WHYS in Haiti: Who runs Haiti?
| 08:00 UK time, Monday, 21 March 2011
There are a few sure signs that you are somewhere near a polling station on an otherwise quiet Sunday.
One is the armoured UN car. Others include the with troops parked outside, Haitian policemen looking uncomfortable in 90-degree temperatures, and - if candidate "Sweet Micky" Martelly is about to cast his vote - a fooball-style crowd of thousands and bodyguards incongrously dressed in pink shirts.
A World Have Your Say team has come to Port au Prince to follow the long-delayed run-off to the presidential elections, and to keep a promise made last year that we would come back.
So, yesterday morning, we found ourselves in Petionville - a Martelly stronghold - and watched him cast his vote in a building that featured a picture of his rival Mirlande Manigat outside the front door.
A few days ago, all the talk in the country was about the return of ousted former presdient Jean Betrand Aristide. But the crowd in Petionville only had eyes for the bald head of Micheal Martelly.
Inside he was propelled towardsthe voting booth by bodyguards, wellwishers and supporters, and the only time it threatened to get out of hand was when Mr Martelly aimed a slap at a man who was clearly getting in his way.
Many observers believe that nothing will get in his way on his journey to becoming President of a country of around 10 million people, still trying to regain normal lives after the .
Whoever wins this run off - and the result won't be known until next month - has, by any standards, an enormous job on his or her hands.
Hundreds of thousands of people still live in camps and make-shift shelters, unemplyment is high and there is little sign of much forward direction.
We asked the people we met just under a year ago what issues they wanted to talk about. The first was about who actually runs Haiti - a country that, whatever your political opinions, has had more than its fair share of foreign interference - and help.
On the flight over to Port-au-Prince, not for the first time we were struck by how many people were travelling to the Haitian capital to work for NGOs, charities or relgious missions.
No-one would dout that to a man or woman they mean well. But the grumblings from Haitians we heard last year have turned into something approaching anger and resentment.
Critics of foreign involvement argue Haiti has no chance of standing up for itself while so many other "stakeholders" are involved in Haitian life and politics.
Another view is that one of the poorest countries in the world cannot survive without support from the international community.
Some Haitians we've spoken to say they are embarrassed - almost ashamed - that their country is metorphorically speaking seen as holding out a begging bowl to the rest of the world.
At its heart is an uneasy relationship with its near neighbour, the USA. In some areas there is enormous gratitude for the support and cash, handed over by Washington from a country which, after all, has given a home to many Haitians over the years.
On the other hand, there's disquiet about the amount of influence wielded by sucessive US administrations.
On the day after people in this country voted for their new President, World Have Your Say will simulcast with community radio station Radio Boukman in Cite Soleil, a place often described as the Caribbean's biggest slum.
There's a programme on Radio Boukman called Chimen Lakay, which means "the way home." Every day they go to a different camp or place in Haiti and present an hour-long live discussion, giving ordinary people a place to voice their concerns and opinions.
They get citizen journalists involved, make the most of texts and social media, and have a blog. Sound familiar? It's the Haitian version of World Have Your Say - in other words, the perfect place to talk about all these issues.
What will the election of either Mr Martelly or Ms Manigat mean to the people here? If WHYS returns in 5 years at the end of their presidential term will the people there tell us they've noticed a difference.
Will there be less foreign involvement in the day-to-day affairs of the people - or more?
Or as one man in the camps told us, "will we ever get our country back"?
