WHERE AM I? A Guide to Adjusting to Haiti Against Your Will (Excerpt)

Surviving Detention in Police Station Holding Cell

And how to agitate for your release

REVISED FEBRUARY 28, 2008 TO CLARIFY THE DIFFERENCES WHEN BEING DETAINED IN A POLICE STATION HOLDING CELL VERSUS WHEN PEOPLE WERE BEING HELD AT THE NATIONAL PENITENTIARY:

Alternative Chance/Chans Altenativ – Haiti February 2007

WHERE AM I? A GUIDE TO ADJUSTING TO HAITI AGAINST YOUR WILL

I. ALTERNATIVE CHANCE

ALTERNATIVE CHANCE, A SELF HELP PROGRAM
We are a self-help, peer counseling, non-profit program founded in 1996 by an American woman, Michelle Karshan, together with Criminal Deportees, which advocates for the rights of Criminal Deportees in Haiti and works to help Criminal Deportees live productive, drug-free and non-violent lives in Haiti.
Our counselors are trained in peer counseling, non-violent conflict resolution, job training, basic health care, and providing an orientation to Haiti.

Alternative Chance is independent and has limited funds donated by caring individuals and organizations, as well as through sales of Haitian art.

We can be reached by email at altchance@aol.com. Our website at http://www.AlternativeChance.org has all sorts of useful information including about on our program, the plight of Criminal Deportees in Haiti, legal information, and links to job training courses.

To speak with our Coordinator in Haiti call 490-0782 or your family can leave a message for us in the United States at 1-212-613-6033.

BOOKS IN ENGLISH
Alternative Chance has a library of novels, self-help books, etc. in English. If you want something to read, please ask our Coordinator to bring some books in for you and other Criminal Deportees.

II. SURVIVING PRISON/JAIL IN HAITI

CONTACTING YOUR FAMILY BACK HOME OR IN HAITI
When you were deported to Haiti the Haitian government placed you in prison or a police station holding cell. If you need us to notify your family in the United States about your situation please let our counselor know and we will telephone them for you in the U.S. or Haiti. If you are having trouble reaching your family in Haiti, please speak to our counselor on ideas on how to reach them.

GETTING PROPER NUTRITION
Also, it is important that you make arrangements for your family to get food and clean water to you to supplement the food provided to you by the prison. If you are being held in a police station holding cell there will not be any food provided to you so it is critical to make arrangements. If your family cannot visit the prison everyday with food, try to make arrangements with another deportee’s family or have your family make arrangements with a restaurant nearby to provide you with daily meals.(NOTE: There is no restaurant immediately near the DCPJ police station)

GETTING SUFFICIENT EXERCISE
Many of you are locked in your cells for 23 hours per day making it very difficult to get exercise which is so vital to your physical and mental health. Try to do stretches and jumping jacks everyday to help your circulation and make sure you walk around a lot or if you don’t have space to walk, try standing and exercising your legs.

DRINKING WATER
You must be very careful not to drink water that has not been treated. Untreated water is a source of hepatitis, typhoid, and other serious diseases. The most common side effect of drinking untreated water is diarrhea. If you do get diarrhea, it is important to drink a lot of liquids so you don’t get dehydrated (loss of a lot of liquids from your body) and visit the infirmary if you are in the prison. If you are in a police station holding cell (where there is no medical care) and you are sick, please ask your family to speak to the police for you or speak to our counselor for suggestions or ask someone else's family to call us if its is an emergency. We can't promise you medical care but we will try to help you get medical help.

THIS ONLY APPLIES TO THE NATIONAL PENITENTIARY:
To treat water yourself, you can either boil it for 20 minutes to kill all the germs, or use tablets they sell in the pharmacies in Haiti or in some supermarkets, following the directions carefully. Your family can bring in bottled treated water for you. You can put money together with other deportees in your cell to buy the five-gallon bottles.

MEDICATION
If you were on medication while you were in prison in the United States, you were supposed to be transferred with a short supply of that medicine. If you did not receive your medicine when you were deported, please ask the prison to inquire whether it is in the hands of the police, or ask our counselor to help you locate the medicine. If you can’t find your medicine, ask to go to the infirmary (THIS ONLY APPLIES TO NATIONAL PENITENTIARY) to see a doctor to get your medicine replaced. If the prison does not have the necessary medicine, discuss with the doctor about writing the information down for your family to purchase it at a local pharmacy.

If you are in a police station holding cell discuss your medicine needs with your family or contact our counselor for ideas or help. The police typically DO NOT allow medicine to be brought in by non-medical persons but they don't provide any medical care so this is a difficult situation.

SPECIAL MEDICAL PROBLEMS
If you were being treated for Tuberculosis at the time you were deported, make sure you tell the doctor in the National Penitentiary that you need to continue your medicine. Tuberculosis does not go away by itself and it can kill you if not cured! You have to stay on your medication until, after an examination, a doctor says you are actually cured.

If you are on medication for HIV/AIDS please tell our Coordinator right away so we can see if it is possible to find that medicine for you in Haiti or whether we can get it donated through the Health Through Walls program, which is our partner in Haiti on health issues inside Haiti’s Penitentiary. Please don’t wait until your medicine runs out to discuss this with us. It may take us a while to figure out how to get medicine for you. You can also discuss this with the doctor at the National Penitentiary to see if s/he has any ideas on how to get this medication for you. So far the medical services in the National Penitentiary are only able to treat opportunistic infections related to HIV/AIDS, and sometimes they don’t have the medicine for that either. DO NOT HESITATE to discuss this with our Coordinator if you are in need of medicine for HIV/AIDS related problems.

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
Lack of proper nutrition, food high in grease or salt, lack of sufficient exercise and extreme stress can aggravate your hypertension. (Don’t drink alcohol!) Make sure you get your pressure checked by the medical personnel and if it is very high speak to them about taking medication. Get your pressure checked regularly. Speak with our counselor for suggestions.

SKIN RASHES IN PRISON
Skin rashes are common inside the prison. Bathe everyday and dry yourself very well afterwards, keep your fingernails clean, don’t share any towels or clothes with other prisoners, and don’t scratch open any itchy spots. If you get scabies ask the infirmary to give you medicine to get rid of it or speak with us.

MENTAL HEALTH
See the section above called Medication if you don’t have your necessary medication. There are very few services in Haiti for people with mental health problems, particularly while you are in prison. There are some private mental health facilities that are costly. There is a public mental health hospital but it is not the same type of hospital you would find in the United States. And, if you go there, someone would have to pay for your medication and other medically-related costs and provide you with food everyday.

THIS APPLIES TO THE NATIONAL PENITENTIARY ONLY:
The bottom line is that if you feel like you are of danger to yourself or others, then you should ask the doctor at the infirmary to have a psychiatrist talk to you and determine whether you should be transferred to the mental hospital. This is a difficult process and if it doesn’t happen quick enough you can contact our Coordinator (490-0782) to see if he can assist in getting you help. At the hospital you would be in a large room with other patients, with only bare beds. Don’t hesitate to ask for help.

STRESS
There are things you can do for yourself to feel less stressed such as breathing exercises, meditation, talking to a friend, listening to music (if possible), eating healthy food, not drinking too much coffee or cola, getting sufficient sleep and daily exercise, or reading a novel. (Drinking alcohol is not the solution!) It is difficult to do these things while in prison/jail in Haiti but if you could try to do some of these things it might help you stay calm. Try to use this time to learn more about Haitian culture and language. Also, use this time to plan where you will be living once you get released.

WHEN WILL THE HAITIAN GOVERNMENT RELEASE YOU?
The Ministry of Interior is in charge of the situation of Criminal Deportees (the prison system or police station just holds you). The Ministry of Interior has a Commission which includes representatives from Justice, Police, and Interior, and together they may be reviewing your file to determine if you can be released.. The process requires a close family member come forward to the Ministry of Interior with their identification and proof of their relationship to you, with a letter requesting your release. The police may require them to sign a paper saying they would take responsibility for the deportee, including agreeing to being arrested in case the police were ever looking for the deportee and couldn’t find him/her.
Criminal Deportees are not present at those Commission hearings, however, we urge you to write a letter on your own behalf to the Ministry of Interior. The Commission reviews the person’s conviction and this can be confusing for Haitian authorities as they have different criminal laws and charges than those in the U.S. They may see some crimes as being very serious, even though in the U.S. that crime may not be considered so serious, such as stealing an empty car off the street. They also might see crimes that we view as very serious in the U.S. as not so serious in Haiti.

EXERCISING YOUR RIGHTS
Additionally, as a Haitian citizen you have the right to file a complaint with the Haitian government’s Office of Citizen Protection. You can write them to complain about your detention, and the conditions of your detention. Ask your relative or other trustworthy person to deliver the letter for you. The Office of Citizen Protection is obligated to conduct an investigation in response to your complaint. Also, you may want to send copies of your complaint to the organization of American States (OAS), the United Nations (MINUSTAH has an office on Human Rights as well as an office on Prisons.), Amnesty International, or other international or local human rights groups. You can also write letters to the Ministry of Interior urging them to start the process for your release. Also, you may want to send copies of your letters or write letters directly to the Ministry of Justice or their Office on Public Security. Please ask our counselor for more information.

WRONGFUL DEPORTATION
If you think you were wrongfully deported or have a pending appeal or believe that you are a U.S. citizen, or other reason, please speak to us now or when you get out of prison/jail. You can also check our website at http://www.AlternativeChance.org for legal help.

PREPARING FOR YOUR RELEASE
While you are in prison/jail, talk with your family about where you can live when you get released. If you have no family in Haiti, you can talk to our Coordinator for suggestions on what to do. However, the Haitian government requires that an acceptable close family member living in Haiti apply for your release.

Ask for more info from our Coordinator