Interview with Peter Hallward on Pambazuka
28th February 2008
Peter Hallward talks over the phone with Jacques Depelchin from the Ota Benga Alliance for Peace Healing and Dignity, and visiting Professor at the Centre for Afro-Oriental Studies at the Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Brazil, and Firoze Manji, founder and co-editor of Pambazuka News, about his book and the lessons of Haiti.
Peter Hallward’s book “Damming the Flood: Haiti, Aristide and the Politics of Containment”, published by Verso Press in 2007, is likely to become a classic reference on the most recent history of Haiti, thanks especially, to a fascinating and informative analysis of the clash between mass-based and elite driven politics. In the fierce battle over and around which ideological lens should one use to look at and make sense of Haiti’s most recent history, including the overthrow and kidnapping of President Jean Bertrand Aristide, Peter Hallward’s book is a welcome counterbalance to those offered by both mainstream journalism and books such as Alex Dupuy’s “Prophet and Power: Jean-Bertrand Ariside, the International Community and Haiti” published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2007.
Click here to listen to the interivew on MP3.
Third International Day of Action in Support of the Haitian People
56 actions in 47 cities for Haiti
END the foreign military occupation!
FREE the political prisoners!
RETURN Aristide and democracy to Haiti!
America, the Caribbean, Europe and North America — are organizing for the International Day in Solidarity with the Haitian People on or around February 29th. They are planning street protests and marches, vigils, film showings and public meetings — all in support of the Haitian people’s struggle for self-determination, democracy and justice. Everywhere, new people are becoming involved, inspired by the resistance of the people in Haiti. Many cities and towns in Haiti will be taking part in activities marking the 4th anniversary of the Feb. 29, 2004 coup d’etat in Haiti.
47 cities with 1 message: “Self-determination for the Haitian People!”
Activities planned as part of the Feb. 29th International Day of Solidarity with the Haitian People include:
Durban, South Africa – Abahlali baseMjondolo, the South African shack dwellers movement, will be hosting a film screening of the new short film What’s Going on in Haiti? at the Kennedy Road shack settlement, 5:30 pm Friday, Feb. 29, 2008, as part of the International Day in Solidarity with the Haitian People. Followed by a discussion in English and isiZulu. All welcome. www.abahlali.org
Last year’s action, in the Kennedy Road shanty town, was held in February 2007 “in support of Haitian shack dwellers,” in particular those living in “the massive shack settlement of Cite Soleil (Sun City),” according to their statement. The meeting was well planned. Four days before, Abahlali held an all-night meeting “at which this small gesture of solidarity was discussed with representatives from all of the 34 settlements affiliated to the movement. There was tremendous enthusiasm and a hope that ongoing networks of solidarity could be developed between shack dwellers under pressure in different countries.”
Here is a participant’s description of last year’s event in Durban [held at Kennedy Rd because no other settlement had electricity]: “Just got back from an amazing event in the Kennedy Road settlement. Taxis don’t run after the commuter rush but the hall, which takes 300 people, was close to full. People came from all over the city although most had to spend the night in Kennedy Road because there was not transport home.” Organizers commented on people’s reaction on seeing video footage of two UN attacks in Cite Soleil — the July 6, 2005 massacre in Bois Neuf/Drouillard and an Aug. 24, 2006 raid in Simond Pele: “The visuals of the [UN] soldiers moving into the settlements [in Cite Soleil], blocking the exits etc are images that look strikingly like what has happened in settlements here [in South Africa] last year in response to mass mobilisation, although of course people are very rarely killed here. When the films were finished there was a forest of arms up for people wanting to discuss the films. The discussion was excellent and very enthusiastic and focused on how democratic national democracies could actually be in this world, why local and international agencies supposed to be ‘on the side of the people’ (from local NGOs to the UN) so ruthlessly and relentlessly stigmatize the politics of the poor as criminal. A few people in the hall had, despite a lack of access to all electronic media, been managing to follow the situation quite closely since Aristide was removed from office. People were tremendously excited to have been able to be part of the global day of action. Although the Haitian story is very depressing there is something encouraging in knowing that you are not alone and that the long fight back continues elsewhere.” [For photos of the 2007 event in Durban, go to www.haitisolidarity.net ]
Montreal, Quebec – Demonstration in downtown Montreal at 5 pm Friday, Feb. 29 in front of the Guy Favreau complex, 200 Boulevard Rene Levesque Ouest (metro Place des Arts), called by Baz Fanmi Lavalas Montreal, which issued the following communique: “The objective of this demonstration is to remind the three kidnapping countries (the US, France and Canada) that the odious and dishonest act that they committed in Haiti four years ago, has never been accepted by the Haitian people, and will never be accepted by them. On February 29, 2004 the US, France and Canada kidnapped the democratically elected President of Haiti, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The Feb. 29th demonstrations are an opportunity for all Haitians and friends of Haiti living in Canada to contribute to the resistance struggle of the people in Haiti against the foreign occupation.” Info: 514-572-8916
Berkeley, California – Protesters will gather 7:30 AM on Friday, Feb. 29 at the Marine Recruiting Station, 64 Shattuck Square, Berkeley, to “shine a light on the role of US Marines in Haiti.” The flyer for the protest, sponsored by the Haiti Action Committee, states: “Four years after the Feb. 29, 2004 US/French coup in Haiti…Four years after US Marines seized Haiti’s capital and installed a US-appointed coup regime — Haiti is still under foreign military occupation, marked by rapes and wanton killings of the poor. Since the coup Haiti faces growing hunger, unemployment and a spiraling cost of living. Haiti’s jails are still filled with political prisoners and the poor — while the coup plotters & paramilitary death squads enjoy impunity.” Protesters will pass out information about the US Marines’ earlier invasion and occupation of Haiti from 1915 to 1934. They will also highlight how US Marines conducted a midnight raid on the home of Haitian people’s leader and singer So’ Anne in May 2004, two months after the coup. So’ Anne had been a key organizer for the upcoming Flag Day demonstrations against the coup and occupation, and for the return of kidnapped President Aristide. The Marines shot off the lock on So’ Anne’s gate, shot dead her dog, and arrested So’ Anne and some small children; So’ Anne spent the next two years in prison. *** See Fact Sheet on US Marines in Haiti, below.
New York City – Picket line Friday, Feb. 29 from 2 to 6 pm at the Consulate General of Haiti, at 271 Madison Avenue (between 39th & 40th Sts.) in Manhattan, in support of the 7 demands of the February 29th day of action for Haiti. In addition, the demonstration will “demand that the diplomats appointed by the 2004 coup regime, who are mostly still in their posts, be replaced immediately. These include first and foremost NY Consul General Felix Augustin and Ambassador to the US Raymond Joseph, who were both officers and founders of a certain ‘Committee to Save the Country’ which called on Colin Powell to militarily intervene to remove Aristide from power (which was in fact finally done), as well as Duly Brutus, Ambassador to the UN.” Sponsors: Fanmi Lavalas, Haiti Support Network, KAKOLA, Internat’l Action Center, Answer Coalition-NY, December 12th Movement. Info: 718-421-0162 or 347-697-9234 or 917-251-6057. In addition, there will be a New York City screening of two DVDs documenting with live footage the UN massacres in Cite Soleil (location and time TBA).
Georgetown, Guyana – The Red Thread women’s organization in this South American country will organize an event in the capital as part of the Feb. 29th global day of action for Haiti, for the second year in a row.
Here is a report on last year’s demonstration in Guyana: “On Feb. 7, 2007 Red Thread women organized a vibrant, noisy lunch time picket across the street from the office of the United Nations Development Programme in Georgetown in solidarity with Haiti. We were Afro-Guyanese, Indo-Guyanese and mixed race; the oldest was in her 70s. Representatives of two political parties, a trade union grouping and an African-Guyanese cultural organisation joined us. Our banner read ‘International Day in Solidarity with Haiti, UN Forces out of Haiti’. Placards said ‘Grassroots women in Guyana in solidarity with grassroots women in Haiti’ and ‘Guyana in solidarity with Site Soley’. They chanted: ‘Stop the massacres/ now’, ‘Stop sexual abuse/ now’, ‘Free political prisoners/ now’. Later we crossed the road in single file, stopping traffic, and stood directly on the pavement in front of the entrance of the UN office. As we reached the entrance, participants got more excited and the chanting was even louder: ‘UN troops/ out of Haiti!’ ” [For photos of the 2007 event in Guyana, go to www.haitisolidarity.net ]
“Why we should always act in solidarity with the poor majority in Haiti” was the headline on flyers passed out by the Red Thread women’s organization at last year’s protest. The flyer said: “Every time we hear news about Haiti we hear that it is the poorest country in the Caribbean, a country where there is always fighting. No one tells us why Haiti is poor and what the fighting is about. Here is the basic truth:
“The fighting in Haiti is part of a 200-year fight for freedom. The Haitian people were the first to abolish slavery. They won the first successful slave revolution in history, defeating France, Britain and Spain. Haiti also gave direct aid to other people fighting for their freedom. For example, it supplied Bolivar, the liberator of Venezuela and other South American countries, with ships and supplies to overthrow Spanish rule and helped train some of Bolivar’s soldiers. All Haiti asked was that Bolivar fight to free the slaves in South America. The 2004 coup against elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was the latest action in the 200-year-old effort by the old and new colonial powers to defeat Haiti’s struggle to be free.
“Haiti is poor because it has always been punished for fighting for freedom. This started when the colonial powers, furious about the Haitian people’s victory over slavery, made them pay those who had owned and exploited them in order for their new government to get international recognition. Backed by the US, France forced Haiti to pay 150 million francs in gold as “reparations” to former plantation and slave owners, as well as for the costs of the war. It is estimated that French bankers and big business alone owe Haiti at least 21 billion US dollars for the forced debt it took Haiti 120 years to pay off.
“The old and new colonial powers have always been determined to defeat the Black people of Haiti…But the Haitian grassroots have never given up the fight against foreign powers and the local exploiters and dictators these powers support. The organization calling for the February 7 protests – Fondasyon Trant Septanm – is an example of their unbreakable spirit; it is an 11-year old organization of victims of the 1991 and 2004 coups in Haiti who have chosen the anniversary of the overthrow of one Haitian dictator, “Baby Doc” Duvalier, to march to demand respect for Haiti’s sovereignty. We picket in solidarity with them.”
Dublin, Ireland – Solidarity picket Feb. 29 at the Brazilian Embassy, initiated by the Latin American Solidarity Centre, for the second year in a row. This focus was chosen because Brazil’s military commands the 9,000-soldier United Nations military force still occupying Haiti.
At last year’s protest, people held up a large photo of a pregnant woman who lost her baby when she was shot in the stomach by UN bullets during the December 22, 2006 ‘Christmas massacre’ in Cite Soleil. They said, “We are sending a clear message: that no one is forgotten. Coming from the working class, our sympathy will always lie with the workers and the poor who struggle for freedom and equality.” The Irish picketers passed out a Workers Solidarity Movement leaflet: “On the 7th of February 1986 the Haitian people, after years of revolt against the rich and powerful, toppled one of the most brutal dictatorships that history has recorded, the one led by the Duvalier family. Not only did they put an end to the US-backed reign of terror of the Duvaliers, but as well, the people were pushing forward a series of popular demands that were meant to radically change the face of Haiti: this was a truly revolutionary struggle. Today, Haiti is again under the yoke of oppression – this time under a UN military occupation called MINUSTAH, headed mostly by subservient Latin American governments, but engineered from the US and France, the main imperialist powers controlling Haitian affairs. [The UN] took over after the kidnap and coup on President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2004. Don’t let us have false illusions on the true nature of MINUSTAH: they are an occupation force that protects the sympathizers of the Duvaliers and other human rights violators. They are the only support for the corrupt Haitian elite….So MINUSTAH have been efficient in fulfilling their role:…to protect the privilege of the 3% of Haitians that control over 80% of the wealth of that country. End the UN and all foreign occupation of Haiti!,” the leaflet said.
London, England – On Friday Feb. 29, 8-10 pm, the new short film “What’s Going on in Haiti” about Haiti in 2007 under US/UN occupation, will be screened at the Crossroads Women’s Centre, 230-A Kentish Town Road, London NW5 [entrance Caversham Rd], as part of the global day of action. Wheelchair accessible. Near Kentish Town Tube on the Northern Line. Sponsored by Global Women’s Strike and Women of Colour in the Global Women’s Strike.
London, England – Ongoing weekly vigil and fast for abducted Haitian human rights advocate Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine every Wednesday from 5 to 6 pm outside the Brazilian Embassy, 32 Green St., London W1 (near Marble Arch Tube). [Brazil heads the UN military mission occupying Haiti.] The vigil on Feb. 27 was part of the 3rd international mobilization in solidarity with Haiti.
Atlanta, Georgia – Screening of the Nicolas Rossier film Aristide and the Endless Revolution, 7 pm, Friday, Feb. 29 at Project South, 9 Gammon Ave SE, Atlanta. Info: 770 469 9102. Presented by Malcolm X Grassroots Movement.
Roanoke, Virginia – Haitian community showing of a film about Haiti on Saturday, March 1st at a Haitian Caribbean restaurant in the community, in solidarity with the Feb. 29 global day of action.
Moneta/Huddleston, Virginia – Evening film showing on Monday, March 10 of the new short film, What’s Going On in Haiti?, about Haiti in 2007 under US/UN occupation, at Resurrection Church, Moneta, in solidarity with the Feb. 29 global day of action.
Fremont, California – Teach-in about Haiti 7:00-8:30 pm Monday, March 3rd, at the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose, 43326 Mission Blvd, in solidarity with the Feb. 29 global day of action for Haiti. Presentations by Sister Stella Goodpasture and the Haiti Action Committee. Info: 510 657 2468
Rochester, New York – The Rochester Committee on Latin America will hold its annual Rice & Beans Dinner for 150 people on Friday, Feb. 29. They will “observe the 4th anniversary of the US-backed coup against President Aristide by writing our congresspersons to support immediately the House Resolution to cancel the Haitian debt.”
Los Angeles, Calif. – Film showing 7pm Saturday, March 1st, Eastside Cafe, 5469 Huntington Drive North (at Maycrest), in El Sereno. Screening the Kevin Pina film Harvest of Hope. The film, about the rise of the Lavalas movement leading up to the December 1990 elections that swept Jean-Bertrand Aristide into the presidency — and the 1991-94 coup that followed — is a primer for understanding the roots of the current crisis in Haiti. Also showing: a new short film What’s Going on in Haiti?, about Haiti in 2007 under US/UN occupation. Event coordinated by Women of Color in the Global Women’s Strike and Global Women’s strike.. Co-sponsored by CISPES, Answer-LA, and International Action Center. Info: 323-276-9833
Toronto, Ontario – Demonstration and street theater outside the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) building, 250 Front St West 11:30 am-1:00 pm Friday Feb. 29, to protest media support for the US/French/Canadian coup in Haiti and current UN occupation. Sponsored by Toronto Haiti Action Committee “as part of a worldwide day of mobilization and solidarity with the Haitian people.” People in costumes (UN official, Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer, Canadian government official, etc.) will sell ‘mud cookies’ to passersby over the lunch hour. [To stave off hunger in this time of high unemployment and spiraling cost of living in Haiti, some Haitians have been forced to resort to eating so-called ‘mud cookies’ made of mud, salt and oil.] “The poor majority in Haiti faces an unprecedented social and economic catastrophe that is steadily worsening,” said the committee’s statement. “Basic human rights such as jobs, clean water, health care and education are unavailable and misery, poverty, hunger and diseases are on the rise. Haitian jails remain filled with political prisoners and pro-democracy activists, and the Haitian poor still face political persecution.
“Canada’s assistance in Haiti to date has been to apply brute strength, superior firepower and a development program that dictates the best way to help the poor is to empower the rich,” the statement continued. “Despite the election… of Rene Preval, the reins of power are effectively in the hands of the foreign occupation forces.” Demonstrators will “condemn Canada’s criminal role in Haiti and call for an end to the destructive UN occupation.”
Brooklyn, New York – Screening of the powerful feature-length film Bitter Cane, shot clandestinely in Haiti during the Duvalier era, and the new short film What’s Going On in Haiti?, about Haiti in 2007 under US/UN occupation, in solidarity with the Feb. 29 global day of action for Haiti. For more info, including time and location of the screening, go to www.myspace.com/haitisolidarity2008
Vancouver, Canada – Haiti Solidarity British Columbia will sponsor a public meeting at 7 pm, Tuesday, March 4th, 319 West Hastings St., Vancouver, on the situation four years after the coup and occupation of Haiti.
Detroit, Michigan – Michigan Emergency Committee against War & Injustice (MECAWI) held a meeting in solidarity with Haiti on Feb 27th at 5920 Second Ave, Detroit, just north of Wayne State University.
Calgary, Alberta – Picket line 4 pm Friday, Feb. 29 at the Harry Hays federal building in downtown Calgary. Last year’s demonstration at the same building called for “an immediate end to the Canadian/US/UN occupation of Haiti and cancellation of the so-called Haitian debt”, in supporting “Haiti’s sovereign right to self-determination.”
Jacksonville, Florida – Northern Florida Haitian community meeting will screen the new DVD What’s Going On in Haiti as well as a video of the Haiti Workshop at the first United States Social Forum held in Atlanta, Georgia last July.
Kigali, Rwanda – On Friday, Feb. 29 the radio station Contact One in Rwanda will air a program in the French language devoted to the Feb. 29th International Day in Solidarity with Haiti.
Oakland, California – The Niebyl-Proctor Library will sponsor a Haiti film showing 2 pm Saturday, March 8, in solidarity with the Feb. 29 global day of action, at the library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. (at 65th St), Oakland. Benefit for the Commemoration Committee for the Black Panther Party. Screening of the powerful feature-length film Bitter Cane, shot clandestinely in Haiti during the Duvalier era, and the new short film What’s Going On in Haiti?, about Haiti in 2007 under US/UN occupation. Info: 510 595 7417
Miami, Florida – Father Gerard Jean-Juste, the Haitian community and friends will gather 7pm Friday, Feb. 29 at Veye Yo, 32 NE 54th St, in the heart of Miami’s Little Haiti, for a rally in support of the demands of the popular movement in Haiti.
Macon, Georgia – Showing of the Nicolas Rossier film Aristide and the Endless Revolution in Macon, sponsored by the Haitian Hope Committee of the St. Francis Church, in solidarity with the Feb. 29th global day of action for Haiti. (Date and location TBA)
Sault Ste.Marie, Ontario, Canada – Showing of the powerful film about the US/UN occupation, Haiti: “We Must Kill the Bandits” 7 pm at Algoma Community College. Filmmaker Kevin Pina in person to lead the discussion.
Minneapolis, Minnesota – Vigil from 4:30-5:30 pm Friday, Feb. 29 at Hennepin County Government Center Plaza, at the light rail station downtown, “to commemorate the shameful overthrowing of Haitian democracy in a coup against President Aristide and the Lavalas government.” In addition, a house meeting in the Twin Cities will screen the powerful Kevin Pina film, Haiti: ‘We Must Kill the Bandits’, which tells the story of the US invasions and occupations of Haiti, from 1915-34 to 2004 and the ongoing UN occupation.
Johannesburg, South Africa (Auckland Park) – During the week of March 3, the radio station Channel Africa, affiliated with the South African Broadcasting Corporation, will air a program in the English language devoted to the Feb. 29th International Day of Solidarity with the Haitian People.
Richmond, California – The mayor of Richmond will dedicate her weekly ‘Meet the Mayor’ session to the people of Haiti, in conjunction with the 3rd International Day in Solidarity with th Haitian People. Richmond Library, 325 Civic Center Plaza, Richmond on Friday, Feb. 29 at 5 pm.
Notre Dame, Indiana – Caribbean Diasporas Film Series, 7-9 pm Thursday, Feb. 28 in Debartolo 126 at the University of Notre Dame, will feature two films about Haiti, Legacy of the Spirits, about Haitian immigrants’ religious practices in New York, which inspire non-Haitians to join them, and Haitian Song, an intimate portrait of life in a small Haitian village. A second event will take place about 9 pm, following the films: A reflection and vigil for Haiti in the Great Hall of O’Shaughnessy on the Notre Dame campus, in solidarity with the Feb. 29 global day of action. Sponsored by the campus Haiti Working Group.
San Francisco, California – Black History Month forum on “The Struggle in Haiti” 7 pm Friday, Feb. 29 at 2489 Mission St, Rm 28 (at 21st St), sponsored by Party for Socialism and Liberation. “Since carrying out a successful slave rebellion in 1804, the Haitian people have fought fiercely for their right to determine their own destiny. French, British and US imperialists, seeing Haiti as a source for profit, have consistently undermined this right. Feb. 29 marks the 4th anniversary of the illegal ousting of Haiti’s popular President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and the struggle continues today. Hear a report about the Haitian Revolution and recent developments.” Also showing of a film, Struggles in Steel, documenting the heroic struggle of Black steel workers for equality on the job.
Prince George, BC, Canada – Roger Annis, Canadian writer and trade unionist who has written extensively about the Canadian role in the 2004 coup and occupation of Haiti, spoke at a public meeting held Feb. 22 in Prince George, in solidarity with the Feb. 29 global day of action.
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada – The Canada Haiti Action Network is organizing three events in Winnipeg, in solidarity with the Feb. 29 global day of action for Haiti, each featuring Roger Annis of the Canada Haiti Action Network (CHAN). The first will be 2:30-4:00 pm Thursday Feb.28 at University of Winnipeg (Department of Politics). The second event will be 1:30-3:00 pm Friday, Feb. 29 at 407 Tier Building, University of Manitoba., on “Haiti Today: Life Worsens under UN Occupation.” The third event will be 7-9 pm Friday Feb. 29 on Canadian policy in Afghanistan and Haiti, also featuring David Camfield, at the Bulman Centre, University of Winnipeg.
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada – “Four years later – Eyewitness Reports on Haiti Today” : Panel discussion 7pm Friday Feb. 29 at the Haitian Community Centre of Ottawa, 876 Montreal Road (betw.Aviation Hwy & Blair Rd., 2nd floor of shopping plaza bldg – On OC Transpo Bus Route #2).Featuring Darren Ell, journalist and photographer; Raymond Dubuisson, radio journalist and organizer with the CHORHA Haitian community organization; and Jean Saint-Vil, independent radio and print journalist and co-founder of the Canada Haiti Action Network. Presentations in English and French. Discussion in Kreyol, French and English.
San Diego, California – Film showing of a new DVD What’s Going On in Haiti – Haiti in 2007 under US/UN Occupation, 7 pm Saturday, March 1st, 5350 Trojan Avenue. Sponsored by San Diego International Action Center. Info: 619 692 0355.
San Jose, California – Speakout and leafleting 5:00-6:00 pm Friday Feb. 29 at south end of Cesar Chavez Plaza, corner Market and San Carlos streets, downtown San Jose, as people passing by on foot and in cars signaled their support. Among the signs were “US military kidnapped Aristide”, “Stop UN ‘peacekeeper’ massacres”, “Free Rene Civil and all political prisoners” and “End foreign occupation of Haiti.” Info: Donna Wallach 408-569-6608.
New Orleans, Louisiana – Film showing of the new short film What’s Going On in Haiti?, about Haiti in 2007 under US/UN occupation, in solidarity with the Feb. 29th global day of action for Haiti. (Date and location TBA)
Joseph, Oregon – Late afternoon vigil for Haiti on Friday, Feb. 29
San Rafael, California – Vigil and press conference at the Fourth Street Plaza, Courthouse Square, 5-7 pm on Friday, Feb. 29th “to recognize the 4th anniversary of the military coup d’etat in Haiti.” The Task Force on the Americas (formerly Marin Interfaith Task Force), sponsor of the vigil, issued this statement: “Thousands of Haitians were killed during the invasion, coup and subsequent occupation by US and UN forces which drove the democratically elected government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide from power….Aristide’s policies did not go along