REAL HOPE FOR HAITI RESCUE CENTER: CARNIVALE!! BRINGING HAITIANS TOGETHER.

The blog for the Haiti Rescue Center reflected on the celebration of Carnivale on the island yesterday.  It says that psychologists and sociologists see the holiday as a kind of equilibrating period necessary to make up for the interdictions and rules of society and of the church which hold during the rest of the year, because no matter what one’s class or social standing, everyone is supposedly thrown together to revel.  While Carnivale represents a space where people can express their political frustrations or demands, at the same time it can be used by the government as a diversion to distract the population from political problems, taking the heat off and allowing it to gain some time.

Question to the Blogosphere:  Do equalizing events like Carnivale in divided societies like Haiti help build common ground among the people?  How can outside actors, especially governments, intervene in efforts to find common ground to distort the mission of the efforts?  Are there other events like this that bring people together in spite of their differences?  What about the situation in Haiti makes this event a good or bad tool for reconciliation?