This is the Justice, Not Charity! Haiti book diary. RunawayRose and I are writing these book diaries because we became shocked by the truth of Haiti’s history and what really is needed to help the Haitians after the earthquake.
"It's as if Aristide was put in charge of a house that was falling apart and was expected to fix it. But then his enemies start setting fire to the back door, they send people with guns to attack the front door, and when these people finally manage to break in they said 'Look! He didn't wash the dishes in the sink! He never repaired the leak in the roof!' They made him spend all his time trying to put out the fire and to protect the door, and then once they got rid of him they said he was pushed out because he'd failed to repair the house." (Damming The Flood, P131)
I’ve included a lot of names of people and organizations in this diary because these names come up in the news a lot and I hope it will help us all determine who is credible and who is a propagandist.
Be sure not to miss JDH's Summer Reading list.. Please take a couple of minutes to see/complete (takes 5 minutes) today's action alert directly below today's topic. Join us in comments for today's news discussion and more.
Today is Haiti diary book day : Current book is Damming The Flood: Haiti, Aristide, And The Politics Of Containment, by Peter Hallward: Chapter 8 Pt.2: You can see our book list is here.
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Chapter 8: 2003-2004: Preparing for War
Ou wè sa w genyen, ou pa konn sa w rete
(You know you've got, but you don't know what's coming).
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PROTESTS FROM STUDENTS AND THE G184
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It was at the Santo Domingo Hotel in the Dominican Republic in late 2002 that Lucas (who worked for the IRI, whose job was to unify Lavalas opposition, which was not easy considering he had to unite union leaders with sweatshop owners and even victims of torture with their perpetrator,
see chapter 4) and his gang of Haiti's elite came up with a new organization. They would call it the Group of 184 (G184). To give the anti-FL disinformation campaign one united voice G184 would organize, unite and coordinate all the anti-Lavalas recruits and groups (i.e., the business sector, NGOs, CD politicians, the media, the elite and so on...). G184's ultimate goal was simple, to destroy Aristide and the movement-Fanmi Lavalas-that had propelled him into office. The G184 set itself up "both to represent the opposition and to serve as a 'neutral' arbiter between itself and the government" (
Damming The Flood, P.101). It was funded by
IRI, IFES and the EU. And almost all organizations that recieved money from the USAID or IRI/
NED were members of G184.
The G184 did little their first year. Their first and only project in G184's first year of existence was an all day general strike on January 23, 2003, which was a miserable failure. However toward the end of 2003, the "Democratic Opposition" became much more active. Hallward gives 5 reasons things heated up towards the end of 2003:
1. The Opposition finally had success turning a gang member in Gonaïves. The Paramilitary had an opening into Aristide territory;
2. The US was forced to back down on the suspension of aid and loans. Aristide was going to get hundreds of millions of dollars and would be able to implement promised programs. Aristide started his second term bankrupt and the release of the aid which equaled 1/2 Haiti's annual budget would considerably strengthen Aristide. The concessions that Aristide continued to make (made painting Aristide as a tyrannical dictator more difficult for the US) along with threat of a Law suit by the Robert Kennedy Memorial Human Rights Center in Washington forced the US to back down "on its suspension of $145m IDB loan agreed in 1997/98, for health, education, rural roads and water programs, that was so crucial to FL's social agenda." (Damming The Flood, P.190);
3. Aristide was having success in collecting corporate taxes. The IMF released a mostly positive report about the FLs management of collecting taxes. The elite could not allow this to stand. And, tellingly, one of the first things the post-coup government did was suspend all corporate taxes for 3 years;
4. The bicentennial was coming up and it would offer a stage for Aristide to call for France to repay the money that they had extorted from Haiti. It would also show the world how popular Aristide remained in Haiti. It would be a nightmare for the disinformation campaign. It was going to get more difficult to paint Aristide as an unpopular, violent dictator;
5. The legislator's terms were ending and because of the oppositions refusal to participate in elections, Aristide would be forced to lead by decree. This would offer the opposition the perfect opportunity to paint Aristide as a dictator.
The anti-Lavalas campaign entered its final stage in late 2003. Group 184 held its largest rally to date on November 14, 2003. It was lead by notorious sweatshop owners and G184 leaders Andy Apaid (US citizen) and Charles Baker.
A few hundred showed up for the anti-Aristide rally; many of the protesters were prominent members of Haiti's elite. (I think G184 rallies were like if the Republicans called a rally against Obama but the only people to show up were other republican officials and maybe some of their staff.) The protestors were out numbered by the 8000, or so, Lavalas supporters who showed up and surrounded the opposition. When government supporters threw rocks at the protesters, the Haiti police intervened and the situation turned ugly. G184 members and supporters were traveling in a huge flatbed truck with large speakers. The police pulled over G184's truck and found unlicensed firearms. The 30 people in the vehicle were arrested. At that point, there really was no other option, so Apaid called the march off. A Haiti Libre reporter noted that the majority of G184 signs were written in English. The opposition and the complaint media claimed that Aristide's repressive government would not allow the opposition to demonstrate. The truth is people had an unprecedented amount of freedom under Aristide. Moreover, the story did not get the traction that the opposition hoped.
However, luckily for the opposition, the student protests had more of an impact than the sweatshop owners protests. IFES, IRI and G184 had invested considerable time and resources to recruit students and create opposition student groups. Most students at Haiti's University come from poor backgrounds and have worked extremely hard to get into the extremely competitive, and somewhat corrupt, university. The elite go to college in the US, France or Canada. Most people in Haiti do not make it to secondary school. "Only around 35% of students are able to complete primary school, and just 4% graduate from secondary school." (Damming The Flood, P.7)
The aid embargo and the neoliberal, structural adjustments were causing Haiti to fall into a deep recession. The University services became more scarce and restricted. Students were growing resentful over lack of services. There is nothing more appealing to Haitian students than a Visa to the US, France or Canada. The opposition would take advantage of this by offering student visas to those students that joined in the Anti-FL campaign. Many students had picked up the political views of their extremely conservative professors. The vast majority of Haitian intellectuals and university professors are ultra conservative. Most are members of the G184 and even started their own, even more conservative group (Comitè du Non, Committee of the No).
The great majority of intellectuals and academics in Haiti are conservative as a matter of course; most joined or were sympathetic to the G184, and spurred by the energetic Eric Bosc in the French embassy some (including Lyonel Trouillot, Laënnec Hurbon, Frank Etienne, Yannick Lahens, Raoul Peck. . .) even formed a group, the Comitè du Non (Committee of the No), whose reactionary inflection makes the G184 itself look moderate by comparison. (Damming The Flood, P194)
Aristide was seen as competition by many of the intellectuals. He was Haiti's most accomplished biblical scholar. During his second administration, Aristide put considerable effort into creating a new public university at Tabarre. Aristide pressured the university to follow its own regulations on admissions, elections, and finances. The University faculty wanted Aristide out of office and by any means necessary.
IFES, IRI and G184 was only able to convert a fraction of the student population, but they did have some success. G184 gave out visas and money which did help their cause. The ties between the opposition and the students were obvious; one of the student groups had its office in Charles Bakers own building. However, even with the bribes/incentives many of the protestors were not actually students from the state university. They were brought in to create problems for the government.
"only a fraction of the students in the system participated in the protest movement," explains Anne Sosin, "and many did so to get visas to leave Haiti; many of the so called students were not actually students in the state university but were sent in to sow chaos in the system." It is no secret that by the end of 2003 "many of the student leaders had taken workshops with the International Republican Institute." (Damming The Flood, P.195)
IFES and the IRI held sensitivity seminars on the university's campus. Most of the student leaders had taken a number of IRI's workshops. For those of you that don't know about sensitivity training (covered in chapter 4) here is a brief reminderA brief reminder of IFES sensitivity training
It is worth repeating that the USAID is used as a tool to force Haiti to enact catastrophic neoliberal policies. These policies pushed Haiti from being a poor country, but able to feed itself, to a poor and starving country. It does this by funding numerous "democratization programs." The USAID's main contractor during Aristide years in office was the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES). IFES started in Haiti in 1990 and shared both goals and personnel with the International Republican Institute (IRI). Dick Cheney's close associate, William J. Hybl, served on IRI's board, and was the chairman of IFES' board of directors.
One of IFES' main programs, during Aristide's second term, was the "Civil Society Strengthening Project for Judicial Independence and Justice." They had a starting budget of $3.5 million. "Its original purpose was to 'advocate for the independence of judges from the executive branch via the formation of a range of coalitions from various societal institutions." (Damming The Flood, P93) IFES held meetings and seminars where they "sensitized" influential civil society members and groups. Many prominent figures went to the events. IFES was able to infiltrate the Haitian government and start the disinformation campaign within President Aristide's own government.
Hallward got this from a report by Miami University's Law School P20:
"The premise of IFES' justice program was that President Aristide 'controlled everything' and therefore controlled the judges in Haiti in contravention of the constitutional separation of powers. Because the judicial system was corrupt, so went the premise, Aristide must be the most corrupt. IFES initially undertook to form a network of organizations that could concentrate opposition to the perceived corruption of the judiciary by the Aristide government. IFES formed new associations and established relationships with existing ones, making them more cohesive with a formally planned program of "sensitization" - what the administrators called "opening their eyes" to IFES' viewpoint that Aristide was corrupting the justice system. Through various programs-that included catered meals, accommodations, entertainment, and payment of a cash "per diem" - IFES "sensitized" attendees to the problems with the justice system under Aristide and insisted that they act as a united group for greatest effect."
A leader of one of the made up student opposition groups, Hervé Saintilus (leader of Fédération des Étudiants de I'Université d'État d'Haïti, FEUH), made a useful quote for the NYT pleading for Bush to come and oust Aristide.
The hard part was coming up with a plausible reason for students to oppose Aristide when he and Preval (in his first term) had done more for students than any other Haitian politician. Six months after his term expired, the university's rector, Jean-Marie Paquiot, continued to stall the organization of elections for his successor. This lead Haiti's education minister, Marie Carmel Paul-Austin, to replace him with a temporary appointee. Paquiot was a prominent member of OPL and was not happy about losing his position. Paquiot was well acquainted with IFES and they quickly picked up his cause. The FL administration bowed to the pressure and reappointed Paquiot pending an election. The media, of course, dutifully reported that Aristide the dictator was interfering with one of the last independent institutions, ignoring the fact that he reappointed Paquiot.
In November of 2002, IFES had the students hold a demonstration against government interfering with the autonomy of the universities. However the protest got little attention. This would soon change.
The staged protest with false claims by students of being attacked by Chimères.
One of the oppositions' primary goals with these demonstrations was to bait government supporters into responding. This demonstration played out exactly how the opposition wanted.
On December 5, 2003, the students held a protest to support G184. A fight between pro-Lavalas and anti-Lavalas protestors broke out. Paquiot claims that his leg was broken in the brawl. About two dozen students claimed to be injured (more about this below). The opposition framed it as Aristide supporters opened fire on student protestors. The elite owned and controlled media covered the story nonstop, just as the opposition reported it. The opposition began calling it "black Friday." Aristide and Neptune apologized for the incident, immediately.
According to the democratic opposition, the assault represented the climax of "chimère" mayhem, the single most violent episode in a long campaign of state-sanctioned intimidation.... The incident became known in opposition circles as "black Friday," and via G184 channels like Andy Apaid's Tele-Haiti and Radio Métropole, the violence received massive media attention. (Damming The Flood, P196)
As stated above, one of the oppositions' primary goals with these demonstrations was to bait government supporters into responding. It appears as though this demonstration was a successful implementation of this tactic. But, what really happened is quite different:
It started with a fight between an OP member and a student. An OP member was shot by someone on the roof where G184 members were with students. The shooting continued in order to keep the police out. The police shot in the air in order to get the students and OPs to leave. In the chaos a student was shot and injured. The students accused the police of not protecting them. Members of G184 were inside the campus encouraging the violence. As mentioned before Aristide and his prime minister Neptune apologized immediately. At the trial in 2006, Paquiot and the students could not identify any of the people that they claim assaulted them and refused to provide medical verification of the injuries they claimed to have received at the demonstration. A doctor confirmed that Paquiot's legs had never been broken.
When the case eventually came to trial in the spring of 2006 (in the context of charges brought against FL activist So Anne), Paquiot was unable to remember the identity of his attackers and refused a court request for medical documentation of his injuries. A doctor who treated him at the hospital later confirmed that his legs were not broken after all. Almost all of "the student plaintiffs ignored summons to appear before the investigating judge and never testified; none of the victims and witnesses who testified were able to identify any of the defendants as their aggressors or place them at the scene of the incident." (Damming The Flood, P.197)
The students were able to do what G184 protesters had failed to do; to successfully bait Lavalas supporters. Their protests are considered by some to have been the turing point for the FL administration. According to PAPDA and other "progressive" pro-coup groups it was the student protests that marked the end for Aristide.
The students continued to demonstrate and the OPs continued to show up when the students would bring out 500 the OPs brought out 5000. They were not going to sit on the sidelines while this small group lead by the repulsive elite derailed their government.
The media continued to give the students non-stop media attention and it did take a toll on Aristides administration. However the opposition realized that demonstrations and disinformation campaign would not be enough to oust Aristide. When the IDB confirmed that they would shortly release $200m of aid to Haiti the opposition knew that it was time to step up the paramilitary assaults.
Joint us for chapter 9 next Sunday!
Thank you ny brit expat for editing.
Sources We Like
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It is a critical time for Haiti. There is an upcoming election November 28, 2010, that will determine how Haiti is rebuilt. It will determine whether there is justice, opportunity and equality in Haiti, or whether the elite and US continue to pillage the country.
Unfortunately so far it looks like it will be the latter -- the slogan "build back better" seems to be nothing more than a slogan.
The US sees Aristide and the Lavalas movement as the biggest threat to the interests of the US: A bigger threat than secular Marxist-Leninism and bigger than the labor unions.
A US official spoke for a more general Washington consensus when he said that 'Aristide-slum priest, grass-roots activist, exponent of Liberation Theology-represents everything that the CIA, DOD and FBI think they have been trying to protect this country against for the past 50 years.(Damming The Flood, pg. 37)
The US does not want a fair election because in any democratic election the FL candidate would win easily: As they have in all elections they have participated in. On December 16, 1990, Jean Bertrand Aristide made history by becoming Haiti's first democratically elected president and he did with a bang. He won a whopping 67% of the popular vote in a field of 12 candidates
In the 2000 legislative and local elections FL candidates won 89 of the 115 mayoral positions 72 of 83 seats in the chamber of Deputies and of the 17 senate seats that were up FL won 16. In his second election he won with over 90% of the vote. Fanmi Lavalas will win if they are allowed to compete in any fair and open democratic election. The US and the IC hate FL because they see it as a threat to the social and economic status quo and are willing to do (and indeed have done) whatever it takes to exclude them. The FL's "sin" is that they represent poor people. And, we live in a world where that is not acceptable the ruling class will not stand for it!
"[...]The coup of 2004 did not simply disrupt the Lavalas organization and kill thousands of its supporters. It was also intended to complete a task that began back in 1991: the task of reversing Lavalas' achievements and of inverting their significance. It didn't serve merely to put an end to the "threat of a good example," but also to discredit it beyond repair. Haiti's mobilization had proved that "the poorest people in the hemisphere", Elie goes on, " can know more about democracy than the people who are pretending to be beacons of civilization [...]. For the US, Haiti is an example that must be crushed, that must be made to fail." (P xxxII; quotes from Lavalas activist Patrick Elie)
The US, Haiti's Elite, and International Community (IC) have successfully excluded Fanmi Lavalas (FL) Aristide's Party from every election since they removed Jean-Bertrand Aristide from office in the 2004 coup.
A recent article compared the exclusion of FL to both the Democrats and Republicans being excluded from the upcoming election and allowing only small third Party candidates to participate. (There is much more information about the election below.)
Action Alert: Election: IJDH has a new action alert
- IJDH has a new action alert. Please sign the petition Stop U.S. Taxpayers’ Good Money From Going to Bad Elections in Haiti! Please SignPetition
- November Election in Haiti: The Silent Coup: The Silent Coup in Haiti P.1 of 2 9/19/2010 interview conducted by Darren Ell, with Concannon, Ives, and others . It covers the state of the Lavalas movement, the Nov 2010 election and more. Silent Coup in Haiti, Part II Brian Concannon: The mainstream American media has a bias towards covering personalities over policies in all elections, including our own. Reporters and editors claim that it’s what Americans like to read. The Wyclef Jean coverage carries that bias to an extreme. It has devoted extensive space to a clearly ineligible candidate with no political experience running with a party that has never won any elected office. At the same time, it ignores the disqualification of the party that has won every free election held in Haiti for 20 years, always by a landslide.
The US equivalent to what’s happening in Haiti would be President Obama forming a new party before our 2012 elections, and announcing that the Democrats and Republicans were disqualified, then California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger—who was born in Austria and thus constitutionally barred from the Presidency—announcing his candidacy, then the press foaming at the mouth about how his entry into the race has energized action hero movie fans, while ignoring the disqualification of the parties that win every election.
IJDH has a new action alert. Please call your Rep
To call:
1. Dial the Capitol Switch board – 202–224-3121. Ask to be connected with your Representative’s office. (Click here to find your Representative by name or zip-code).
2. “My name is ____ and I am a constituent from _(your city)_. I am calling to ask that Representative _____ urge Secretary Clinton to support only fair elections in Haiti. Stop U.S. Taxpayers’ Good Money From Going to Bad Elections in Haiti!"
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Piti, piti, zwazo fe nich li
(Little by little the bird builds its nest)
Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti
"Anyone interested in democracy and rights has reason to be interested in Haiti. Over two centuries ago, Haitians challenged the notions of human rights taking root in Europe and the nascent United States, insisting that all people are human and that slavery could have no place in any republic worthy of the name. This was the beginning of the modern human rights movement."
— Paul Farmer, Co-Founder, Partners in Health
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Elections
"Our rulers, notes Aristide's prime minister Yvon Neptune, still 'want a democracy without the people,' but rather than simply exclude them from politics today's goal is instead 'to reduce the people to puppets or clowns.'" (Damming The Flood, P XXXIII)
Haiti Liberté editorial on political situation, upcoming election |
The International Community Should Pressure the Haitian Government for Prompt and Fair Elections (IJDH) |
The International Republican Institute: Promulgating Democracy of Another Variety |
U.S. Gvt. Channels Millions Through National Endowment for Democracy to Fund Anti-Lavalas Groups in Haiti Amy Goodman interview's Anthony Fenton about the US funded National Endowment for Democracy (NED) it was created by Reagan in the 80's ostensibly to promote Democracy. What it does is funnel huge amount of money to anti-Lavalas groups. Most large NGOs have become arms of the CIA. They are easy for the US to control because large NGOs make a living off poverty. |
November Election in Haiti: The Silent Coup: The Silent Coup in Haiti P.1 of 2 9/19/2010 interview conducted by Darren Ell, with Concannon, Ives, and others . It covers the state of the Lavalas movement, the Nov 2010 election and more. -- P.2 |
The Untold Story of Aristide's Departure from Haiti, By KEVIN PINA 10/11/04 covers: Aristides second term; the 2000 election which was initially applauded by the IC as Haiti's best election, but was soon delegitimized by the "democratic opposition," the US, and IC. It covers the destabilization program & the coup. |
What’s At Stake in Haiti’s December 3, 2006 Elections: the ASEC System |
Haiti: No Leadership — No Elections (U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations) |
Haiti’s elections won’t relieve misery |
Unfair and undemocratic |
"Beat the Dog Too Hard" Haiti's Elections, By MARK SCHULLER covers election day and the empty streets and polling places. And he covers clintons devastating neoliberal plan for Haiti. He mentions Charles Baker who is currently running for president. |
IJDH-Elections IJDH has the bes election coverage around there are links to new and old articles and there are reports that explain Haiti's election system. They do amazing work. My favorite NGO |
With Date for Elections Set, Next Step is to Ensure Full Participation |
Elections Without Voters: Eroding Participation in Haiti |
Elusive Victories in Haiti |
Letter to Secretary Clinton Urging “Free, Fair and Inclusive” Elections in Haiti IJDH & other organizations write letter to Clinton re Nov 28, 2010 election. |
Haiti election commission under scrutiny for ties to President René Préval There are rumors that Preval told the CEP panel who to exclude from the 11/28/2010 election. |
Selection, or Election? The Monitor Describes the CEP's Troubling Exclusion of Fanmi Lavalas et al explains why the 2010 election as planned is a shame election. It links to some other must read articles. |
List of candidates here.
Additional articleshere.
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Mantra from Aristide's 1990 campaign:
"Alone we are weak, together we are strong; all together we are Lavalas, the flood [yon se`l nou feb, ansanm nou fo, ansanm nou se Lavalas]."
Aristide Damming The Flood, (pg. xxxiv)
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Aid
- Must see VIDEO
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- Change Haiti Can Believe In
- Amy Goodman led a panel discussion about US-Haiti policy, Haiti's history, and what we can do to assist Haitians in their fight for justice -- The panel includes Paul Farmer Co/Founder of PIH, Brian Concannon Found of IJDH, Mat Damon, State Rep. Linda Dorcena Forry. You can watch the whole program, or if you are short on time pick a 10 minute segment to watch. This video especially the parts with Brian Concannon are a large part of what got me so interested in helping put a stop to my governments oppression of Haitians.
- Haiti Dreaming for More Than $3 a day Watch
- this is an excellent short video about how neoliberalism has destroyed Haiti's farm economy and what can be done differently.
- Life and Debt
- this award winning documentary about the impact that US neoliberal trade policy has had. It focus' on Jamaica but applies doubly to Haiti. This is a Must See. It is sometimes available on Youtube.
- Edwidge Danticat on US immigration detentions 60 minutes
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- Haiti: Toto Constant Talks About CIA vs. Aristide
- this short video has clips from a 60 minute interview with Emmanuel Toto Constant who worked for the CIA and was the leader of the vicious death squad FRAPH. The full interview is not available. I purchased the transcript from CBS News but they have strict copyright rules and would not even sell me the actual video. If anyone has it please share.
- Jeremy Scahill on Democracy Now! responds to Clinton being appointed as UN envoy to Haiti Jeremy Scahill sums up Clinton's vicious Haiti policy in about 2 minutes. I love this video.
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Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti:
Mission
We strive to work with the people of Haiti in their non-violent struggle for the consolidation of constitutional democracy, jus tice and human rights, by distributing objective and accurate information on human rights conditions in Haiti, pursuing legal cases, and cooperating with human rights and solidarity groups in Haiti and abroad.
IJDH draws on its founders’ internationally-acclaimed success accompanying Haiti’s poor majority in the fields of law, medicine and social justice activism. We seek the restoration of the rule of law and democracy in the short term, and work for the long-term sustainable change necessary to avert Haiti’s next crisis.
"IJDH is simply the most reliable source for information and analysis on human rights in
Haiti." — Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)
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Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti: |
Diaries:
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- ShelterBox: carolina stargazer has regular diary ShelterBox series. The next ShelterBox diary is planned for Tuesday morning, but activity in Friday's diary will be monitored until then.
- The World Traveler - Haiti page.: This website has links to articles about Haiti and it has excerpts from books including The Uses of Haiti and Damming The Flood.
- Be sure to also see diaries by Bev Bell for informed ground-level information on Haiti's needs.
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- Meteor Blades points the way to a better and more sustainable future for Haitians in Haiti Could Use a New Deal.
- As the MSM (in the United States) turns attention away from Haiti, Deoliver47 reminds us that things are not suddenly all better: Raining Disease and More Deaths.
- Mokurai has an excellent diary in response to the initial rightwing racist response to the Haiti quake Translating Code: The Punishment of Haiti.
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- Daisy Cutter's Book Review: "Damming the Flood" by Peter Hallward, pt 1 this diary was published in July 2008 and presents a history of Haiti up to 1999 using Hallward's book as a reference.
Sunday is Haiti diary book day. Here is the Book List
UPCOMING DIARIES
Tuesday:
Thursday:
Sunday: allie123
If you would like to volunteer to contribute a diary to continue this series, please leave comment below. Norbrook has created a Google documents file with the source code for the first version of the diary with the NGO list. allie123 created a Google doc for the new series Justice, Not Charity. However, because we are cutting back to 2 or 3 diaries a week we will be adding a focus and new information to each diary now.
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The icons of this diary series are courtesy of the html artist known on Daily Kos as
Pluto.