard. The hardest fight, not only against piracy, still awaits Somaliland. For now, all there is to do is chew khat and wait.

Author: Szymon Opryszek Taken from 'Przegłąd' magazine nr.7 (633) 19/02/12

INTERNATIONAL: The World v. Big Tobacco

The Uruguayan government, concerned with the health of its citizens, has declared war on cigarettes. It has forced tobacco giant Phillip Morris, owner of the Marlboro Brand, into relocating one its factories across the border to Argentina. This is not an isolated incident-- more and more countries have launched similar anti-tobacco campaigns.

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Uruguay's war aginst tobacco started in 2005 when the oncologist Tabare Vazquez became president. After a year in office he had successfully banned smoking in all enclosed public places-- in restaurants, pubs and government offices. Currently, smoking is only allowed at home or in open spaces. Violating the ban can lead to a fine of up to 1,100 dollars or 3 days in prison. The president justified the new law by pointing to research which states that in Uruguay smoking kills 7 people every day, or 5,000 a year, through lung cancer and emphysema. It is estimated that one third of Uruguay's 3.4 million inhabitants are active smokers. Vazquez has launched an anti-smoking campaign named 'a million thank-yous', after the approximate number of smokers in the country. Cigarrete producers have been forced to place health warnings over 80% of thier packaging and have been forbidden from labelling cigarretes as 'light'. The new rules have particulary affected Phillip Morris, whose annual income from tobacco sales of 67.7 billion dollars (2010) is bigger than Uruguay's GDP (50 billion). The government's tough anti-smoking stance is thought to have been behind Phillip Morris' decision to close its factory in Montevideo. Angry workers were paid off with a sum equalling 36 salaries each. Angered by the policies of the Uruguayan goverment, the tobacco giant has taken its case to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (overseen by the World Bank) and is claiming 2 billion dollars in damages.

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Another country which is waging war against tobacco is Austrailia, where federal law prohibits smoking in government buildings, airports and public transport. Other restrictions have been implemented by state authorities. In every state smoking has been banned in enclosed public spaces, especially restaurants and workplaces. The anti-smoking campaign was launched by the previous PM Kevin Rudd who said, "Cigarettes are not cool. They kill. We want to implement the strictest anti-smoking regime in the world."

His policies have been continued under the new left of centre govermnet of his successor Julia Gillard. In December of this year new rules will come into place affecting how cigarettes are packaged. All packs will be of a brownish-green colour which, according, to the experts, is the least attractive colour possible. Most of the packaging will be taken up by graphic images illustrating the health effects of smoking. The names of the brand and producers will be located at the very bottom of the pack and will be vey small. There will be no logos or any other identificable symbols allowed. This last rule is the one which has really got the tobacco firms up in arms and is the basis for their lawsuit against the Austrailian government. Phillip Morris, which has 37% market share in Austrailia thanks to the Marlboro and Alpine brands, claims that the new laws deprive it of its 'valuable brand and intellectual property', without offering anything in the way of compensation.

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The situation in Austrailia is being closely monitored by other countries which are considering taking similar anti-smoking measures. Among them is Canada, where smoking in enclosed public spaces is already forbidden. In some provinces it is even illegal to smoke in a private vehicle if one is travelling with a child of under 14 years of age. Wide-ranging restrictions are also in the pipeline in the UK and New Zealand. In Norway, the state pension fund announced in October 2011 that it would sell all of its shares in companies which profit from tobacco. Phillip Morris was again badly affected. Iceland's goverment has plans to make cigarettes available on a prescription-only basis. Some experts believe that the next few years could be disastrous for tobacoo companies. "The industry is stagnant because every year there are less smokers, especially in developed countries where smoking will have disappeared altogether by 2050." says Adam Spielman, an analyst from Citigroup.

Tobacco firms are pinning thier hopes on the SE Asian and African markets, where there are virtually no smoking restrictions in place. These 2 regions are where the tobacco companies' profits are growing the fastest. In SE Asia 40-70% of men smoke, so the real growth potential lies with women. In Indonesia and the Phillipines, some brands of cigarettes are sold in packaging which is designed to look like a lipstick tube. Female smoking is also on the rise in Vietnam and Malaysia.

Author: Wiktor Raczkowksi Taken from 'Przegłąd' magazine nr.7 (633) 19/02/12

AMERICAS: Deadlier Than Afghanistan-- Mexico's Narco Wars

Mexico's northern borderlands are a war zone. More people die here than in Afghanistan. Drugs cartels wage war for market share and for control of the smuggling routes north. The gangsters kill police officers, politicians and journalists. They corrupt and intimidate the authorities. They have gained control over entire cities. The chaos is added to by a host of paramilitary organisations and countless guns for hire. The price of a life is around 1000 pesos-- 85 dollars.

According to official sources the state of Chihuahua, across the border from Texas and New Mexico, saw 2,276 drugs-related killings in the first 9 months of 2011. In the same period, according to the US Congress, 2,177 Afghan civilians died as a result of military action. The state of Chihuahua has a murder rate of 67 per 100,000 inhabitants. In Afghanistan it is 'only' 7 per 100,000. In the period from December 2006, when Mexican president Felipe Calderon sent the federal police and army to combat the cartels, to October 2011, Mexico's de facto civil war killed 47,515 victims. In mid-January 2012, the death toll passed 50,000.

In Afghanistan, the period from 2007 to October 2011 saw 16,774 violent deaths with over 11,000 accounted for by civilians. That is a considerably smaller death toll than that of Mexico's drug wars.

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Mexican newspaper 'Reforma' reported in January that in 2011 there were 12,539 drug-related murders, a 6.3% increase on the previous year. (In 2007 the figure was 2,275). 1,079 bodies showed visible signs of torture and almost 600 had been beheaded (compared to 389 in 2010.) 900 women were among the dead. The newspaper did not give any details on how many children and teenagers were killed but some sources indicate that the numbers is at least 1,300. At least 27 journalists were killed.

The media are afraid to report on the drugs war. Only a few fearless bloggers dare to document the crimes of the cartels and even some of them have paid with their lives.

Mexico's crime capital is Ciudad Juarez (pop. 1.3 million) in the state of Chihuahua. It is located near the US-Mexico border. The skyscrapers of El Paso, Texas are clearly visible. Ciudad Juarez is considered to be one of the most dangerous places on the planet. The Sinaloa and Juarez cartels fight over millions of narco-dollars and have both been challenged by the Zetas gang-- formed by renegade soldiers from Mexico's special forces. The Sinaloa cartel is headed by Joaquin Guzman Loera, aka El Chapo (Shorty) due to his height of 155 cm. After the death of Osama Bin Laden, Guzman became the FBI's most-wanted fugitive. 'Forbes' magazine has estimated his fortune to be around 1 billion dollars. In Mexico different legends have been told about El Chapo-- he never parts from a loaded AK-47, even when sleeping, and he changes his mobile phone every morning. Guzman dispatched his men to secure key neighbourhoods in Ciudad Juarez and to dig tunnels under the border into Texas. The US authorities have so far discovered over 70 such tunnels. The Juarez cartel have put up a fight. Last year there were 2,000 drugs-related murders in Ciudad Juarez.

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One of the foot soldiers in the war was 17 year old Jose Antonio, aka Frijol (Bean). His parents worked in a factory for 6 dollars a day while their son sat at home alone, watching TV and dreaming of an easier life. Aged 12, he joined the local street gang, the Calaberas (Skulls). The gang counted some 100 members. As a 14 year old Frijol was already taking part in murders and shoot-outs. "Some people came to us from the big fish and checked who was best at handling a gun. Once they had chosen us, they offered us a job. At first it was small errands-- acting as lookouts and looking after the small drug outlets-- but then they gave us important jobs. Killing."

The Narcos promised the boys that they would get away with murder-- under Mexican law a minor cannot serve more than 5 years in prison, even for murder. They also paid well-- 1,000 pesos for every murder. Frijol became a paid murderer for the Sinaloa cartel and does not feel any remorse. "When I hear the whistle of bullets I get an adrenalin rush but when I see a dead body I don't feel anything. Some days there might be 30 killings, the next day 10. It's all normal for us." The teenage foot soldiers do not live for long, though. When the Juarez cartel found out that the Sinaloa gang were recruiting in the neighbourhood they passed a death sentence on the whole barrio. Most of Frijol's associates have fallen to bullets or machetes. Only a few have escaped.

Jose Antonio survived because he was arrested. The police caught him with a full arsenal: 2 assault rifles and 2 Uzis. When he leaves prison he will be 19 and will almost certainly go straight back to the cartel. He knows no other life.

Sometimes the wave of violence overflows into the US. Last October some armed Narcos went across the border to recover a lorry load of marijuana. Hugo Rodriguez, a policeman from Hidalgo County, tried to stop them and was shot. He was wearing a bullet-proof vest and survived. After this incident Republicans accused the Obama administration of allowing the border zone to degenerate into a war zone. The Republican Governor of Texas, Rick Perry, has said that if he ever gets into the White House he will send elements of the US army into Mexico to protect the border from criminals. The National Guard already patrol the border and the US have sent unmanned drones across the border in pursuit of drug smugglers.

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There are 7 main cartels in Mexico today but there is also a steady stream of ‘micro-cartels’ and armed gangs constantly fighting to make a profit from the anarchy. When security forces killed Nazario Moreno, head of La Familia cartel, a splinter group of particulary brutal killers appeared under the name of the Los Caballeros Templarios (Knights Templars). They model themselves on knightly orders of the Middle Ages and claim to be protecting the nation aginst tyranny. In reality they murder, rob and deal drugs. After a raid on one of their camps, police found knights’ helmets and white capes as well as the usual haul of guns, explosives and ammunition.

Ciudad Juarez is currently being terrorised by the reorganised New Juarez cartel. They have hung up large banners warning that everyday they will kill one city police officer. In January unknown attackers killed 7 police officers and agents, including 2 high-ranking officials and a woman. It is likely that the killings are part of a campaign to force the resignation of the hated Chief of Police Julian Leyzaola.

It seems that in Chihuahua it is a war of everyone against everyone. Paramilitary organizations are also responsible for many murders. One of them are the Mata-Zetas (Zeta-Killers) who target members of the notorious Zetas cartel. In a video message the masked leader of the Mata-Zetas said, “We do not steal, we do not extort. We are the armed wing of the nation.” It is not known if the Mata-Zetas enjoy the unofficial support of the Mexican government. It is estimated that there are some 167 paramilitary groups operating in Mexico. Some are secretly hired by the state and local authorities who, with good reason, do not trust the official police. Some are thought to have the support of the Federal government. Their goal is not to eliminate the cartels—they are not strong enough—but rather to help ensure that one cartel enjoys local dominance in a given region. If one gang is dominant then the level of violence decreases. Normally, however, the paramilitaries are simply bands of hired guns in the pay of the cartels. Mexican organised crime expert Edgardo Buscaglia sys, “Mexico has become a bazaar for illegal special forces and a magnet for Russian, Ukrainian and Chinese mercenaries. There could be nothing easier than hiring 20 professionals to do a bit of dirty work.”

The USA accuses Mexico of not doing enough to control the violent chaos. Mexican politicians point out that the USA is largely responsible for the situation due to its failure to curb the massive demand for narcotics north of the border. (The cartels earn 30 billion dollars a year from USA drug users.) As well as this, the US authorities have failed to stem the huge flow of guns southwards, bought with narco-dollars. Between 2004 and 2008 Mexican authorities confiscated over 20,000 firearms which originated in the USA, 90% of the total number of confiscated weapons. 70% of guns purchased in Texas, Arizona and California end up south of the border. The strong pro-gun lobby ensures that the situation remains unchanged.

Commentators agree that president Calderon’s policy has failed and has only led to an increase in violence. The army and the federal police will never destroy the cartels. A certain amount of liberalisation in drug laws, enabling people to earn money legally from narcotics, is surely only a matter of time. For now, however, the blood will continue to flow. In July Mexico has parliamentary elections and Calderon’s party will want to have some successes in the fight against the cartels to show to the electorate come polling day.

Author: Krzysztof Kęciek Taken from ‘Przegłąd’ magazine nr.6 (632) 12/02/12

From the archives: Mexican Gothic

OPINION: Jan Widacki-- The Poets Have Gone, The Philistines Remain

Wisława Szymborska has died. Her last wish was to be buried in a secular ceremony at her family plot in Krakow’s Rakowicki cemetery. The National – Catholic RCight has a problem. Had she asked to be buried in the crypt of the Church on the Rock, like fellow Nobel laureate Czesław Miłosz, there would be a pretext for controversy, protests and to remind everyone that she had once written a poem about Stalin. Hell, who needs a pretext? That poem about Stalin will be dragged up anyway but such a request would have made a scandal much easier to create. Now, there is not much to be angry about. The Nationalist Right know that the greatest living Polish poet is Jarosław Marek Rymkiewicz, who has been forgiven for his past membership of the Union of Polish Youth (communist youth movement-CK) because he has become a Kaczyński supporter and has written a poem about the Smolensk disaster. He also has a beautiful name. The name of a true Pole, the truest of Poles..

For the Right, Miłosz was an anti-Pole because he jeered at Polishness. It could even be said that the was a Lithuanian and, as we all know, the Lithuanians hate Polishness and currently like nothing better than persecuting Lithuania’s Polish minority. Szymborska could be even worse. By asking for a secular burial she has only confirmed the suspicion that she was not a true Pole because everyone knows that to be a Pole, one has to be Catholic. She has excluded herself from Polishness. This is a relief for the Right., they do not have to try and prove it themselves. It is plain for all to see.

Szymborska’s death was noted worldwide. In the true Polish press it has not yet been noticed, but give them time. They will go to the nearest library, find that poem about Stalin and then start fuming and fulminating.

I remember Miłosz’s funeral and the protest committee that did not want him to be buried in the Church on the Rock. A competition to see who could outdo all the others in terms of stupidity, boorishness and rabidness! Not even the appeals of John Paul II could convince them to moderate their stance. I also remember a recent debate in parliament in which politicians from PiS protested the decision to name 2011 the year of Miłosz.

By requesting to be buried in her family plot Szymborska has had the last laugh. How caould anyone object to such a request? People, however, will try and try again to find an appropriate stick with which to beat Szymborska. If they cannot find one they will simply ignore her.

Szymborska, like Miłosz, raised Poland’s profile abroad and her poetry galvanised our native tongue. To the right, all this means nothing. They have her in their sights. It is a strangely small thing this Polish National-Catholic Right. Not everything can fit into it.

Cyprian Norwid was more critical of Poles than Miłosz ever was. If they ever read him, the Right would strike him from the canon like they have done to Gombrowicz. Luckily, they are not especially well-read.

Our foreign minister Radosław Sikorski wants to demolish the Palace of Culture and Science, as it is a symbol of Russian domination. It is just as well that the does not seem to know the history of the Belvedere or Namiestnikowski Palaces. Following his logic, both would be knocked down and president Komorowski would be homeless.

Once upon a time one could bump into Miłosz, Szymborska and Tomas Venclova walking together through Krakow’s Planty (a series of parks encircling Krakow’s Old Town- CK) Venclova, the great Lithuanian poet and great friend of Poland, bought a flat in Krakow just so he could go on such walks with such companions. He even flew over America for no other reason than to walk and talk with his Polish friends.

Miłosz is no longer. Szymborska has gone. There are no more Nobel laureates in Kraków. Szymborska once wrote ‘The next day—without us.’ That day has come. Without them Krakow is different. Poland is different. They are poorer.

Only philistines have a good time of it in today’s Poland. They have ignored the warning of our national bard, ‘cursed are the people who kill their own prophets.’

However,this same prophet himself said that he came from a ‘foreign mother’, like Miłosz a Lithuanian one. He also wrote ‘Lithuania, my fatherland!’ What can he teach us, we true Poles!

Symborska saw it. She wrote about it. ‘We are surrounded by an ever-growing circle of dullness.” Perhaps, thanks to her poetry, that circle of stupidity will become a little bit smaller.

Taken from 'Przegłąd' magazine nr.6 (632) 12/02/12

AMERICAS: Clinton, Lord of Haiti

The Miami Herald has called him ‘the czar of the recovery effort’. Esquire magazine has labelled him the ‘CEO of a country without leaders.’ German magazine Der Spiegel describes Clinton as the lord of Haiti, ruling through his former aide Gary Conille, the current Haitian PM.

The former US president is directing the reconstruction of the poorest country in the western hemisphere, which was devasted by an earthquake in 2010. So far he has been doing so with some success. He has attracted business people and investors and has been able to count on the help of numerous FOBs (Friends of Bill) amongst the political and business elites of the USA. Clinton’s wife, Hilary, is head of US diplomacy and through this direct link he is trying to make sure that the US does not forget the country which, due to its poverty and turbulent history, has been called the ‘cursed island’.

Hilary’s husband plays many official roles—he is UN special envoy to Haiti and also represents the Clinton Global Initiative, the William J. Clinton Foundation and the Bush / Clinton Foundation for Haiti. He was also co-director of the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission, which coordinated humanitarian relief in the aftermath of the quake. In October 2011 the conflict-ridden Haitian parliament did not agree to extend the commission’s mandate but the president Michel Martelly wants it to be renewed, with Clinton at the helm. “Clinton is the most powerful administrator we have ever had” claims Johnny Celestin, a Haitian-American businessman.

Clinton paints a bright future for Haiti, which he predicts could become the ‘world’s first wireless country’, powered by ultra-modern technology and full recycling of resources. It is doubtful if this vision will ever come to fruition, yet the very idea has given some Haitians a glimmer of hope for the future.

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The earthquake which hit Haiti on 12 January 2010 measured 7 on the Richter scale and was the most powerful to hit the country in 200 years. Seismologists had warned of the coming catastrophe but such was the chaos inside Haiti that little or no preparations were carried out. The effects were devastating. In the country of 10 million, 316,000 people died and many more were injured. Among the dead were the Catholic bishop Joseph Serge Miot and 102 staff from the UN mission. 1.5 million were made homeless. 190,000 homes, 4,000 schools and 30 hospitals were destroyed. Virtually the entire infrastructure of the country was wiped out. The streets were covered in 19 million cubic metres of rubble. To make matters worse, Haiti was hit by a cholera epidemic in October 2010 said to have originated from Nepalese UN troops. 515,000 people were infected and 7,000 died.

Two years later the Presidential Palace in Port-au-Prince is still a weed-covered ruin. As President Michel Martelly announced in parliament, over 8 milion people are without electricity. 5 million are illiterate. 8 out of 10 Haitians survive on less than 2 dollars a day.

Slow progress can be seen, however. More than half the rubble has been cleared from the capital’s streets. 430 km of roads have been rebuilt or repaired. ‘Only’ half a million people are still living in the 758 ‘tent cities’ which means that a million have been rehoused. Or perhaps not—many have been forced to take down their tents by the real or supposed owners of the land on which they were camped. (in Haiti it is next to impossible to know or prove who really owns what land.)

Nonetheless, new housing has been put up by aid agencies. People are even building on top of the mass graves dug after the quake. Some houses are little more than converted shipping containers or kiosks but others have been built in the traditional Haitian style—with doors front and back so that the inhabitants have two escape routes in case of earthquakes.

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Clinton has played a large part in these modest yet undeniable successes. After the quake world leaders cam rushing in with promises of help: George W. Bush, Michelle Obama, Nicolas Sarkozy and UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon. 6 days after the disaster Clinton arrived and was photographed looking tearful beside piles of corpses and rubble. The other world leaders left and have not come back. Clinton promised to devote the next 3 years to Haiti. So far he has kept his word.

The former president admits that he has a huge debt to pay to Haiti. While in office he promoted the interests of US farmers and exporters. His administration forced Haiti to eliminate import tariffs. Haitian farmers did not stand a chance against the flood of cheap US imports. Before, Haiti produced 80% of the rice consumed in the country. Now, 90% of it comes from the USA. Clinton now admits that this trade agreement was a mistake.

Perhaps for that reason he has been so active both in Haiti and collecting money in the USA. The Clinton and Bush Foundation have granted over 1 million dollars to Haitian company GaMa Enterprises, which wants produce earthquake-resistant pre-fab housing units. Haitian fishermen have exhausted their lakes. Clinton has funded fish farms for rearing tilapi, a fast-growing African fish. The fish farms are powered by solar energy. 70% of the tilapi are sold while the rest are for the fishermen’s own needs. Before, a fisherman’s family had to get by on 400 dollars a year. Now, the fishermen can earn up to several thousand dollars. In the fishing villages there are schools and sewers.

In cooperation with the French government, the Clinton Foundation has helped 10,000 Haitian coffee growers improve the quality of their crops using the same methods of the famous Colombian Coffee Federation. Clinton and premier Conille laid the corner stone of the new Caracol industrial park—an investment worth over 300 million dollars involving businesses from South Korea and other countries. Caracol should guarantee 65,000 jobs, mostly in the clothing industry. 5,000 houses have already been built around the site perimeter.

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The Clinton and Bush Foundation also donated 2 million dollars towards the construction of the first government building to be erected since the quake. The facility houses the technical department of the state university. “Haiti needs more engineers who can help to build a brighter and better future,” declared Clinton at the opening ceremony.

Clinton has also persuaded hotel firm Marriott and telecoms company Digicel to plough 45 million dollars into a new 173-room Marriott Hotel in the Haitian capital. Employing 140 Haitians, it is due to open in 2014. Many see this project as symbolic of a new beginning. At the function where the project was announced, Clinton said jokingly to the gathered investors, “It is my job, as UN envoy, is to annoy people like you so for so long that in the end you give up and come to Haiti.”

The Haitian government is seen as incompetent and corrupt. According to some sources, 26 million dollars have simply disappeared from the education budget. Clinton prefers to channel funds to NGOs. He has created a network of independent organisations and institutions which have become almost a parallel government. Many commentators believe that nothing important can happen in Haiti without Clinton’s knowledge and agreement.

The Haitian parliament, which had rejected two of the candidates for PM put forward by president Martelly, nonetheless agreed to appoint Gary Conille. In a previous post, Conille wrote speeches and translated French documents for Clinton.

Some have criticised Clinton for directing the Haitian reconstruction in a neo-colonial manner. There have also been criticisms at the way lucrative contracts have been awarded to his political allies and foundation sponsors. Clayton Homes is owned by Warren Buffet ( a generous donator to the Clinton fund ) and was awarded a contract to supply storm-proof mobile units to the town of Leogane for use as a school. It turned out that the units were not storm-proof and were contaminated with formaldehyde, as well being too hot to use as classrooms.

Residents of Cite Soleil, a huge shanty town in the capital which outsiders should stay away from even during the day, have ironically named the slum Clinton City. The moniker reveals much more sarcasm than it does respect.

It has to be admitted, however, that the energy and contacts of the former US president have brought numerous benefits to Haiti. Clinton, who as president led Haitian agriculture to ruin, now has the power in his hands to put the county on the road to a better future.

Author: Jan Piaseczny Taken from ‘Przegłąd’ magazine nr.5 (631) 05/02/12

From the archive: Apocalypse Then- Haiti c. 1502 AD

EUROPE: Bulgaria Says No To Shale Gas

Bulgaria has unexpectedly pulled out of an agreement to allow the exploration and extraction of shale gas in its territory. On 19th January the parliament in Sofia passed a bill outlawing any exploration or extraction using the controversial method of hydraulic fracturing.

The ban applies to the whole country, including Bulgaria’s territorial waters in the Black Sea. Any company which violates the ban will face fines of up to 66 million dollars, as well as confiscation of equipment.

Hydraulic fracturing is the only known method of extracting gas from shale rock. It involves injecting a mixture of water, sand and chemicals under ground at high pressure. The mixture acts to free gas trapped in the pores of the shale rock. Environmentalists claim that the chemicals used in the process can contaminate ground water. They also say that earthquakes can arise as a result of the process.


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In passing the bill, the Bulgarian government has revoked an exploration and extraction concession granted to US firm Chevron in the north-east of the country. The US ambassador to Bulgaria, John Warlick, had promised that Chevron could guarantee Bulgaria jobs and investment . However, the firm’s interests in Bulgaria are solely connected to shale gas and now the ambassador has warned that Chevron may pull out of the country completely.

Chevron, based in San Ramon, Califronia, was granted the concession in May 2011 in return for a payment of 30 million euros. The company had predicted to find 25 billion cubic metres of shale gas, almost 6 times the amount of gas that Bulgaria uses in a year. The Bulgarian government hailed the agreement as a success. Energy minister Traicho Kostov last year claimed, while on a visit to Warsaw, that Bulgaria’s shale gas deposits had been estimated at anywhere from 300 billion to 1 trillion cubic metres and could potentially meet the country’s energy needs for the next 100 years. Sofia had been counting on shale gas as a means to increase energy security. Currently, most of Bulgaria’s gas is supplied by Russia.

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Despite all this optimism, the shale gas plans caused unease amongst environmentalists, society at large and farmers from the Dobrich province—considered to be the most beautiful region in Bulgaria. Dobrich was where Chevron had been due to start exploration. Many people were afraid that the hydraulic fracturing process would lead to ground and water pollution. “People always say that we should achieve energy independence, but if we go ahead with shale gas extraction we could end up becoming food dependent. We create a danger to our national security if we destroy agricultural production. Not only will our exports suffer but we might not have anything to eat”, says Milen Stoyanov, a protest organiser. On the 14th January, protests were held in 12 cities including Sofia, Varna, Burgas and Plovdiv. People held up placards carrying slogans such as ‘Don’t gas us!’, ‘We want bread, not gas!’ and ‘Send Traicho and Nona to prison!’ (referring to energy minister Traicho Traikov and environment minister Nona Karadjova) In the end, the ruling centre-right GERB party gave in to the wave of protests. In the parliamentary vote 166 of their MPs voted in favour of the shale gas ban, with only 6 voting against the bill.

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Minister Kostov is obviously unhappy with the outcome of the vote. In a TV interview he said that the protests had been part of a well-organised and well-funded propaganda campaign which had succeeded in whipping up public hysteria. The Minister did not say who he thinks is behind the campaign but he did suggest that it would be possible to find out if one follows the money trail-“ Someone has profited from the decision to pull out of shale gas.” Others speak more openly. Iliyan Vassilev, former ambassador to Moscow, has accused the government of weakness and has claimed that the protest campaign was organised by pro-Russian elements. Russian firm Gazprom wants to sabotage American-led shale gas extraction in Europe, according to Vassilev. If shale gas is not exploited in Euope then German companies will have to continue buying gas from Russia, at a time when German energy demand will rise due to the phasing out of nuclear power. The former ambassador is confident that after a few months the Bulgarian government will return to its original shale gas plans.

Only time will tell if he is right. It is worth remembering that in June 2011 the French parliament, under pressure from environmentalists, banned shale gas exploration. It looks as if Pooand will be the only country in Europe to go ahead with plans to exploit shale gas deposits. Worldwide it is another story, however. The USA has become a gas giant thanks to shale and both India and China keen to follow suit.

Author: Marek Karolkiewicz Taken form ‘Przegłąd’ magazine nr.5 (631) 5/02/12