ARTICLE - POLITICS ON A HUMAN SCALE

POLITICS ON A HUMAN SCALE
(Mail Tribune) - By Sanne Specht

Acting as election observers in Haiti, a Medford father and son witness a lod, confusing transition of power

A local reverend recently helped to ensure that the presidential election in Haiti between pop star Michel Martelly and former First Lady Mirlande Manigat was on the up and up.

Rev. Don Hildebrand, director of pastoral services at Rogue Valley Manor, and his son, Kurt, director for the Mennonite Central Committee in Haiti, acted as impartial observers in the March 20 election.

"We traveled to eight different precincts," Don Hildebrand said. "A fight broke out in one precinct as soon as we got there. But it turned out to be two guys in the same party."

The next president will rule as the ravaged country struggles to rebuild from the devastating Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake that killed more than 20,000 people, and the deadly cholera epidemic that followed with the rainy season. About 800,000 Haitians remain housed in temporary camps.

About 4,000 Haitian and foreign observers were deployed to monitor the voting after November's primary election sparked violence amidst claims of massive fraud.

Kurt Hildebrand, 33, a graduate of South Medford High School, has lived in Haiti the past four years, working with the Mennonite group carrying out disaster relief, community development, justice and peace-building. He also worked in the National Human Rights Defense Network before he became a director of the Mennonite group, his father said.

"Kurt went into the prisons to make sure people knew why they were there and what the charges were," Don Hildebrand said.

It was his son's work with the human rights organization — which is overseeing the election process — that led to their being authorized as election monitors, he said.

Don Hildebrand arrived in Haiti on March 18, the same day former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide returned from a seven-year exile in South America.

"My jet landed next to Aristide's," Hildebrand said. "Thousands of people were screaming his name. A lot of the Haitian people still love him."

Aristide's return to Haiti prompted a "stampede of people" to rally at the airport and follow their former leader's motorcade. Many were carrying signs of support bearing Aristide's image, Hildebrand said.

"He was very, very popular for a long, long time," he said. "But (Aristide) ended up being a thug. But he's still very popular with (many Haitians.) One fellow was carrying a sign that said 'King Aristide.' "

The BBC reported that Aristide criticized the exclusion of his party, Fanmi Lavalas, from the elections. But Hildebrand said local Haitians recognized Aristide's nod to Manigat when he referenced a phrase lifted directly from her campaign rhetoric.

"She talked about a 'little, small house,' going back to her roots," Hildebrand said. "He said the same thing in his speech. The Haitians I spoke with said he was endorsing her."

Manigat, 70, a university administrator and former first lady, is battling Martelly, 50, the popular and flamboyant Haitian singer. Both have been described as conservative in news stories.

Known for obscenity-laced lyrics, yet beloved because he is perceived to be outside the circle of political corruption, Martelly appears to be the popular choice, Hildebrand said.

"They call him Sweet Mickey," he said. "He has no political background."

Manigat is seen as the more sober, maternal and experienced leader. But she is also considered an "insider" — and part of a corrupt political machine, Don Hildebrand said.

"There are concerns that if she were to win, it would not be a legitimate election," he said.

Hildebrand said early returns from Haiti's more-populated areas showed Martelly had the lead by about 70 percent.

"It looks like he's running away with the election," Hildebrand said.

But rural areas were expected to bolster Manigat's tally, he added.

"There are people who are saying 'I do not want my children voting for that crude person (Martelly.)"

The process for ensuring that ballots were fairly cast was complicated, Hildebrand said. He and his son were "rovers." Wearing special T-shirts and badges, their job was to visit various precincts and make sure polling places opened on time, had ballots in place, bore correct signage and had enough moderators to help the citizens cast their votes, Hildebrand said.

"There were at least three moderators in each room, in addition to the voters and the precinct leaders," he said. "It was unbelievably loud. But for the most part, (the election process) seemed to be working."