Prospects remain uncertain for Haiti, the Caribbean island once praised as the Pearl of the Antilles and now the western hemisphere's poorest nation. The democratic election of Rene Preval in February 2006 brought renewed hopes for economic development and improved human rights. However, life for the poorest people in the capital Port-au-Prince remains a daily struggle for survival, with soaring unemployment, kidnappings and shootouts between U.N. peacekeepers and armed youth that many in the communities say have killed and wounded civilians. Foreign aid is a critical component of Haiti's recovery, and donors have pledged nearly a billion dollars to rebuild the country's crumbling roads, education and health care systems. But they stopped of short of forgiving Haiti's 1.4 billion dollars in debt, and any future relief would be contingent on Haiti's implementation of IMF and World Bank conditions. Amid ongoing tensions between supporters of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and those in the police and army who staged the 2004 coup, Preval has managed to bring many of Haiti's political factions together, raising hopes that real national reconciliation is possible.