[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book I)]
[March 31, 1995]
[Pages 437-438]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at an Arrival Ceremony in Port-au-Prince
March 31, 1995

    The President. President Aristide, Mr. Secretary-General, 
distinguished guests, and citizens of a free and democratic Haiti, bon-
jour.
    I am deeply honored by President Aristide's invitation to speak with 
you today. In the many months we have known each other, I have learned 
firsthand of President Aristide's tremendous courage. His strength in 
the face of great challenge reflects the unbreakable will of the Haitian 
people. We respect him as the President you elected freely and fairly 
and for his leadership of all Haitians since his return.
    Today we come together as friends. Today, once again, we give life 
to the ideals of democracy, justice, and freedom. Today we celebrate the 
restoration of democracy to your country. Never, never again must it be 
stolen away.
    For centuries, the Haitian people have known little more than blood 
and terror. You have been robbed of opportunity and deprived of basic 
rights. Your children have grown up with too much violence. From Cite 
Soleil to the smallest village in the farthest corner of your land, you 
have sacrificed much in your quest for liberty. Now you stand on the 
brink of a new and more hopeful time. Now you have a chance to make real 
the dreams of those who liberated your nation nearly 200 years ago.
    The tasks ahead will not be easy. Democracy does not flow naturally 
like the rivers, and prosperity does not spring full grown from the 
Earth. Justice does not bloom overnight. To achieve them, you must work 
hard, you must have patience, you must move forward together, with 
tolerance, openness, and cooperation. I believe you can do it, for as 
President Aristide has said, your challenge is great, but your will to 
succeed is greater.
    Your democracy will be maintained and strengthened by free elections 
and respect for the rights and obligations enshrined in your 
Constitution. Your government, the United Nations, and the United States 
will do all we can to guarantee free, fair, and secure elections, first 
in June and then in December. We know from experience that when 
elections are free, fair, and secure, you will participate. That is what 
democracy requires of you, and we know you will do it.
    Your nation has been stripped bare of many of its natural resources. 
But the most important of these resources, you, the people, have 
survived with dignity and hope. As the proverb says, ``Espwa fe viv.''
    Now you have a chance to come together to make the rice fields come 
alive and harvest the corn and millet, to build the schools and clinics 
that promise a better future for your children. We, your neighbors, your 
allies, and your friends, will support your efforts to create jobs, to 
attract investment from beyond your borders, and to rebuild and repair 
your injured land.
    In a few months, the program will begin to pave the 1,000 kilometers 
of your roads. And later this year I will send the American Peace Corps 
here to help to organize the planting of millions of trees. As the roads 
are built and the trees are planted, thousands of you will have jobs. As 
you begin this work, I urge your country men and women who fled the 
terror to return and to help you to rebuild your land and theirs.
    Economic progress will demand much patience. But we will stand with 
you as you tackle the hard and sometimes painful work ahead. Men anpil 
chay pa lou.
    There will be times of great frustration as you build your democracy 
and move toward prosperity. But today, Haiti has more friends than ever 
before. And so once again, I urge each and every citizen of this nation 
to come together in this spirit of unity that President Aristide has so 
eloquently promoted. I can do no better than to repeat his words, ``Say 
no to vengeance, no to revenge, yes to reconciliation.''
    [Inaudible]--take the law into their own hands. Each of you must 
choose, as most of you have already chosen, to build up, not tear down. 
I congratulate you for the patience you have already shown.
    History records that two centuries ago on the eve of your 
independence, and during my nation's Revolutionary War, more than 500 of 
your ancestors came from Haiti to my country and died in the fight to 
bring the United States to life. More than 200 years later, the United 
States is proud to have helped to give you a

[[Page 438]]

second chance to build your democracy and bring life to the dreams of 
your liberators.
    I have been told that throughout your land, our soldiers, our 
diplomats, and our volunteers have been greeted by hand-painted signs 
with three simple words. These words go right to their hearts and to 
mine. They are: Thank you, America. Now it is my turn to say, Merci a 
Haiti. Thank you for the warmth of your welcome and your support for all 
who have joined hands with you. Thank you for embracing peace, for 
denying despair, for holding on to hope. Because of your courage, 
because of your determination, freedom can triumph over fear.
    Today we stand in the warm, bright light of liberty, and together we 
can say, Kenbe fem, pa lage. Kenbe fem, pa lage.
    Merci, and thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 11:16 a.m. at the National Palace. In his 
remarks, he referred to President Jean-Bertrand Aristide of Haiti and 
United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali. A tape was not 
available for verification of the content of these remarks.