Who are they? [Raoul Peck] works primarily with an ensemble made up of [Sarah]'s family and members of the infamous TonTon Macoute. It's these men operating outside civilian and military law, who imbue "The Man By The Shore" with its thick taste of dread and fear. For it quickly becomes obvious that they can threaten, maim, even kill anyone at anytime for the least of slights. Janvier (Jean Michel Martial), the chief of the Macoutes here, wields unbridled power, making him one of the most fearsome screen villians in recent times. "The Man By The shore" combines the terror of the Duvalier regime and Haiti's natural beauty in a gripping story. Audiences may leave questioning whether it's better to remember or to forget!
Artist [Guy S. Fleury] began to to paint at the age of 12. After emigrating to the United States in 1970, he painted consistently until 1974. Fleury studied Haitian art and history with notable Haitian artist Wilfrid Austin, known as "Frido." He also studied the fine art and is strained in art restoration and expert framing. Each of Fleury's paintings has a unique touch and it is very difficult to recognize his paintings unless you are very familiar with the painter himself. Fleury remains true to his images of Haitian subjects but not in a typical or traditional way. Fleury paints scenery of his native town of St. Marc depicting personage, way of life - the coumbite, historical events, spiritualism, traditional values, etc.
"If you were going to put two ads for me, put one instead and donate the money for the other to the children at the Cyril Ross Nursery in Tunapuna," [Wendy Fitzwilliam] stated. Persons residing in the New York metropolitan areas wishing to make contributions to the Nursery can forward their donations directly to Steve Solomon, Executive Secretary, St. Vincent de Paul Society, c/o Cyril Ross Nursery, Tunapuna, Trinidad, Caribbean. Make money orders payable to the Society. The NDP administration has been in charge in that tiny Caribbean island ever since it defeated the now defunct St. Vincent Labor Party (SVLP) in the 1984 general election. At that time, attorney-at-law Milton Cato, the insland's first prime minister, led the SVLP, but lost by a margin of 9 to 4.
What is Eiery Furnace Films? A film production company established by a group of Caribbean immigrants, predominantly Jamaicans, to produce community based films about the real Caribbean immigrant experience in this country. Their films portray the peoples' stories in an unrelenting honest and straight forward manner. Like the musical works of their courageous predecessor, Bob Marley, there is no "sugar coating" to the message of why people are struggling, as their lives are vividly portrayed on film. There is one industry always flourishing in the "ghetto" - that is the drug trade. Who profits from the drug trade? the big "drug lords," who live nowhere near the ghetto. If the only available jobs are those involved in the drug trade, that is what some people will go towards out of necessity. The majority of people don't get involved in all of that. They work very hard, many with two and three jobs, to support their children and send money home as well. Kevin Porter is a producer and writer with tremendous talents whose creative efforts are responsible for the publishing of "Inspirations of the God Within" (A Book of Classical Poems), and the production of "Rasta-Life and The Truth," an award winning film on the contributions and benefits of the Rastafarians.
President [Fidel Castro] lashed out at Mayor [Giuliani] for excluding him from the posh city parties. "The Mayor says I was a demon, and a demon couldn't be invited to dinner. So I said I'll go hungry the first day in New York" and then Castro laughed and said he wasn't upset by the Mayor's snub because his social calendar was full anyway. He said a friendly and rich family and a group of businessmen including David Rockefeller had invited him to dinner. President Castro says the U.N. don't speak of it. People applauded the independence of the African Countries, Namibia and South Africa. You would have thought the United Nations worked a miracle. There was no mention of Cuba and no mention of the many Cuban soldiers who lost their lives in the war. Yet they spoke of the end of apart-heid in a glorious manner. Castro says when people begin to write history, they forget reality. That is the historical truth, says Mr. Castro and a lot of research should be done on this because they have these nuclear weapons under their control right now. Mr. Castro says Cuba was the only outside country to shed its blood against apartheid and against racism in Africa. He says he agrees all nuclear weapons should be removed. But what is a blockade? "As we were saying today at the United Nations that blockade is like a noiseless atom bomb. It kills people and children. There is no justification for a blockade."
"It must be relevant because most of the Jamaican population is of African stock, and we have never been able to forge that link between the motherland and the Caribbean," he told IPS. "It's very important to decide on our next step (to develop) a South-South relationship because we've always been looking to the North." Pan-Africanism is in one sense a united movement of countries on the African continent, but in the wider sense, encompasses a collective consciousness of all peoples of African descent. "[Marcus Garvey], as the father of Pan-Africanism, always tried to forge that link - that's why he started the (shipping line) Black Star liner," said Mutabaruka. "Politicians, people don't see the necessity to deal with Africa because they say Africa is not a place of development." "There wasn't a single nation or country with people of African descent and Africans which did not celebrate Nelson Mandela becoming president (in South Africa), because there was such a strong sense of identification with that," [Zweledinga Pallo Jordan] notes. "(But) it wasn't just identification, it was based on the fact that everyone in the entire African community across the Atlantic had participated in one way or another, some in big ways, some in small ways, but everyone had made a contribution, that's why people felt it was their victory."
"Once again, WLIB's commitment to New York's African American and Caribbean communities has been confirmed. We have devoted significant air time to voter registration drives, Public Service Announcements and other programs specifically organized to motivate our listeners to vote," said Janie Washington, station manager.
On March 1st and 2nd, The Riverside Church will open its doors to metropolitan New Yorkers for a Haiti Festival - a cultural and spiritual celebration of Haiti. The "Haiti Festival" will kick off Friday, March 1st with a workship service and live performances by Haitian folk and roots musicians. The Festival will continue on Saturday as Riverside Church is transformed into a traditional Caribbean marketplace alive with the rhythms and folklore of Haiti.
