The New York Times PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti The pile of garbage behind the spot where Marie Joseph sells tins of tomato paste started out small, the usual primordial goo that coats this grimy capital's streets, binding a putrid mélange. But in the two months since President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Haiti's first democratically elected leader, was forced from power by an armed rebellion, the pile has swelled like a rapacious tumor in the heart of the city center.
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"I have never seen anything like this," Joseph said last week, squatting near the pile, more than 3 meters, or 10 feet, high, wrinkling her nose at the stench. "How can we live like this?"
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Difficult as it may be to believe, people here say, life has become worse in the past two months.
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Mounds of garbage choke the streets. Electricity in the capital has been scarce for weeks. The police force has fallen deeper into disarray and crime has spiked, with a rash of kidnappings aimed at wealthy businesspeople. The price of rice, the Haitian staple, has crept up by a
http://www.iht.com/articles/518513.htmlHaiti a seething pit of unrest as it awaits global aid
New government in jeopardy as living conditions worsen
Of a 6,000-member force, as few as half its officers can be counted on to show up, police officials said. A recent recruiting drive brought thousands of candidates, who rioted as they waited to fill out applications; a student was killed in the stampede.
Privately, ministers of the new government marvel at how Aristide was able to keep Haiti's government going.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/05/05/MNGKF6FR9N1.DTLHaitians see little aid, worsening conditions
Latortue now faces an exhausted treasury, a corrupt and demoralized state work force, wary international donors and lingering doubts about the manner in which Aristide left the country.
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