VZCZCXRO1592
PP RUEHQU
DE RUEHPU #0662/01 1011607
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 111607Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5785
INFO RUEHZH/HAITI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 1490
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA PRIORITY 1313
RUEHQU/AMCONSUL QUEBEC PRIORITY 0772
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J2 MIAMI FL PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 1188

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PORT AU PRINCE 000662 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/EX AND WHA/CAR 
S/CRS 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR 
INR/IAA (BEN-YEHUDA) 
WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC KCRM HA
SUBJECT: DDR PARTICIPANTS PROFILED 
 
REF: 06 PORT AU PRINCE 1881 
 
PORT AU PR 00000662  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (U) This report is sensitive but unclassified -- please 
protect accordingly. 
 
¶2. (U)  Summary:  Part of the focus of the GoH's National 
Disarmament, Demobilization and Reinsertion Program (CNDDR) 
is reintegrating gang members into ordinary society. 
MINUSTAH's DDR section charged the Research and Integrated 
Social Action Group (GRASI) with assisting in the orientation 
and reinsertion program.  GRASI compiled a report in which 
they profiled each participant, listing such factors as level 
of education, family history and size, drug use and 
psychological condition.  The report gives insight into the 
lives of these young men and also reveals holes in the 
program itself, such as lack of communication among the 
interested parties and ineffectiveness of convincing the gang 
members to denounce their criminal activities.  End Summary. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
Profile of a Gangster: Geffrard Herold 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U)  Geffrard Herold was born April 4, 1983 in Cite 
Soleil. His father is a farmer and his mother is dead.  He 
entered school at about 6 years of age and continued to 
attend through part of high school, where he struggled with 
mathematics.  He left school in 2003 at age 20, citing 
''economic problems.''  Herold and his 24-year-old 
girlfriend, who is expecting their first child, occupy a 
single room in a dilapidated rental home.  He joined a gang 
partly under pressure from his peers and partly because of 
his economic problems.  He has carried an illegal weapon 
since the age of ten.  He says he uses the weapon to ''make 
war'' against the police and MINUSTAH and to carry out 
kidnappings and extortion.  He made approximately USD 2,700 
per month before joining DDR.  However, he hasn't saved any 
money because he ''needed to enjoy life.'' 
 
¶4. (U)  Herold wants to become a chauffeur and thinks that 
with his numerous contacts, it's a career that will allow him 
to earn a living.  He came to DDR's Orientation and 
Reinsertion Center (ROC) at the behest of the leader of his 
gang.  He said he wants to change his way of life because he 
doesn't feel safe in his gang but doesn't trust the police. 
His girlfriend, who attends university, is also pressuring 
him to change his life.  A psychological profile of Herold 
concluded that he is prone to delinquency and heavily 
influenced by the sub-culture of violence in his 
neighborhood.  He is in denial about his offenses and blocks 
out thoughts that he has done wrong.  He needs ongoing 
psycho-social counseling. 
 
----------------------- 
The Orientation Program 
----------------------- 
 
¶5. (U)  Harold is just one of 53 members of Santo IV, the 
fourth class to enter the ROC as part of the GoH's 
disarmament program (CNDDR).  His story is demonstrative of 
the types of conditions in which the gangsters in Haiti's 
slums live.  MINUSTAH's DDR section charged GRASI with 
assisting in the orientation and reinsertion program.  The 
month-long program, lasting October 23 to November 21, 2006, 
was composed of young men from Cite Soleil ages 18 to 33. 
GRASI provided psychological assistance and counseling, 
psycho-social and economic profiling, and provided a detailed 
report on each participant.  (See ref A for a description of 
the one-week orientation of the first class of participants.) 
 GRASI also helped each participant identify, develop and put 
into action an individual ''reinsertion'' project (PRI), 
usually in the field of micro-enterprise, transportation or 
manual labor.  The program also included medical visits with 
Red Cross Haiti and education on citizenship, human rights, 
gender, non-violent communication, and the history of Haiti. 
 
---------------- 
Why Join a Gang? 
---------------- 
 
PORT AU PR 00000662  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶6. (U)  Almost half of the participants could not give a 
precise explanation of what led them to begin carrying 
weapons.  Those who could point to the reason they joined a 
gang named poverty or family conflicts. About a quarter said 
they entered gang activity because they or their families had 
been attacked by the police or MINUSTAH, or to defend their 
neighborhood from those authorities.  Other reasons for 
arming included a need to protect themselves from other 
gangs, peer pressure, and exhibitionism.  When asked why they 
carried a weapon, 30 out of 53 stated that it was for 
self-defense. 
 
--------------------- 
Psychological Profile 
--------------------- 
 
¶7. (U)  The GRASI report generalizes that the participants 
are psychologically immature, habitual delinquents encouraged 
by a criminal atmosphere.  The ghetto of Cite Soleil is free 
of police control and thus an escape for youth who have 
committed crimes - a place where they can ensure their 
anonymity and take on aliases.  They have never had any 
psychological or sociological treatment and are in need of 
ongoing psycho-social counseling. 
 
------------------ 
Roles in the Gangs 
------------------ 
 
¶8. (U)  In terms of their functions within their gangs, 
almost 70 percent of the Santos IV class were common 
''soldiers'' and another 25 percent were lookouts or scouts. 
Only three were gang leaders.  Their specific activities 
within the gangs included kidnapping, extortion and drug 
dealing.  Almost all carried out their operations within Cite 
Soleil, but 10 also operated in other areas of 
Port-au-Prince.  About half would obey their gang leader 
''after reflection'', a quarter would obey without thinking 
twice, and a quarter would dare to contradict or refuse their 
boss's orders.  Several admitted that they are still 
''blindly'' following the orders of their gang leader even 
while participating in the DDR program. 
 
----------------- 
Education History 
----------------- 
 
¶9.  (U)  Forty percent of Santo IV had been through 
''Secondary I'' which is equivalent to grades 8 to 10 in the 
U.S.  None had been to university.  While 64 percent (34 
people) entered school between the ages of 5 and 7, 15 
percent (8 people) did not attend school until they were over 
¶11.  Almost all of the participants (80 percent) left school 
for economic reasons.  Their most difficult subjects in 
school were mathematics and French. 
 
------------------ 
Employment History 
------------------ 
 
¶10. (U)  Very few of the participants had any professional 
training, and most learned their trade on the job.  The most 
common jobs were mechanic, mason, and chauffeur or delivery 
driver.  Though they all purported to make significantly more 
money after joining a gang, most still had no savings to 
speak of.  They justified this by saying they had never 
considered that they might not always have this ''job'' as a 
source of income.  Upon leaving the program, 56 percent 
expected to enter technical training, 28 percent expected to 
enter commerce, and 16 percent expected to go back to school. 
Almost every participant stated that they entered the program 
because it offered individual reintegration projects (PRI). 
Most were interested in becoming a mechanic, driver or 
micro-enterprise manager. 
 
-------------------- 
Drug and Alcohol Use 
-------------------- 
 
PORT AU PR 00000662  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶11. (U)  Most of these young men have a drug abuse problem. 
Fifty-six percent (30 people) regularly used marijuana and 
alcohol, and 20 percent (13 people) used hard drugs such as 
crack or cocaine.   They use drugs to commit their crimes or 
simply because of peer pressure to prove they are part of the 
group.  Ten men, or 20 percent, claimed to never use drugs. 
 
----------- 
Family Life 
----------- 
 
¶12. (U)  The 53 participants had 78 biological children 
between them - approximately 1.5 children per participant. 
Some came from families as large as 20 siblings.  More than 
half from a single-parent home and didn't know the 
whereabouts of their father.  The men displayed a machismo 
mentality, asserting that ''Women are made to stay in the 
house.''  The refrain of a popular song explains the basis 
for many young men's involvement with armed gangs: ''My 
Beretta at my side, my Galil under my back, I go down the 
airport road, I do a kidnapping.  My woman is well dressed, 
my children eat well.'' 
 
------------------------------------- 
Analysis of the Reintegration Program 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶13. (U) It is too early to make a prognosis about the success 
of the ROC program, according to the GRASI report.  The 
report cites several specific problems that occurred during 
the one month orientation.  At one point the participants 
rose up in protest against the program personnel, claiming 
that CNDDR did not respect its promises to pay them each week 
and train them for a job.  The program's sports directors 
complained they had a hard time waking up the participants in 
the morning.  GRASI's psychologists and social workers 
lamented the difficulties of working with this population, 
and also said the directors of DDR berated them for not 
working hard enough. 
 
¶14. (U)  The experience led GRASI to make the following 
recommendations.  Disarmament and dismantling of the gangs in 
Cite Soleil needs to be done section by section.  Under the 
current system, the program draws low-level soldiers and 
scouts and not/not gang leaders.  The overall disarmament 
movement is not large enough to prevent the graduates from 
reverting to the control of their gang boss as soon as they 
return home.  The program cannot be successful if it does not 
include treatment for drug abuse and alcoholism.  The CNDDR 
needs to keep its promise to provide financial assistance and 
job training to the participants.  Most of all, there is a 
need for better coordination between the different actors, 
including GRASI, CNDDR and DDR-MINUSTAH. 
 
¶15.  (SBU) Comment:  The report included several acerbic 
comments about CNDDR staff and reveals conflict between 
GRASI, CNDDR and the UN.  Internal conflict in an already 
stressful situation clearly lessened the effectiveness of the 
program and sapped the motivation of the instructors.  Very 
few gang leaders entered the program, which does little to 
solve the overarching problem of rampant gang activity in 
Port-au-Prince.  Additionally, many participants admitted 
they would return to their illegal activities after 
completing the program.  One month of orientation does not 
appear to convince the participants to fully denounce gang 
activity or to train them in a new profession. 
SANDERSON