Zombie Files

Zombie Files: Gangs, Drugs, Politics and Voodoo under the Mandate of the United Nations by Max Kail is one of those books whose title alone will deter some readers. The title and occasional references to disturbing things such as human sacrifice and even cannibalism will raise alarm and cause others to dismiss the author as a racist or liar. That's actually quite a shame. Max Kail, presumably a pseudonym, offers an important insider perspective on how ineffective MINUSTAH was at stabilizing Haiti with occasionally useful insights on the nature of the narco-state cabal that runs Haiti and participates or enables kidnappings, gang violence, political corruption, and drug-trafficking. 

However, Kail's title and some of the repetition of hearsay and negative tropes of Haiti's "Voodoo" religion is unacceptable in some quarters. Of course, the reality is quite different and Haitian people themselves have reported cases of (or suspected cases) of human sacrifice and violence driven by beliefs in sorcery or magic. Indeed, there is undoubtedly a darker side to magico-religious worldviews, one in which Vodou is a part of albeit often maligned as black magic. And Kail is probably correct about the darker side of this worldview being used or exploited by gang leaders, the economic elite, and corrupt politicians to plot their actions or terrorize the population. Whether or not a Cite Soleil gang leader actually eats the hearts of rivals or ritually sacrifices a person on a full moon does not matter so much if it reinforces the reputation of certain people as dangerous, terrifying, and ruthless. We just wish the author could have offered more evidence of some of his assertions, like the role of a manbo in assisting Clifford Brandt's kidnapping ring or Aristide's father as a houngan. 

The true value of the text lies in Kail's perspective on the failure of MINUSTAH. In order to actually make a positive difference in Haiti, Kail had to join an unofficial anti-kidnapping working group that actually gathered data and intel with the support of people like Reginald Delva and reliable HNP to arrest the perpetrators. With like-minded others, he had earlier played a role in the targeting of gangs and making Cite Soleil, the notorious slum, safer than other parts of Port-au-Prince. Unfortunately, the UN's own internal bureaucracy, corruption, incompetence, and desire to work with the local government undermined all their attempts to actually improve Haiti for the vast majority of the population. The aforementioned cabal of politicians and wealthy business interests are heavily involved in the drug trade since the 1980s (with Col. Michel Francois, a friend of Martelly) and then the large, effective cartel of Jacques Ketant which appears to have been close with Aristide. In order for them to maximize their profits and power, Haiti must remain a key transit point for narcotics to enter the US and the profits from the drug trade as well as political corruption and aid must continue. 

Several of the examples examined or mentioned in the text have been documented in Haitian and international journalism, so one knows Kail did not fabricate or exaggerate. It is a long, sordid history of corrupt politicians, drug traffickers, gang-elite partnerships, manufactured crises and riots, and real humanitarian disasters which clearly illustrates how morally repugnant the Haitian elites are as well as the collusion of international forces (like the UN) with this savagely inhumane political economic system that disenfranchises and excludes the majority of the population. Basically, Kail is doing in a less academic form what scholars like Fatton have done, showing how the Haitian prebendary state or the "state against nation" framing of Trouillot has acted in the last 20 years since Aristide's second term. Sadly, Haiti today in 2022 seems to have continued on the path of this inexorable decline and impunity continues to be enjoyed by many of the "usual suspects" (Acra, Boulos, Mevs, Latortue, Martelly, Vorbe, and others in this rogues gallery).