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["Frank Imhoff" <FRANKI@elca.org>]

FEATURE: Haiti: Coffee -- A Symbol of Hope
LWF/DWS Country Program Haiti Contributes to Strengthening Civil Society

MONTREUX, Switzerland/GENEVA, 6 May 2004 (LWI) * Drinking coffee might not
cure the economy of a bankrupt state, but perhaps planting it may. There was
a time when Haiti's coffee was ranked among the world's best. Then it was not
just an agricultural product but part of the entire island's identity. Such
ideas may seem a far cry from the current reality characterized by continuing
political and economic crises in the Caribbean nation. But Michael Kuehn,
representative of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Haiti and director
of the country program of the LWF Department for World Service (DWS), says
coffee production is improving and on the way to restoring some
self-confidence and economic recovery to Haiti.

Recurring violent conflict in Haiti since 1986, led early this year to mass
protests and nationwide unrest. The crisis finally led to the forced
resignation of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide at the end of February, and
his escape to the Central African Republic. Although an international
alliance of Canadian, Chilean, French and United States' military forces was
set up immediately thereafter, resolving the disputes between rebels and
Aristide's supporters remains a difficult task. As a consequence of the
continuing instability and lack of opportunities, many Haitians are trying to
leave the island. As recently as April 27, US coast guards shipped back to
Port-au-Prince some 700 Haitians who had attempted to flee the country.

Against this background of Haiti's political problems, the LWF/DWS country
program should be seen as supporting the development of new democratic
structures and strengthening civil society rather than primarily providing
food supplies to combat poverty, Kuehn stressed in an interview with Lutheran
World Information (LWI) during the April 27-29 DWS Annual Forum in Montreux,
Switzerland.

There must be a deliberate effort to promote the people's confidence in a
democracy and directly involve them in the democratic processes, stressed
Kuehn. Coffee growing could contribute to establishing social structures, he
said. Increasingly, coffee was being produced on a cooperative basis and
exported on "fair trade" terms. The LWF-supported cooperatives in Haiti have
found "fair" trading partners in France and the United States of America.

Kuehn pointed out that Haitian coffee growers were becoming more aware of the
need to exploit economic niches on the international coffee market. Their aim
is to export high quality coffee again, he said. 

What was good for coffee production was equally the right approach to
rebuilding Haiti's political and social structures. The principle of
long-term involvement and the setting up of cooperatives should also be
applied in the case of cooperation between the United Nations,
non-governmental and community-based organizations. It was thus important for
organizations like the LWF to concentrate on increasing capacity at the
grassroots and to continue to support such work, Kuehn argued.

"From the bottom up * working hand in hand with the organizations on the
ground," was how the DWS Haiti program director described this concept of a
viable approach to building up a new society and awakening consciousness
about democratic processes among the people of the Caribbean nation. The
population has always had the will to create a democratic state, according to
Kuehn, but this resolve was all too often almost overwhelmed by the daily
struggle to survive, lack of food or medical care.

However, in order to improve the people's living conditions and fight
poverty, it was necessary to first establish government structures as a basis
for all assistance efforts. The signs of hope are few and far between. One of
them might be coffee production, which could create jobs and regular income
in the struggle against poverty. But coffee planting takes time and needs
care in order to grow and bear fruit * just like the vision of peace,
democracy and a better life in Haiti. (639 words)

(Article by, Julia Fauth, youth trainee in the LWF Office for Communication
Services.)

[The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now has 136 member
churches in 76 countries representing 62.3 million of the almost 66 million
Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas
of common interest such as ecumenical and inter-faith relations, theology,
humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects
of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva,
Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the LWF's information service. Unless
specifically noted, material presented does not represent positions or
opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where the dateline of an article
contains the notation (LWI), the material may be freely reproduced with
acknowledgment.]

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Editor's e-mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org