THOUSANDS GATHER AT ARISTIDE'S HOME TO WELCOME HIM BACK TO HAITI
(Miami Herald) - By Jacqueline Charles
PORT-AU-PRINCE -- Former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide waved his hand in victory Friday morning as he stepped off the private aircraft that brought him home after seven years of exile in South Africa. He later told Haitians that he had returned to “serve you in love.’’
Outside Aristide’s home in Tabarre, thousands of supporters gathered to welcome him back.
Said one: “Today is a good day.’’
Aristide, accompanied by his wife and two daughters, was met at the airport by supporters and diplomats, including the Venezuelan ambassador.
“I’m happy to greet you. My brothers, sisters, honor, respect,’’ Aristide said during a welcoming speech.
He added: “If you could put your hands on my heart you would feel how it is beating.”
Later in the 15-minute address, Aristide said he returned “to serve you in love. Your role is to live so Haiti doesn’t die.’’
He arrived at the new, post-earthquake diplomatic lounge on the grounds of the damaged international airport. The former president, who was twice democratically elected and twice deposed, was also accompanied by actor Danny Glover and his Miami lawyer Ira Kurzban.
Outside the airport, thousands of Aristide supporters paraded on foot and motorcycle, carrying framed and unframed photos of him, and tree branches. With a Haitian rara band and tiny flags, they sang “Long live Aristide,’’ as they cursed the two candidates in Sunday’s presidential election.
The crowd grew during the morning. Earlier, the streets were free of crowds, a far contrast to the thousands who danced and sang on the Champs de Mars the evening before as presidential candidate and Aristide opponent Michel “Sweet Micky’’ Martelly rallied fans with superstar performances by Wyclef Jean and Busta Rhymes.
Aristide’s arrival comes despite diplomatic pressure — by the United States and others in the international community — to keep him out before Sunday’s historic vote to choose a successor of outgoing President René Préval, his one-time protege.
Haiti observers say his presence is not just a test for Haiti’s democracy but also it’s fragile instability. Many here are wondering what impact his return will have on the elections. The first round in November was heavily criticized amid charges of major fraud.
At the airport, Aristide spoke in Zulu, one of South Africa’s official languages. He also traced his forced exile amid an armed uprising in 2004. “They kidnapped me,’’ he said.
Among those at the airport was Haitian singer Farah Juste, who has an annual Haitian independence day celebration in Miami. An emotional Juste told The Miami Herald that “a miracle has happened today.’’
“We are Lavalas, we can do miracles,’’ she said.
Juste said she was unaware whether Aristide would support either of the two presidential candidates. But among those at the diplomatic lounge was Sen. Evalliere Beauplan, a supporter of candidate Mirlande Manigat. There were no recognizable Martelly supporters at the airport but both candidates have been courting Aristide’s base.
Martelly noted at a news conference last week that many of those who now support him, supported Aristide.
Aristide, who criticized the decision to exclude his Fanmi Laval party from the elections, was mum about any potential endorsement. In his speech, he told Haitians that division is weakness and that humiliation of one Haitian is humiliation of all Haitians.
“May the Haitian people mark the end of exile and coup d’état, from social exclusion to social inclusion,’’ he said.
In Miami, meanwhile, a dozen Aristide supporters in Little Haiti spilled into the streets hugging and chanting, “The king is back, the king is back!’’
The group surrounded a car on Northeast 54 Street to hear Aristide’s return speech carried live on the radio. Car horns blared on the otherwise quiet strip where pictures of Aristide are perched on the sidewalk.
“He is Haitian, he is for the people. Welcome back Titide,” said Luben Louis, an Aristide supporter who said it’s time the exiled president return to his roots.
For some in Miami’s Haitian community, Aristide’s return signals hope and a new beginning.
“When he was our president, he fought for the poor and the young. He is a fighter of the lower class, the class that is forgotten,’’ Nicole Jean-Pierre said.
Pierre was among a crowd of Aristide supporters who gathered at Veye Yo in Little Haiti to make telephone calls to family and friends to announce the former president’s return.
The mood inside the pro-Aristide group’s headquarter was festive. Kompa and reggae blared from speakers. As more supporters arrived, they were they are met with piercing screams and hugs.
Some sat silently, stunned, with tears flowing; others jumped about dancing and singing.
“This is a celebration,’’ said Jacques Jean-Baptiste. “No one can hold Aristide back. Watch out.’’
Outside Aristide’s large white house, the scene resembled a chaotic carnival, with thousands of people dancing, some crying and others hopping over the pink wall to peer beyond the green gate. Traffic moved more slowly than usual.
Jean-Louis Joseph, 49, walking through the crowd with a tiny radio to his ear and photo of Aristide secured with a Band-Aid, said “today is a good day.’’
He said none of the 19 candidates in the first round of the presidential election were able to generate that kind of excitement.
“The 19 presidential candidates could not reunite people to vote for them, and today he has put 1 million people in the streets. And it’s not even midnight yet,’’ said Joseph, a baggage handler at the airport. “Only he can do this.’’
“Today they will see who is popular in this country,’’ he said. “Without Lavalas, there is no people.’’
Joseph, who did not vote in the elections and doesn’t plan to vote on Sunday, said he never thought he would see this day.
“Resistance and determination brought us here,’’ he said.
Standing with a button of the Rev. Gerard Jean-Juste, of Miami, a tearful Magalie Moliere was nearly speechless. In her hand, she held a framed photograph of her deceased husband, fellow Lavalas militant Bob Moliere with Aristide. The photo was taken July 15, 2003. Bob Moliere was killed in the January 12, 2010 earthquake.
“I thank God that he allowed me to see this day,’’ she said as a friend wiped tears from her eyes. “Even if I die tomorrow, I got to live long enough to see Aristide return.’’
Miami Herald staff writer Nadege Charles contributed to this report from Miami.
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