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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

U.N. returns to Haiti after disastrous floods

Paisley Dodds Associated Press

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – U.N. troops are going back to Haiti, but after a decade of failed missions, many in the traumatized nation wonder whether the peacekeepers – cobbled together from countries ranging from Argentina to Zimbabwe – are up to the daunting task.

Although the official handover is today, only 42 of some 8,000 troops and police have arrived.

Brightly colored flags of 30 participating nations dot empty barracks at the airport. Only samples of the blue U.N. headgear have arrived.

Floods that killed nearly 1,700 people last week and stranded thousands in remote villages have forced U.S. troops to stay past their June 1 departure date. American and French forces in the four-nation force handing the baton to the United Nations are the only ones with helicopters to bring aid to otherwise unreachable villages.

Unless they get new marching orders, the 1,900 U.S. troops will leave at the end of June, many to return to combat in Iraq.

Some Canadian, Chilean and French troops, from the 3,600-force that arrived in February when a rebellion ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, will join the U.N. force for up to six months.

“We’ve done an excellent job in working with the multinational task force and we look forward to working with the other nations,” said Canadian Capt. David Devenney.

The U.N. force, to include 6,700 troops and 1,622 civilian police, will be led by 1,200 Brazilian troops, the largest contingent the South American country has sent on a U.N. mission.other 150 troops.

But Brazilian Army Gen. Augusto Heleno Ribeiro Pereira recently warned Haitians not to expect miracles. Heleno, the commander of the U.N. force, arrived Tuesday. He is expected to be joined by 150 more troops on Tuesday for the symbolic handover.

“Our first priority is helping the Haitian people,” Heleno said Monday, donning a blue cap. “It will not be an easy mission but we are prepared to do the work it takes.”

The U.N. mission will again try to keep a tentative peace in the divided country and again train an ill-equipped and understaffed police force, as well as work on development projects.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has asked for a long-term U.N. commitment to transform Haiti — which has suffered more than 30 coups in 200 years — into “a functioning democracy.” But only a fraction of the $35 million in requested aid has arrived.

Although Annan has urged nations to commit to Haiti, the mission is only for six-months now with no guarantees it will be extended.

“You can’t just fix the problem and run,” said Adama Guindo, a U.N. representative who will head the six-month mission to Haiti until a permanent leader is appointed. “I tend to believe that this time we are going to make a difference.”

Whether the force will reach full strength is unclear. Brazil, Chile and Argentina have pledged up to 2,500 troops. Other countries, from strife-torn nations such as Nepal and Rwanda, have weighed in with sizable contributions of 750 troops each.

“I don’t understand what they’re coming to do yet,” said Marie Andre, 31, from the southern village of Fond Verrettes, one of the worst affected towns in the floods. “If they’re supposed to provide security, where are they?”