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The character assassination of Samba Boukman
March 12, 2012
Portraying community and political activists as violent gang leaders and violent criminals was employed in the run-up to Jean-Bertrand Aristide’s ouster in 2004 and gained momentum in the years afterwards. The continued demonization of militants and activists is exemplified in the defamation campaign against grassroots activist Samba Boukman.
Tribute to Jean Ristil Jean Baptiste
March 1, 2012
On Saturday, March 3, 4-6 p.m., Haiti Action Committee invites you to an afternoon of solidarity with the Haitian people to mark the eighth anniversary of the Feb. 29, 2004, coup d’etat, dedicated to the memory of Jean Ristil Jean-Baptiste, at La Pena Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. Jean Ristil lived his entire life in Cite Soleil. He was jailed, persecuted, beaten many times for his work as a photojournalist. He fought hard to give voice to the voiceless. He had stubborn determination. He hustled, he had game, he refused to be defeated. His work and courage remain to inspire us, to keep us going forward.
Haiti’s elected mayors illegally replaced by presidential appointees
February 27, 2012
The 1987 Constitution has not only thwarted a return to a dictatorship, but also prevented foreign concerns from buying the country wholesale from officials of the executive branch. One of the proposed amendments to the 1987 Constitution stated: “From now on, until the municipal elections of 2013, all Haiti’s mayors will be replaced by ‘Municipal Agents’ designated by the central government.”
For a revolutionary Black History Month
February 21, 2012
Africans in Haiti, by the tens of thousands, broke their chains and though penniless, hungry and scarred by the ravages of bondage, found weapons and the will to fight for freedom against the defenders of slavery: France, Britain, and Spain. They did what no “slave” army had ever done in modern or ancient history. They defeated an empire.
Haiti: Seven places where the earthquake money did and did not go
January 12, 2012
The U.N. estimated international donors gave Haiti over $1.6 billion in relief aid since the earthquake – about $155 per Haitian – and over $2 billion in recovery aid – about $173 per Haitian – over the last two years. Yet Haiti looks like the earthquake happened two months ago, not two years.
Aid as a Trojan horse: On the anniversary of the Haitian earthquake
January 11, 2012
In the ’60s, Haiti thrived with style and panache, brimming with laughter, flavor, music and color. Things dear to the Haitian soul were valued – things that could not be bought. Aid required that Haiti’s economy be changed – to benefit the U.S. Yes, the earthquake has hurt Haiti, but capitalism has hurt it more. Don’t miss the premiere of “Haiti Rising from the Ashes,” a dynamic new film by young pan-Africans Chris Zamani, M.D., Minister of Information JR and filmmaker Siraj Fowler, 7 p.m., at Twin Space Continuum, 2111 Mission St., third floor, San Francisco.
Report from Haiti: Where’s the money?
December 28, 2011
Broken and collapsed buildings remain in every neighborhood. Men pull oxcarts by hand through the street. Women carry 5-gallon plastic jugs of water on their heads, dipped from manhole covers in the street. Women carry 5-gallon plastic jugs of water on their heads, dipped from manhole covers in the street.
What happens in Haiti doesn’t stay in Haiti
December 8, 2011
The “peacekeepers” are the fastest-growing branch of the U.N., with a budget of U.S. $8 billion and over 110,000 troops serving 15 operations. Ten percent of this budget is spent on Haiti – a small country that is not at war – to train foreign troops for future warfare against their own civilians.
The uses of Haiti’s poor children: Guinea pigs for cholera vaccines
November 8, 2011
Haiti’s Ministry of Health finally gave in and officially announced the beginning of a vaccination campaign against cholera, after one year of pressure from the United Nations’ Pan American Health Organization and the recent takeover of Haiti’s prime-ministerial position by Clinton aide and U.N. employee Garry Conille. Cholera is eminently curable, and the cure is clean water.
Why it took 11 months instead of three weeks to show that Haiti’s cholera is Nepalese
September 25, 2011
It took nearly a year since the start of Haiti’s cholera epidemic for scientists to get conclusive proof that the cholera bacteria in Haiti are identical to bacteria in Nepal. The only reason it took so long to discover that Haiti’s cholera came from Nepal is because scientists had until now not bothered to compare the cholera from Haiti to cholera from Nepal.
Marthe Enice Cassandre St. Vil: Haitian family needs our help
September 20, 2011
In August 2010, I met Cassandre, a young woman who had been raped. Her father had been putting her through university, so when he was killed, her dreams died too. Kamau Amen Ra volunteered to support her in her dream to become an accountant. Now she, her mother and grandmother need help to move from their tent camp to an apartment.
Martelly still unable to appoint new prime minister
September 7, 2011
Port au Prince (IPS) – Almost three months since he was sworn in as the country’s president, Michel J. Martelly has already attempted to appoint two prime ministers to guide his government. Bernard Gousse, a minister of justice under the Gérard Latortue dictatorship (2004-2006), and businessman Daniel Rouzier were both rejected by Haitian lawmakers.
Wave of illegal, senseless and violent evictions swells in Port au Prince
August 26, 2011
Mathias O is 34 years old. He is one of about 600,000 people still homeless from the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti. He lives with his wife and her 2-year-old under a homemade shelter made out of several tarps. They sleep on the rocky ground inside. The side tarp walls are reinforced by pieces of cardboard boxes taped together. Candles provide the only inside light at night. There is no running water. No electricity. They live near a canal and suffer from lots of mosquitoes.
Is Haiti’s church hierarchy failing in its mission? Bishop Louis Kébreau’s immoral advice to Martelly
August 18, 2011
Did Bishop Louis Kébreau, president of the Haitian Episcopal Conference, call on Haitian President Martelly to be ruthless and dictatorial?
Bye-bye, MINUSTAH!
August 17, 2011
As one of his first measures in office, Brazilian Defense Minister Celso Amorim plans to conclude Brazil’s participation in the notorious United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). Various sectors of the Brazilian government, including Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, agree with Mr. Amorim, who says that the important thing now is to formulate an exit strategy. This story has now been translated into French and Spanish; the translations follow the English version.
Haiti: Medics and Lavalas supporters in Port-au-Prince celebrate birthday of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide
July 22, 2011
On July 15, 2011, to mark the 58th birthday of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a gathering of volunteer medical doctors and nurses provided a free medical clinic in Port-au-Prince. This year was special because of the return of Haiti’s first democratically elected and twice ousted president.
Haiti: the next round
July 17, 2011
On March 18, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and his family returned home from a seven-year forced exile in South Africa – an exile brought about by the violent U.S.-orchestrated coup in 2004. Up until the last minute, the U.S. government tried to stop the return, with President Obama going so far as to place a last-minute call to President Zuma of South Africa.
Why Bernard Gousse should not be Haiti’s next prime minister
July 9, 2011
In 2004, I was in Haiti living under the injustice Bernard Gousse inflicted on his own people while serving the Haitian elite and the “international community.” Like many of Gousse’s victims, I was driven into hiding after the arrest of the late Father Gerard Jean-Juste, a prominent Lavalas leader and human rights activist.
See Cuba for yourself and challenge the U.S. blockade
July 3, 2011
The Friendshipment Caravan to Cuba will stop in Berkeley on Tuesday, July 5, 6-9 p.m., at the Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar St. at Bonita. We invite you to join with us in building our 22nd Friendshipment Caravan – and to join us on our blockade-busting journey!
WikiLeaks: Haiti’s elite tried to turn the police into a private army
July 1, 2011
Leading members of Haiti’s bourgeoisie tried to turn the Haitian police force into their own private army, according to a secret U.S. Embassy cable provided to Haïti Liberté by the media organization WikiLeaks.
