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After Chaotic Start in Haiti, Election Lurches Forward
Thousands of Haitians from Cite Soleil protest, angry that they are unable to vote.
(Ron Haviv)
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"I'm weak. I'm thirsty. I'm hungry," said Juste, 67. "I'm an old lady and I can't take this."
Deeper into downtown, young men paraded through the streets of Bel Air waving branches pulled from delicate city trees. "We need to vote," they chanted.
Emmanuel Noel, 31, waved his identification card in the air and shouted into the crowd outside a polling station. The cards, employed for the first time, were supposed to avert the chaos that marked previous elections.
But Noel said his card directed him to a polling station that never opened.
"We have a card, but we can't find a place to vote," Noel said. "They're trying to keep out the people and give the election to the bourgeoisie."
A few blocks away, voters drifted away from the pushing and shoving outside a public school and bought hard-boiled eggs with spicy sauce from a woman who squatted in the street. Jealmarie Yves, a 52-year-old accountant, had been waiting for 2 1/2 hours, but his face was tranquil.
Yves said he had been afraid all his life to vote, and he recalled the violent 1987 balloting that led to riots and killings in the streets. But this time felt different. Despite all the yelling and shoving, he said, he felt safe.
"Everybody has the feeling that we have to do this," Yves said. "We expect that some things are supposed to change."
A few minutes later, the line -- stalled for hours -- lurched forward. Yves took two steps closer to the voting booth and turned to the woman behind him. There was a smile on his face.
