Good cop, bad cop

So this last weekend I was up in the central plateau on a delegation to do a training for police officers. For two days in a conference room, we explained to these policemen, prison guards, and SWAT-team-like elite unit dudes how they were expected to go about their work without violating the human rights of Haitian citizens. It was a very interesting time. I'll try and post a video next week of one of the songs we made the cops sing to keep from getting too drowsy after lunch.

At the end there was a time for general debate and discussion, and several of these cops talked about how they were underpaid (if their paychecks were coming at all) and understaffed (roughly one officer per 1,000 Haitians in some areas). My coworkers were able to get it across to them that as difficult as these conditions are, they are never an excuse for violating human rights. Still, it was a grim reality check. The whole thing coincided nicely with a book the MCC team is reading for discussion, called "Walking with the Poor." The author points out that non-poor often play god in the lives of the poor, making them believe a "web of lies" about who they are and why they are in their place. But what's often missed by development workers and peace and justice activists is the fact that these local, oppressive non-poor are often held under the thumb of some wealthier group that spreads its own lies, and which is also a victim to some even wealthier, more powerful group. This ladder goes from local to regional to national to international. And where does it end?

It's tempting to say that it goes to the desk of the president of the United States. There's no doubt that he has the ability to make decisions that ripple around the world, and even affect people in rural Haiti. But, and this is especially true of late, it's hard to see George W. Bush as a man in control of anything. I can't help feeling sorry for him sometimes, torn as he is between so many competing interests and facing all of the consequences for the horrible decisions he has already made. He seems just as trapped in the web of lies as anyone else.

Anyway, this will be quick. I'm taking off tomorrow for an Easter weekend with my fellow MCCers in a big pine forest that rests up agains the border with the Dominican Republic. Should be wonderful. Word is that it get's cold at night there. Woo hoo! Anyway, I'll have more to share when I get back. Hope you all are having a nice Easter or Passover or whatever else.