[NYTr] Haiti's Fr. Jean-Juste Visits Haiti, Gets Joyous Welcome

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

Counterpunch - Aug 24, 2007
http://www.counterpunch.org/quigley08242007.html

Pere Jean-Juste Comes Home

Haitian Prisoner of Conscience Released

By BILL QUIGLEY

Pere Gerard Jean-Juste, an outspoken Haitian voice for human rights,
economic justice and democracy, returned to Haiti last weekend for the
first time since being hustled out of a prison cell by heavily armed
guards and put on a waiting plane to Miami in January of 2006. Pere
Jean-Juste, a Catholic priest, had spent nearly six months in a series
of Haitian prisons for refusing to stop his public criticisms of human
rights abuses by the coup government which overthrew elected President
Jean Bertrand Aristide. Once in Miami, Father Jean-Juste was
immediately hospitalized for treatment of leukemia by Dr. Paul Farmer,
a long-time friend, who had secretly performed a biopsy on Jean-Juste
in his prison cell.

Now, a year and a half later, Pere Jean-Juste was coming home, not
knowing how he would be received. As the plane landed in Port au
Prince, Father Jean-Juste quietly blessed himself as he saw his home
parish, St. Claire, from the window.

As he walked towards the entrance to the Toussaint L'Ouverture airport,
dozens of people waved and clapped from the balconies overlooking the
landing space. Inside, airport officials, police officers, media and
church members crushed in on him. Patting his back, shaking his hands,
giving him hugs, the crowds pressed in and called out "Mon Pere!"

A new Haiti greeted him. The unelected coup government had finally left
the country. The people elected President Rene Preval. Democracy had
returned.

Inside, TV cameras, microphones, and tape recorders were thrust in his
face. Many wanted to know if he was going to be a candidate for
Presidency of Haiti in the next election. Father Jean-Juste laughed and
said, "The only election in the Catholic Church is for Pope ­ and since
the Pope is in good health, I do not see an election anytime soon."

Father Jean-Juste spoke of the disappearance of the human rights
activist Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine, called for the return of President
Aristide, and urged people interested in human rights in Haiti to keep
the pressure on ­ nonviolently. He was returning to Haiti on a
pilgrimage. Was he afraid of death he was asked? "I am a Christian," he
replied. "I know where I am going. If I die, I know the struggle will
continue. The struggle must continue for human rights and democratic
principles."

As he tried to leave the airport, a mob of hundreds of celebrating
people surrounded him, cheering and chanting his name, trying to touch
him. Dozens of UN blue helmeted troops with plastic riot shields pushed
the huge crowds back to allow his car to exit as the crowd ran
alongside.

A makeshift wooden platform was set up at a nearby park to allow Father
Jean-Juste to speak to the crowd which had grown to well over a
thousand people. On the front of the platform was a big handmade sign ­
FIDEL KATOLIK YO DI'W BON RETOU PE JANJIS ­ celebrating his return. The
blazing mid-day sun did not stop the celebration. Ra-ra bands made up
of drums and horns of all types wandered through the crowd as Father
Jean-Juste spoke. When it was time to leave for his church, the crowds
surged in again and it took many helpers to clear a path for his car to
leave.

People of all ages lined the highway along the way to the church,
waving and cheering. Black and white photocopied pictures of Pere
Jean-Juste were plastered to cement walls next to full color pictures
of the Haitian flag.

For the first time in over two years, Pere Jean-Juste was going home to
St. Claire's Church in Port au Prince.

The last time he was in his home church was July 21, 2005. That day Fr.
Jean-Juste went to the funeral of slain journalist Jacques Roche at St.
Pierre's church. During the funeral services in the church, Fr.
Jean-Juste was attacked by a mob, chased through the church building,
spit on, beaten, and nearly killed. The unelected Haitian authorities
arrested Father Jean-Juste for the second time in less than a year and
kept him in a succession of prisons in an attempt to silence him.
Amnesty International designated him a Prisoner of Conscience and a
world-wide campaign was launched to protect his life in prison and to
help win his release. When he was released for medical treatment in
Miami the authorities would not allow him to visit his church on the
way out.

Hundreds waited at the church for the return of their long-time pastor.
When he finally arrived, people sang and cheered. Soaking wet, Father
Jean-Juste tried to greet as many people as possible and thank them for
their support and good works while he was away. After greeting as many
as he could, he went up to his small room in the upper part of the
church. There, he fell to his knees and prayed silently for several
minutes.

The celebratory mood was hushed by the arrival of several trucks of
armed police. Ten men in the uniform of the Haitian National Police
marched up the stairs to see Pere Jean-Juste. To the joy of all, each
of the police officers went up to Father, shook his hand, and promised
to protect him while in Haiti. A 2005 visit by police to the church
resulted in Father's arrest and another six months in prison. This was
quite a change. Democracy worked a wonderful change in the police.

Human rights lawyer Mario Joseph told Father Jean-Juste that the
prosecutors had dropped all the bogus criminal charges levied against
him to keep him in jail and silent during the coup government. But some
judges insisted that he return to Haiti for a court hearing on November
5, 2007 to have all the charges formally dropped.

All evening, people came to the upper room of the church to greet and
pray with Pere Jean-Juste. At one point nine women holding hands were
circling Father in prayer. Other times there were cameras and tape
recorders. Outside the church, women walked up the dusty paths with
plastic buckets of water on their heads. The air was smoky and darkness
settled in quickly.

At 9:30, Father Jean-Juste unlocked the door to his bedroom. For the
first time in twenty-five months, he was home.

The next day started sunny and hot. There were reports that Hurricane
Dean was in the vicinity of Haiti but there was no evidence of it yet.
As Father Jean-Juste arrived at early morning mass, the gathered women
burst into song thanking God for his return. Another priest who is a
good friend said the Mass while Father Jean-Juste prayed along from the
choir seats. Invited to concelebrate the mass, Fr. Jean-Juste declined,
and the priest praised him for his dedication to the church and to the
people. At the priest's invitation, Father Jean-Juste distributed
communion.

Around noon, Father arrived at the Aristide Foundation building to
speak to hundreds of hot but cheering supporters. The crowd was full of
energy. They passionately sang the Haitian national anthem, prayed and
danced and clapped to a series of songs, had a long moment of silence
for the thousands who lost their lives opposing the coup of 2004. One
person in the front row held up a double frame of pictures ­ one of
former President Aristide and another of Father Jean-Juste. Dozens wore
red, white and blue t-shirts saying "Welcome back Father Jean-Juste."

Pere Jean-Juste, dressed all in black, spoke to the crowd for nearly an
hour. They cheered, laughed, fell somber and then became excited as he
told of his experiences and the challenges facing all in Haiti. As he
finished and left people surged in again.

Back at the church, group after group came to visit. Beautiful music
soared above the conversations as the choirs practiced in the church
below. People from Cite Soleil and other parts of Port au Prince and
Haiti came and asked Father Jean-Juste to come visit their neighbors.
TV crews, youth groups, church members, politicians, other priests, and
the members of the choir all came. As darkness fell, Father led those
still at the church in a spirited forty minute rosary.

During the night, the winds of Hurricane Dean arrived with force. Trees
were bobbing and weaving ­ rain was coming into the church rooms
sideways.

Despite the high winds and rain, 6:00 am mass was a full house of
people cheering and signing in thanksgiving for Father's return. After
mass, visiting resumed and the hurricane did not slow down the flow of
visitors either.

Pere Jean-Juste greeted every one, child or grandmother, politician or
journalist, with a smile. He was confident and comfortable. After two
six month jail terms and enduring over a year of cancer treatment, he
was clearly enjoying every second of his return and every person he
could meet.

As darkness fell on his last night in Haiti, Pere Jean-Juste attended
the closing celebration of the church's summer camp. During the year,
hundreds of children are fed daily by the church members with funding
from the US-based What If Foundation. In the summer camp, the number of
children and meals swells to over a thousand a day. Fifty community
members serve as counselors and the children learn painting, sewing,
crocheting, and other arts and crafts.

Yellow paper streamers hung under the tin roof that sheltered the kids
and counselors and family from the rain during the end of the summer
camp celebration. Children cheered as "Mon Pere" arrived and sang him
spirited songs. The children performed skits and counselors, by
candlelight, showed Father their arts and craft creations. Particularly
gratifying was the installation, while Father was away, of several
outdoor toilets for the community including one with full underground
plumbing.

Throughout his last night, people continuously knocked on the door of
the church to come and see him. A robust midnight rosary was sung by
the community. Father said he got three hours of sleep but that seemed
doubtful.

In the early morning, the first plane since Hurricane Dean's winds
slowed down, arrived in Port au Prince. While waiting for the plane and
while on the plane, people continued to come up to Father to greet him
and touch him and welcome him. As the plane took off and his country
receded from view, Pere Jean-Juste closed his eyes and prayed for Haiti.

[Bill Quigley is a human rights lawyer and law professor at Loyola
University New Orleans. Bill assists Mario Joseph of the Bureau des
Avocats Internationaux in Port au Prince and Brian Concannon of the
Institute of Justice and Democracy in Haiti in representation of Pere
Jean-Juste. He can be reached at Quigley at loyno.edu.

Those wishing to contact Pere Jean-Juste directly should email him c/o
lavarice at bellsouth.net.]