A decade ago, the first term of Jean-Bertrand Aristide’s presidency in Haiti was briefly cut short by a military coup. In the name of democracy, U.S. troops put Aristide back in power. But what has ensued in Haiti since that time has been anything but democratic.

After Aristide was elected to a second term, apparently all the power went to his head, as his response to threatened boycotts of last year’s legislative election demonstrated. Rather than confronting the reality that his party faced stiff opposition in the election, Aristide cancelled the election, dissolved the legislature and, in turn, gave himself the authority to rule by decree.

Not surprisingly, the Haitian people are paying a steep price for Aristide’s rendition of democracy. During the past few months, more than fifty Haitians have been killed, thanks to the street violence that is ensuing as Aristide’s opponents meet stiff resistance from pro-Aristide forces. As the Haitian people have learned, opposition to Aristide only increases his hold on the power that has gone straight to his head — and to the streets of Haiti.

What is the rest of the world doing while Haiti devolves into bloodshed and violence? In the U.S., the situation in Haiti rarely makes the news, and even when it does, the stories are brief. Bush is probably turning a blind eye to the situtation since the U.S. did, after all, help keep Aristide in power, thereby condoning his tyranny. But then again, Papa Bush also armed Saddam less than two decades before his son ravaged his country and ousted Saddam from power. Moreover, the U.S. is too preoccupied with Iraq and Janet Jackson’s breast to focus its attention on a Caribbean nation that isn’t exactly known as an oil hotbed.

Other Caribbean nations, meanwhile, are pressuring Aristide to speak with them and implement reforms. Their success, however, remains to be seen as violence and bloodshed become increasingly commonplace on the streets of Haiti.

With the next presidential election slated for late 2005, one question on nearly every Haitian’s mind is whether Aristide will call off this election as well. Given that Aristide’s revolution seems to be the only revolution from within that is succeeding, the best hope for the Haitian people to win back their democracy is to vote Aristide out of office as soon as possible. But 2005 seems to be a long time away when one cannot walk out on the street without wondering if she or he will return home alive. Perhaps the best solution for improving the lot of the Haitian people is to pressure Aristide and his supporters  to ensure that he begins implementing reforms in Haiti now to quell the violence caused by his leadership and to pave the path for Haitians to reclaim their democracy by exercising their right to vote in 2005.

All of this, of course, is easier said than done, particularly when the fate of the Haitian people relies so largely on the interest and power of one man. But since Aristide has successfully used domestic opposition to strengthen his hold on power time and time again, one can hope that he will begin to listen when foreign leaders get involved.

Laura Nathan-Garner