Thinking Back on Yon Ayisyen's Impressions on the UN Mission in Haiti

Earlier this year, I wrote several roundups for Global Voices of the opinions of a young and often solitary Haitian blogger, Yon Ayisyen on the UN mission in Haiti. The blogger and a lot of Haitian public opinion have not always been thrilled with the mission's performance. And since I have not lived in Haiti for some time, I think it's probably best that I let those earlier translations speak for themselves.

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Leading up to this year's presidential election in February, Yon Ayisyen was concerned that the UN was not necessarily "keeping the peace", contrary to their assertions. From Global Voices:

In a post titled Elections and Insecurity, one of of four posts made on Saturday (February 4) he doubts head of UN Mission to Haiti (MINUSTAH) Juan Gabriel Valdes' assertion that insecurity has in any way diminished in the lead-up to the election. While Mr. Valdes has appeared repeatedly on Haitian television in the past two weeks claiming that insecurity has subsided, Yon Ayisyen observes the opposite:

[S]omeone I know was shot in broad daylight in the streets while his companions were being kidnapped. Yet officials intoxicate the population with claims that "insecurity has dropped."

Later on, during the election itself, Yon Ayisyen (Fr) complained that UN Mission officers stood away from and outside of voting booths when they were supposed to be observing and checking for irregularities.

By and large, I'd say that Yon Ayisyen's feelings about the UN Mission echo what I have read or heard from my relations in Haiti: that they are often not intervening where they should or according to mission.
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GV-UN - ted turner - reuters - haiti - United Nations

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