This is not a Crisis – This is a Rebellion: A Report from the Front Lines of Haiti
By Danny Shaw – May 11, 2021
All of Haitian society is in revolt.
AΒ mamboΒ andΒ houganβthe traditional voudou priestess and priestβlead ancestral ceremonies before rallies take the streets and block the central arteries of Port-au-Prince, Cap HaΓ―tien, and other Haitian cities and towns. After one of their members was kidnapped, leaders of the Protestant Church directed its congregation to halt all activities at noon on Wednesday andΒ bat tenΓ¨b.Β Bat tenΓ¨b, literally βbeat the darkness,β is a call for all sectors of Haitian society to beat pots, pans, street lights and anything else as a general alert of an emergency. A Catholic church in Petionville held a mass with political undertones against the dictatorship. When marchers from outside took refuge from the police inside the church, theΒ Haitian National PoliceΒ tear gassed the entire congregation.
Ti Germain, a well-known Lavalas activist, was hauled away by President Jovenel MoΓ―seβs henchmen for protesting in the downtown Chanmas Plaza last week and has not been seen since. Peasants come together to form self-defense units against land grabs by the Haitian TΓ¨t Kale Party (PHTK, or Haitian Bald Headed Party) and their foreign backers before mobilizing in the streets themselves. With the spiritual hymn of resistance blaring from a sound truck, βA fight remains a fight. My sword is in my hand, Iβm moving forward,β tens of thousands of protesters move toward police lines guarding the Delmas 96 entrance, which seals off the Haiti of the 0.01 percent from that of the 99.99 percent.
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Chanting βThe People Poetry Revolution!β, young writers and poets took to the streets on May 3 calling for a Haiti where youth have a future. A cultural worker, Jan Wonal, asserts, βThey [the imperialists] fashion themselves the messengers of art, literature, history of art. So, for us, cultural revolution against cultural imperialism is an imperative.β
RELATED CONTENT: What is Happening in Haiti?
All of Haitian society is in revolt.
Haitians at a March 2021 protest wear T-shirts that read “The slaves have revolted.” (Twitter/DannyShawCUNY)
Who Cares About Haiti?
CNN, MSNBC, Fox, and the full gamut of mainstream media outlets have paid scant attention to this social insurrection. The headlinesβif they mention Haiti at allβhave focused on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Biden regimeβs deportation of Haitians to the βcivil unrestβ of Haiti. The anti-neoliberal rebellion goes unmentioned.
According to one protestor at a mass demonstration, βIf we were Hong Kong, Taiwan or in any country the US lists as an enemy, there would be everyday coverage of our movement.β
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The corporate press only mentions Haiti in the context of a natural disaster, a deadly disease or chaos. Millions of people in motion in a U.S. neocolony like Colombia, Chile or Haiti are not deemed newsworthy. The dominant narrative is people in the streets protesting is not a revolt, but a βpolitical crisis.β It is not convenient for a neocolony to make noise and rise up against the empireβs handpicked lackeys and puppets.
In response to the media whiteout, Haitian intellectual Patrick Mettelus emphasized, βOur national liberation struggle is first and foremost a battle of ideas; it is an informational war. How can we counter the dominant narrative and show what is good, beautiful, encouraging and hopeful from our homeland?β
Showdown: Haiti vs. Imperialism
Ignoring months and years of widespread anger,Β MoΓ―seΒ continues to say resigning is not an option. The United Nations and Organization of American States (OAS) agree the U.S.-backed despot has another year remaining in his presidency, even though the 1987 Constitution stipulates his term ended on February 7. Former president Jean Bertrand Aristide called the UN, OAS and United States βthe troika of evilβ for the heavy-handed role they have played in Haitiβs historic destiny. This alone explains why Aristide was twice the victim of coup dβetats orchestrated by these neocolonial forces.
MoΓ―se went before the United Nations General Assembly on February 24. In a 28-minute display of arrogance, the tone-deaf puppet patted himself on the back for supposedly carrying out ongoing socio-economic reforms. Adding insult to injury, MoΓ―se now intends to brazenly overturn the 1987 constitution. This constitution was the result of consultations among hundreds of local committees representing all sectors of societyδΈwomen, peasants, poor neighborhoods, etc.δΈcoming together on the heels of the 1986Β dechoukajΒ (uprooting) that overthrew dictator Jean Claude βBaby Docβ Duvalier. Enshrined in the constitution is protection of Haitian cultural and economic sovereignty, and womenβs empowerment, among other democratic rights. Today, these same sectors, representing the vast majority of Haitian society, are taking to the streets against MoΓ―se and his dictatorial scheme to overturn the peopleβs constitution.
The reformist wing of the opposition has propped up a transition president, Joseph MΓ©cΓ¨ne Jean-Louis, who has beenΒ in hidingΒ since February 7, in fear of persecution of Jovenelβs National Intelligence Agency (ANI). Ruling class families such as the Vorbe/Boulos faction, which supported Jovenel (and Michel Martelly before) have now turned on MoΓ―se and want to replace him without systemic change.
Kidnappings have reached epic proportions. TheΒ djasporaΒ (Haitians in the diaspora) are afraid to travel back home.Β The Center for Human Rights Research and AnalysisΒ reported 157 kidnappings in the first three months of 2021. This lawlessness is representative of a society that has lost all confidence in MoΓ―se. The most oppressed layers of society have been overwhelmed by the weak gourde (1 U.S. dollar equals 87 Haitian gourdes), widespread joblessness and no hopes for a dignified future. According to the UNβsΒ World Food Program, half of Haitiβs 10.7 million people are undernourished. This bleek social reality has pushed the most castaway to resort to armed violence and taking hostages.
The fundamental demand of the popular sectors is a βsali piblik,β or a united transition away from dictatorship and neocolonialism that involves and empowers the masses of Haitian people.
While the corporate media silences Haitian voices, the Committee for Mobilization Against Dictatorship in Haiti (KOMOKODA), Leve Kanpe, the U.S./UN Out of Haiti Coalition, and other diaspora and anti-imperialist organizations across the United States and the world are standing with the historic Haitian rebellion.
βThe βCore Groupβ is a cabal of predatory countries and institutions created by the United States of America after the overthrow and kidnapping of President Aristide in 2004 to give a veneer of international legitimacy to their domination over Haiti,β KOMOKODA stated as the group protested May 3 in front of the French embassy in Port-au-Prince, βJoin us as we stand in solidarity with the Haitian people, who are in the streets fighting for their liberation and their emancipation.β
Featured image: Haitians protest against neocolonialism in the streets of Haiti in March 2021 / Twitter/DannyShawCUNY
Danny Shaw
Danny Shaw teaches Latin American and Caribbean Studies and Race, Ethnicity, Class and Gender at the City University of New York. He holds a Masters in International Affairs from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. He is fluent in Spanish, Haitian Kreyol, Portuguese, Cape Verdean Kreolu and has a fair command of French. He has worked and organized in over forty different countries, opening his spirit to countless testimonies about the inhumanity of the international economic system. A Golden Gloves boxer, he fought twice in Madison Square Garden for the NYC heavyweight championship. He teaches boxing, yoga and nutrition. Shaw works in the national leadership of the ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) and the Party for Socialism and Liberation and is the managing editor of LiberationSchool.org.
