Is Haiti's Micro Credit Industry the Path to a Better Haiti?

A new venture between Fonkoze USA and The Toronto, Canada based MasterCard Foundation aims to eventually benefit 70,000 people by offering micro credit to extremely poor women in rural communities in Haiti by helping them to create new livelihoods. The need for a hand-up is great, because since the Haiti earthquake, nearly 600,000 people have migrated to the countryside, creating huge economic and social pressures on destitute communities there.

Fonkoze USA is Haiti’s largest microfinance provider and the $4.5 million "investment" says MasterCard Foundation, aims to "enable Fonkoze’s long-term recovery "by re-establishing its headquarters and branches destroyed in the earthquake."

Exploring the information available on the MasterCard Foundation and Fonkoze websites, it soon becomes apparent that this partnership is an open relationship.

On the one hand, MasterCard is coupled with MasterCard Worldwide – which bills itself as "The Heart of Commerce." In this relationship, MasterCard Worldwide brings home the bacon, having established the MasterCard Foundation with "a generous gift of shares" at its initial public offering in 2006. No need to worry though, Fonkoze, "The MasterCard Foundation is an independent, private foundation with over $3 billion in assets."

Of course, profit margins are the touchstones of a credit card company such as MasterCard Worldwide, so one shouldn't expect that the MasterCard Foundation is any less concerned with the bottom line. In fact, on its website, the MasterCard Foundation, expresses a belief in "market-driven programs" and features a quote by controversial economist Milton Friedman: "The poor stay poor not because they are lazy, but because they have no access to capital."

Mr. Friedman's methodology was laissez-faire economics, which basically "means allowing industry to be free from state intervention. The French meaning of the term "laissez-faire"¹ literally means "let it be." It's interesting to note that "some of his [Friedman] laissez-faire ideas concerning monetary policy, taxation, privatization and deregulation were used by governments, especially during the 1980s." Deregulation is seen by many economist as a focus of blame for the current global economic crisis.

On the other hand, Fonkoze, which has total revenues of about $1.7 million, has a rather more altruistic motto: "Building the economic foundations for democracy in Haiti."

Fonkoze is involved in several liaisons – to continue with the French theme. Interestingly, they are linked to USAID and their Canadian counterpart CIDA through their close relationship with Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA).

According to the MasterCard Foundation, "[b]oth organizations have worked closely for more than 15 years. MEDA is an investor and a board member of Fonkoze." On the MEDA website they acknowledge unspecified support from the U.S. and Canadian government: "MEDA gratefully acknowledges the support of CIDA and USAID."

What does non-governmental agency (NGO)² mean anyway? Evidently, it's complicated.

MasterCard Foundation's Video tells
"the story of how microfinance will help Haiti rebuild."

MasterCard Foundation's global public relations agency, Weber Shandwick, describes the MasterCard/Fonkoze venture this way:

"[...] about the loans, during the course of this program, 4,000 women in two rural areas - Lower Artibonite and the Central Plateau – will receive initial loans of $20-$25, which carry an interest rate of 89 cents. The repayment period – eight months – is combined with intensive literacy and business skills classes, and counseling on how best to invest the loans. Following repayment, the women are ready to join Fonkoze’s microfinance groups, where first loans start at $75.

Fonkoze will also work with another 1,000 women in those area who, according to their wealth rank score, qualify as extremely poor. Working with these women, Fonkoze will help them to determine which enterprise might work for them and provide a needed asset (livestock). As they are trained and begin their businesses, they will be provided a short-term stipend to cover basic needs. They’ll graduate into the program described above after 18 months.

As for local control - Fonkoze was founded in 1994 and currently serves more than 225,000 clients through 41 branches. Its leadership will manage this program in cooperation with Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA), which has operated in Haiti since the early 1980s. So, while the funding for this program was provided by a Toronto-based Foundation, the program will be implemented locally and in accordance with local laws."

They have an interesting way of expressing the interest rate. The interest rate is usually in percentages. Why not express the interest rate in a straightforward manner that everyone can understand? One can only hope they will make their interest rate system clearer for the benefit of their extremely poor and mostly illiterate clients.

"New Interest-Free Microloan Initiative Launched for Haiti"
Additionally, Fonkoze is now part of a new partnership. It is called Zafen. Zafen, an article on HuffPost declares, may just be "the right program" which will benefit everyone. It is "a new interest-free microloan initiative enabling lenders and donors to finance small and medium-sized Haitian businesses."

The four organizations comprising Zafen are:
1) Fonkoze USA – Haiti's alternative bank with 41 branches, 200,000 savings accounts, 47,000 borrowers and 15 years of experience covering rural Haiti;

2) The worldwide Vincentian Family – a network of groups numbering one million strong that derive their inspiration from St. Vincent de Paul;

3) DePaul University – the largest Catholic university in the United States;

4) Haitian Hometown Associations Resource Group (HHTARG) – which enables the Haitian Diaspora to foster economic and social growth to alleviate poverty in their native communities.

A Haitian woman tending her garden is working her way out of extreme poverty with the support of a Fonkoze micro-loan. (Photo: MasterCard Foundation)

Excellent. No interest micro-loans!

In the interest of full disclosure, Fonkoze's altruistic bankers will have to tell their poor illiterate clients about the new Zafen program, since it offers participants these great "new interest-free" micro-loans.

Reportedly, the Vincentian Family Board responsible for Zafen conceived the program in "meetings with Haitians living abroad [when they] generated the idea of creating a website showcasing sustainable and viable projects and enterprises in need of a loan or donation. [...] These lenders and donors fill the void traditional banks have left in many world economies."

A quick check of the Fonkoze website today (04.29.10), shows that they have not yet announced the new Zafen collaboration. However, Fonkoze is announcing the expansion of their "Financial Services":

Fonkoze Financial Services (FFS) is a Haitian commercial microfinance institution that takes profitable branches and well-tested products from Fonkoze and expands them, reaching hundreds of thousands of Haitians, especially those living in the hardest-to-reach rural areas.

Fonkoze is in the process of spinning off its financial services into a high-growth, full service bank with the mission of providing the rural population of Haiti with a full range of financial services designed to generate self-reliance and promote a democratic economy in Haiti. The name of this institution is Bank Fonkoze. S.A. A commercial banking license from the Central Bank is pending. In the interim, Fonkoze Financial Services was incorporated in 2004 and will undertake all of the operations of Bank Fonkoze until a commercial banking license is granted.

The problem is, Haitians will tell you they already use micro credit businesses like banks. A client may take daily loans or overnight loans from a micro credit entity. In a typical scenario, some of the borrowers are meat sellers who will price a cow or a pig, go get the money from a micro credit place, pay for the animal, then go to a restaurant who had a pre-arranged agreement to buy the animal. The micro credit client becomes a middle man and only spends hours with the animal before selling it. The micro credit outfit makes a handsome profit that same day, maybe in a matter of hours.

The microfinance outfit ACME launched its operations in Haiti with a "$350,000 loan capital grant from USAID" and recently "celebrate[d] 10 years of success[ful]" micro-financing in Haiti:

"ACME’s recent 10 year celebration highlights USAID/Haiti’s 10 years of support to Haiti’s microfinance sector. Founded in 1997, ACME has become a leader in the Haitian microfinance sector, with a client base of 20,169, of which 69% are women, and a total portfolio of $23.2 million as of December 2007. Its list of achievements is even more impressive when considered against the background of Haiti’s economic and political instability during this period. ACME is one of Haiti’s leading MFIs as well as a defining example of USAID/Haiti’s role in building Haiti’s robust microfinance sector and in encouraging growth and geographic expansion."

All of this "commercial" growth and the burgeoning of business partnerships in the name of "charity" and "democracy" is coming on the heels of the disastrous earthquake and there is a term for that – disaster capitalism. It was at work before the disastrous earthquake of January 12 and it is expanding exponentially in the wake of the disaster. The capitalists are descending on Haiti full force to take advantage of the horrific situation. Haitians who don't know where their next meal is coming from, nor when they will have a decent roof over their heads are pitifully vulnerable to these micro credit entities.

NGOs are not a "path to a better life" in developing countries. Back in 2003, then United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan revealed: "Funds should be moving from developed countries to developing countries, but these numbers [almost $200 billion] tell us the opposite is happening."

In Haiti and the Aid Racket, How NGOs are Profiting Off a Grave Situation, Nikolas Barry-Shaw of Haiti Information Project (HIP) explains the NGO situation in Haiti:

"[...]Agriculture provides a telling example, as Nazaire St. Fort reports: "[M]ore than 800 NGOs work parallel with the agriculture ministry, but most define their own priorities." The Association National des Agro-professionnels Haïtiens (ANDAH) explains that of the "3.4 billion gourdes (91 million dollars) budgeted for public investment in 2006-2007, 3.2 billion (85 million dollars) are managed by NGOs."

[...]The NGO nexus aims to succeed where repressive force has failed, "killing with kindness" in an attempt to suffocate the vibrant grassroots activity that overthrew the Duvalier dictatorship and brought the Lavalas movement to power. As one Haitian peasant told anthropologist Jennie M. Smith, "They call it development, but it is more like envelopment!

[...] The growth of NGOs and the atrophying of the Haitian state are in reality two sides of the same coin; the role of government is reduced to implementing neoliberal policies favorable to foreign capital while managing the haze of NGOs that effectively run the country, with the UN occupation in the background, ready to dish out the necessary repression."

_________________________
¹Laissez-faire economics is the belief that economic imbalances are self-correcting, not requiring intervention by government so long as the equal rights of individuals are respected. The Laissez-faire principle is also referred to as the principle of Spontaneous Order or the Invisible Hand of the Marketplace.

The earliest recorded use of the term "Laissez-faire" in this context may have been by French minister René de Voyer, Marquis d'Argenson, a champion of free trade, in 1736:

"Let it be, such should be the motto of every public power, ever since the world is civilized... A detestable principle that we cannot grow but by the lowering of our neighbors! [emphasis added] There is nothing but mischief and malignity of heart that are satisfied with that principle, and interest is opposed to it. Let it be, damn it! Let it be!!

² A non-governmental organization (NGO) is a legally constituted, non-governmental organization created by natural or legal persons with no participation or representation of any government. In the cases in which NGOs are funded totally or partially by governments, the NGO maintains its non-governmental status by excluding government representatives from membership in the organization. Unlike the term "intergovernmental organization", "non-governmental organization" is a term in general use but is not a legal definition. In many jurisdictions, these types of organization are defined as "civil society organizations" or referred to by other names.

“True charity is the desire to be useful to others without thought of recompense”
– Emanuel Swedenborg

UPDATE 06.02.2010: The Limits of Microcredit— A Bangladesh Case (PDF)

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NGOs in Haiti's Goal Should Be "To Put Themselves Out of Business"

Charity vs. Sustainable Development
Repost of Michelle Lacourciere's post on April 14, 2010 at haitirewired.com

Not long ago Bill Clinton, The United Nations Special Envoy to Haiti, urged non-government organizations with a desire to help Haiti to put themselves out of business by fostering a self-sufficient nation. "Every time we spend a dollar in Haiti from now on we have to ask ourselves, 'Does this have a long-term return? Are we helping them become more self-sufficient? ... Are we serious about working ourselves out of a job?'" Clinton said. Sirona Cares has always embraced this philosophy.

Our program, piloted in rural Haiti, is both transferable and scalable. We develop strong relationships with community leaders and help them find the resources to bolster the health and education of the children of their community. Together we work to develop jobs for these children to grow into. Our Jatropha and Moringa project is designed to elevate the income of the rural community without endangering food security or water resources. We are providing the training and micro-financing to help the farmers succeed, and they are so encouraged by this project that regardless of their location (near the epicenter of the world's worst catastrophe), our St. Etienne farmers have begun planting seedlings which sprouted in January. They are on time, and their success, if measured by their enthusiasm, will be fruitful.

READ MORE.

Where's the American Red Cross in Haiti?

The American Red Cross issued it's three month report on expenditures in Haiti recently, but people are asking, where's the American Red Cross in Haiti? After a recent trip to Haiti, Democratic Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, of Florida also had her doubts about Red Cross efforts in Haiti. "The lack of a visible presence of the Red Cross even prompted the congresswoman to question whether she could recommend that citizens donate to the group. 'I wouldn't say that,' she said when asked if the Red Cross was the best place for [people] to donate."

"The organization has collected more than $409 million in donations, including more than $32 million from a text message donation campaign facilitated by the State Department and promoted by the White House."

After the Red Cross released a two months report on expenditures it said amounted to 106 million dollars
in Haiti, this video surfaced which sought evidence on the ground of the money spent.

The Red Cross response:

"The American Red Cross has been on the ground responding in Haiti since the moment the earthquake struck and has spent a record $110 million so far for food, water, shelter, health and family services," the American Red Cross said in a statement. "Our efforts have touched the lives of close to two million people."

Those efforts just may not be so visible on the ground, a Red Cross spokesperson told Hotsheet, because the Red Cross relies largely on local Red Cross workers and volunteers. They may not be as conspicuous, but they know the people, the language and the geography, and they have established relationships with other organizations and the government."

Haitians who have been on the ground in Haiti don't see the evidence for these assertions made by the Red Cross. NR, a Haitian-American and Librarian recalls, "I saw two 'local' Haitian Red Cross buildings while in Haiti. They were a disgrace to the organization. What money and aid are being provided to the local chapters were not evident."

A camp inhabitants interviewed in the video above present "cookies" that they were given by the World Food Programme. One resident says the water provided by the Red Cross was giving her a stomach ache. Another said that besides coming around to give water and vaccinations, they have not gotten food aid from the Red Cross. From the makeshift blankets on stilts behind her, the Red Cross is not providing water-proof tents either. The camp is just yards away from Red Cross headquarters in Port-au-Prince. The video was made in March and uploaded to YouTube on April 1st of this year.

Tapped-out in front of Red Cross headquarters in Port-au-Prince.

It's clear that the population in the tent cities are being watered and vaccinated, but they feel that substantive nutrition is not being provided? Neither is medical attention. A woman who is suffering with a leg that is broken in two places had not been visited by a doctor, although the Red Cross (across the street) was made aware of her situation.

A “Responders Tent” sits empty in a camp across the street from Red Cross headquarters
in Port-au-Prince. It was reportedly abandoned just 2 weeks after the quake.

Vaccinations are being done with the stated purpose of stopping diseases, but given the toxins in these shots, there is a potential risk in taking these controversial inoculations

Here are some excerpts from a 1996 Third World Traveler piece called "U.S. AID Go Home" on the purpose of aid and vaccinations in Haiti:

"[...] AID is the primary conduit of a host of health care, agricultural, environmental and economic programs that liberals defend as emblems of the true spirit of American generosity and that Sen. Jesse Helms derides as international welfare, or more specifically, "pouring money down Third-World rat holes." In reality, of course, AlD's humanitarian programs hew closely to the aims of U.S. national security policy, often to the detriment of the people they are ostensibly designed to help. And the agency often plays hard ball with recalcitrant governments of recipient nations. AID, the World Bank and the IMF are holding hostage millions of promised dollars in loans and aid because the Haitian government has not moved fast enough to privatize state industries despite overwhelming opposition among Haitians and their newly elected Parliament to neoliberal economic policies.

[...] AID boasts that it delivers primary medical care to 3 million Haitians through contractors like Boulos' clinic. In fact, it has served to advance a central U.S. foreign policy priority in the Third World-population control. Nearly half of the agency's health care spending in Haiti is taken up by the Private Sector Family Planning Program, under which so-called NGOs dispense birth control methods, and each of the other programs-including the "Expanded Urban Health Services" program, which funds Boulos' CDS-has a substantial family planning component."

and...

[...] Haitian women's health activist Rosann August, who received the Reebok International Human Rights award last year for her work exposing the use of rape as a political weapon by FRAPH and the Haitian military, sums up the link between U.S. political and health policy: "U.S. health policy is from the same agency that overthrew the government. [In Cite Soleil,] they've taken over every thing-health, literacy, justice. Where they've invested millions, there's no improvement in health. Eighty percent of the people are desperate and illiterate, but the programs are cosmetic and immediate. The problem is social inequality."

The bottom line is: the people in the camps should refuse vaccinations for ailments that they might not even contract. Their bodies need to grow their immunity to these viruses and bacteria in order to become immune to them -- and the healthiest way to do that is to catch the virus. Also, vaccines in general contain toxins such as, squalene, mercury, aluminum, formalin, detergents, spermatocides and more. The vaccination being promoted by aid agencies will ultimately hurt Haitians by undermining their personal immunity, sterilizing them (make infertile), raise oxidative stress and deprive them of much needed antioxidants.

A woman explains that the Red Cross recently visited the camp to give vaccinations.

What Haitians need and are not getting from these "aid" organizations are high quality nutrition, super foods, vitamins, minerals and trace elements to improve their health and overall resistance to disease. It's infinitely more effective than potentially lethal vaccines or iatrogenic medical drugs.

More reading:
Red Cross under fire! Where’s the money for Haiti? by Amadi Ajamu | SF Bay View
"The American Red Cross has already admitted to financing its own debt with donations given for Haiti relief."

For more information on the The American Red Cross visit the Charity Navigator website.
Listed are a slew of negative comments about the ARC from their past mishandling of emergency relief services, such as Hurricane Katrina.

"The Quake"– Haiti Through The Distorted Lenses of PBS' Frontline

Marc Bazin: former Haitian Prime Minister
and U.S. candidate for Haitian Presidency in 1990.

If Americans watched the PBS/Frontline documentary "The Quake" last Tuesday, they would have learned that nearly half of all Americans contributed to the Haiti relief effort in the wake of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that shook Haiti on January 12, 2010. According to Hilary Clinton, the amount donated was over $700 million dollars. So, with such a potentially vast American audience, it would have been great if the writers and producers of "The Quake" had offered a documentary that was not only representative of the immediate aftermath of the devastating earthquake, but was also an accurate historical, political, and economic perspective on what has made Haiti so desperately poor and vulnerable to this "natural" disaster. Instead, Fronline chose to spotlight among others, former World Bank executive, Marc Bazin. Bazin was Washington's candidate in the December 1990 Haiti presidential elections. Bazin was trounced by Jean-Betrand Aristide, who won an easy victory with two-thirds of the vote. Marc Bazin came in a distant second with 14%.

Neoliberal Economist Paul Collier on his UN
role of finding "strategies that gov'ts
would find helpful" in Haiti.

Speaking of elections, perhaps the producers were unaware that Haiti has a popular political party with representatives that they could have tapped to speak on the political issues that this "documentary" attempts to tackle. It is at the very least symbolic that Fanmi Lavalas was also barred from the April 2009 elections and again from this year's rescheduled February elections.

In this regard, Frontline is in line with the U.S. government, which learned a lesson from the 1990 elections. The lesson was that allowing a free election may result in the election of a populous, liberation theology Priest who may advocate for modestly higher sweatshop wages, for building the country's infrastructure and institutions (Aristide founded Haiti's first medical school) and who would want vital services like electricity, mill and cement factories and telephone companies to remain nationalized, not privatized, in order to benefit the local economy and people.

Raymond Joseph, is Haitian Ambassador to the U.S. He was
appointed by U.S. backed interim puppet gov't of Gerard LaTorture.
Joseph, who is the uncle of rapper Wyclef Jean, spoke of Haiti's
"proud" and "opulent" heritage during the period of slavery – when
Napoleon Bonaparte's sister had her palace in Port-au-Prince.

If Aristide and Lavalas' plans for Haiti had gone forward, who knows, perhaps the scope of the earthquake disaster would have been lessened. But, rather than include Lavalas's voice as a counter balance to the colonial and "entrenched" narrative, Frontline chose to provide a bully pulpit for Bill and Hillary Clinton, Ban Ki Moon, Edmond Mulet, Raymond Joseph, Jean-Max Bellerive and to trumpet the "economic opportunities" and "very low income area" that is Haiti –– by such luminaries as neoliberal Oxford economist Paul Collier. In Collier's view Haiti is a land of opportunities, no, of course he doesn't mean in the same sense as America is known as "the land of opportunity;" as in people will be flocking to Haiti for a better life, where they will succeed in their chosen field, where they can raise and educate their children to have a promising future. Be for real! What Collier, Bill Clinton and his "twenty" heads of companies and CEOs see is opportunity for the multinational corporations in "agriculture, tourism and especially in manufacturing." The privatization of Téléco (the telephone Co.) it turns out, isn't working out too well and labor organizers say that managers "mismanaged the company in order to justify its break-up." As for the plans for Haiti by the "international community," they are just more of the same.

"In a March 2009 New York Times op-ed, Ban Ki-moon outlined his development plan for Haiti, involving lower port fees, “dramatically expanding the country’s export zones,” and emphasizing “the garment industry and agriculture.” Ban’s neoliberal plan was drawn up [by] Oxford University economist Paul Collier. (Times columnist Nicholas Kristoff admitted, in promoting Collier’s plan, that those garment factories are "sweatshops.")

Collier is blunt, writing (PDF), “Due to its poverty and relatively unregulated labor market, Haiti has labor costs that are fully competitive with China." His scheme calls for agricultural exports, such as mangoes, that involve pushing farmers off the land so they can be employed in garment manufacturing in export processing zones. To facilitate these zones Collier calls on Haiti and donors to provide them with private ports and electricity, “clear and rapid rights to land," outsourced customs, “roads, water and sewage," and the involvement of the Clinton Global Initiative to bring in garment manufacturers.

Revealing the connection between neoliberalism and military occupation in Haiti, Collier credits the Brazilian-led United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) with establishing “credible security,” but laments that its remaining mandate is “too short for investor confidence.”

More Pain for Devastated Haiti: Under the Pretense of Disaster Relief, U.S. Running a Military Occupation by Arun Gupta | Black Agenda Report & Alternet

Dr. Mitchell Shuster works on the foot of Enis Turneau ValBrun,
a sixteen year old who lost his foot when he fell into a hole
while attempting to rescue his sister. Tragically, Enis' sister died.

By the way, that medical school that Aristide founded in 2003 was shut down by the U.S. after the coup they orchestrated against Aristide. The shutting of the school undermined Haitian healthcare and "set the stage for the disaster." The existence of a medical school and trained Haitian doctors would have mitigated the misery and death toll from the disaster. The Haitian medical students who were left stranded by the closure were accepted by Havana’s Latin American Medical School (ELAM). These former students came back and reportedly worked "tirelessly" during the earthquake emergency. The Cubans were the first to set up triages and medical camps to care for the victims of the earthquake. Cuba has a tri-lateral agreement with the governments of Haiti and Venezuela to train medical students. The students are pledged to work in areas where they are most needed in their respective countries.

This Frontline "documentary" relied on the same old colonial narratives. Accordingly, they represented that the "corrupt" Haitians "resisted change," whereas the "reformist," as seen by Frontline, were those bent on instituting harsh structural adjustment and neoliberal policies in Haiti. If you believe Frontlines' rethoric, this heroic "reformist" bunch, have tried unsuccessfully time and again to bring Haiti kicking and screaming into the light of civilization to no avail. Frontline's premise begs the conclusion that Haitians are unable to govern themselves without the benevolent aid and support of the "international community." Half-way through the "documentary," the audience is presented with old footage of the brutal U.S. occupation of Haiti that lasted 19 years. From the old black and white footage, one is left with the impression that the pictures are supposed to represent old and abandoned interventionist U.S. policies, but realistically, was there ever a period in Haiti-U.S. history when Haiti was left to make decisions without the intervention of the U.S. government, its representatives or its allies in the international community?

It is Frontline's version of the political situation in Haiti that some will take the most issue with. In the "documentary" they address the future of Haiti only in terms of what the international community will do for Haiti, but neglect to explore the fact that Haitians are quite capable of determining their own course and finding the path to healing and recovery themselves. This paternalistic attitude is characteristic of the colonial narrative.

If Fanmi Lavalas is barred from any more elections, there will be another boycott and consequently political tension will escalate. Since the earthquake, there have been more than 50 protests. Most have been to protest the inadequate response to the crisis, but many have called for the return of president Aristide. The people want Aristide restored. They want Fanmi Lavalas to take part in any free and fair election. When Fanmi Lavalas was barred last April, the polls were pitifully empty of voters. The Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) could avoid tensions by reversing their course and allowing real elections to take place.

Frontline may have avoided mention of Fanmi Lavalas, but the program did not sidestep political discourse regarding Haiti. Minutes into the narrative, Frontline explains: "There have been a lot of promises made about Haiti in recent weeks, but Haiti has a history of frustrating reformers, absorbing aid and resisting change" Who are these heroic reformers, you may well ask? Some will assume they are those who had just intoned dutifully supportive remarks on behalf of Haiti.
Obama: "To the people of Haiti, we say clearly and with conviction: you will not be forsaken; You will not be forgotten."
Ban Ki Moon: "We are with you. We will help you to recover and rebuild."
Hillary Clinton: "We will be here today, tomorrow and for the time ahead."

These international figures speak a good game, but can they walk the talk? Why are Haitians today not rejoicing and enjoying in the bounty of opportunities, the raised standards of living, safe infrastructure and functional institutions that one would expect is the agenda of "reformers?" Could it be that this was not the goal of neoliberal policies that the U.S. forced the Haitian government to accept? Ironically, Frontline time and again brought up how weak the Haitian government is, but the core purpose or result of neoliberalism is to weaken a government which is subjected to its policies. A weak government will not put up any trade barriers or restrictions to protect its industries. A weak government will be forced to allow the multinationals to flood their markets with imports that destroy the local economy and industry. A weak government will allow the privatizing of local services, even such vital services as safe water, electricity and communications. Did the structural adjustment programs of the IMF, World Bank, IDB and World Trade Organization intend to "reform" Haiti? Yes, but not for the benefit of Haiti, it's government, economy, infrastructure, industries or people. Bill Clinton recently apologized for supporting trade policies which destroyed rice farming in Haiti. The policy led to the loss of an estimated 830,000 rural jobs according to Oxfam. Read more about U.S. trade policy and rice farmers in Haiti at "Harvest of Hunger."

"Shocking though they may appear, the latest round of impoverishing policies are part of a historical continuum in Haiti. Indeed, the presence of U.S. troops in Haiti is not new. In 1915 President Woodrow Wilson sent the Marines into what turned out to be a nineteen year occupation. Both the 1915 and the 1994 U.S. invasions were ostensibly about restoring democracy and stability. But both were in typical U.S. fashion very much about U.S. geopolitical and economic interests. The interests of Haiti's poor majority have consistently been damaged by U.S. military intervention and by U.S.aid programs."

"This and the decimation of the invaluable Creole pig (because of fears of an outbreak of African swine fever), led to displacement of the peasantry into urban areas, along with the promise of urban jobs, fueled rural migration into flimsy shantytowns. It’s hard not to conclude that these development schemes played a major role in the horrific death toll in Port-au-Prince."

Neoliberalism benefited the Robber Barons, not the Haitian people. Once they buy up a national industry, prices doubled, tripled, and quadrupled. Instead of investing in the local economy, these leeches take their profits and go home. What they leave behind are higher costs of living, and worse conditions for people who were living in desperate poverty to begin with. The one notable exception being Digicel, which employs a lot of Haitians and provides dependable cell service in Haiti. So with rare exceptions, these were the detrimental "reforms" that the U.S. wanted Aristide to institute, and when he didn't do it fast enough, the U.S. slapped an aid embargo against a country that their State Department routinely describes as the "poorest in the Western Hemisphere." Heroic wasn't it, to deprive the Haitian people of infrastructure, clean water, and basic social services! After Aristide's government was weakened, the U.S. concluded their orchestrated dismantling of Haiti's democracy by forcing him and his family onto a U.S. plane in the dead of night. They brought him half-way around the world to the Central African Republic, a former colony of France against his will. Later when Aristide was to receive asylum from Jamaica, in direct violation of international law, the U.S. warned him to stay out of the Western Hemisphere or risk "violence."

Watching the section where Paul Farmer briefly spoke about the consequences and misery brought on by a series of unprecedented hurricanes in 2008 in Haiti, particularly in Gonaive, one wonders what he would have said if he was asked to explain as he did in his book "The Uses of Haiti," the U.S. role in Haiti's bitter fate. Unfortunately, Dr. Farmer seems to have lost his voice since he was made Bill Clinton's U.N. Aide. The fact is punctuated when you see the images of Bill Clinton with his arm around Dr. Farmer's shoulders. Clinton's gesture seems to say, see this is my boy now! Dr. Farmer probably couldn't tell you "Who removed Aristide," even if he wanted to.

Was this the same Paul Farmer who wrote:

"[…] the Haitian poor know from long experience that they are not supposed to care about democracy. Perhaps post-coup Haiti's symbolic utility is chiefly as a warning to those who dare to care what democracy is. The coup is a warning to those who think that a country's wealth ought to be equitably shared among the people who live there.

Such was the plan of the Aristide government. From the perspective of the Haitian poor, The Aristide presidency, and not the coup, was a rupture with the past. Throughout his adult life, Aristide has made it clear that he thought the uses of Haiti should be altered in radical ways. Inspired by the idea of "an option for the poor. Aristide wanted, at a minimum, to provide a "decent poverty" for the majority of Haitians. This would require, he felt, greater popular input into decision making: it would require an end to the most flagrant injustices and the redistribution of some of Haiti's wealth. The Council of Hemispheric Affairs, noted that Aristide's victory "represented more than a decade of civic engagement and education on his part," heralded lavalas as "a text-book example of participatory, 'bottom-up' and democratic political development."

Constrained by a new world order that was more concerned about making an option for the rich, and constrained too, by his cabinet of moderates, Aristide's government was less about socialism or anti-imperialism than it was about a modest, reformist nationalism. His eight months in office saw significant reforms against tremendous odds. But, as Noam Chomsky has noted, it is precisely such dangerous notions as reform that are most likely to bring down the wrath of the international elite."

-- "The Uses of Haiti" p.195 by Paul Farmer

From Dr. Farmer's take on the situation back in the 90s, to the tea parties, and cries of "you lie," at Obama's first Senate address, to accusations of socialism and even Nazi symbols that purport to describe the current American President, there are a lot of parallels between the claims being made against the Obama administration and similar baseless accusations that were made against President Aristide. Ironically, both men are not extremist, instead they advocate for modest reforms to a corrupt system. Also, similar to Obama, Aristide angered and ignored his base. For Aristide, it was to lead to his downfall. Time will tell with President Obama whether his pandering to the Republicans and right-wing elements will truncate his time in the American presidency.

There were some good moments in the documentary. The rescuers and medical personnel were authentic and real. Their actions were heroic and they often went beyond the call of duty and showed real leadership and heart. Witlet Maceno, a Haitian-American nurse volunteer was tenacious, gutsy and energetic in seeking out life giving blood for a pregnant woman in distress. Maceno is symbolic of the heros and heroins who volunteered in Haiti and who performed to the best of their abilities with the limited resources they had. Maceno finally found the blood he needed at the Haitian Red Cross in Port-au-Prince. Which is significant, since that particular resource is in-country, and came through for Maceno when others like the Red Cross, and the UN did not.

In fact the UN in the aftermath of the quake failed Haitians miserably. The heroes were those who worked tirelessly on the ground to help the victims, Haitians helping Haitians and those countries which responded quickly, like Cuba, Israel and individuals and international aid agencies from around the world.

Most striking were the statements made by the UN Head of Mission Edmond Mulet. Mulet in effect said that the UN threw up it's hands and "deliberately decided not to coordinate aid. "How can you coordinate, I mean… the border was open with the Dominican Republic. Thousands of volunteers coming in. Airplanes landing. Imagine if the government of the UN or any other organization tried to coordinate that. We would have bureaucratized the process. And I think it would not have been effective. Martin said (perhaps incredulously?), "It would have prevented aid from getting through? Is that what you're saying?' Mulet acknowledges; "We didn't have the capacity to really organize the whole thing. Such good will and generosity from everywhere and I think it would not have been effective."

Mr. Mulet, how effective was the alternative?

It was instructive to see a photo op in the documentary where the American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was with President Preval. The faces on both individuals showed the stress and tension each felt towards each other. Frontline's Martin Smith asked Mrs. Clinton about the relationship.

"Is Preval a reliable partner?" asked Smith.

"He is a reliable partner, but he is a partner with very serious challenges when it comes to capacity."

Smith: "What do you mean by capacity?"

Clinton: "Well, that the government has a political structure, and a social structure which is very entrenched in the way it does business."

No kidding. This is coming from a woman who went up against the Washington lobbyists for the health care industry and blinked.

The interview cuts off at this point. I guess the rest is "off the record" as they say? The disembodied Narrator takes his cue from Clinton's remarks:

"What Clinton is talking about is Haiti's entrenched elite. A handful of families who control everything. From the local economy to many key ministries. And while Preval is not considered corrupt himself. He is weak. And many think unlikely to survive Haiti's fall elections."

Good summary Narrator, but not exactly a surprise since Preval has already announced that he would not be seeking another term as president of Haiti.

Since Clinton knows from experience about battling entrenched power structures, why isn't there more cooperation and empathy between President Preval and Secretary Clinton? Probably because "entrenched" power structures isn't the real issue.

What was a surprise was the admission by Frontline, that Preval is not corrupt--deviating from an oft-stated mantra throughout the presentation. They conclude that it is an "entrenched" system, (which is not unlike the system which exists in the U.S. and worldwide when you think about it) where a few well connected families control most of the wealth, industry and power.

During the presentation, Frontline made a point of noting the negative graffiti that abounds in Port-au-Prince about Preval. A popular one reads: "Preval = K K" – meaning Preval equals excrement. What Frontline cameras did catch, but predictably ignored, underscoring the problem with this skewed "documentary," was the graffiti off to the side. The one that read, "Aristide Wa [King]."

The Quake can be viewed online at the PBS Frontline website.

UPDATE 04.06.2010: The transcript of the Frontline interview with Hillary Clinton is on the State Department website.

UPDATE 04.06.2010 8:02pm:
Haitian Prime-Minister Bellerive revealed this week that Haiti has oil. Contracts have been signed and investments have been made by the World Bank and IMF. "For a project worth billions of dollars."

"Bellerive and a consortium of well-known Haitian figures such as Reginald Boulos, worked on a document concerning the economic future of Haiti. The text does not explore the amazing opportunities offered by the exploitation of Haiti’s mining and oil resources, nor does it mentioned any of the serious studies done on the subject. Instead it presents agriculture as the main alternative to resolve’s Haiti’s problems. By ignoring the question of Haiti’s natural resources, it is as if the message was: there will be looting, pillage but we will give you a little piece of bread. Even more deceiving is that they managed to get the help of left wing Michel Chancy, to caution this masquerade. The paysans may only receive little leftovers from the NGOs but at least they will eat bread…. One bag of rice against one bag of Gold."

UPDATE 04.06.2010 9:16pm:
Statement of Cuban Foreign Minister. H.E. Bruno Rodríguez Parilla,
Minister of Foreign Affairs | Republic of Cuba at UN Donors Meeting on Haiti | UN Headquarters, NY, March 31, 2010

"The international community has a tremendous debt with Haiti where, after three centuries of colonialism, the first social revolution on the American continent took place, an act of boldness that the colonial powers punished with close to 200 years of military dictatorships and plunder. Its noble and hardworking people are now the poorest in the Western hemisphere.

[...] The program for the reconstruction and strengthening of the Haitian national healthcare system, drawn up by the Haitian government and Cuban governments, with the cooperation of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and other countries and humanitarian organizations, will guarantee wide health coverage for the population, in particular the low-income sector.

[...] From almost immediately after the earthquake, Cuban specialists have been dedicating their attention to the population affected. To date they have seen 260,000 patients, performed more than 7,000 operations, delivered close to 1,400 babies, and administered close to 100,000 vaccinations. More than 50,000 patients have undergone rehabilitation therapy and more than 75,000 children have received psychosocial therapy, in the presence of some of Cuba’s most eminent professionals.

A total of 783 Cuban and 481 Haitian doctors, plus 278 health professionals from 28 countries – all of them graduated in Cuba – are working on this program.

[...] During the 11 years of work prior to the earthquake, the Cuban medical brigade, which has a presence in 127 of the 137 Haitian communes, saved 223,442 lives, treated 14 million people, performed 225,000 operations and delivered 109,000 babies. Via the Operation Miracle program, 46,000 Haitians have had their sight restored or improved. During the same period, 165,000 Haitians have become literate in Creole.

If we evaluate the medical services provided in these 11 years and the training of medical personnel in Cuba, it would represent $400 million throughout the period.

The medical program that we are proposing, in its entirety, will benefit 75% of the poorest population of the country at a minimum expense.

We invite all governments, without exception, to contribute to this noble effort. For that reason, we attribute particular importance to this conference, and aspire to its success.

Thank you very much."

Aid Distribution Catastrophe in Haiti

SOS, We Need Food and Water.
Melindayiti's Photostream – Flickr

The Saints won the Superbowl... good for NOLA. New Orleans residents and supporters needed a win like this to lift their spirits. New Orleans is still suffering from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the disastrous "rescue" operation, which was stalled and inadequate. So many families were broken up and shuffled off to all parts of the U.S. It was the largest loss of wealth for African-Americans in history – or it was, before the sub-prime home loans disaster hit Black folks (State of the Dream 2008-pdf). Louisiana had the largest percentage of homes owned by Blacks in the country.

In discussing his book "Come Hell or High Water," Michael Erick Dyson says, "Well, before Katrina, you know, Louisiana’s the second poorest state in the nation. Mississippi is first." This is illustrative of another devastating fact; where there is a high percentage of Black home ownership (similar fact in Haiti), the economy is poor, where there is a high percentage of White home ownership, the economy is described by the economist as poor. (poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere – sound familiar?).

Come Hell or High Water: Michael Eric Dyson on Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster

"We turn now to the issue of race and the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina. President Bush is expected to pay a visit to the Gulf Coast this week. Back in Washington, meanwhile, congressional hearings on the government response to the disaster continue. The Senate appropriations committee spends two days inspecting Bush’s latest spending request for hurricane recovery. On Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs examines “Hurricane Katrina: Recommendations for Reform.”

This comes following last week’s release of confidential video footage of President Bush’s final briefing before Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. It shows the President was given dire warnings the storm could breach levees and threaten the lives of residents of New Orleans. Yet days later, President Bush said the breach of the levees hadn’t been anticipated."

Four plus years later and the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina has faded so from the minds of Americans that it is now possible for the U.S.' first Black President to install George W. Bush as the co-head (with Bill Clinton) of Haiti Relief fund-raising efforts. What of the Bush administration's catastrophic failures during Hurricane Katrina? What dark irony! No pun intended.

Redlining Haiti into Disaster Zones

Someone pointed out to me when I was railing about the "redlining" of Haiti into disaster zones – no aid goes into the "red" areas (more about that below), makes a good argument for integration. That stopped me in my tracks. In any case, there are teams of people looking out for the reputations of places like the Bahamas and the vacation spots and resorts must be protected. Unfortunately, The Bahamas has the highest HIV aids rate in the Caribbean (3%), while Haiti's HIV rate is high, but not the highest at 2.2%.

Same breaking up of families is occurring in Haiti as did for Hurricane Katrina survivors.

Speaking of family tragedies, today a Haitian judge ordered the release of eight of the 10 Baptist Ministers accused of child trafficking... two remain in custody. Can't help feeling that there is some miscarriage of justice, especially when I see the coverage of the event on CNN. Anderson and other "journalist" are sympathetic to the point of showing undo bias for the accused group. They had no intention of letting the parents ever see their children again. They were planning an adoption center in the DR! CNN ironically, has obtained the business plan for the adoption enterprise. It was a business. They were going to sell these children -- someone mentioned a five digit dollar value on the head of "orphans" in Haiti. It is unconscionable that help being offered these desperate parents was to take away their kids. Notably, the group leader Laura Silsby, told a boldface lie right on camera on CNN, claiming that the group had no plan for adoptions for these children. The Breaking News blog has a detailed timeline of events as they occurred in this plot to transport 33 Haitian children across the Haitian border into the Dominican Republic.

An American survivor's story

Read a good survival story... more on that follows below. It is about an American woman who refused the offer by the U.S. to fly out with other Americans. By the way, the delay of aid to survivors was an abomination, as she describes in her account.

The Haitian survivors are not getting the aid they need and there are red zones where aid does not go at all! A color code system has been established by the powers that be and some don't get aid at all – talk about death panels! So, it is taking a grassroots effort by activist to get help to those who are ignored. I am seriously thinking about putting up a website with zones and asking people to adopt a zone in Haiti to support 'til they get on their feet. If anyone has ideas and wants to help me with that contact me please!

There was an event at The Greene Space in New York's Soho district on Feb. 12, 2010 to commemorate the one month anniversary of the Haiti earthquake --- "NEXT New York Conversation Summit 2010 - Haiti's Future: New York City Speaks." It was a great event. It brought so many personalities together in a conversation about Haiti and issues surrounding the catastrophe... journalists, performers, activist, caregivers, doctors... even a psychologist and those who paid the admission price. There were tributes to Haiti, in prayer, in song, in rap and with instrumental music. Hope to have a video of the event I can post at some point. Unfortunately, did not bring my camera!

Some Highlights from The Greene Space Event

Ezili Danto gave a stirring speech and offered a prayer for the victims. She stated poignantly that they are human beings. She said they are not stereotypes. She said Haiti does not have the highest HIV Aids rate in this Hemisphere at 2.2% – unfortunately, Washington, DC (3%) does (another place where poor Black folks reside). Also crucial was her next statement, that Haiti is not a violent place statistically and she named a Caribbean locality and U.S. one that had higher crime stats. She urged those who are in Haiti with other agendas like the UN to start helping Haitian survivors of the earthquake. There were 9,000 UN "peacekeepers" in Haiti at the time of the earthquake, she said. Of the 9,000, one hundred were at the UN headquarters in Port-au-Prince, but where were the rest? Her point was that no one came to the aid of survivors for over three days after the disaster.

Tent City at Monument (Toussaint). Melindayiti's Photostream – Flickr

George Casimir, a Haitian psychologist, spoke about the internal issues the earthquake victims face. Many are experiencing psychological trauma. He related one instance of a family sleeping outside and not in their tent because a member was afraid the tent would fall down on them while inside. He made the observation that some attempt to establish a reason for the catastrophe. One reason he mentioned was that some Haitians feared that the earthquake signified the unhappiness of the leaders of the Haitian Revolution with the way that Haitians have conducted the country since independence. These Haitians view the survival of statues, like the Negre Maron which still stands intact in front of the destroyed Haitian Presidential Palace as significant in that regard. Dr. Casimir ascribes the term "resignation" to the way most Haitians are feeling now, rather then the term "resilience" used by pundits on cable TV. He reached this conclusion in light of the fact that the Haitian people, en masse feel that they are alone and that no one is coming to help them.

I receive calls and emails everyday with aid requests. In my last conversation with a survivor, I asked if he was hungry. He related that he was and added that a truck with aid had come through that day, but after it was gone, men in SUVs picked up the aid and left. "There was nothing we could do," he said. No one knows who these men are. This bears investigation and I will definitely question him closely next time we speak. The aid is inadequate, if the distributors of that aid do not stick around to make sure that survivors are getting it. This would not happen if they did.

A Scientist Investigates an Endangered Species in Anse-a-Pitres, Haiti

Dr. Masani Accimé marking iguana nest with Haitian youth.

At The Greene Space event, Dr. Masani Accimé, a Veterinarian who leads a wildlife conservation research project in Anse-a-Pitres, Haiti, spoke about her experiences helping earthquake survivors. She is truly a unique person. Dr. Masani Accimé is seeking grant funding to continue her wildlife conservation project. She is studying an endangered species of giant Iguana called Ricord's Iguana.

"With the help of the IIF, Dr. Accimé conducted a series of socioeconomic studies in the Anse-a-Pitres community to help understand the human impacts on this very fragile species. This work was done with the help of a very dynamic local youth group, OJAA (Oganizasyon Jenès Aktif Ansapit). This youth group proved to truly care about the presence of Ricord’s iguanas near their community when they staged a protest against construction activities at the Ricord’s iguana nesting site in September 2009. The protest was successful and the threat was abated, and so far this nesting area remains safe under the watchful eyes of these very dedicated young Haitians and several field guides.

Current conservation goals are to begin studying the nesting biology of Ricord’s iguana in 2010 to help strengthen what is known about the species, and help educate local government officials and the community. The IIF has pledged its support of the conservation efforts in Anse-a-Pitres, Haiti for the next 3 years."

Joel Dreyfuss, is the new Managing Editor of The Root, he was one of the featured speakers. Speaking with him at the reception, I learned that he is a Haitian of French Jewish extraction. His ancestor, was a General (Jean-Baptiste Riche) who was the last of the Generals who served in the Haitian Revolution to be president of Haiti. It was also fascinating to learn that his cousin was the sculptor who sculpted the Negre Maron statue. Joel is a very proud Haitian indeed!

Haitian sculptor/architect, Albert Mangones – 1917-2002 was commissioned by Francois Duvalier circa 1968-69 to create the Negre Maron Statue. The Negre Maron (Escaped Slave) statue, holds a left leg extended, a broken chain on his ankle, a machete is in his right hand, and his left hand holds a conch shell to his lips calling to the people. The statue survived the earthquake and commemorates the enslaved who revolted against the French.

Joel's cousin Christopher C. Stout, a representative from “Free the Kids”, a refuge for orphaned and vulnerable children outside Les Cayes, Haiti, was also one of the featured speakers.

"Joel Dreyfuss brings more than 35 years of experience as a journalist, editor and news executive to The Root. He has been editor-in-chief of Red Herring and Information Week, editor of PC Magazine, executive editor of Black Enterprise, a senior writer at Bloomberg Markets and editor-in-chief of Urban Box Office, an Internet startup.

He also served two stints at Fortune, first as an associate editor and Tokyo bureau chief, and later as a senior editor and personal technology columnist. Earlier he worked at USA Today and The Washington Post. He was also a news producer at KPIX in San Francisco and on-air reporter for KQED's Newsroom and WNET's 51st State.

He is co-author of The Bakke Case: The Politics of Inequality (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1989). Many of his articles and essays have been included in anthologies.

A native of Haiti, Dreyfuss grew up in Paris, France; Monrovia, Liberia, and New York City. He earned a B.S. degree at the City College of the City University of New York and was an Urban Journalism Fellow at the University of Chicago. He is a founder of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations."

Read a personal story from an American survivor at the Trees for Life website. Her name is Glenna Stinson and she has lived in Haiti for 20 years. Glenna is supporting her neighbors and friends in Haiti (500 families!) and refused to be flown out of Haiti like other Americans in the aftermath of the devastation.

The airport in the capital, Port-au-Prince, is now an American military base and relief flights have been re-routed to the Dominican Republic. All flights stopped for three hours for the arrival of Hillary Clinton. Critically injured Haitians waited unaided as 800 American residents in Haiti were fed, watered and evacuated. Six days passed before the US Air Force dropped bottled water to people suffering thirst and dehydration."
– "The Kidnapping of Haiti" by John Pilger | 01.28.2010

HLLN posted an appeal on Glenna Stinton's behalf today.

_____________________________
Background:
Haiti to free eight U.S. missionaries, hold two
Timeline of Hurricane Katrina
The Greene Space in New York
The Invisible Immigrants by Joel Dreyfuss | The New York Times - Sunday, May 23, 1993
Haiti, a Historical Timeline by Joel Dreyfuss | The Root
Saving Haiti | Seeking hope for my native land. by Joel Dreyfuss | The Root
International Iguana Foundation: Ricord's Iguana

Action Alert: A call for help from Croix-des-Bouquets at zone Li Lavoix, Haiti

Photo of Carl Telemaque [by tzh] in Brooklyn, NY 08.15.2009. See Carl's Earthquake Diary on Facebook. Some photos below.

by Ezili Danto Folks, our good friend, a fellow artist and an HLLN colleague, Carl Telemaque, just called from Haiti. His number is [011- 509] 3711 - 1771. But I don't know if he will have resources on his phone for long. But he needs HELP now. If you're not in Haiti, you can help by asking someone you know who is in Haiti to go lend a hand. Or,you can send a money donation directly to Carl through Western Union, et al. Zili, he said, I'm taking care of 1500 children in Croix-des-Bouquets at zone Li Lavoix along with their families since the earthquake.

We need help. We need food, water, medicine, tents and, and flashlights.For medicine we need anti-diarrhea, antibiotics, hygienic Kits and medicine to stop blood clots.

For HLLN's list of Urgent Items Needed by the Earthquake Victims in Haiti click here.

Tell the people something for me, he says. Tell them that injured people I send to the Dominican Republic for help, have mostly come back with limbs missing.That's all they are doing cutting, cutting, cutting and then closing the wound up and releasing the people. The doctors there are cutting off EVERYTHING, arms, legs, toes, feet, fingers. You have a cut or a wound and they just cutoff the limbs. The people returning from the DR [Dominican Republic] are always missing a limb. They are doubly traumatized and more depressed. Tell the people that for me.

This can't go on like this anymore.And the people giving us food are taking all our dignity. They make us run longdistances to get the food they are dropping. It's humiliating. Or, they haveyou standing in long, long lines and give you on bottle of water to share withten people. It's hurtful and very humiliating.Can you get us some food to us, Zili. We have babies who need to eat tonight.Really. Some baby food. Some water and milk, maybe. But we really need tents.

I can't sleep at night watching over everyone, cause you don't know who will come in and do what.I'm tired, Carl said. I'm really, really tired. When the earthquake hit, I only survived because I'm used to feeling the subway rumbling under my feet from the apartment in New York. So I got up from my chair in the studio where I was working and stepped outside. If I hadn't walked out. I would be dead.Everything crumbled and the chair I vacated was crushed flat.

It's a good thing I have my truck. What I do is drive the injured up to the Dominican Republic and then go pick them up. I've been doing that since the earthquake and trying to get food for everyone in my zone at Li Lavoix.

I'm tired. I can't tell you the devastation. Nothing can describe it, but you've been in Haiti so you know. I need an anti-directic myself now. I'm really tired, Zili. We need a doctor, doctors. I can't drive to the DR too much anymore. I'm too, too exhausted.

I'll get the word out Carl, I say. Call the Dr. Lassegue from AMHE at General Hospital. Let him know your situation and that we asked for help for you.Here's the number. How far is it from you to Father Jean Juste's old parish at St. Claire?

About an hour, he says. Ok. I'll write this up to the Ezili Network and call on everyone who may be near you to come help. If not, go to Plas Kazo and ask for Lavarice Gaudin. He'll help. Call me and let me know.

Kenbe la, palage
Ezili Dantò
Monday at 6:oo pm February 8, 2010
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Forwarded by Ezili's Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network
******************************************************

Sowing Panic on the Streets of Haiti

"So you have people who were financing misinformation, on the one hand, and destabilisation, on the other, and who encouraged small groups of hoodlums to sow panic on the streets, to create the impression of a government losing control."

–"An Interview with Jean-Bertrand Aristide," July 20, 2006

Pro-Aristide graffiti in front of the Haitian Presidential Palace (March 2008)

That statement was made by President Aristide in 2006, but it is still appropriate for the situation in Haiti now. A UN food convoy was reportedly attacked by an armed group of men trying to hi-jack the supplies. One has to wonder, who are these fools, who would try to hold up a vehicle with men armed with powerful automatic weapons? These men couldn't have been armed with guns. What's more, no one was injured! The UN only fired warning shots. Unbelievable! What of the occasions when the UN occupiers have committed massacres; firing into shantytown communities, killing mothers, fathers and babies; or when a few brutally beat up Haitian policemen in their own barracks; or shot and killed a young man attending Pére Gerard Jean Juste's funeral?

The carnage which began with Bush regime change did not stop when the UN occupiers took over, as chronicled by Ezili Danto's Witness Project:

April 1, 2005 to April 23, 2005 - Killed by UN soldiers (AUMOHD report)

1. Fedia Raphael, age 15. She was shot by the Peruvian MINUSTAH soldiers, April 9, 2005

2. Jean Brenel Jean, age 28, killed by several bullets to the head by Peruvian MINUSTAH soldiers, April 15, 2005

3. Paul Jean Emile, killed at Bois Neuf in Cité Soleil by MINUSTAH soldiers.

4. Andre Joassaint, killed April 1, 2005 by MINUSTAH soldiers

5. "Bord", so called, a former soccer player, killed outside the police station at Cité Soleil

6. Denis Gary, killed by MINUSTAH soldiers with a bullet to the head, Cité Soleil

7. Daniel Jimmo, killed by MINUSTAH soldiers, April 19th, at Drouillard

8. Marie Maude Fabien, age 28, shot by MINUSTAH soldiers April 23, 2005. She is still in the morgue because her parents haven't the means to bury her.

(AUMOHD report for Ezili Danto Witness Project, dated April 30, 2005)

Bush regime change brought a bloodbath to Haiti, with the attendant massacres and human rights abuses. It's hard to believe that the UN occupier's disregard for Haitian life has just turned on a dime in a matter of days and they are just firing warning shots into the air now. The UN specializes in head shots. Their intent is not to maim, but to kill.

"And then when it comes to 2004-6, suddenly all this indignant talk of violence falls silent. As if nothing had happened. People were being herded into containers and dropped into the sea. That counts for nothing. The endless attacks on Cité Soleil, they count for nothing. I could go on and on. Thousands have died. But they don’t count, because they are just chimères, after all." –Jean-Bertrand Aristide

To be fair when the UN occupiers first came in June 2004, they just bore silent witness to the killings by the Haitian police and the goons who served the oligarchy. It was not part of their mission to stop the carnage, so they did not intervene to stop it. It was not until April 2005 that the UN began to systematically brutalize the Haitian population. The terror intensified in July and December of 2005 when Brazilian troops leading the "military component" of the UN mission committed bloody massacres in the shantytown of Cite Soleil.

“MINUSTAH has been shooting tear gas on the people. There are children who have died from the gas and some people inside churches have been shot. The Red Cross was with us. The Red Cross was just here and might have just gone on to pick up more children and adults who have gotten shot. The Red Cross is the only one helping us. The MINUSTAH soldiers remain hidden in their tanks and just aim their guns and shoot the people. They shoot people selling in the streets. They shoot people just walking in the streets. They shoot people sitting and selling in the marketplace.”

– Emmanuel "Dred" Wilme/shot and killed by MINUSTAH 06.06.2005

Prior to the massacres, Cite Soleil had been the launching point of mass demonstrations calling for the return of President Aristide and an end to foreign occupation of their country. The targeting of Cite Soleil for terror, death and violence is documented as occuring before planned demonstrations.

Although Emmanuel "Dred" Wilme was targeted as a "gang leader," his people knew him as a Community Leader and hero. On July 6, 2005, 440 soldiers shot heavy guns at the fragile homes of the shantytown dwellers of Cite Soleil for seven hours from their tanks and helicopters. A total of 22,000 rounds of ammunition were expanded to kill one man, but killed in the cross-fire were an estimated 59 others; innocent men, women and children. Dred Wilme died a slow and painful death from a gut wound--he was not yet thirty when he died. His people celebrated Dred Wilme by giving him an honorific African funeral pyre by the seaside.

HLLN: "None of those calling Drèd Wilme "bandit" have ever shown he traveled outside his community to attack either the foreigner who came to kill him in his own home, nor the morally repugnant Haitian bourgeoisie who paid assassins to destroy his community, his nation. In contrast to the bi-centennial Coup D'etat traitors, Drèd Wilme is known to the people in his community as a defender of the defenseless and poor. Again, we say, as we did last April, Wilme covered himself in glory because he added value in his own community, and if, in fact, he lives no more, he joins the line going back to that first Neg and Negès Ginen who can only - depi lan Guinen - live free or die. That unborn spirit, that Haitian soul, cannot die. It's rising."

In spite of all the terror and deaths, United Nations Destabilization Mission in Haiti has not been successful in stopping dissent in Haiti. When President Aristides' Fanmi Lavalas was banned from elections last April, the polling stations were empty due to a boycott. The same action was due to happen this February 2010, because once again the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) decided to bar the country's most popular political organization (Fanmi Lavalas). To add insult to injury the Council approved the candidacy of Guy Phillippe's party. Guy had been one of the thugs leading the "rebels" calling for the ousting of Aristide. Astonishingly, Guy is supposedly the target of a DEA warrant.

MINUSTAH must have gauged that things would be coming to a head this month with the elections, and probably protests and boycotts. There were propaganda posters posted warning people that if they did not come out to vote, they could expect an increase in hunger for their country. The earthquake has preempted all that and now the elections have been postponed by the Haitian government.

Back to the convoy incident, it's hard to believe that the earthquake has so effected the aim of the "peacekeepers." Just this past November a man was shot who was part of a group of curious Haitians who approached a UN helicopter operating in the dead of night. Why was the UN mission that night so important that deadly force had to be used to repel unarmed townspeople?

"Residents of this quiet seaside town an hour west of Port-Au-Prince were awoken at about 1 a.m. on Nov. 10 by the sound of helicopters flying low overhead. A curious crowd amassed around the aircrafts.

One of the helicopters had mechanical trouble and had to make an emergency landing, said U.N. spokesperson Sophie Boutaud de la Combe. To lighten the load on the damaged helicopter, the Chilean crew moved white boxes of supplies into the other helicopter for several hours.

She also said, in a radio interview broadcast here in the capital city, that troops only fired once into the air in attempt to disperse the crowd. They had called for backup from the local platoon of Sri Lankan U.N. troops."

Rinvil Jean Weldy, 50, has a wound on his right shoulder as a painful reminder of the very real bullets aimed at the crowd. The incident begs the question: Who are the frightful monsters that people must be cautioned against -- the Haitian people who are dying by the hundreds of thousands or MINUSTAH's heavily armed military contingent? The Haitian people for one, know the answer to that question. They don't want MINUSTAH. They don't need MINUSTAH. They can't see what MINUSTAH has done for Haiti since they've been there. Even during this earthquake crisis, the UN was seen conducting military exercises, ignoring the acute suffering of the Haitian people. Why was the UN in a convoy with food supplies anyway? Who are they delivering it to--it can't possibly be for the Haitian people.

"Edmond Mulet, as the organization's Acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General and interim head of MINUSTAH. Mulet clarified on January 22 that MINUSTAH will concentrate on assisting the Haitian Nation Police in providing security within the country after the earthquake, while United States and Canadian military forces will distribute humanitarian aid and provide security for aid distribution."

– Wikipedia

Since MINUSTAH's "peacekeepers" claim to be securing the peace in Haiti, it's natural to wonder what casualties they have incurred as a result of their clashes with these violence prone Haitians- - the bandits, gangs, Chimeres and desperate criminals. It's been four long years since MINUSTAH has occupied Haiti. The fearsome native gangs must have taken a toll on the UN forces? After all, they are reportedly armed and dangerous. Nope. Not so much. There is a staggering imbalance when one looks at the numbers. The Lancet documented in 2006 that the conservative estimates of the carnage in Haiti since 2004, following the removal of the democratically elected government were: 8,000 dead and 35,000 raped. On the UN side, the documented deaths are 2: one suspicious "suicide" of a Brazilian UN Commander (suspicious because he had argued with members the repugnant and immoral oligarchy just before his death) and one Philippino soldier. This mission has been a breeze for the men in blue helmets. It's as if the threat of violence has been extremely exaggerated.

The most casualties sustained by the UN forces in Haiti are the 100 reportedly killed when the UN building in Port-au-Prince collapsed during the earthquake.

The actions of the UN Destabilizing mission in Haiti as described by HLLN in Nov. 2005 were as criminals preying on members of Fanmi Lavalas.

"HLLN comment on the continuing occupation of Haiti:
In what should be a community police function, military soldiers from the multinational UN contingent [...] are executing, not arresting, "suspected criminals" in Haiti with no judicial oversight and against the Geneva Convention and other well established rules for military engagement and clearly beyond "peacekeeping" functions which normally means MEDIATION between two political different armed groups. But because Haiti is weak, poor and Black, profiling of Lavalas supporters is the standard to determine whether a Haitian male is "a gang member" standards of law seem suspended for this nation by the international community (US, Canada, France) and the UN."

In the aftermath of the catastrophic 7.0 earthquake of Jan. 12, so-called "isolated" incidents of violence by the Haitian population are being pointed to by the media and the US Pentagon as a pretext for keeping Haiti under a brutal military lock-down. So with the blessing of these two American institutions, these "criminals," who are masquerading as a "peacekeeping" force and who have had zero accountability for all the crimes they have committed in Haiti, have the license to go on operating as they have in the past -- as a brute force.

Anti-UN graffiti Fort Liberté, Haiti (2009).

Photo credit: Drax WD - read his story on Flickr

It is evident that MINUSTAH is the culprit for much of the violence and death in Haiti since its brutal occupation began in June 2004. The people feel no security from the presence of MINUSTAH's armed forces. See Mediahacker's piece: "Mistrusting of Their Government and UN, Haitians Place Their Hopes In US Troops, Aristide."

However, the tiny one percent of the Haitian population which monopolizes Haiti's wealth, do feel very secure; as do the NGOs, hypocritically pious churches, the multi-national business interests, foreign government agencies, sweatshop owners, charities... they by and large have felt very comfortable with the hunting down, killing and criminalizing of Fanmi Lavalas members. A democracy really does not work very well for them. It would impinge on their turf and they might have to answer to the people for their actions in Haiti. Why, they might even be expected to pay taxes!

In the interview quoted at the beginning of this piece, President Aristide talked about the "hoodlums" who were the instrument of fear and panic used to create the impression that he had lost control of his government. The same scenario is unfolding in Haiti now. The media covering the events in Haiti are constantly anticipating and predicting violence. It's as if they act as an arm of the US Pentagon in times when the Empire is ready to make interventions in hapless countries like Haiti. Haiti is ripe for the picking because it has been crippled by the US' economic, social and foreign policies -- not a "natural" disaster.

"It was never really about me, it’s got nothing to do with me as an individual. They detest and despise the people. They refuse absolutely to acknowledge that everyone is equal. So when they behave in this way, part of the reason is to reassure themselves that they are different. It’s essential that they see themselves as better than others. I’m convinced it’s bound up with the legacy of slavery, with an inherited contempt for the common people, for the petits nègres. It’s the psychology of apartheid: it’s better to get down on your knees with whites than to stand shoulder to shoulder with blacks."

–"An Interview with Jean-Bertrand Aristide," July 20, 2006

President Aristide understands the dynamics of the forces aligned against Haiti. He is the only one who can finally unify the people. President Aristide must be allowed to return to Haiti. The international community has no right to keep a former head of state landless and exiled. Moreover, President Aristide is needed to help in the reconstruction and rebuilding of Haiti and in the establishment and maintenance of Haiti's institutions. He only needs to have his Haitian passport restored. President Preval, are you listening? Now that your handlers are no longer heaping praise on you for the improvements you have made, please stop kowtowing to them. President Aristide must return home to his country in Haiti's time of need.

"The South African government has welcomed us here as guests, not as exiles; by helping us so generously they have made their contribution to peace and stability in Haiti. And once the conditions are right we’ll go back. As soon as René Préval judges that the time is right then I’ll go back."

–Jean-Bertrand Aristide/Pretoria, South Africa 2006

Vive retou Aristid.

UPDATE 7:00pm 02.03.10:
In early 2005, MINUSTAH force commander Lieutenant-General Augusto Heleno Ribeiro Pereira testified at a congressional commission in Brazil that “we are under extreme pressure from the international community to use violence,” citing Canada, France, and the United States. Later in the year, he resigned, and on 1 September 2005, was replaced by General Urano Teixeira da Matta Bacellar as force commander of MINUSTAH. On 7 January 2006, Bacellar was found dead in his hotel room. His interim replacement, Chilean General Eduardo Aldunate Hermann.

In January 2006, two Jordanian peacekeepers were killed in Cité Soleil.

Source: Wiki.