Troops on tour?

The threat from the criminal gangs is the main reason why the United Nations force of 7,000 soldiers from many different countries is staying on in Haiti for another year.

They are the only ones with the weapons and the logistical backup to be able to take on the criminals and win. So far, though, their success has been strictly limited.

Recently one patrol was caught out when their armoured vehicle broke down in Cite Soleil - or Sun City - the ironically named vast, dark slum down near the capital's seafront.

The UN contingent apparently ran off, leaving their armoured vehicle and its heavy machine-guns to the crooks. The United Nations was then forced into embarrassing negotiations just to get their own weapons back.

My own slender guarantee against being kidnapped is my Haitian driver, Jean-Pierre, who speaks Creole.
Jean-Pierre says that the biggest problem for the UN troops is their lack of local knowledge, which has earned them the nickname of "tourists".

Whenever they raid the slums, the Haitian gangs simply hide their weapons, secure in the knowledge that none of their neighbours will dare give them away.

Faith in a fast car

But Jean-Pierre also says there is a political point behind many of the apparently random kidnappings. Supporters of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who was ousted from power in February three years ago, claim he was "kidnapped" by the United States and France, the old colonial power.

So the gangs are replying in kind and are trying to destabilise the government which, under President Rene Preval, has been making some timid progress.

Jean-Pierre's own tactics are to drive as quickly as he can, to avoid the slums whenever possible and to make sure we are back in a safe area before nightfall.

So far it has worked but, as the bus out of Haiti crosses the border back into the Dominican Republic, I still give thanks to Papa Legba - or any other voodoo deity I can think of - for protecting me, at least until now.

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