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Haiti's road to collapse, Newsday's 2006 series

on the edge of chaos

Convulsed by coups and terrorized by thugs for much of its history, Haiti held presidential elections in early 2006 in a tenuous but critical step toward democracy.

Underscoring the chaos, balloting was postponed three times last year and has been delayed at least a few weeks from the latest official date of Jan. 8.

The vote will be the first since President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was forced out by armed rebels in February 2004, spawning a political and human rights crisis of such magnitude that United Nations peacekeepers, like the U.S. Marines who preceded them, can barely keep order.

Starting Sunday, January 1, 2006, Newsday begins a three-day series about the problems facing Haiti, one of the most troubled nations in the Western Hemisphere.

SUNDAY: Illegal armed groups pose the single greatest threat to bringing democracy, jobs and hope to Haiti.

MONDAY: Rice production, once the backbone of the rural workforce, could be the key to jumpstarting Haiti's ravaged economy.

TUESDAY: Deforestation threatens to turn Haiti into a Caribbean desert; a quick exit by international donors could doom the country to anarchy.

Photo credit: Newsday / Moises Saman | Sagenesse Filama holds her 10-month-old daughter Makendy Teme who is being treated at St. Catherine Hospital in Cite Soleil on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince.