Black Looks

Rea Dol is grassroots community organiser and founder of SOPUDEP school in Port-au-Prince. Shortly after the earthquake they had to abandon the school which was being used as a shelter due to the stench of dead bodies and sturtural damage which made the building unsafe.

For the school to continue it will have to relocate. A group of students and teachers are trying to design temporary classrooms on a new site which the school bought through donations last year.
Design for the new school

Here Rea speaks to Kathlene McGuinness of Ryerson University Toronto, about the aftermath of the earthquake and her hopes for the school in the future.

Interview

1. Could you take us through a normal day at SOPUDEP before the earthquake?

Rea: A normal day, all the children come to study at school, as usual, the children go to their classrooms, and when means allow, they receive a hot meal at school. The first group finishes at 1:00pm, and then in the afternoon we help street children to work hard to learn a trade skill. We work, following the pedagogical program of the National Education Ministry that they supply us with—that’s the one we use.

2. What is your vision for the new school? What would you like to see happen?

Rea: As we work with groups abroad, such as in California, with Seth (Donnelly) and the union members, we have been working to try to secure a (new) site (for the school), and we will communicate with Ryan (Sawatzky) as well. The former building, I had a 10-year contract, which is ending in 2012, and I have received many threats, so we were looking at the new school for SOPUDEP. Therefore, we were looking at the possibilities to have a new land and site for the school.

3. What materials are available to you on the ground right now?
Anything you can think of – not just normal building materials – pop
cans, cardboard boxes, etc.

Rea: We do not have available (heavy construction) materials…we can’t recuperate them. Some of the structures have been destroyed. The space where we worked with the small children was condemned after the earthquake, because it structurally cracked, and was damaged; therefore, neither children nor adults would be secure inside. The other building had some things break inside. There isn’t (heavy) material available at this point.
Read more…

Governor General Michaëlle Jean, Canada
Via, Women and Beyond

Interview with Pierre Labossiere of Haiti Action speaking on Haiti two weeks after the earthquake.

Pierre raises a number of very important points in relation to the relief itself, the many NGOs, organisations, groups and individuals that have descended on Haiti – aptly described as “social vampires”. He also speaks on the role of President Clinton in pushing neo-liberal policies on the country, such as privatization which led directly to the weakening of both Haiti’s government structures and economy.

M.O.I. JR: Since the earthquake in Haiti, 20/20 and a whole bunch of hip hop media journalists have highlighted Wyclef Jean, a popular rap artist who is Haitian, and many people are star struck into giving to his organization, Yele. Can you give us a history of who Wyclef Jean is, as well as who his family is in Haiti?

Pierre: Wyclef Jean is – everybody knows his background – he’s a talented musician, an artist with the Fugees. At the time he had a powerful message, and he has a foundation called Yele Ayiti, so he is out there. And his uncle is a person who has a different set of politics (from ours) opposed to the people’s movement of Haiti, and his uncle really did welcome the coup d’etat (on Feb. 29, 2004, that deposed democratically elected President Jean Bertrand Aristide, beloved by the vast majority of Haitians, who lives in exile in South Africa) and its aftermath. And Wyclef had taken a position in support on that as well. That is what I know about his history.
Read more…

The process of delivering humanitarian aid and the behaviour of aid agencies are often as harmful as they are helpful as the last two weeks in Haiti has clearly shown. The militarisation of the whole process; the disorganised and incompetent delivery of food, water and medical supplies; the instant response to appeals for donations from mega charities who do not have any real sense of the local context and whose record on the amount of real money spent on aid is abysmal; have all compounded the devastation wrought by the earthquake itself.

Margaret Kimberly [Freedom Rider] provides an insightful analysis of what has taken place and the implications for the future of the Haitian people as well as the need for people to make informative choices rather than be simply led by media and celebrity hype.

A telethon hosted by celebrities succeeded in raising more than $57 million in funds for the relief of Haiti earthquake victims. Yet that sum and the many millions more donated by individuals around the world will do little to relieve Haiti’s plight…….Haitians are living in their latest hellish incarnation created by American meddling and the crushing of that nation’s democracy. As long as the United States directs Haiti’s affairs, and empowers a corrupt elite instead of the will of the masses, suffering will continue whether caused by natural or human-made disaster.

The sad fact of the matter is that individuals cannot help Haiti or end human suffering anywhere on earth unless their assistance is combined with political action. The dollars must come with demands of non-interference in Haiti’s affairs and demands of accountability to charitable organizations. If the Red Cross doesn’t even spend all of its enormous contributions, as it shamelessly did after the 9/11 attacks, Hurricane Katrina, and the Asian tsunami, then donors must stop giving before the next disaster strikes.

VivirLatino also has a great post on the Latino media’s perceptions and responses to Haiti with Haitians being “criminalized” “infantilized” and “mamied”.

I would add that the perception of the media, English and Spanish language is that Haiti wasn’t colonized enough, meaning it wasn’t made “white” enough. All people need to do, according to the Spanish language coverage is look to the other side of Hispaniola, to the Dominican Republic, where even Sammy Sosa has learned that whiter and righter and great pains are taken to separate the Dominican from the Haitian, the “white” from the “black” even though as I told my friend the other night there is only one letter difference between “rara” and “gaga”, an Afro-Caribbean musical and religious tradition.

A beautiful and moving poem by Jamaican writer and poet, Geoffrey Philp.

Nothing makes sense anymore, my sister.

Nothing makes sense anymore, my sister.
The dead words in my mouth can’t say how I feel
And forgive me, Lord, but it hurts when I kneel.
For they say the age of miracles is over,
But when will the horrors end so that we can heal?

Nothing makes sense anymore, my sister.
Mountains of cement and rebar have buried your lover,
His smile greeted you at five every day when you shared a meal,
But breath left your body when you saw the Citadel reel.
Nothing makes sense anymore, my sister.

An important and thoughtful post from Haitian blogger,  Ezili Danto who raises a number of serious questions around why the earthquake happened at this time – the first in 239 years.

In the Mining Haiti’s Riches interview, I recount how there were areas in Haiti hidden behind UN guns, fenced off where Haitians knew nothing about what these soldiers were doing.

Then the earthquake hit. What remains is unimaginable. The rescue and recovery process was and is inhumane. The relief from pain and hunger is still not in place. And, as I think about the process of rebuilding, I started checking whether digging for gold, iridium, copper, uranium, coal, marble, diamonds, oil and gas could trigger an earthquake. And the answer I found sent chills up my spine. Made me sick to my stomach. Can this really be?

From what I’ve read, drilling deep into the earth, digging and mining may trigger earthquakes.

And, drilling either for fossil fuels or renewable energy exploration may cause earthquakes. Both geophysicists and oilmen agree that natural-gas drilling trigger earthquakes. One oilman stated that “there is not the slightest doubt” that gas production caused the temblors.” (See, At Fault: Does Drilling Cause Earthquakes?)…… Continue reading here……….

The Palestine Think Tank [Haitham Sabbah, Yousef Abudayyeh, Mohamed Khodr, Mary Rizzo,] have published this excellent list of common errors made by activists / movements and how to rectify them. The errors and solution are applicable to movements and activists worldwide.

Activism and activists for Palestine have been getting some media attention recently. This is absolutely great news. It is an opportunity that we need to take advantage of, especially since Palestinians themselves are denied space in almost all mainstream mass media. Reflecting on this fact, we at PTT have decided to express some of our observations, thoughts and suggestions in order to enhance the work of all activists, ourselves included. This is a summary of some of the things that we believe are some common activist errors and our proposals for avoiding that errors lead to damage. In the coming weeks we will elaborate on each of these points in essays. We hope that our observations and proposals can be of use for ourselves and for those who commit their time and energy to the Palestinian cause. Read the full list here

Rebecca Zausmer presents a comprehensive roundup of commentary on Haiti in this weeks Pambazuka News.

Yet criticism of the US extends beyond their immediate control of the crisis. Commentators are asking why Haiti has been so badly affected. The devastation is being seen as partly natural disaster, but also manmade. The finger of blame is being pointed at the West. Peter Hallward writes: ‘… it’s no accident that so much of Port-au-Prince now looks like a war zone. Much of the devastation wreaked by this latest and most calamitous disaster to befall Haiti is best understood as another thoroughly manmade outcome of a long and ugly historical sequence.’ Hallward reminds us that while we praise the ‘noble “international community”’ for its aid efforts, it is they who are most to blame for the extent of devastation. The poverty and powerlessness in Haiti has been created through colonial exploitation and continued postcolonial oppression…… Continue Reading

Next week I do a roundup of blog posts on Pambazuka’s Blogging Africa – so far African bloggers have been overwhelmingly silent – if anyone has a blog post please send to me via the contact box on this blog.

“We will bend but will not break” by Kevin Pina and narrated by Pierre Labossiere

Part 2 – Election of Jean-Bertrand Aristide

KOFAVIV - The Commission of Women Victims for Victims [working with women who have been raped] has issued a report from Haiti.

Because of where the catastrophe hit in Haiti the majority of victims are woman of Kofaviv and many of them died with all of their family, the rest that are left are sleeping under the stars, their houses destroyed with everything in it in the process.  Actually many women are sleeping in Chanmas in bad conditions, in the damp night air, where the sun beats on them, rain falls on them, damp air hits them, many of them lost a lot of their family, we can say, many of them already did not have anything to their name, now hunger almost kills them.

The report is a very personal one and speaks to the particular conditions women are having to struggle for their survival.   [I am no longer naming the earthquake a “disaster”  because of the way the media is using the word which implies the massive loss of life was due solely to an uncontrollable force. ] As in other regions of extreme poverty and militarisation it is largely women  and children who are the most vulnerable due to gender disparities and sexism. They face sexual and domestic violence, assault and  they are often the last to gain access to food, water and medical care as the fight for survival reaches critical conditions.     Children more so now than ever, are  vulnerable to sexual exploitation and who is authorising the many “orphaned” children who are been fast tracked through the adoption process to Canada, France and the US within days. How are we sure they are orphaned and do not have relatives searching for them at this very moment?   I don’t believe one single child should leave the island at this moment – the cost of flying them to Canada and France can be used to provide them with the proper care they need in Haiti- it’s like kidnapping.   This is why it is so important for foreign aid agencies to work with local groups – to search them out and not assume they dont exist – just takes a little effort.

Below are some of the publications and articles which directly address the need for a gendered and child centered approach towards “relief and recovery”.

The Gender and Disaster Network point to the importance of recognising the unique needs of  women and men,  girls and boys, taking into consideration, health – pregnant and breast feeding women, people living with HIV or AIDS, the chronically ill – the elderly, youths,  and disabled people.  They provide a comprehensive list of  grassroots women’s organisations and groups in Haiti and ask that we think carefully about what ways we can provide support in addition to donating money.    I would add to the list Famm Voudou pou Ayiti (Voudou Women for Ayiti)  [See this on misrepresentations of Voudou] Madam Evonne Auguste, who I met in August 2007 and do not know yet if she made it or not.  Although I do not have a contact for her, the organisation can be reached through SOPUDEP which should also be on the list.

Incite, Women of Colour Against Violence published a document following the Katrina Hurricane on the horrendous conditions faced by the affected communities and which are now taking place in Haiti.    They have also published a list of partner organisations and are calling on everyone to educate themselves on the history of Haiti, [here's a start] the intersection of gender violence and disaster  vulnerabilities, identify patterns of disaster and conflict impact on marginalised communities/

As many of us work to figure out appropriate strategies to support the people of Haiti, it’s important to note that the people most vulnerable–namely, women, LGBT folks, people with disabilities, incarcerated people, children, and elders–can experience a slower unfolding of specific crises that are consequences of the original disaster and the social conditions that preceded the disaster.

There is also the increased militarisation with  thousands of additional UN forces and US military both of whom have a record of brutality in Haiti, and which can only intensify  the suffering already being experienced.  Again and again I spoke with women of all ages who reported acts of violence by the security forces,  against them personally or their fathers, husbands and sons which has left them in even greater poverty.  One of the most common themes I met with was the demand for the return of President Bertrand Aristide – the only Haitian leader to have to have been freely elected and who worked on behalf of the poor but was constantly undermined by the US and eventually removed with their consent.

What we are witnessing is an invasion of battalions of military personal,  journalists and mega  aid agencies which can often  bring with them additional problems due to insensitivity, preconceived ideas of the country and a lack of gender analysis. See the  Red Cross in Katrina and  Christian Aid’s previous  record in Haiti    As one twitter asked – who is feeding them and on what?  How much of the resources are they eating up?  How much of their needs are preventing urgent medical equipment and food  reaching the Haitian people?  And all this so they can report that people are “scavenging” and “looting”,  gorge on people’s misery.  Write about the need to protect food from hungry people and hospitals from the wounded.    A disgusting shameful spectacle – the real long term disaster is the one  being set in place by yet more  cultures of violence and greed.

Yesterday I heard someone from the Red Cross blaming some of the failures on a lack of local organisaitons to work with.  Well  here are some local organisations to donate to -  ones that have been there for years – not big names but actually working with people.

Haiti Action Emergency Relief Fund,

SOPUDEP

Dwa Fanm – Womens Rights

Partners in Health

More Womens Organisations here

Finally if you havent already read it – Shailja Patel’s Ten Point Action Plan for Haiti which should also be sent to Mr Obama with the added question on whether he is in control of the US or is it his army generals and if it is him – why is he acting like a war monger?  In whos interest is Haiti going to be rebuilt by the military, aid agencies which act for their governments and the US? In the interest of Haitian business elite or the people?