Haiti is not a poor country, it is a robbed country. While visiting the Port-au-Prince area for two weeks in September 2004 as part of the Haiti Accompaniment Project, Sister Stella Goodpasture and I engaged in many conversations, heard eye-witness testimonies, visited organizations, rode crowded Tap Taps, and walked the streets of Port-au-Prince and neighboring areas. We witnessed how the potentially rich, fertile and beautiful country of Haiti has had its resources sucked away and squeezed out over the last 500 years by the effects of slavery, racism, colonialism, imperialism, anti-communist hysteria, militarism, kleptocracy, corporate globalization and free trade. Haiti_s most recent setback was the US supported coup d'etat just over a year ago on February 29, 2004, with dire political, economic and social consequences.
With our own eyes, we saw how positive initiatives undertaken by the popular Lavalas government from 1994 - 2004 are now being thwarted by the current regime that was installed by the US State Department. Adult literacy programs have been discontinued, a public medical school has been closed, and construction of low-income housing has ceased.
Since our visit, political repression has intensified, with on-going arbitrary arrests, detention and killings of Lavalas party supporters. On February 28, 2005, during a spirited and nonviolent demonstration in one of Port-au-Prince_s poorest neighborhoods, police in black uniforms, helmets, ski masks, and large guns shot into the crowd, as witnessed by Bill Quigley, law professor at Loyola University.
Quigley further noted, "Though the march for democracy in Haiti was halted by police shooting into the unarmed crowd, the people I talked to said their march for the return of democracy in Haiti will continue."
Representative Barbara Lee issued a statement on the anniversary of the violent ouster of Haiti's democratically elected President, Jean Bertrand Aristide, which included the following excerpts:
"Today marks the one-year anniversary of Haiti's 33rd coup d'etat. The internationally orchestrated ouster of President Jean Bertrand Aristide last year sent Haiti into a political, social and economic downward spiral and cast a dark shadow of doubt on our nation's commitment to the principle of democracy.
"As we reflect on this tragic anniversary, it is high time that we remove all doubt as to our commitment to democracy and demonstrate our commitment to a healthy, democratic Haiti.
"We would oppose the overthrow of our own government, and there must be no doubt that we would oppose the overthrow of other democratically elected governments. Yet today, grave doubts remain about the role the Bush administration played in the removal of President Aristide. This is a fundamental issue of democracy, and the American people deserve to know the TRUTH about just what happened.
"That is why I have reintroduced the The Responsibility To Uncover The Truth about Haiti (TRUTH) Act. The Truth Act will create an independent, bipartisan commission to investigate the unanswered questions about the Bush administration's role in this violation of democracy.
"A year after this crime against democracy, the situation in Haiti is deplorable. The unconstitutional government has allowed the political violence of armed gangs and thugs to grow, while schools and hospitals close. We have a responsibility to ensure that Haiti disarms these thugs and stops the political violence, that political prisoners are freed, and that ruly democratic elections set Haiti back on the course to democracy. We must know the TRUTH about the full degree our nation's involvement in creating this situation, and we must set about making it right."
Here are some things you can do to show your support for the return of democracy in Haiti:
--Thank Barbara Lee for re-introducing the T.R.U.T.H. Act
--Urge your own Congress member to sponsor the T.R.U.T.H. Act
--Contact Senators Feinstein and Boxer and ask them to introduce similar legislation in the Senate
--Sign the petition to support the Porto Alegre Declaration on Haiti, which was launched in an international workshop at the 2005 World Social Forum
For more information and updates, visit the websites of Haiti Action Committee and the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti.
Last September, Sister Stella and I left Haiti with heavy hearts and profound feelings of humility. Our hearts were heavy because the hope that had become so palpable during the past ten years of struggling, vulnerable, participatory democracy had suffered such a great blow in the aftermath of the February 29, 2004 coup d'etat and kidnapping of the president. We were humbled to interact with so many people whose hope was nevertheless still alive; people who refuse to give up their dream and vision of a Haiti in which everyone's basic needs are met and the human spirit can thrive.