• Text size  | | |
• Email this document
• Printable version

Haiti: Student demonstrations; national student organizations (1994-1999)

Student demonstrations

Media sources reported on student demonstrations that occurred in Haiti from 1994 to 1999 (The New York Times 13 Nov. 1994; Reuters 8 May 1995; ibid. 16 May 1997; ibid. 4 Dec. 1998; The Seattle Times 3 Nov. 1995; Signal FM Radio 1 Mar. 1999).

According to The New York Times, in November 1994 approximately 2,000 students "ransacked" the Haitian Education Ministry complaining of unfair grading (The New York Times 13 Nov. 1994).

Reuters reports that in May 1995, student protesters constructed roadblocks throughout Port-au-Prince to protest to a national teacher's strike (Reuters 8 May 1995). In a June 1995 report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) indicates that Haitian police were able to contain student protests without any serious injuries, but the report does not provide details about the student protests (Sec. II). A newsletter of the Haitian Information Bureau reports that in August 1995, students at the public Université d'État d'Haiti (UEH) in Port-au-Prince burned copies of proposed privatization laws while they demonstrated against a symposium on higher education organized by the Ministry of Education (Haiti Info 2 Sept. 1995).

In November 1995, The Seattle Times reported that approximately 300 students rallied at the federal building in Cap-Haitien demanding back pay for teachers and more money for public schools (The Seattle Times 3 Nov. 1995). Students threw rocks at United Nations (UN) peacekeepers and Haitian police, injuring several officers (ibid.). A week earlier, student protesters had attempted to close a private school (ibid.). The government agreed to pay the teachers, some of whom had not been paid for 13 months (ibid.).

Media sources report that in May 1997, student protests led to two days of general rioting in Port-au-Prince (Reuters 16 May 1997; The Economist 7 June 1997; Newsday 10 June 1997). Students and other rioters threw firebombs at police and rocks at cars and pedestrians (Dow Jones 15 May 1997) and set the courthouse, vehicles and tires on fire (Reuters 16 May 1997). The student protests were in response to a teachers' strike that closed public schools (Dow Jones 15 May 1997; The Economist 7 June 1997). According to Dow Jones International News, the teachers went on strike because the government had not complied with their 17 February 1997 agreement to improve conditions in the schools and provide back pay to teachers who had been unpaid for up to a year; students called on the government to resolve the crisis (Dow Jones 15 May 1997). Media sources report that several people were injured during the riots (Reuters 16 May 1997), including a police officer (Dow Jones 15 May 1997). The United States (US) Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1997 states that the police responded to the riots with gunfire, which killed one man (US Mar. 2008, 552). According to Newsday, a New York newspaper, the riots were stopped when US soldiers and UN peacekeepers assisted the Haitian national police (10 June 1997).

Reuters reports that in December 1998 hundred of students barricaded a highway in Carrefour to protest against the arrest of a fellow student (Reuters 4 Dec. 1998). Students threw rocks and burned tires during a confrontation with the police (ibid.). Country Reports 1999 indicates that Haitian authorities reportedly used "excessive force" in breaking up a student demonstration in Cap Haitian on 8 February 1999, but does not provide details on the demonstration (US 23 Feb. 2000, Sec. 1).

Media sources indicate that March 1999 student demonstrations in Port-au-Prince led to clashes between students and police at the high school Lycée Alexandre Pétion (Signal FM Radio 1 Mar. 1999; Dow Jones 3 Mar. 1999). According to the Haitian radio station Signal FM radio, one student demonstrator was hit by a shot fired by the police (Signal FM Radio 1 Mar. 1999). Dow Jones International News reports that student demonstrators were demanding that teachers return to work; a teachers' strike had shut down all public schools in Port-au-Prince and some in other regions (Dow Jones 3 Mar. 1999). Public school students also forced the closure of a Catholic private school in the Delmas section of Port-au-Prince (Radio Metropole 2 Mar. 1999; Dow Jones 3 Mar. 1999).

National Student Organizations

The National Federation of Haitian Students [Fédération nationale des etudiants Haïtian, FENEH], located in Port-au-Prince (NACLA 1995, 193), is mentioned as a national student organization in multiple publications (Alter Presse 13 Jan. 2004; HRW/NCHR Feb. 1993, 61; Robinson 1996, 283; NACLA 1995, 193; IUS n.d.). A publication by HRW and the National Coalition for Haitian Refugees (NCHR) indicates that the group was founded in 1986 (HRW/NCHR Feb. 1993, 61) while other sources claim 1987 (NACLA 1995, 193; Haiti Support Group Apr. 1997). HRW/NCHR states that in 1993 FENEH was composed of sixteen student associations, each representing a faculty from public and private universities and colleges in Haiti; their goals in 1993 included greater freedom of speech, increased university funding, and greater autonomy in the management of academic institutions (HRW/NCHR Feb. 1993, 62). According to a book published by the North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA), an independent non-profit organization that provides analysis on Latin America and the Caribbean (NACLA n.d.), FENEH arranged boycotts, demonstrations and building takeovers (NACLA 1995, 193). Haiti Info, a biweekly newsletter of the Haitian Information Bureau, reports that FENEH, along with other student and faculty organizations at the UEH, rejected a government-organized symposium on higher education in August 1995 (Haiti Info 2 Sept. 1995).

Publications indicate that other student groups include the Students' Concerns Organization (Zafè Elèv Lekòl, ZEL), a national organization of high school students (HRW/NCHR Feb. 1993, 72; Robinson 1996, 283; see also NACLA 1995, 193). According to HRW/NHCR, ZEL includes both public and private school students, focuses on national issues and works in coordination with regional student organizations (Feb. 1993, 72). NACLA indicates that ZEL was formed in 1986 and has campaigned for free basic education in Haiti (NACLA 1995, 193). Haiti Progrès, a Haitian newsweekly, reports that ZEL was a member of a coalition, including teacher unions and a parent association, which "threatened to renew strikes" in March 1997 (Haiti Progrès 4 Mar. 1997).

HRW/NCHR lists the Northwest Students Association (Association des etudiants du Nord Ouest, AENO), the Interclass High School Student's Movement (Mouvement interclass des elévès de lycée, MIEL), the Association of Grand Goâve Students in Port-au-Prince (Assoyasyon Elèv Grangwav nan Pòtoprens, AEGP) and the Grand Goâve Students' Organization (Oganizasyon Elèv Grangwav, OEG) as active student organizations in Haiti in 1993 (HRW/NCHR Feb. 1993, 70, 72-73).

Further information regarding the structure, leaders, demands, activities and treatment of student organizations could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Alter Press. 13 January 2004. Jean Anil Louis-Juste. "Université massifiée et Société dépendante: quel développement?" <http://www.alterpresse.org/spip.php?article2101> [Accessed 24 July 2009]

Dow Jones International News. 3 March 1999. "Haiti Deploys Police to End Violent Student Protests." (Factiva)
_____. 15 May 1997. "Haiti Militants, Students Clash with Police." (Factiva)

The Economist. 7 June 1997. "Democracy, Haiti-style." (Factiva)

Haiti Info. 2 September 1995. "University at Boiling Point: Protests Part of Growing Social Movement." Vol. 3, No. 23. Haitian Information Bureau. <http://www.tulane.edu/

libweb/RESTRICTED/HAITINFO/1995_0902.txt> [Accessed 24 July 2009]

Haiti Progrès. 4 March 1997. "Labor Delegation Finds: Union-busting and Exploitation on the Rise in Haiti." <http://www.tulane.edu/

latinlib/RESTRICTED/This_Week_in_Haiti/1997_0226.txt> [Accessed 23 July 2009]

Haiti Support Group. April 1997. "What Is the Collective?" Haiti Briefing. No. 23. <http://www.haitisupport.gn.apc.org/23b.html> [Accessed 24 July 2009]

Human Rights Watch (HRW). June 1995. "Haiti. Human Rights Conditions Prior to the June 1995 Elections." Vol. 7, No. 6. <http://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/1995/Haiti2.htm> [Accessed 22 July 2009]

Human Rights Watch (HRW)/National Coalition for Haitian Refugees (NCHR). February 1993. Silencing a People: The Destruction of Civil Society in Haiti. New York: Human Rights Watch.

International Union of Students (IUS). N.d. "List of IUS Member Organizations." <http://www.stud.uni-hannover.de/gruppen/ius/memb.html> [Accessed 24 July 2009]

The New York Times. 13 November 1994. "Student Protesters Ransack Haiti's Education Ministry." (Factiva)

Newsday [New York]. 10 June 1997. "Haitian Premier Resigns." (Factiva)

North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA). 1995. Haiti: Dangerous Crossroads. Edited by Deirdre McFadyen and Pierre LaRamée with Mark Fried and Fred Rosen. Boston: South End Press.
_____. N.d. "About Us." <https://nacla.org/aboutus> [Accessed 27 July 2009]

Radio Metropole [Port-au-Prince, in French]. 2 March 1999. "More Student Unrest in Haiti." (Factiva/BBC Monitoring Service: Latin America 4 Mar. 1999)

Reuters. 4 December 1998. Jennifer Bauduy. "Police-Civilian Clashes on Rise in Haiti." (Factiva)
_____. 16 May 1997. Nicole Volpe. "Second Day of Rioting Spreads in Haitian Capital." (Factiva)
_____. 8 May 1995. Sandra Marquez. "Haitian Students Block Roads Over Teacher Strike." (Factiva)

Robinson, William I. 1996. Promoting Polyarchy: Globalization, US Intervention, and Hegemony. Cambridge, New York, Melbourne: Cambridge University Press.

The Seattle Times. 3 November 1995. James Anderson. "Haiti Unrest Recalls U.N. Forces; Student Demonstrators Demand Money for Schools, Teachers." <http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19951103&slug=2150499> [Accessed 27 July 2009]

Signal FM Radio [Port-au-Prince, in French]. 1 March 1999. "Students, Police Clash – One Student Shot and Wounded." (Factiva/BBC Monitoring Service: Latin America 3 Mar. 1999)

United States (US). 23 February 2000. Department of State. "Haiti." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1999. <http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/1999/391.htm> [Accessed 21 Jul. 2009]
_____. March 1998. Department of State. "Haiti." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1997. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Additional Sources Consulted

Internet Sites, including: Caribbean Media Corporation, European Country of Origin Information Network (ecoi.net), Freedom House, Haiti Democracy Project, International Crisis Group, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) RefWorld, ReliefWeb, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Université d'Etat d'Haiti.

Publications, including The Europa World of Learning 1994, The Europa World of Learning 1995, The Europa World of Learning 1996, The Europa World of Learning 1997, The Europa World of Learning 1998, The Europa World of Learning 1999, Political Handbook of the World.

Topics: Freedom of assembly,