Amid a Slow Recovery, Frustration Grows in Haiti

"While few have given up entirely on the dream that a more efficient, more just Haiti might rise from the rubble, increasingly, hope is giving way to stalemate and bitterness. 'Is this really it?' Haitians ask. They complain that the politically connected are benefiting most from reconstruction work that has barely begun. They shake their heads at crime's coming back, unproductive politicians and aid groups that are struggling with tarpaulin metropolises that look more permanent every day.

'We're going to be in this position forever,' said Patrick Moussignac, the owner of Radio Caraïbes, a popular station broadcasting from a tent downtown. 'We could be living on the streets for 10 or 20 years.'"

Locals are calling on the government to take stronger action, and many hope that plans for a presidential election by year's end will help spur it. But without a clear opponent to current President René Préval, there is some fear that the status quo will remain indefinitely.