A fuller view of Haiti

Re “Haiti Makes Best of a Tenuous Peace,� June 26

The vast majority of Haiti is safe and delightfully rich in physical and cultural beauty, while tragically poor and environmentally degraded.

Only by addressing the country as a whole and taking advantage of its beauty and capabilities with long-term approaches will Haiti rejoin the ranks of stable, functioning states.

The Times should shed some light on the realities of the Artibonite, Cap Haitian, Jeremie, Les Cayes and Jacmel.

Readers might be surprised to see that the Haiti outside the slums of Port au Prince is a fascinating, beautiful, accessible place worth our aid and attentions -- and in desperate need of both.

TIMOTHY J. PERSHING

Topanga

Pershing, a political scientist, was for the last six months the electoral analyst for the Port au Prince-based International Mission to Monitor Haitian Elections.