Review from Anne: Absent Cause
ABSENT CAUSE #3 (Oct 2009)-“death, dying, undeath”
By redguard
half-size, 72 pp with color cover and 60 pg supplement
$4 US $4 Can/Mex $5 world trades OK
PO Box 1658
New York, NY 10276
redguard@gmail.com
http://redguard.etsy.com
I really enjoyed reading ABSENT CAUSE #3; the zine’s billed as being about “underground cultures, hidden histories, feminist and queer sexualities, body image, chosen families and radical politics; vampirism, the gothic, horror and the macabre; surviving abuse, coping with mental illness/dangerous gifts, self-harm and suicide.” (And sometimes all in one issue!). I think I saw an early issue of this zine back in 2008 that felt kind of like first issues do: interesting, a little messy, still finding its way. #3’s an impressive way from that; in three issues, it seems likeits really found some footing.
Absent Cause remains an anthology with a wide range of contributors. #3 is organized around the theme “death, dying, undeath” and explains pretty nicely why there’s a literary supplement: When the call for submissions went out, a great deal of poetry and fiction pieces were submitted. “Absent Cause isn’t a lit zine, and I have no desire to make it one” writes redguard in the introduction. So instead of simply abandoning the work, the literary supplement was published.
It leads to an interesting division. As you might expect with poetry and fiction about death, plus a few full-color pictures (one of which is super -NSFW), the literary supplement is kind of dark and some of it is sort of disturbing, and you might want to approach with caution if you have particular triggers. AC #3, however, didn’t seem to have that same sensibility or feel to it, even though a fair piece of it has to do with corporeality and illness, featuring striking interviews with Leslie Feinberg (who I knew) and Pussy Power (who I didn’t and was really excited to read about!), along with very good, compelling poetry and prose by a variety of authors.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Sebastian Pernice, presente!
Sebastian Pernice, a 1969 Stonewall rebellion veteran, founding member of Queer Nation, and member of Workers World Party, passed away in his sleep on Feb. 1. Sebastian had recently been diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. A full obituary will appear in an upcoming issue of Workers World. A public memorial is being planned in consultation with Sebastian’s partner, Tim.
Speaking personally, I knew Sebastian as a fierce and gentle warrior. He was proud of his accomplishments but there wasn’t an egotistical bone in his body. He was ready to assist with any task, and he made it his business to seek out and listen to the most shy and reserved people in the room. He was always brimming with ideas and enthusiasm for the struggle, even during his final illness. In other words, he was an examplary revolutionary activist.
Comrade Sebastian Pernice, presente!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Lucasville uprising prisoner on hunger strike -- letters, faxes, & calls needed
As of 7 days ago, Derek Cannon went on a hunger strike due to receiving a Rules Infraction Board "ticket" on highly exaggerated charges at Ohio State Penitentiary (OSP), the supermax prison. He was accused of getting into an argument where he and the other prisoner ""threw blows but didn't hit each other".
To appreciate the absurdity of this, you have to understand that Derek used to be a boxer. But more to the point, the argument was a minor verbal dispute that was resolved, as both Derek and the other prisoner agree.
They were not given tickets on the night of the dispute, but the following morning by the corrections officers who came on shift who are known to be racists. The prisoners have asked to have the truth of the matter resolved by consulting the tape from the security cameras, only to be given various excuses ranging from "There are problems with the tape." to "There may not be a tape for that area."
Derek has been "in the hole" which is essentially about revoking various privileges, the most painful of which was that he was not allowed to have phone calls with his wife, Kandy. However he is due to have these privileges restored shortly. The more serious issue is that his status was dropped from Level 4A to Level 4B, which means he will no longer be allowed to have contact visits with Kandy.
Just to emphsize the point that this was all about harassing Lucasville uprising prisoners, no sooner had the tickets been given out than the guards went into a totally separate pod and strip searched another Lucasville uprising prisoner, Greg Curry, who obviously couldn't have had anything to do with the argument.
We believe this is another example in a long line of cases of harassment of Lucasville uprising prisoners. A great deal of progress has been made in recent years in terms of getting status Levels reduced, getting recreation with other prisoners so the Lucasville prisoners are not in solitary confinement, and getting contact visits with their loved ones. In addition, at least six Lucasville uprising prisoners have been transferred out of OSP to other prisons, which places them in general prison populations, and several have even been paroled. However there is an element among some of the correctional officers of taking the attitude that "we will never forgive or forget" and that expresses itself in incidents like the present one involving Derek Cannon, or worse. We cannot let it go unaddressed.
We are asking everyone to please call or send or fax letters to Warden David Bobby at Ohio State Penitentiary, 878 Coitsville-Hubbard Rd., Youngsotwn, OH 44505, tel. # 330-743-0700 330-743-0700, fax #330-743-0841. Please let him know that tickets should not be given out without a factual basis, for the purposes of harassing the prisoners and that you want Derek Cannon's Level 4A status restored in time for him to have his contact visit with his wife, Kandy, in February. Also, please make the point that you are willing and able to get the word out to other people, organizations, the media, and public officials that the treatment of prisoners at OSP is so unjust that one of them is engaging in a hunger strike as a measure of last resort.
Two bits of background information which might be helpful, if you are not already aware of these facts: the Ohio prison system is engaging in slow starvation of the prisoners by cutting back meals to 2 a day on weekends and holidays. Prisoners go from 4:30 pm on Friday to 11:00 am on Saturday without food which for some of them is medically unhealthy. So Derek and many other prisoners have been steadily losing weight, or have been reluctantly asking their loved ones for money to buy food from the overpriced commissary.
Second, Derek did not participate in the Lucasville uprising, but is one of several prisoners who was approached by prosecutors to lie on the stand to convict someone else. (Greg Curry is another.) When they refused, the prosecutors were true to their word and cooked up murder charges on them and got life sentences for them all. So much for not bearing false witness! At the time Derek was 9 days from parole, and had been transferred out of Lucasville in anticipation of his parole, so he was not even there at the time they said he murdered someone - oh, details, details. But now he has spent almost 17 more years in prison, most of it in solitary confinement, for refusing to perjure himself.
So if you feel moved to, tell Warden Bobby that Derek Cannon is a man of remarkable integrity and if the warden looks into the matter, he will see that Derek should be released. It might also help Warden Bobby to understand that he directs the prison that has one of the largest collection of political prisoners, prisoners wrongfully convicted based on their convictions, in the United States.
Or just keep it simple and ask for Derek's ticket to be revoked and his level restored to $A. That's what we want. Derek and Kandy have stayed strong through all these years and we will not let them be divided by thick sheets of plexiglass!
Please forward this email to your contacts and your lists. Feel free to call me if you have any questions: 216-571-2518 or 216-571-2518.
Sharon Danann
Lucasville Uprising Freedom Network
To appreciate the absurdity of this, you have to understand that Derek used to be a boxer. But more to the point, the argument was a minor verbal dispute that was resolved, as both Derek and the other prisoner agree.
They were not given tickets on the night of the dispute, but the following morning by the corrections officers who came on shift who are known to be racists. The prisoners have asked to have the truth of the matter resolved by consulting the tape from the security cameras, only to be given various excuses ranging from "There are problems with the tape." to "There may not be a tape for that area."
Derek has been "in the hole" which is essentially about revoking various privileges, the most painful of which was that he was not allowed to have phone calls with his wife, Kandy. However he is due to have these privileges restored shortly. The more serious issue is that his status was dropped from Level 4A to Level 4B, which means he will no longer be allowed to have contact visits with Kandy.
Just to emphsize the point that this was all about harassing Lucasville uprising prisoners, no sooner had the tickets been given out than the guards went into a totally separate pod and strip searched another Lucasville uprising prisoner, Greg Curry, who obviously couldn't have had anything to do with the argument.
We believe this is another example in a long line of cases of harassment of Lucasville uprising prisoners. A great deal of progress has been made in recent years in terms of getting status Levels reduced, getting recreation with other prisoners so the Lucasville prisoners are not in solitary confinement, and getting contact visits with their loved ones. In addition, at least six Lucasville uprising prisoners have been transferred out of OSP to other prisons, which places them in general prison populations, and several have even been paroled. However there is an element among some of the correctional officers of taking the attitude that "we will never forgive or forget" and that expresses itself in incidents like the present one involving Derek Cannon, or worse. We cannot let it go unaddressed.
We are asking everyone to please call or send or fax letters to Warden David Bobby at Ohio State Penitentiary, 878 Coitsville-Hubbard Rd., Youngsotwn, OH 44505, tel. # 330-743-0700 330-743-0700, fax #330-743-0841. Please let him know that tickets should not be given out without a factual basis, for the purposes of harassing the prisoners and that you want Derek Cannon's Level 4A status restored in time for him to have his contact visit with his wife, Kandy, in February. Also, please make the point that you are willing and able to get the word out to other people, organizations, the media, and public officials that the treatment of prisoners at OSP is so unjust that one of them is engaging in a hunger strike as a measure of last resort.
Two bits of background information which might be helpful, if you are not already aware of these facts: the Ohio prison system is engaging in slow starvation of the prisoners by cutting back meals to 2 a day on weekends and holidays. Prisoners go from 4:30 pm on Friday to 11:00 am on Saturday without food which for some of them is medically unhealthy. So Derek and many other prisoners have been steadily losing weight, or have been reluctantly asking their loved ones for money to buy food from the overpriced commissary.
Second, Derek did not participate in the Lucasville uprising, but is one of several prisoners who was approached by prosecutors to lie on the stand to convict someone else. (Greg Curry is another.) When they refused, the prosecutors were true to their word and cooked up murder charges on them and got life sentences for them all. So much for not bearing false witness! At the time Derek was 9 days from parole, and had been transferred out of Lucasville in anticipation of his parole, so he was not even there at the time they said he murdered someone - oh, details, details. But now he has spent almost 17 more years in prison, most of it in solitary confinement, for refusing to perjure himself.
So if you feel moved to, tell Warden Bobby that Derek Cannon is a man of remarkable integrity and if the warden looks into the matter, he will see that Derek should be released. It might also help Warden Bobby to understand that he directs the prison that has one of the largest collection of political prisoners, prisoners wrongfully convicted based on their convictions, in the United States.
Or just keep it simple and ask for Derek's ticket to be revoked and his level restored to $A. That's what we want. Derek and Kandy have stayed strong through all these years and we will not let them be divided by thick sheets of plexiglass!
Please forward this email to your contacts and your lists. Feel free to call me if you have any questions: 216-571-2518 or 216-571-2518.
Sharon Danann
Lucasville Uprising Freedom Network
Monday, January 25, 2010
Stand with Haiti actions in 24+ cities this week
Please forward widely!
"STAND WITH HAITI":
24 cities and communities in solidarity with Haiti during Haiti Emergency Earthquake International Solidarity Week: A list of marches, demonstrations and events
A partial list of marches, demonstrations and events:
1. New York City - Friday 1/29, "Stand with Haiti" Mass March across the Brooklyn Bridge. Sponsored by New York's Haitian community. Gather at 4 pm at Cadman Plaza Federal Building in Brooklyn, and at 5:30 pm march across the bridge to the Federal Bldg at Foley Square in Manhattan.
Earlier in the week, on Wed. 1/27, 5-6:30 pm, there will be a demonstration for Haiti and Honduras at Union Square, sponsored by the International Action Center.
2. Montreal - Mon. 1/25 at noon - Protest outside the Ministerial Preparatory Conference on Haiti. The conference, called to plan reconstruction financing for Haiti, will be attended by the foreign ministers of the 3 countries that engineered the 2004 coup [US, France & Canada], including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Bernard Kouchner. Protest organized by Haiti Action Montreal, part of the Canada Haiti Action Network (CHAN). Location: 999 University Street. Metro: Square Victoria. Theme of the demonstration: Haiti needs emergency relief, not military intervention! Protesters are also demanding a temporary loosening of immigration controls to allow Haitians to enter Canada. ** [See below] Interest in Haiti is high. The previous Friday nearly 400 people packed a theater at Concordia University to see the film Aristide and the Endless Revolution.
3. San Francisco - Mon 1/25, "Stand with Haiti" demonstration 5 pm, Powell & Market (Powell Street BART), followed by a march through downtown San Francisco. Sponsored by Haiti Action Committee, with sound provided by the Answer Coalition. Demands include: Get water, food and medicine to the people now! Denounce the U.S. for militarizing and stalling the relief effort! Return President Aristide from forced exile in South Africa, as the vast majority of Haitians demand!
4. Baltimore - Monday, 1/25, 6:30 pm, "Stand with Haiti" demonstration in the well-traveled area near City Hall at 100 North Holliday Street. Sponsored by International Action Center and the Bail Out the People Movement. Demands include: Demilitarize the Haiti relief effort!
5. Toronto - Thurs Jan 28 - 7pm. Eyewitness report from Haiti by BC Holmes of the Toronto Haiti Action Committee, part of the Canada Haiti Action Network. Event is being held at OISE, 252 Bloor Street West. Report on an 11-day visit by a Canadian human rights delegation. Co-sponsored by Pan African Solidarity Network.
6. Oakland, California - Two weekend concerts for Haiti relief capped a week of activities in Oakland to support the Haitian people.
+++ The Vukani Mawethu Choir and the musical group Troublemakers Union packed the house at the Bay Area Christian Connection in Oakland on Sat. 1/23, raising $4,000 for the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund and $1,000 for Partners in Health. [Concert sponsored by Haiti Action Committee and Vukani Mawethu.]
+++ The San Francisco Boys Chorus, with mezzo sopranos Frederica von Stade and Zheng Cao, filled Oakland's Cathedral of Christ the Light on Sun.1/24, in a concert to benefit Catholic Charities' Haiti project. The event was sponsored by the Catholic Diocese of Oakland, and the Bishop of Oakland spoke.
+++ Some 200 people came out in the rain on Martin Luther King Day, to attend a candlelight vigil for Haiti outside the Oakland Federal Building. Speakers included Congresswoman Barbara Lee, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus; civil rights attorney Walter Riley, chair of the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund, just returned from Haiti where he witnessed the earthquake; Rev. Phil Lawson, with the Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI); Sister Maureen Duignan, director of East Bay Sanctuary Covenant and longtime friend of Haiti; Rev. J. Alfred Smith Jr., pastor of Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland; Supervisor Keith Carson; and Pierre Labossiere, co-founder, Haiti Action Committee.
+++ The Golden State Warriors basketball team joined up with the Oakland Black Firefighters Association to collect donations at the next two home games for Haiti Earthquake relief. One of the recipients will be East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, sponsor of the Haiti Rural Education Project. At the Warriors' home games on January 20 [vs. Denver] or January 22 [vs. New Jersey], Oakland Firefighters carrying firefighter boots will encourage fans to “Fill The Boot” with donations for Haiti.
7. Miami - Mon. 1/25, 7 pm, meeting of a newly formed committee called Haiti Solidarity, at Veye Yo, 54th Street and North Miami Avenue, in the Little Haiti neighborhood. Members will discuss a proposal to mount a demonstration in Miami to raise these demands: 1) Demilitarization of US aid to Haiti and Prioritizing aid to the popular neighborhoods devastated by the earthquake; 2) Cancellation of Haiti's debt [there is now a temporary moratorium on repayment of the debt, but it has not been cancelled]; 3) Opening of US borders to Haitians; 4) Restoration of Haiti's sovereignty.
Also in Miami, on Sat. 1/23, a fundraiser at the Tap Tap Haitian Restaurant in Miami's South Beach neighborhood raised $1,800 for the late Father Gerard Jean-Juste's What If? Foundation, which provides free meals to children at St. Clare's Church in Port-au-Prince. [The St. Clare's food program has just gotten back in operation after the earthquake, thanks to the efforts in Haiti of Lavarice Gaudin, from the Veye Yo organization in Miami, who has been shuttling truckloads of food and supplies from the Dominican Republic.]
8. London, England - On Wed. 1/20 Global Women's Strike called an emergency Haiti earthquake vigil, on the steps of St. Martin in the Fields Church, Trafalgar Square. About 150 people, many of them Haitian, attended. The vigil was called "to press for urgent relief and rescue for Haitian people, not military occupation. As the US military blocks supplies getting through, health providers estimate that 20,000 people perish daily whom they could save." Placards called for the return of Haiti’s elected president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, removed by a US Coup in 2004. Global Women's Strike leader is Selma James, widow of C.L.R. James, author of Black Jacobins, the definitive historical account of the 1804 Haitian Revolution that defeated Napoleon's army [then the world's most powerful] and ended slavery in Haiti. Selma James says that now, after the earthquake, "only Aristide has the mandate to lead Haiti's recovery." At the Trafalgar Square vigil, Global Women's Strike encouraged donations "to the long established Haiti Emergency Relief Fund, dedicated to helping grassroots people. Funds go directly to those in immediate need, beginning with women and children, without taking any 'administrative cut'."
9. Johannesburg, South Africa (Auckland Park) - On Mon.1/25 the radio station Channel Africa, affiliated with the South African Broadcasting Corporation, will tape a program in the English language devoted to the Haiti Emergency Earthquake International Solidarity Week, hosted by radio personality Faz da Hall, for airing later in the week. The program will discuss the many bottlenecks imposed by the US military, that have prevented aid from getting where it is needed.
10. Detroit - Sat. 1/23, Emergency public meeting and dinner for Haiti, at 5920 Second Avenue, north of Wayne State University in Detroit, on the theme, "US Imperialism: No Friend of Haiti; Humanitarian Mission or Military Occupation?" Speakers raised the demand for the permanent lifting of the deportation orders on Haitians, withdrawal of U.S. military troops from the country, and the return of the ousted President Jean Bertrand Aristide, who was overthrown by the U.S. and exiled in 2004. Sponsored by Workers World Party and the Harriet Tubman School.
11. Bronx, New York - Sunday 1/24, 2:30 pm into the evening, Benefit Concert in Solidarity with the People of Haiti at St. Margaret Church, 940 East 156th Street in the Bronx. Sponsored by many organizations, principally from the Garifuna community (immigrants of African descent from Honduras and other Central American countries). Featured performers include Tormenta Agrupacion, Amistad Garifuna, T.N.C Libana Maraza, Paula Castillo, El Maestro and Alagany Band.
12. Richmond, California - The Richmond City Council voted unanimously last week to demand immediate and widespread distribution of water and supplies to the people affected by the earthquake in Haiti. They faxed letters to this effect to President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Senators Boxer and Feinstein, and Rep. George Miller.
13. Winnipeg, Manitoba - Mon 1-25, Haiti earthquake relief fundraiser, at Lo Pub, Ellice & Kennedy. Artists and DJ. Sponsored by Mass Appel.
13. Dublin, Ireland - Latin American solidarity activists are meeting this week to form a countrywide action committee on Haiti. This will be followed by a speaking tour in three cities of Ireland - Galway, Cork and Dublin - featuring Elsie Haas from the Haitian community in Paris, and raising funds for the Haitian doctors' association in France. Organizers called for "ending the occupation of Haiti by foreign powers" as a prerequisite for Haiti's sustained recovery.
14. Portland, Oregon -Sat., 1/23, Haiti-El Salvador Dinner Benefit attended by 400 at Sunnyside Elementary School. Sponsored by Salvadorenos Unidos de Oregon, Portland Central American Solidarity Committee, and Portland Jobs with Justice. The community event raised $2,500 for Haiti and El Salvador.
15. Philadelphia - Wed. 1/27, 4:30-6:00, Demonstration for Haiti and Honduras on the steps of City Hall, 15th & Market. Sponsored by the International Action Center. Held on the occasion of the inauguration of the new "President" of Honduras, elected in fraudulent elections. In both countries, US-backed governments have excluded from elections candidates of the popular movements.
16. Galway, Ireland - Haiti activists will visit Galway next week, on a speaking tour about Haiti, as solidarity efforts ramp up to include other cities of the Emerald Isle in addition to the capital. Elsie Haas, former director of the Haiti Tribune in Paris, will be speaking.
17. West Oakland - Haiti Relief Fundraiser Sunday evening 1/24 at the Black Dot Cafe, 1195 Pine St. in the heart of the historic African American community in West Oakland. Speaking are civil rights Attorney Walter Riley, chair of the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund, who was in Haiti when the earthquake struck, and Pierre Labossiere, co-founder, Haiti Action Committee. Benefits the Haiti Media/Medical Team, which is being pulled together by JR, a broadcast journalist and associate editor of the San Francisco Bay View-National Black Newspaper, and his friend, a young doctor. They plan on traveling to Haiti "to work in solidarity with the people, ministering to their medical needs and reporting the truth to the outside world: the stories of the Haitian people, from their point of view."
18. Buffalo, N.Y. - Wed. 1/27, late afternoon demonstration for Haiti and Honduras, against the US military presence and influence in both countries. Sponsored by the International Action Center.
19. Vancouver, British Columbia - Fri 1-22, afternoon panel discussion on situation in Haiti at University of British Columbia, Freddy Wood Theatre. Sponsored by a university-wide coalition.
20. Boston - Sat., 1/23, Forum on Haiti featuring Claude St. Germain, Fanmi Lavalas representative and exec board member, United Steel Workers Local 8751 (Boston School Bus Drivers), and Larry Hales, a leader of the youth group F.I.S.T. (Fight Imperialism, Stand Together). Speakers at the Workers World forum, held at the International Action Center, 284 Amory Street, denounced the fact that aid is not getting through to the people who need it, and opposed the militarization of Haiti relief by US authorities. The School Bus Drivers, a majority of whom are Haitian, have taken the lead in building support in Boston for Haiti during this time, starting with an emergency mass meeting at their union hall on the day after the earthquake.
21. San Jose, California - Monday, 1/25, 5 pm, Speakout and leafleting about the situation in Haiti, at south end of Cesar Chavez Plaza, corner Market and San Carlos, downtown San Jose, to reach many people pasing by on foot and in cars.
22. Cork, Ireland - A three-city speaking tour next week, including Cork and Galway, hopes to expand Haiti solidarity work beyond the Irish capital of Dublin. Elsie Haas, from the Haitian community in Paris, will cross the English Channel to make the connections.
23. Los Angeles - On Thurs, 1/21 Global Women's Strike and the International Action Center sponsored a picket at the downtown Federal Building, demanding that U.S. authorities in Haiti "Stop Blocking Aid to those in Need". They also called for "No militarization of aid to Haiti" and the return of President Aristide to Haiti. SEIU Local 721 Latino caucus, the Answer Coalition and the Filipino American organization Bayan USA participated in the demonstration. These same organizations are planning a fundraiser for Haiti in Los Angeles later in the month.
24. Joseph, Oregon - Vigil for Haiti, late afternoon on Wed., 1/27, in the small town of Joseph.
** Note: A background document, circulated by Haiti Action Montreal, in preparation for Monday's demonstration, cast a scornful eye on the motives of the US, France and Canada in planning earthquake relief and reconstruction in Haiti:
"Can these so-called Friends of Haiti be trusted now to respect the best interests of the Haitian people? In the aftermath of the earthquake, they've militarized the relief efforts, jeopardizing the lives of thousands more Haitians who are desperately awaiting food and medicine, not soldiers. They've refused to temporarily loosen immigration controls that might alleviate the suffering in Haiti.
"The development they've controlled in the past have benefited only the country's small, wealthy elite and foreign investors, while further impoverishing the majority of Haitians. And they have not hesitated to brush aside Haiti's democracy when it served their interests. Bay kou bliye, pote mak songe (Those who deal the blows forget, those who carry the scars remember).
"There is a danger that these major powers will try to exploit the earthquake to further narrow pro-corporate ends, if reconstruction of New Orleans after Katrina and in Asia following the tsunami are any indication."But there is also an opportunity to help our brothers and sisters in Haiti reconstruct the country according to their needs, to build back better, to respect Haitian sovereignty, and to welcome homeless Haitians into Canada. The true friends of Haiti must be in the streets on Monday, to demand that reconstruction not be carried out at the expense of justice and democracy."
Food Not Troops - End the U.S. Military Occupation
Send a message to President Obama, former Presidents Clinton and Bush: "The People of Haiti need food, water, and medical aid, not military occupation"
Sign the Petition at http://iacenter.org/haitipetition/
"STAND WITH HAITI":
24 cities and communities in solidarity with Haiti during Haiti Emergency Earthquake International Solidarity Week: A list of marches, demonstrations and events
A partial list of marches, demonstrations and events:
1. New York City - Friday 1/29, "Stand with Haiti" Mass March across the Brooklyn Bridge. Sponsored by New York's Haitian community. Gather at 4 pm at Cadman Plaza Federal Building in Brooklyn, and at 5:30 pm march across the bridge to the Federal Bldg at Foley Square in Manhattan.
Earlier in the week, on Wed. 1/27, 5-6:30 pm, there will be a demonstration for Haiti and Honduras at Union Square, sponsored by the International Action Center.
2. Montreal - Mon. 1/25 at noon - Protest outside the Ministerial Preparatory Conference on Haiti. The conference, called to plan reconstruction financing for Haiti, will be attended by the foreign ministers of the 3 countries that engineered the 2004 coup [US, France & Canada], including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Bernard Kouchner. Protest organized by Haiti Action Montreal, part of the Canada Haiti Action Network (CHAN). Location: 999 University Street. Metro: Square Victoria. Theme of the demonstration: Haiti needs emergency relief, not military intervention! Protesters are also demanding a temporary loosening of immigration controls to allow Haitians to enter Canada. ** [See below] Interest in Haiti is high. The previous Friday nearly 400 people packed a theater at Concordia University to see the film Aristide and the Endless Revolution.
3. San Francisco - Mon 1/25, "Stand with Haiti" demonstration 5 pm, Powell & Market (Powell Street BART), followed by a march through downtown San Francisco. Sponsored by Haiti Action Committee, with sound provided by the Answer Coalition. Demands include: Get water, food and medicine to the people now! Denounce the U.S. for militarizing and stalling the relief effort! Return President Aristide from forced exile in South Africa, as the vast majority of Haitians demand!
4. Baltimore - Monday, 1/25, 6:30 pm, "Stand with Haiti" demonstration in the well-traveled area near City Hall at 100 North Holliday Street. Sponsored by International Action Center and the Bail Out the People Movement. Demands include: Demilitarize the Haiti relief effort!
5. Toronto - Thurs Jan 28 - 7pm. Eyewitness report from Haiti by BC Holmes of the Toronto Haiti Action Committee, part of the Canada Haiti Action Network. Event is being held at OISE, 252 Bloor Street West. Report on an 11-day visit by a Canadian human rights delegation. Co-sponsored by Pan African Solidarity Network.
6. Oakland, California - Two weekend concerts for Haiti relief capped a week of activities in Oakland to support the Haitian people.
+++ The Vukani Mawethu Choir and the musical group Troublemakers Union packed the house at the Bay Area Christian Connection in Oakland on Sat. 1/23, raising $4,000 for the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund and $1,000 for Partners in Health. [Concert sponsored by Haiti Action Committee and Vukani Mawethu.]
+++ The San Francisco Boys Chorus, with mezzo sopranos Frederica von Stade and Zheng Cao, filled Oakland's Cathedral of Christ the Light on Sun.1/24, in a concert to benefit Catholic Charities' Haiti project. The event was sponsored by the Catholic Diocese of Oakland, and the Bishop of Oakland spoke.
+++ Some 200 people came out in the rain on Martin Luther King Day, to attend a candlelight vigil for Haiti outside the Oakland Federal Building. Speakers included Congresswoman Barbara Lee, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus; civil rights attorney Walter Riley, chair of the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund, just returned from Haiti where he witnessed the earthquake; Rev. Phil Lawson, with the Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI); Sister Maureen Duignan, director of East Bay Sanctuary Covenant and longtime friend of Haiti; Rev. J. Alfred Smith Jr., pastor of Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland; Supervisor Keith Carson; and Pierre Labossiere, co-founder, Haiti Action Committee.
+++ The Golden State Warriors basketball team joined up with the Oakland Black Firefighters Association to collect donations at the next two home games for Haiti Earthquake relief. One of the recipients will be East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, sponsor of the Haiti Rural Education Project. At the Warriors' home games on January 20 [vs. Denver] or January 22 [vs. New Jersey], Oakland Firefighters carrying firefighter boots will encourage fans to “Fill The Boot” with donations for Haiti.
7. Miami - Mon. 1/25, 7 pm, meeting of a newly formed committee called Haiti Solidarity, at Veye Yo, 54th Street and North Miami Avenue, in the Little Haiti neighborhood. Members will discuss a proposal to mount a demonstration in Miami to raise these demands: 1) Demilitarization of US aid to Haiti and Prioritizing aid to the popular neighborhoods devastated by the earthquake; 2) Cancellation of Haiti's debt [there is now a temporary moratorium on repayment of the debt, but it has not been cancelled]; 3) Opening of US borders to Haitians; 4) Restoration of Haiti's sovereignty.
Also in Miami, on Sat. 1/23, a fundraiser at the Tap Tap Haitian Restaurant in Miami's South Beach neighborhood raised $1,800 for the late Father Gerard Jean-Juste's What If? Foundation, which provides free meals to children at St. Clare's Church in Port-au-Prince. [The St. Clare's food program has just gotten back in operation after the earthquake, thanks to the efforts in Haiti of Lavarice Gaudin, from the Veye Yo organization in Miami, who has been shuttling truckloads of food and supplies from the Dominican Republic.]
8. London, England - On Wed. 1/20 Global Women's Strike called an emergency Haiti earthquake vigil, on the steps of St. Martin in the Fields Church, Trafalgar Square. About 150 people, many of them Haitian, attended. The vigil was called "to press for urgent relief and rescue for Haitian people, not military occupation. As the US military blocks supplies getting through, health providers estimate that 20,000 people perish daily whom they could save." Placards called for the return of Haiti’s elected president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, removed by a US Coup in 2004. Global Women's Strike leader is Selma James, widow of C.L.R. James, author of Black Jacobins, the definitive historical account of the 1804 Haitian Revolution that defeated Napoleon's army [then the world's most powerful] and ended slavery in Haiti. Selma James says that now, after the earthquake, "only Aristide has the mandate to lead Haiti's recovery." At the Trafalgar Square vigil, Global Women's Strike encouraged donations "to the long established Haiti Emergency Relief Fund, dedicated to helping grassroots people. Funds go directly to those in immediate need, beginning with women and children, without taking any 'administrative cut'."
9. Johannesburg, South Africa (Auckland Park) - On Mon.1/25 the radio station Channel Africa, affiliated with the South African Broadcasting Corporation, will tape a program in the English language devoted to the Haiti Emergency Earthquake International Solidarity Week, hosted by radio personality Faz da Hall, for airing later in the week. The program will discuss the many bottlenecks imposed by the US military, that have prevented aid from getting where it is needed.
10. Detroit - Sat. 1/23, Emergency public meeting and dinner for Haiti, at 5920 Second Avenue, north of Wayne State University in Detroit, on the theme, "US Imperialism: No Friend of Haiti; Humanitarian Mission or Military Occupation?" Speakers raised the demand for the permanent lifting of the deportation orders on Haitians, withdrawal of U.S. military troops from the country, and the return of the ousted President Jean Bertrand Aristide, who was overthrown by the U.S. and exiled in 2004. Sponsored by Workers World Party and the Harriet Tubman School.
11. Bronx, New York - Sunday 1/24, 2:30 pm into the evening, Benefit Concert in Solidarity with the People of Haiti at St. Margaret Church, 940 East 156th Street in the Bronx. Sponsored by many organizations, principally from the Garifuna community (immigrants of African descent from Honduras and other Central American countries). Featured performers include Tormenta Agrupacion, Amistad Garifuna, T.N.C Libana Maraza, Paula Castillo, El Maestro and Alagany Band.
12. Richmond, California - The Richmond City Council voted unanimously last week to demand immediate and widespread distribution of water and supplies to the people affected by the earthquake in Haiti. They faxed letters to this effect to President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Senators Boxer and Feinstein, and Rep. George Miller.
13. Winnipeg, Manitoba - Mon 1-25, Haiti earthquake relief fundraiser, at Lo Pub, Ellice & Kennedy. Artists and DJ. Sponsored by Mass Appel.
13. Dublin, Ireland - Latin American solidarity activists are meeting this week to form a countrywide action committee on Haiti. This will be followed by a speaking tour in three cities of Ireland - Galway, Cork and Dublin - featuring Elsie Haas from the Haitian community in Paris, and raising funds for the Haitian doctors' association in France. Organizers called for "ending the occupation of Haiti by foreign powers" as a prerequisite for Haiti's sustained recovery.
14. Portland, Oregon -Sat., 1/23, Haiti-El Salvador Dinner Benefit attended by 400 at Sunnyside Elementary School. Sponsored by Salvadorenos Unidos de Oregon, Portland Central American Solidarity Committee, and Portland Jobs with Justice. The community event raised $2,500 for Haiti and El Salvador.
15. Philadelphia - Wed. 1/27, 4:30-6:00, Demonstration for Haiti and Honduras on the steps of City Hall, 15th & Market. Sponsored by the International Action Center. Held on the occasion of the inauguration of the new "President" of Honduras, elected in fraudulent elections. In both countries, US-backed governments have excluded from elections candidates of the popular movements.
16. Galway, Ireland - Haiti activists will visit Galway next week, on a speaking tour about Haiti, as solidarity efforts ramp up to include other cities of the Emerald Isle in addition to the capital. Elsie Haas, former director of the Haiti Tribune in Paris, will be speaking.
17. West Oakland - Haiti Relief Fundraiser Sunday evening 1/24 at the Black Dot Cafe, 1195 Pine St. in the heart of the historic African American community in West Oakland. Speaking are civil rights Attorney Walter Riley, chair of the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund, who was in Haiti when the earthquake struck, and Pierre Labossiere, co-founder, Haiti Action Committee. Benefits the Haiti Media/Medical Team, which is being pulled together by JR, a broadcast journalist and associate editor of the San Francisco Bay View-National Black Newspaper, and his friend, a young doctor. They plan on traveling to Haiti "to work in solidarity with the people, ministering to their medical needs and reporting the truth to the outside world: the stories of the Haitian people, from their point of view."
18. Buffalo, N.Y. - Wed. 1/27, late afternoon demonstration for Haiti and Honduras, against the US military presence and influence in both countries. Sponsored by the International Action Center.
19. Vancouver, British Columbia - Fri 1-22, afternoon panel discussion on situation in Haiti at University of British Columbia, Freddy Wood Theatre. Sponsored by a university-wide coalition.
20. Boston - Sat., 1/23, Forum on Haiti featuring Claude St. Germain, Fanmi Lavalas representative and exec board member, United Steel Workers Local 8751 (Boston School Bus Drivers), and Larry Hales, a leader of the youth group F.I.S.T. (Fight Imperialism, Stand Together). Speakers at the Workers World forum, held at the International Action Center, 284 Amory Street, denounced the fact that aid is not getting through to the people who need it, and opposed the militarization of Haiti relief by US authorities. The School Bus Drivers, a majority of whom are Haitian, have taken the lead in building support in Boston for Haiti during this time, starting with an emergency mass meeting at their union hall on the day after the earthquake.
21. San Jose, California - Monday, 1/25, 5 pm, Speakout and leafleting about the situation in Haiti, at south end of Cesar Chavez Plaza, corner Market and San Carlos, downtown San Jose, to reach many people pasing by on foot and in cars.
22. Cork, Ireland - A three-city speaking tour next week, including Cork and Galway, hopes to expand Haiti solidarity work beyond the Irish capital of Dublin. Elsie Haas, from the Haitian community in Paris, will cross the English Channel to make the connections.
23. Los Angeles - On Thurs, 1/21 Global Women's Strike and the International Action Center sponsored a picket at the downtown Federal Building, demanding that U.S. authorities in Haiti "Stop Blocking Aid to those in Need". They also called for "No militarization of aid to Haiti" and the return of President Aristide to Haiti. SEIU Local 721 Latino caucus, the Answer Coalition and the Filipino American organization Bayan USA participated in the demonstration. These same organizations are planning a fundraiser for Haiti in Los Angeles later in the month.
24. Joseph, Oregon - Vigil for Haiti, late afternoon on Wed., 1/27, in the small town of Joseph.
** Note: A background document, circulated by Haiti Action Montreal, in preparation for Monday's demonstration, cast a scornful eye on the motives of the US, France and Canada in planning earthquake relief and reconstruction in Haiti:
"Can these so-called Friends of Haiti be trusted now to respect the best interests of the Haitian people? In the aftermath of the earthquake, they've militarized the relief efforts, jeopardizing the lives of thousands more Haitians who are desperately awaiting food and medicine, not soldiers. They've refused to temporarily loosen immigration controls that might alleviate the suffering in Haiti.
"The development they've controlled in the past have benefited only the country's small, wealthy elite and foreign investors, while further impoverishing the majority of Haitians. And they have not hesitated to brush aside Haiti's democracy when it served their interests. Bay kou bliye, pote mak songe (Those who deal the blows forget, those who carry the scars remember).
"There is a danger that these major powers will try to exploit the earthquake to further narrow pro-corporate ends, if reconstruction of New Orleans after Katrina and in Asia following the tsunami are any indication."But there is also an opportunity to help our brothers and sisters in Haiti reconstruct the country according to their needs, to build back better, to respect Haitian sovereignty, and to welcome homeless Haitians into Canada. The true friends of Haiti must be in the streets on Monday, to demand that reconstruction not be carried out at the expense of justice and democracy."
Food Not Troops - End the U.S. Military Occupation
Send a message to President Obama, former Presidents Clinton and Bush: "The People of Haiti need food, water, and medical aid, not military occupation"
Sign the Petition at http://iacenter.org/haitipetition/
Friday, January 15, 2010
Donate to grassroots, progressive groups organizing Haiti relief
IFCO/Pastors for Peace Haiti Relief
In response to the devastating earthquake in Haiti, IFCO/Pastors for Peace is supporting Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees (HWHR), Lakou New York, and Movement of Dominican Haitian Women (MUDHA) in rapidly delivering humanitarian aid to the people of Haiti.
IFCO encourages people to generously give money and supplies at this time of grave human crisis. All of the above organizations have a powerful record of work in Haiti. IFCO is proud to serve as fiscal sponsor for each of these projects and can attest to their excellent work. HWHR travels frequently to Haiti, has been involved in training community health workers in coordination with the Cuban doctors and LAM graduates who serve the communities in greatest need. We can be assured that all donations will directly reach those most affected.
To make a financial contribution to the urgent efforts, please send a tax-deductible donation to:
IFCO/Haiti Relief418 West 145th Street, New York NY 10031
You may also make a credit card donation designated for Haiti Relief on this site or by calling IFCO at 212-926-5757.
For a list of drop-off locations and needed supplies, visit the website.
----------------------------
Haiti Reborn
Haiti Reborn is a project of Quixote Center. Your donation helps to:
* Deliver necessary food and supplies to Haiti
* Engage in the long-term rebuilding efforts
* Fill the gaps between the massive deliveries of supplies and what our partners on the ground tell us everyday Haitians need
-----------------------------
Stand With Haiti
Stand with Haiti is a project of Partners In Health. PIH has been working on the ground in Haiti for over 20 years. We urgently need your support to help those affected by the recent earthquake.
Partners In Health works to bring modern medical care to poor communities in nine countries around the world. The work of PIH has three goals: to care for our patients, to alleviate the root causes of disease in their communities, and to share lessons learned around the world.
Based in Boston, PIH employs more than 11,000 people worldwide, including doctors, nurses and community health workers. The vast majority of PIH staff are local nationals based in the communities we serve.
In response to the devastating earthquake in Haiti, IFCO/Pastors for Peace is supporting Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees (HWHR), Lakou New York, and Movement of Dominican Haitian Women (MUDHA) in rapidly delivering humanitarian aid to the people of Haiti.
IFCO encourages people to generously give money and supplies at this time of grave human crisis. All of the above organizations have a powerful record of work in Haiti. IFCO is proud to serve as fiscal sponsor for each of these projects and can attest to their excellent work. HWHR travels frequently to Haiti, has been involved in training community health workers in coordination with the Cuban doctors and LAM graduates who serve the communities in greatest need. We can be assured that all donations will directly reach those most affected.
To make a financial contribution to the urgent efforts, please send a tax-deductible donation to:
IFCO/Haiti Relief418 West 145th Street, New York NY 10031
You may also make a credit card donation designated for Haiti Relief on this site or by calling IFCO at 212-926-5757.
For a list of drop-off locations and needed supplies, visit the website.
----------------------------
Haiti Reborn
Haiti Reborn is a project of Quixote Center. Your donation helps to:
* Deliver necessary food and supplies to Haiti
* Engage in the long-term rebuilding efforts
* Fill the gaps between the massive deliveries of supplies and what our partners on the ground tell us everyday Haitians need
-----------------------------
Stand With Haiti
Stand with Haiti is a project of Partners In Health. PIH has been working on the ground in Haiti for over 20 years. We urgently need your support to help those affected by the recent earthquake.
Partners In Health works to bring modern medical care to poor communities in nine countries around the world. The work of PIH has three goals: to care for our patients, to alleviate the root causes of disease in their communities, and to share lessons learned around the world.
Based in Boston, PIH employs more than 11,000 people worldwide, including doctors, nurses and community health workers. The vast majority of PIH staff are local nationals based in the communities we serve.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Wall St. Protest 1/15: Give bankers' bonus money to Haiti
Protest on Wall St. Friday, January 15:
Give bankers' bonus money to Haiti - Bail out the People not the Banks
In the wake of the tragic events in Haiti,the organizers of the Martin Luther King Birthday Bail Out the People Not the Banks Protest on Wall St., scheduled for Friday, January 15, at Wall St. and Broad St. from 3:30 to 6:00 p.m., have decided to make Friday's protest a solidarity event with the Haitian people.
Focusing on Haiti in no way changes the fundamental theme of the Wall St. protest; it merely broadens its scope. Just as the banks in their insatiable quest for super profits ravish communities and poor and working people in every region of the U.S., they plunder all the more poor countries like Haiti. The Wall St. protest will demand a real jobs program for the unemployed and underemployed here in NYC. The unemployed need to be bailed out, those who have lost their homes to evictions and foreclosures need to be bailed out, but now it is clearer to many more people than it might have been a few days ago, that Haiti needs to be bailed out. The $18 billion in bonuses that Goldman Sachs plans to pay its top bankers is more than 50% of Haiti's GDP.
Accordingly, a central demand of Friday's protest on Wall St. will be that the big banks give all of the money that they set aside for bonuses to the people of Haiti to help them survive and rebuild.
Participants in the protest will be asked to sign the petition below.
A PETITION TO THE HEADS OF WALL STREET'S BIG BANKS:
GIVE ALL THE BANK BONUS MONEY TO HAITI
John Mack of Morgan Stanley, Lloyd C. Blankfein of Goldman Sachs, Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan Chase, Brian Morgan of Bank of America, Robert H. Benmosche of AIG, and Piyush Gupta of Citibank
We call on the major banks to give all of the money that they have set aside for bonuses to the people of Haiti in their hour of desperate need. Justice and dire necessity demands that those who have profited while others have lost everything now bail out the people of Haiti.
Whatever the full amount of the money that the Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Citibank, and AIG have set aside for bonuses, that sum will easily be between 10 to 100 times the amount of the combined aid that the people of Haiti will receive from the entire world.
With that kind of money--still very small by comparison to the bail out money that the U.S. government has given to the big banks-- the people of Haiti may actually have the possibility of recovering from the unimaginably devastating blow that has caused so much death, destruction and suffering. Wall Street’s bonus money could rebuild Haiti.
Like New Orleans and the Gulf region of the U.S. 5 years ago, it took a natural disaster to draw attention to the terrible poverty, injustice, and neglect that the people of that region have been historically subjected to. Today, Haiti is today's Katrina.
Rich bankers who have far more money then they could ever need to provide for their families do much better than those who--like most of the people of Haiti--have nothing to fall back on when hit by an earthquake or a hurricane or any crisis.
Rescuing the people of Haiti is not only a humanitarian mission. It is also part and parcel of the global struggle against social inequality and injustice. As we celebrate once again the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., let us never forget that we cannot separate the brutal connection between natural disasters and social inequality.
The crisis in Haiti today is made immeasurably worse by the reality that Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere if not the world. We must fight the injustice that is at the root of that poverty, now more than ever. Wall St.’s wealth represents the other side of the injustice equation. That is the reason we are taking our struggle to save Haiti to Wall St.’s big banks.
We encourage all who are coming to the protest on Wall St to make a financial donation towards Haitian relief.
You can make a tax-deductible donation to IFCO/Haiti Relief, 418 West 145th St., New York NY 10031. They are taking donations for the Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees (or donate first aid and personal hygiene supplies to them; call 718-735-4660.)
Bail Out the People Movement
Give bankers' bonus money to Haiti - Bail out the People not the Banks
In the wake of the tragic events in Haiti,the organizers of the Martin Luther King Birthday Bail Out the People Not the Banks Protest on Wall St., scheduled for Friday, January 15, at Wall St. and Broad St. from 3:30 to 6:00 p.m., have decided to make Friday's protest a solidarity event with the Haitian people.
Focusing on Haiti in no way changes the fundamental theme of the Wall St. protest; it merely broadens its scope. Just as the banks in their insatiable quest for super profits ravish communities and poor and working people in every region of the U.S., they plunder all the more poor countries like Haiti. The Wall St. protest will demand a real jobs program for the unemployed and underemployed here in NYC. The unemployed need to be bailed out, those who have lost their homes to evictions and foreclosures need to be bailed out, but now it is clearer to many more people than it might have been a few days ago, that Haiti needs to be bailed out. The $18 billion in bonuses that Goldman Sachs plans to pay its top bankers is more than 50% of Haiti's GDP.
Accordingly, a central demand of Friday's protest on Wall St. will be that the big banks give all of the money that they set aside for bonuses to the people of Haiti to help them survive and rebuild.
Participants in the protest will be asked to sign the petition below.
A PETITION TO THE HEADS OF WALL STREET'S BIG BANKS:
GIVE ALL THE BANK BONUS MONEY TO HAITI
John Mack of Morgan Stanley, Lloyd C. Blankfein of Goldman Sachs, Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan Chase, Brian Morgan of Bank of America, Robert H. Benmosche of AIG, and Piyush Gupta of Citibank
We call on the major banks to give all of the money that they have set aside for bonuses to the people of Haiti in their hour of desperate need. Justice and dire necessity demands that those who have profited while others have lost everything now bail out the people of Haiti.
Whatever the full amount of the money that the Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Citibank, and AIG have set aside for bonuses, that sum will easily be between 10 to 100 times the amount of the combined aid that the people of Haiti will receive from the entire world.
With that kind of money--still very small by comparison to the bail out money that the U.S. government has given to the big banks-- the people of Haiti may actually have the possibility of recovering from the unimaginably devastating blow that has caused so much death, destruction and suffering. Wall Street’s bonus money could rebuild Haiti.
Like New Orleans and the Gulf region of the U.S. 5 years ago, it took a natural disaster to draw attention to the terrible poverty, injustice, and neglect that the people of that region have been historically subjected to. Today, Haiti is today's Katrina.
Rich bankers who have far more money then they could ever need to provide for their families do much better than those who--like most of the people of Haiti--have nothing to fall back on when hit by an earthquake or a hurricane or any crisis.
Rescuing the people of Haiti is not only a humanitarian mission. It is also part and parcel of the global struggle against social inequality and injustice. As we celebrate once again the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., let us never forget that we cannot separate the brutal connection between natural disasters and social inequality.
The crisis in Haiti today is made immeasurably worse by the reality that Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere if not the world. We must fight the injustice that is at the root of that poverty, now more than ever. Wall St.’s wealth represents the other side of the injustice equation. That is the reason we are taking our struggle to save Haiti to Wall St.’s big banks.
In addition, Friday's protest will speak to the urgent need for the U.S. Government to:
Release all Haitian Immigrants being held in detention
Give work permits to all Haitians who need them
End the deportation of Haitians
Allow entry into the U.S. to all of the Haitian refugees who are fleeing the catastrophe
We encourage all who are coming to the protest on Wall St to make a financial donation towards Haitian relief.
You can make a tax-deductible donation to IFCO/Haiti Relief, 418 West 145th St., New York NY 10031. They are taking donations for the Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees (or donate first aid and personal hygiene supplies to them; call 718-735-4660.)
Bail Out the People Movement
Haiti's unnatural disaster
It is estimated that up to half a million people may perish in Haiti because of the devastating earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince on Jan. 12.
The quake itself may be classified a “natural disaster.” But make no mistake: the blame for the catastrophic causalities and destruction of Haiti’s meager infrastructure rests with U.S. imperialism, as surely as the devastation that followed Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the Southern U.S.
While the media laud the dispatch of U.S. aid and 2,000 Marines (for “security”) to Haiti, they neglect to mention that the poverty engulfing the Haitian masses is made in the USA – by corporations that profit from paying grindingly low wages and super-exploiting Black labor.
Eighty percent of Haiti’s population lives on less than $2 a day. Half live on less than a dollar a day.
The media neglect to mention that Haiti is an occupied country. After successive U.S. invasions throughout the 20th century, Haiti is now burdened with a seemingly permanent “UN Peacekeeping Force” whose mission is to protect the tiny class of wealthy bosses who rule on behalf of foreign masters in Washington and other imperialist capitals.
The media – and Secretary of State Clinton – will certainly not mention that the U.S. removed popularly elected President Jean Bertrand Aristide not once, but TWICE – first by a CIA-backed coup, and the second time by U.S. military personnel directly kidnapping Aristide and deporting him from his own country!
They certainly will not speak of the Haitian people’s heroic, centuries-long resistance to slavery in all its forms. In 1791, the enslaved masses rose up in a heroic revolution and overthrew French colonialism, abolishing chattel slavery and setting a proud example for the slaves and all working people in the United States.
Since that time, the U.S. and France have done everything in their power to destroy the legacy of the Haitian Revolution. They have destroyed Haiti’s economy, starved its people, supported wanton death squads, shot down protesting women, men and children.
But the Haitian people have not been defeated. And they will fight on.
It is our responsibility in the U.S. not only to help provide aid and support to relieve Haiti’s immediate suffering – vital as it is – but to support the Haitian people’s struggles.
We must demand reparations for centuries of U.S. exploitation and oppression so that the people can truly rebuild.
We must demand an end to foreign military occupation of Haiti.
We must demand the right of President Aristide and other exiled people’s leaders to return.
We must demand the end of the outlawing of revolutionary and popular movements opposed to imperialism.
We must demand an end to U.S. deportations of Haitian immigrants and support the right of refugees fleeing the disaster to come here.
Long live the people of Haiti! Long live the Haitian Revolution!
Where to donate for Haiti relief:
Make sure your donation goes to organizations that truly represent the Haitian people, not U.S.-dominated “aid” groups. One way is to make a tax-deductible donation to IFCO/Haiti Relief, 418 West 145th St., New York NY 10031. IFCO is taking donations for the Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees (or donate first aid and personal hygiene supplies to them; call 718-735-4660.)
Statement by President-in-exile Jean Bertrand Aristide:
http://www.dfa.gov.za/docs/speeches/2010/aris0113.html
Rally on Wall Street Jan. 15:
GIVE ALL THE BANK BONUS MONEY TO HAITI
http://bailoutpeople.org/
The quake itself may be classified a “natural disaster.” But make no mistake: the blame for the catastrophic causalities and destruction of Haiti’s meager infrastructure rests with U.S. imperialism, as surely as the devastation that followed Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the Southern U.S.
While the media laud the dispatch of U.S. aid and 2,000 Marines (for “security”) to Haiti, they neglect to mention that the poverty engulfing the Haitian masses is made in the USA – by corporations that profit from paying grindingly low wages and super-exploiting Black labor.
Eighty percent of Haiti’s population lives on less than $2 a day. Half live on less than a dollar a day.
The media neglect to mention that Haiti is an occupied country. After successive U.S. invasions throughout the 20th century, Haiti is now burdened with a seemingly permanent “UN Peacekeeping Force” whose mission is to protect the tiny class of wealthy bosses who rule on behalf of foreign masters in Washington and other imperialist capitals.
The media – and Secretary of State Clinton – will certainly not mention that the U.S. removed popularly elected President Jean Bertrand Aristide not once, but TWICE – first by a CIA-backed coup, and the second time by U.S. military personnel directly kidnapping Aristide and deporting him from his own country!
They certainly will not speak of the Haitian people’s heroic, centuries-long resistance to slavery in all its forms. In 1791, the enslaved masses rose up in a heroic revolution and overthrew French colonialism, abolishing chattel slavery and setting a proud example for the slaves and all working people in the United States.
Since that time, the U.S. and France have done everything in their power to destroy the legacy of the Haitian Revolution. They have destroyed Haiti’s economy, starved its people, supported wanton death squads, shot down protesting women, men and children.
But the Haitian people have not been defeated. And they will fight on.
It is our responsibility in the U.S. not only to help provide aid and support to relieve Haiti’s immediate suffering – vital as it is – but to support the Haitian people’s struggles.
We must demand reparations for centuries of U.S. exploitation and oppression so that the people can truly rebuild.
We must demand an end to foreign military occupation of Haiti.
We must demand the right of President Aristide and other exiled people’s leaders to return.
We must demand the end of the outlawing of revolutionary and popular movements opposed to imperialism.
We must demand an end to U.S. deportations of Haitian immigrants and support the right of refugees fleeing the disaster to come here.
Long live the people of Haiti! Long live the Haitian Revolution!
Where to donate for Haiti relief:
Make sure your donation goes to organizations that truly represent the Haitian people, not U.S.-dominated “aid” groups. One way is to make a tax-deductible donation to IFCO/Haiti Relief, 418 West 145th St., New York NY 10031. IFCO is taking donations for the Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees (or donate first aid and personal hygiene supplies to them; call 718-735-4660.)
Statement by President-in-exile Jean Bertrand Aristide:
http://www.dfa.gov.za/docs/speeches/2010/aris0113.html
Rally on Wall Street Jan. 15:
GIVE ALL THE BANK BONUS MONEY TO HAITI
http://bailoutpeople.org/
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