To Dream the Impossible Dream
Chapter 27
The Secretary General had his own agenda, although it was fully aligned with the one developed by the UN General Assembly. He was a Frenchman who’d served as ambassador to Haiti in the late 1990s. He saw the misery, the poverty and despair up-close and personally during his diplomatic tour. He railed against the inequities and injustices he saw, although there was little he could do. They were particularly galling because the two countries shared the same national motto: Liberty, Fraternity and Equality. He honored and lived by those words. He strongly believed they represented the best principles of governing a free society, a true democracy.
However, those same words in Haiti had been perverted by a series of despots starting with Papa Doc Duvalier and then his son Baby Doc. Other leaders followed who were less corrupt and brutal, but the people still greatly suffered. It couldn’t continue and it wouldn’t if his plan worked, although his Haitian hosts wouldn’t be very pleased, if at all. No matter. While the U.S. was the largest, single aid donor, the United Nations contributions far surpassed those of the Americans. The UN had the clout, it had the expertise, it had the money and now it had the collective will to act and make changes. The Secretary General’s vision called for creating a just society based on the principles he held so dear. And he was one tough SOB who adamantly refused to be disappointed!
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Dick Avery was having second and third thoughts about the turmoil, reflecting especially on his role in its making. However, Frank had delivered some good news which cheered him up. The cavalry was coming to town! It seemed the United Nations was finally getting serious with Haiti after untold billions of dollars being poured down the rat hole. The rats for several decades had skimmed or outright stolen much of it. Their Cayman Island numbered bank accounts had grown fat over the years. It was all a shell game to them. And the shells were the phony companies they created to siphon off the illicit monies. So, the UN represented a bright ray of hope in an otherwise gloomy situation.
Then he paused. Did Frank say cavalry or Calvary? Jeez, he wasn’t sure if the Haitian people were about to be saved or crucified!
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The first contingent of UN troops set up base camp at the international airport. They then fanned out through the city, taking up preassigned positions for best coverage and control. The gendarmes continued to police. The troops were merely additional muscle, backup, if needed. The peacekeepers’ orders were clear: don’t engage anyone unless there is violence in the streets. Leave routine law enforcement duties to the locals. Always practice safe sex was the final charge to the troopers!
The residents cheered their arrival, throwing flowers in front of the soldiers as they marched about. They smelled something extraordinary in the air and it wasn’t just the fragrances of the flowers. The enticing odors just might be a whiff of true democracy and a new era for the country. Good changes were finally coming or so they wanted to believe.