Sunlight Upon a Dark Sky - Haiti's Urban Poor Responds to Socio-Political and Socio-Cultural Conflicts: A Case Study of the Grande Ravine Community Human Rights Council

Abstract

This case study investigates the organizational characteristics of a Haitiangrassroots community human rights council (CHRC) that emerged as a response to threepolitically motivated massacres. The impromptu grassroots response of this poor urbancommunity is at the core of the following research question investigated in this study:What organizational characteristics influence the efforts made by the Grande RavineCommunity Human Rights Council to resolve socio-cultural and socio-political conflicts?One of the problems encountered was the suspicion by armed groups believing that thepresident of the organization was informing the police and the United Nationspeacekeepers about their activities. The complex dynamics of the Grande Ravineneighborhood lead to additional questions about building community capacity. Thisraised the possibility of removing the CHRC as an organization that monitors humanrights and expanding its role to include teaching about human rights and theresponsibilities that go with protecting them. A question for further study would bewhether or not a community-based human rights group can make a positive difference inresolving and diminishing socio-cultural and socio-political conflicts in similarneighborhoods.