CIAO DATE: 02/2011
November 2010
Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Centre
On 28 November 2010, ten months after an earthquake devastated the capital and surrounding areas, presidential and legislative elections are due to be held. Apart from the logistical and technical challenges posed by the elections, the findings of a study carried out by the authors in July 2010 indicate that the real challenge is the legitimacy of politics per se among the Haitian population, particularly the youth. A series of focus groups were held with young people from differing educational and socioeconomic backgrounds in three cities, as well as surrounding rural areas. It became clear that most of the participants saw politics as practiced in Haiti as a dirty game and expected politicians to be corrupt and to have achieved power through influence rather than ability. Very few thought it possible to stay “clean” within the present elite-based system. Though many would like to influence Haiti’s future through political means, without financial independence it is hard to see how non-elite youth can hope to become an autonomous political opposition. In the absence of an arena in which they can put forward their views, there is a risk that they may turn to violence.
Resource link: "Politics is dirty" – the view of Haitian youth [PDF] - 725K