As the extent of the destruction in Haiti becomes clear, so do the priorities on the ground. The majority of Haitians affected by the earthquake are now homeless, and the need for shelter is urgent. There are many ways to help for those who cannot afford to donate money, and innovation has become a major theme in many of the smaller grassroots efforts.
Joëlle Vitiello is a professor of French and Francophone studies at Macalester College in St. Paul. She also studies Haitian literature, and happened to be in Port-au-Prince on January 12, an eyewitness to the recent earthquake in Haiti. Upside Down World interviewed Vitiello about her experiences during the earthquake, the aftermath, and what the future of Haiti now looks like.
US corporations, private mercenaries, Washington and the International Monetary Fund are using the crisis in Haiti to make a profit, promote unpopular neoliberal policies, and extend military and economic control over the Haitian people.
Much of the coverage of Haiti you will see over the next days and weeks will inevitably edit out the struggle and history of Haiti. We will see photos and videos depicting the human suffering that has resulted, but we will not see the dignity that has fused together generations of Haitian freedom seekers, and inspired millions more beyond the bounds of that small island nation. Here’s what you can do to help relieve the suffering and continue the legacy of solidarity at the same time.
The decision by Haiti’s Provisional Election Council (CEP) to prohibit the Fanmi Lavalas party from particpating in upcoming elections scheduled for early 2010 is clearly another attempt to continue to punish Haiti’s poor majority, this time through exclusion, for their political choices and the probability of a Lavalas victory at the polls. […]
The international community and the Preval administration recently forgot the anniversary of the brutal assassination of Father Jean-Marie Vincent in Haiti. Fifteen years ago he was felled in a hail of bullets in front of his rectory at Montfortain in the Port au Prince neighborhood of Christ-Roi. […]
That the Lavalas political movement opposed the neo-liberal economic model of development that is currently unfolding in Haiti today is without question. The insistence of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank on structural adjustments that included eliminating import and export tariffs, selling off State-owned industries and businesses, maintaining a low minimum wage and an obsessive reliance on the private sector as the motor for economic development was called the "death plan." […]
On June 18, family, friends and supporters of Haitian priest Father Gerard Jean-Juste gathered at the national cathedral to pay their final respects and lay him to rest. Few expected the solemn occasion would be transformed into confusion and terror as U.N. forces opened fire towards Haiti’s national cathedral following the arrest of one of the mourners. A victim of a single gunshot wound to the head would be discovered moments later. […]
A confluence of factors – a rapid succession of executions in the last few months, arrogance and defiance from Dominican government officials, institutions and citizenry vis-a-vis the plight of Haitian workers, the shameful indifference of the Haitian government, and the relatively superior economic and military position of the Dominican Republic – has created a pre-genocidal atmosphere that raises the specter of the 1937 mass murder of tens of thousands of Haitian immigrants. […]
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