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 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: You can see our book list is here. |
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).
|
A Brief Background:
When President Jean-Bertrand Aristide won his second term in 2000, he was elected with over 90% of the popular vote. How did the US, France, Canada and Haiti's small class of elites succeed in ousting this extremely popular, democratically elected President for the second time? Beyond simply ousting Aristide, the US, France, Canada and Haiti's morally repugnant elite managed to convince most people that Aristide was a corrupt, violent dictator who was ousted in an uprising. Well, that is, most people except the vast majority of Haitian voters who continue to support him and to this day call for his return to Haiti from forced exile.
As soon as Aristide took office in 2001, the US blocked all international aid and loans to Haiti. The US even made the IMF suspend loans that were designated for specific humanitarian projects and had been agreed to in 1997; It was grossly illegal and unprecedented to block the pre-approved humanitarian loans. The USAID then funneled the aid money through the IRI, NED, IFES, as well as, anti-Aristide NGOs and advocate groups. There were many US funded disinformation programs, such as, "civil society training" and "Democracy building" classes and seminars (anti Aristide propaganda sessions). The small class of Haiti's domestic elites had spent the past decade buying up Haiti's media outlets. This is something in which the elites take great pride.
Just as the US and IC were more prepared to deal with Aristide the second time, Aristide was more prepared for the Lavalas opposition. Aristide did two things that would make the second coup more difficult than the first.
- During his first term in office, in 1995, Aristide demobilized the army; the opposition could no longer use Haiti's military to carry out coups.
- Aristide started a new political party: the Fanmi Lavalas. The FL was not perfect but was far more disciplined than the Lavalas Party, and was able to win elections. In the 2000 legislative and local elections FL candidates won 89 out of the 115 mayoral positions, 72 out of the 83 seats in the legislator, and 16 out of the 17 senate seats that were up. The pro-US OPL (the party that fragmented from the original Lavalas Party and was made of political opportunists that had only joined the Lavalas Party to get elected) was left with only one seat.
The US and IC reacted by not only intensifying the standard destabilization campaign but they also added entirely new strategies. The US, France, Canada and Haiti's elite did four new things: 1. They United Lavalas' opposition left and right; 2. They co-opted NGOs, Advocate groups and militant Fanmi Lavalas (FL) allies and organizations. 3. The US and IC had to create what Hallward calls (in an interview) a para-political opposition Party. They brought all the politicians that lost to FL together, united them and rebranded them as a legitimate equal political party. They called the party Convergence Dèmocratique (CD). The US and IC were forced to do this because Aristide had support of the vast majority of Haitians and the opposition candidates couldn't get more than 10-15% of the popular vote combined. So by uniting all of the disparate parties, some from the far right others from the far left, they had a single opposition Party the "Democratic Convergence" (DC). The CD was then given veto power over Aristide, because the US refused to release any of the promised and loans to the FL government until they reached an agreement with this new party. 4. The US, IC, and elite created a new Paramilitary inline with the Contras. They did this by uniting some of the most sadistic members of the former army with former members of the death squad, FRAPH, and formed a new paramilitary. And this group collaborated with the "para-political" group to destablize the FL administration.
2003-2004: Preparing for War
Hallward lays out three ways in which the events that lead up to the second coup are understood. Before going over the first interpretation, it would be helpful to recall a statement made by Rove, Ron Suskind,
recounting a comment by Karl Rove
We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality - judiciously, as you will - we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors... and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do. (What Orwell Didn't Know P.23)
The first version has no basis in reality, and yet is widely believed. It is the official version. It goes like this: Haitians, sick of Aristides corruption and tyrannical dictatorship rose up and liberated Haiti. The US was only there to help Aristide get away. This was the line put out by the State Department, Group 184, and the Haiti Democracy Project (HDP). And, of course, it is the version that the main stream media echoed.
The second view held by people like Stan Goff, Robert Fatton and some members of the left was that the coup was not a surprise at all. They saw the destabilization campaign play out in quite a predictable fashion. It was obvious that Aristide would not complete his second term. And, both Goff and Fatton had predicted it. Fatton claimed that once rightwing US policy makers had accused Aristide of associating with drug traffickers and of condoning thuggish violence, that the US had made up its mind; and it was now only a matter of time before Aristide would be ousted. The fact that the allegations against Aristide have never been substantiated is, apparently, irrelevant. The trap according to this view was too big; the coup was fate. Hallward goes on to say "What then is to stop us from drawing the conclusion that the sequence that led to the Febuary 2004 should be understood in terms of closure and defeat, and the end of the emancipatory project that began with the dèchoukaj of 1986?" (Damming The Flood, P.176)
While the third interpretation agrees with much of the second, it has some major points of disagreement. It is Hallwards point of view:
Yes the assault on the Lavalas was consistent with the long-standing pattern and priorities of imperial foreign policy in Latin America and the rest of the world. For this assault to succeed in 2004, however, it was obliged to go to quite exceptional lengths. The coup of 2004 was far move difficult to achieve than that of 1991. It took much longer and cost much more. It required the coordination of many more people, and the deployment of a vastly more elaborate and varied range of strategies. The sheer labor and intensity of the destabilization campaign (together with the amount of foreign money and troops required to cope with its aftermath) is itself a measure of the strength of its target. (P.176)
Hallward sees it as a scandal, not fate. It was a surprise and it is reversible. The fact that it was so much more difficult and took so much longer than the 1991 coup is a testament to the strength of the FL movement.
The standard destabilization campaign includes "crippling economic aggression, forced structural adjustment, the mobilization of rightwing civil society, paralyzing negotiations with an invented opposition, systematic media manipulation, repeated allegations of corruption, violence and the abuse of human rights, and so on." And that would not be enough. The US, France, Canada and the elite had to implement three new stratagies that they hadn't needed to do back in 1991.
- The opposition would have to gain support from left as well as the right. They co-opted "progressive" NGOs and advocate groups, like, Platform Ayisyen pou Pledwaye pou yon Devlopman Alternatif (PAPDA), Batay Ouvriye and Grassroots International. They also had to make up an anti-Aristide student movement, student opposition groups and stage student protests.
- It wouldn't be good enough to win support from the usually turn-coat, quasi liberal people and organizations on the left; this time they would have to win over militant FL members and organizations.
- Finally they couldn't get it done with Haitian proxies. They had to send in the US marines.
The second coup is more of a testament to the Lavalas Party's strength and resilience then a testament to its coming demise. The second coup required a great deal more time, money and effort than the first. The US and IC even had to develop new strategies and methods. The coup backers did not achieve their main goal of destroying the Lavalas movement; the Fanmi Lavalas movement continues. Hallward cites Prevals winning of the 2006 election as the next phase of the Lavalas movement. (Preval has been a huge disappointment, but the 2006 election showed that FL candidates or people closely associated with the movement, still win elections.) Therefore the coup, in accordance with Bush ll's other policies, was a failure. (Even in 2010 the Fanmi Lavalas Party continues. While the national leadership is weak in the party the midlevel FL candidates are strong.)
PREPARING THE GROUND: NGOS AND POLITICS OF BENEVOLENCE
NGOs Operate more like OGOs: Other Government Organizations in Haiti; because large NGOs often have more power than do their corresponding government agency.
|
When considering the effect that NGOs have in Haiti it is good to keep in mind the importance of aid money in Haiti. Seventy percent of the Haitian government's operating budget (and 90% of its capital projects budget) comes from foreign aid and loans. This obviously gives the wealthy governments that dispense the aid and loans enormous leverage. Haiti's elite represent a tiny percent of Haiti's population, yet they rule the country. They share the US' and international community's goal of keeping the power structure as is; they are the people that the US, UN, NGOs and IMF give contracts to and communicate with. The Haitian government has little hope of changing the power structure economically.
As most people know, there are more NGOs per capita in Haiti than anywhere else. Yet Haiti remains the poorest country in the western Hemisphere. Hallward points out four problems caused by NGOs.
- The USAID uses NGOs to undercut Haiti's government by bypassing the government and giving aid money directly to the NGOs. NGOs play a part in keeping Haiti's government weak and this helps reinforce the prejudice that it is corrupt and inefficient.
Haitians depend on NGOs for as much as 80% of basic public services (such as, the provision of water, health care, education, sanitation, food distribution. . . and this book was published in 2007). Imagine that, having to depend on a charity for a cup of water. There is something horribly wrong with that. In fact, large NGOs often have larger budgets than their corresponding government departments. The vast majority of aid is controlled by the USAID, or its more "benevolent" policy enforcers the NGOs. The Haitian government receives little to no aid. When Haiti was controlled by brutal unelected, dictators and by the Haitian military the government received direct aid, but when Haiti elected Aristide, in a fair election, the US began funneling the aid through NGOs.
Most NGOs are managed by well-connected members of the elite accountable to their international parent company or Country rather than to the Haiti government and the people. NGOs are fragmented and uncoordinated which makes it basically impossible to provide reliable and effective services. The sheer number of NGOs and lack of regulations (the Haiti government doesn't even know exactly how many NGOs are in Haiti) make it extremely difficult to monitor NGOs. (Hallward does point out that PIH coordinates with the Haitian government and is an exception to the rule.) "More often than not, however, the power and multiplicity of NGOs serves to undercut if not simply replace government initiatives, and in doing so helps reinforce the prejudice that aid or development money is better funneled through "reliable" NGOs than through corrupt and inefficient departments of state." (P.178) By giving most aid money & projects to NGOs rather than to the Haitian government, the USAID perpetuates the stereotype that the Haitian government is corrupt and inefficient, because people see the NGOs making things and the broke government not making things.
NGOs undercut Haiti's government instead of making it stronger. Large NGOs often have more money then do their corresponding government departments. It works like this: the USAID gives large NGOs aid and projects and starves the Haiti government; the NGO spends (what it doesn't spend on big saleries and other expenses) the aid money on projects and services -- the government has no money so it does little for the people; when the layman compares the two, the government comes out lacking. The opposition then uses the unfair comparrison to perpetuate the prejudice that the Haiti government is corrupt and inefficient, which then further undercuts Haiti's government. Of course, the mainstream news happily spreads the message that the best way to help Haitians is to donate to NGOs, because Haiti's government is corrupt and inefficient. There is another reason why most aid money goes through NGOs rather than the government; because it is easier to get the money back that way. The USAID says that when aid money goes through NGOs the US gets back 84% of the aid through salaries, services, consultant fees and services.
- NGOs receive at least 70% of their funding from the USAID and its sister departments in other countries. NGOs are accountable only to their donors. NGOs help carry out their donor countries economic and political polices. This enables the US to "occupy" and control Haiti with a humanitarian face. Hallward makes a good case for calling NGOs -- OGOs other governmental organizations. Haiti's government has little say in how the aid money is spent. It is the government that funds the NGO/OGOs that controls how the money is spent. Donor countries place strict political and economic conditions on the aid money they provide. The NGOs help pacify Haitians while the US exploits them. NGOs are accountable to their donor countries not to Haitians or the Haiti government. They are used as tools to enforce neoliberal policy known as the American Plan or as the Death Plan by Haitians.
A quick review of the American Plan:
In both theory and practice, the effect of there programs is to undermine the public sector, to do away with institutions and policies that might empower the poor majority, and to consolidate at all levels the grip on the economy of the dominant transnational class. (Damming The Flood, P.5)
|
The 'American Plan' was designed by the US to destroy Haiti's farm economy, thereby forcing Haitians to compete for sweatshop jobs. This policy was to use Haiti's "advantage of poverty” to provide cheap labor for US and International Corporations (mainly in the garment industry). The US would move their factories and sweatshop jobs to Haiti where they could exploit the cheap labor and take advantage of the lack of regulation, unions and minimal taxes and tariffs. This was imposed on Haiti by US policy makers and implemented by the USAID, IMF and IFI's "restructuring" programs. Supposedly this was to provide jobs for Haitians. This deliberate plan - to destroy Haiti's farm economy to open the Haitian market to US agricultural industries and to provide US corporations with cheap labor is well documented. The US forced Haiti to reduce or eliminate tariffs. Haiti was not allowed to subsidize its farmers. The US, on the other hand, heavily subsidized its own farmers. These subsidies, along with the low tariffs, allowed US agricultural industries to sell products for much less money. Rice is Haiti's staple food. The US dumped cheap rice in Haiti and Haiti's small farmers could not compete. So Haiti went from being able to feed itself "but poor" to starving and poor. "By 1995 the subsidies provided by the US to its domestic rice industry had risen to around 40% of its retail value, but in that same year the Haitian government was forced to cut the tariff on foreign rice to just 3%. Previously self-sufficient in rice, Haiti is now flooded with subsidized American rice that trades at around 70% of the price of its indigenous competition.... Domestic production is undercut even more by the vast amounts of additional ‘free’ American rice that are dumped on Haiti every year through the ministry of USAID grantees,..." (Damming The Flood, P.5) As footnote: (Clinton apologized in 2010 to Haiti for his trade policy that destroyed Haiti's ability to feed itself. He said that his policy may have been good for the farmers in Arkansas but they hurt Haiti. However he still advocates for and did not apologize for the sweatshop trade bills).
The International donors set strict political and economic conditions for the charity they provide. As we have seen, the bulk of USAID money that goes to Haiti and to other countries in the region is explicitly designed to pursue US interests -- the promotion of a secure investment climate, the nurturing of links with local business elites, the preservation of a docile and low-wage labor force, and so on. Only a tiny fraction (perhaps 5% of the total) of aid money is aimed where it is most needed -- towards a lasting reinvigoration of Haitian agriculture and the rural economy. Rather than strengthening Haiti's capacity to resist the foreign manipulation of its economy, USAID initiatives like PIRED or the Pan-American Development Foundation combine with IMF-driven structural adjustment to enhance US penetration to the local market and to reinforce the economic basis of Haiti's rigid class structure. Some of the more devastating consequences of such policies are then softened (but also exacerbated) by secondary initiatives like the distribution of food aid through agents like CARE or aggressively pro-US evangelical churches like the Baptists and Seventh Day Adventists. Distribution of this "free" aid food further undercuts domestic agriculture and creates new cycles of economic and ideological dependency. (Damming The Flood, P.178-179)
Large NGOs share an interest with the US, IC and elite of maintaining the status quo. If things were really to get better, then the NGOs would be out of business. So they enforce the IMFs structural adjustments. These large NGOs then soften the blow of the desperate poverty that is caused by the neoliberal policies that the NGOs help enforce. The NGOs then help with the most unsightly effects of the desperate poverty Haitians are forced to live in.
- Another problem with NGOs is that they tend to disrupt peoples lives. They are usually short-term projects which pay well and lure people away from lower paying jobs but when these temporary jobs end, the person has to find another job in Haiti where the unemployment rate is around 70%. Worse yet they lure field workers away from the farms and Haiti ends up with even less food. NGOs have very little to show for the millions they spend
(other than the very considerable proportion that they lavish on themselves.)
(Damming The Flood, P.180)
The largest number of NGOs are located in the poorest areas of Haiti. It has been like this for decades. Something isn't working. The Directer of Citè Soleil hospital told Hallward that NGOs are dependent on things staying the same. If things change there will be no reason for the NGOs to remain in Haiti.
As for its ideological impact, the provision of white enlightened charity to destitute and allegedly "superstitious" blacks is part and parcel of an all too familiar neo-colonial pattern. Wealthy nations have an obvious interest in preserving the image of poorer nations as "failed states" that need generous outside help to survive, just as the charities have an interest in preserving the structural conditions of Haitian poverty, while raising money to alleviate a few of its most unsightly effect. (Damming The Flood, P180)
- The fourth issue is that NGOs have become a quick path to political power and influence in Haiti. Hallward cites Group 184 as an example of how it works. NGOs perpetuate the class divide by providing a network that connects people with power. NGO employees have the cover of 'Good Samaritan' which made it easier for NGO employees to convince people of truth of their unsubstantiated allegations. It is the ultimate betrayal of values because these humanitarian NGOs are any thing but humanitarian. Because the employees have separate social groups than the people they serve, it is a good way to keep the powerless away from the powerful and enforce the class divide.
Suitably staffed and oriented, many NGO consultants operate in practice as what Guilhot calls "double agents." Although their influence is ostensibly derived from their grassroots links, in reality they are ever more smoothly integrated with IFIs and other transnational agencies, to the point that "their identity has been dissolved in a seamless web of 'global governance' where they interact and sometimes overlap with government agencies, international organizations and corporations." (Damming The Flood, P.181)
PAPDA AND BATAY OUVRIYE
The Swiftboating of Aristide
"BO activist Marios Pierre's rant, in January 2006, against the 'corrupt, immoral, thieving, charlatan, incompetent, bankrupt, criminal [. . .], putrid, pro-imperialist, and anti-worker Lavalas government' may give yousome idea of the rhetorical inflation typical of BO's contribution to the disinformation campaign."
|
In this section we see the swiftboating of Aristide. We saw IFES, IRI and NED use the same techniques that Bush II's, campaign manager, Rove used when they smeared John Kerry.
The US first found sympathetic groups and/or individuals to attack their opponents perceived strength. (In the case of Kerry they used Veterans.) With Aristide IFES, NED and IRI used NGOs, advocacy groups, unions, students groups and women's groups. It is the height of hypocrisy because, as Bush officials are well aware, Aristide did more than any other president in Haiti's history for women, students, workers and poor people. Defending one's self from attacks by children, charities, women's groups and advocacy groups is not easy. This is why these groups were chosen (I think). The groups makes the most outlandish, unsubstantiated accusations; the media echos these claims, and most people think that at least some of it is true.
The participation of NGOs is extraordinary in both scope and openness in which they attacked the FL administration. NGOs such as, PAPDA, Christian Aid, Catholic Institute for International Relations, Catholic Relief Services, Action Aid and others played a considerable role in the smearing of Haiti's most popular president. These NGO's came out with statements after the 2004 coup that reiterated the US' talking points about the coup -- there was no coup, it was a rebellion, Aristide resigned and so on.
BO is a secretive, isolated, small and mostly irrelevant (although that could change if free trade zones continue to expand) network of labor activist that claims to be on the left but most of its actions benefit the right. They did the most damage to Aristide's reputation with the international left. This group was intensely anti-Aristide and its rhetoric (honestly made me laugh) is way over the top. This example should be enough to convince you: "Bo activist Marios Pierre's rant, in January 2006, against the 'corrupt, immoral, thieving, chalatan, incompetent, bankrupt, criminal [. . .], putrid, pro-imperialist, and anti-worker Lavalas government' may give yousome idea of the rhetorical inflation typical of BO's contribution to the disinformation campaign."
In 2005, Jeb Sprague, an independent researcher, found that BO received a $3500 grant from the NED. This is the amount of Haiti's largest Trade Union's entire annual budget. First BO denied it, but later admitted that they had received the grant money. It was then discovered that NED gave BO at least $100,000 and maybe as much as $450,000. After initially denying it, BO also admitted getting the $100,000 from NED. This should settle it. They have no credibility. Haiti is complicated, though, because the union has done some minor good work.
To be continued next week...
PROTESTS FROM STUDENTS AND THE G184
|
Sources We Like |
|
Aid
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)
|
Action Alert: Election:
The International Community Should Support Prompt and Fair Elections.
Elections that forbid the presence and participation of FL are essentially undemocratic and disenfranchising the choice of the vast majority of Haitians (h/t ny brit expat). The US and International Community should not fund illegitimate elections.
It is like the Democratic Party being excluded from our upcoming midterm elections.
To stand in solidarity with Haiti at this crucial time, please contact US government officials, your local
senators, and representatives and tell them not to fund illegitimate elections that Lavalas must be allowed to
participate in free, democratic elections. The US should withhold aid for the elections unless the ban is lifted.
The ban on Lavalas in the upcoming elections must be revoked.
White House: 202-456-1111
Email at www.whitehouse.gov
US State Department: 202-647-4000
Congressional switchboard: 202-224-3121
|
Let The People Have A Voice
Let The People Have A Choice.
Take Your Hands Off Haiti's Throat.
Get Out The Way And Let Them Vote.
We're No Better, Equal, Just.
Demean What We Say If It's Broken Trust.
Haiti For Haitians, Like All Other Nations!
by renzo capetti
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.
|
Join us Sunday's for book day : Current book is Damming The Flood: Haiti, Aristide, And The Politics Of Containment, by Peter Hallward: Chapter 8: You can see our book list is here. |
Konstitisyon se papie, bayonet se fe
(The constitution is paper, bayonets are steel)
"IJDH has changed the way Haitian human rights are viewed, and is helping other organizations to improve their understanding of the noxious synergy between poverty, inequality, and injustice; IJDH has also restored historical memory to a notoriously short-memoried arena. IJDH has been a voice of reason and honesty in the midst of an international attack on popular democracy in Haiti."
— Paul Farmer, Co-Founder, Partners in Health
|
|
UNDERSTANDING HAITI STARTS WITH ACCURATE INFORMATION
|
|
- Must see VIDEO
- 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
- 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.
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) |
Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti:
|
Do you all think we should cut down on posting diary? Maybe Tuesdays and Sundays to twice a week?
UPCOMING DIARIES
Tuesday: ***open***
Thursday: ***open***
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.
|
The icons of this diary series are courtesy of the html artist known on Daily Kos as Pluto.