Acc-, After the earthquake, I knew that not much would change in Haiti precisely because of the people's resilience. It was almost like a self-fulfilling prophecy. I knew that people would soon be going about their business as if nothing had happened. That's what scared me most for the future of Haiti. Soon after they could circulate through the rubbles in Haiti, Haitians were walking down the streets to their neighbors, some street merchants, were trying to sell the little bit they had from their businesses, children were still trying to wipe-clean cars for a few half pennies, "tap-taps" were fishing for people, etc. And that was life as they know it. That's life as those who can afford better think the people deserve and that's why not much is being done to make things closer to equality in Haiti.
"The U.S. government would prefer to tell Haiti what to do and when and how to do it," said Eugenia Charles, the Haitian-born director of Fondasyon Mapou, a Washingtonbased group that seeks to improve the quality of life for Haitians. The group sponsors weekly demonstrations in front of the Haitian Embassy demanding that political prisoners be freed and democracy be restored in Haiti. Thomas Griffin, a Philadelphia attorney and human rights advocate who traveled to Haiti last year, presented details of his findings to members of the Congressional Black Caucus on March 2. His report, released by the Center for the Study of Human Rights at the University of Miami School of Law, found that "Haiti's security and justice institutions fuel the cycle of violence. Summary executions are a police tactic, and even wellmeaning officers treat poor neighborhoods seeking a democratic voice as enemy territory where they must kill or be killed." [Barbara Lee]'s Haiti TRUTH (The Responsibility to Uncover the Tuth about Haiti) Act would form a TRUTH commission to investigate United States involvement in [JeanBertrand Aristide]'s removal.
The best pieces of good legislation can be hijacked and used against the very people it is supposed to be benefiting. As a result, you may buy clothes that say "Made in Kenya" or "Made in Nigeria," but the reality is that the cotton was grown and processed in China. The textile industry in nations such as Nigeria and the cotton farmers from Kenya and other nations have been devastated. The United has, in effect, laid the environment to bring economic devastation to villages and towns throughout Africa. Why Haiti? It's simple. They can cram China cotton into Haiti and block any textile business in the CAFTA nations. Keep in mind that millions of people of African descent live and work in CAFTA nations. More than any place else, the Dominican Republic is 60 percent Black. It is quickly developing textiles under CAFTA via business with the United States. It also employs many Haitians who border the nation.
-, [Joseph Lowery] indicated that he was decline the government's invitation because "more conventional means of protesting U.S. policy toward Haitians have failed miserably since the U.S. still greets the Haitians with clenched fists rather than open arms." "These people are imprisoned on military bases, politically quarantined and denied rights afforded other refugees," said Lowery, who went on to urge President-elect Bill Clinton to act "swiftly" to right the wrong and send emissaries to Haiti immediately to negotiate the return of the country's first freely-elected president, Jean Bertrand Aristide, as well as to set the stage for new elections.
Why are Cubans and Chinese more at risk in their respective countries than Haitians from Haiti? When, last have you read about a revolution in Cuba where so many people lost their lives on a daily basis? This goes ditto for China. Apart from the conflict which took place in Tiamminen Square, a couple of years ago, there's been no other outward display of political persecution. In Cuba, there's always been a movement on from those in exile to recapture Cuba from Castro. For this reason anyone coming from Cuba has been welcomed in the U.S. with opened arms.
