U.N. to keep peacekeepers in Haiti 8 more months

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The Security Council voted unanimously Thursday to extend the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti for eight months following an agreement between the United States and China on the length of the new mandate.

In a report in December, former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan recommended that the 8,800-strong mission be extended for one year when its mandate expired February 15, a view backed by the Friends of Haiti, whose members include the United States, Canada, Brazil, France and Britain.

But China, which has no diplomatic relations with Haiti, pushed for a six-month mandate.

Diplomats in Haiti have said China wanted the shorter mandate because of Haiti’s support for Taiwan’s bid to join the United Nations. Haiti is one of a handful of countries that has diplomatic ties with Taiwan. China and Taiwan split amid civil war in 1949, but Beijing still claims sovereignty over the island.

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MSU student brings hope to Haiti

He says experience changed his life

(Courtesy photo)

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Lynne Crandall | for NOISE

At first glance, Kiel Tilley might seem like a typical college student: good-looking, athletic-build, studying biology and chemistry at MSU to become a teacher. But when the 22-year-old talks about his trips to install water filtration systems in Haiti, you see that the warmth of the people and the poverty of the tiny island haunt him.

In 2004, Tilley went on an eight-day trip to Haiti with a Howell-based group called Rain Catchers that has become a yearly commitment.

After arriving on his first trip, Tilley was overwhelmed when dozens of needy village children surrounded him, jumping up and down and asking for hugs and presents. Tilley was so shaken that he retreated for an hour to process the experience.

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