Haiti-Let's Talk
9-22-1995
^GIs Were Warned of Voodoo-Inspired Suicide Attacks With PM-Haiti, Bjt AP Photo PAP107 of Sept. 21
^By ANDREW SELSKY
^Associated Press Writer
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) _ One of the first things the U.S. Army taught combat veteran Cyle Harris to say in Creole was, "Put up your hands or I'll shoot."
But with a planned invasion called off, Harris and other GIs are studying their Haiti handbooks for more benign phrases to say to Haitians, who turn up by the dozens every time a soldier takes his post.
Traveling along the rutted, garbage-strewn streets that wind through this impoverished capital, it's easy to discover where the American soldiers are.
Just look for the crowds.
With few people lucky enough to have jobs, viewing the Americans has become a major attraction for Haitians with time on their hands.
"People walk from 10 miles away to come look and stare. They've never seen American soldiers before," said Harris, a 10th Mountain Division soldier from Springfield, Mo., who guarded the airport Wednesday night.
Haitian soldiers beat the onlookers with billy clubs Tuesday, but they were back Wednesday. The United States warned the Haitian high command to control its forces, and on Wednesday they left the onlookers largely alone.
"Mostly they come to five feet away and stare at us, like they're watching a movie," said a slightly disconcerted Spec. Philip Muzzy, a military policeman from Austin, Texas, who was guarding the Haitian army headquarters.
Only a few soldiers know Creole. The rest have been flipping through U.S. military booklets that teach them a few phrases, and about everything from the history of this troubled land to the possibility of voodoo-inspired suicide attacks.
Harris said he received a Somalia handbook before going there for a six- month tour.
"I didn't read it," Harris said. "And there were problems.
"A lot of times the Somalis would get riled up, and hostile. Times like that, we wanted to tell them 'Get on your knees,' but we didn't know how, so we'd have to force them. If we could have communicated, it would have been better," he said.
Harris learned his lesson. This time, while spending months training for an invasion of Haiti, he studied hard.
"I learned all the bad phrases, like 'Stop, or I'll shoot' and 'Put up your hands or I'll shoot.' Now I have to learn the nice ones, like 'How are you?'" he said.
Using the phrase book, his high-school French - which some Haitians speak - and meeting a few English speakers, Harris has been able to communicate with some of the audience that frequently appears as he takes up his guard post by the rolls of concertina wire laid out in front of the airport terminal.
"They usually ask, 'How long are you soldiers going to be here?' That's the biggest one," he said.
Many Haitians, who have suffered under dictators for decades, reacted with delight to the arrival of the American troops, and worry about what will happen when they leave. President Clinton says that will be sometime next year.
One booklet carried by Special Forces troops contains a section aimed at helping them return to their comrades if they find themselves wounded behind enemy lines.
"The Americans will reward you, if you take me to them," the booklet teaches them to say in Creole.
Another booklet explains that voodoo is a religion that must be respected, and that its practitioners can become possessed by voodoo spirits that put them under a spell, a common occurence during voodoo festivals.
A few months ago, some backers of Haiti's military regime reportedly threatened to fight U.S. invasion forces by using the crushed bones of dead AIDS victims in a voodoo ceremony.
The booklet assures the soldiers they are immune to voodoo curses.
"Know that spells and curses cannot influence or harm foreigners who have no faith in the practice of voodoo," the booklet says.
But it warns that those who do have faith in voodoo can be unstable during a spell: "Be aware of possible suicide attacks or other seemingly irrational actions by Haitians that may be under the influence of voodoo spells."
^GIs Were Warned of Voodoo-Inspired Suicide Attacks With PM-Haiti, Bjt AP Photo PAP107 of Sept. 21
^By ANDREW SELSKY
^Associated Press Writer
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) _ One of the first things the U.S. Army taught combat veteran Cyle Harris to say in Creole was, "Put up your hands or I'll shoot."
But with a planned invasion called off, Harris and other GIs are studying their Haiti handbooks for more benign phrases to say to Haitians, who turn up by the dozens every time a soldier takes his post.
Traveling along the rutted, garbage-strewn streets that wind through this impoverished capital, it's easy to discover where the American soldiers are.
Just look for the crowds.
With few people lucky enough to have jobs, viewing the Americans has become a major attraction for Haitians with time on their hands.
"People walk from 10 miles away to come look and stare. They've never seen American soldiers before," said Harris, a 10th Mountain Division soldier from Springfield, Mo., who guarded the airport Wednesday night.
Haitian soldiers beat the onlookers with billy clubs Tuesday, but they were back Wednesday. The United States warned the Haitian high command to control its forces, and on Wednesday they left the onlookers largely alone.
"Mostly they come to five feet away and stare at us, like they're watching a movie," said a slightly disconcerted Spec. Philip Muzzy, a military policeman from Austin, Texas, who was guarding the Haitian army headquarters.
Only a few soldiers know Creole. The rest have been flipping through U.S. military booklets that teach them a few phrases, and about everything from the history of this troubled land to the possibility of voodoo-inspired suicide attacks.
Harris said he received a Somalia handbook before going there for a six- month tour.
"I didn't read it," Harris said. "And there were problems.
"A lot of times the Somalis would get riled up, and hostile. Times like that, we wanted to tell them 'Get on your knees,' but we didn't know how, so we'd have to force them. If we could have communicated, it would have been better," he said.
Harris learned his lesson. This time, while spending months training for an invasion of Haiti, he studied hard.
"I learned all the bad phrases, like 'Stop, or I'll shoot' and 'Put up your hands or I'll shoot.' Now I have to learn the nice ones, like 'How are you?'" he said.
Using the phrase book, his high-school French - which some Haitians speak - and meeting a few English speakers, Harris has been able to communicate with some of the audience that frequently appears as he takes up his guard post by the rolls of concertina wire laid out in front of the airport terminal.
"They usually ask, 'How long are you soldiers going to be here?' That's the biggest one," he said.
Many Haitians, who have suffered under dictators for decades, reacted with delight to the arrival of the American troops, and worry about what will happen when they leave. President Clinton says that will be sometime next year.
One booklet carried by Special Forces troops contains a section aimed at helping them return to their comrades if they find themselves wounded behind enemy lines.
"The Americans will reward you, if you take me to them," the booklet teaches them to say in Creole.
Another booklet explains that voodoo is a religion that must be respected, and that its practitioners can become possessed by voodoo spirits that put them under a spell, a common occurence during voodoo festivals.
A few months ago, some backers of Haiti's military regime reportedly threatened to fight U.S. invasion forces by using the crushed bones of dead AIDS victims in a voodoo ceremony.
The booklet assures the soldiers they are immune to voodoo curses.
"Know that spells and curses cannot influence or harm foreigners who have no faith in the practice of voodoo," the booklet says.
But it warns that those who do have faith in voodoo can be unstable during a spell: "Be aware of possible suicide attacks or other seemingly irrational actions by Haitians that may be under the influence of voodoo spells."
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