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The nearly naked and the almost dead by John Maxwell | Join Danny Glover and others in a 24 hour fast for the safe return of Haitian human rights activist, Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine |
11 November 2007 The nearly naked and the almost dead by John Maxwell, Jamaican Observer – Join Danny Glover and others in a 24 hour fast for the safe return of Haitian Tuesday, Nov. 13 gather at 10:30am outside the Brazilian Consulate 8484 Wilshire Blvd (at La Cienega), Beverly Hills Thank you John Maxwell for always remembering Haiti in your Sunday column. Thank you for doing your part to help the Site Soley storm victims of Noel in this article. If more journalist were duly concerned about the realities in Haiti, the predators operating under the mass media’s indifference; the powers-that-be (France, Canada, US, UN agencies, USAID…) exploiting the Haitian people, Haiti resources (gold mines, uranium, underwater sea treasures) while decimating our children’s future with the free-for-all sexual perversities these UN and US/Euro folks are engaging in Haiti right now, then excusing themselves in the press by defaming our young Haitian children, our women and men as “natural” prostitutes. If the media was really doing its job, these folks, taking advantage of Haiti’s poverty and desecrating our heritage of liberty through their occupation, oppression, bullying and arrogance, would not continue to operate under the radar like this. Thank you John Maxwell for speaking truth-to-power and doing your part to put public and international scrutiny and for seeing beyond the usual Haiti bladder and stereotypes printed about Haiti. One love, John. Maximum respect. HLLN, Nov. 11, 2007 Folks, Below we excerpt the Haiti portion for the Network, of John Maxwell latest article entitled “The nearly naked and the almost dead.” But urge everyone, especially our folks in the Caribbean to read the entire piece. In it, veteran Jamaican journalist, John Maxwell, examines the report issued by the National Geographic Society’ Centre for Sustainable Destinations (CSD) with the mission “to help protect the world’s distinctive places through wisely managed tourism and enlightened destination stewardship.” Maxwell notes, among other things that “…This centre has recently completed a detailed audit of tourism destinations around the world, surveying conditions on 111 selected islands and archipelagos in its fourth annual Destination Scorecard survey. “The survey reflects evaluations made by a panel of 522 well-travelled experts representing a variety of fields, including ecology, sustainable tourism, geography, travel writing and photography, site management, historic preservation, indigenous cultures and archaeology. “The good news about this survey is that Jamaica was not the lowest-rated
island destination in the world. The bad news is that Jamaica scored worse than
all but three other islands…. (for the complete article, go to: ***** The nearly naked and the almost dead (the Haiti portion) RAPED, MAIMED AND LEFT FOR DEAD …Only a sadist would now attempt to rate Haiti’s tourism product. That country has been strip-mined economically and environmentally by Americans and Europeans, particularly by the French. Haiti is being punished for its mortal sin of casting out the ‘foreign devils’ in 1804, She has been made to suffer the torments of hell ever since. Right now, Haiti is bearing the most excruciating punishment, bereft of its leaders and governed by envoys from George Bush, Canada, and France. Its children are being raped and corrupted by the very United Nations troops sent in to ‘restore order and keep the peace’. Its national leaders are still being hunted like wild animals, and after Hurricane Noel, the poorest people in the Western hemisphere are left to starve. The latest outrage is the death threats and a possible assassination attempt against Guy Delva, head of SOS Journalistes, and chair of the recently created independent committee looking into the unsolved murders of journalists in Haiti. While it isn’t yet known who was responsible for the terror, Delva has suggested there may be a link with Senator Rudolph Boulos, a member of the rich and influential Boulos family and a leader of the Haitian élite. In October, Delva, on his morning news show on Port-au-Prince’s Radio Melodie FM, published what he said was evidence that Senator Boulos was an American citizen who lied about his nationality in order to be appointed a senator. In addition, Delva is chairman of the journalists’ commission overseeing investigations into unsolved murders of Haitian journalists. Delva has also recently chided Senator Boulos’s refusal to answer questions from the investigating judge in the case of the murdered journalist, Jean Dominique. Boulos has refused to answer questions about the murder on the grounds that he enjoys immunity as a senator. Since Boulos and his ilk had been claiming that Dominique was murdered by friends of President Aristide, it is hard to see why they don’t want to help the police with their inquiries. Apart from the political intimidation, the kidnappings and other atrocities, Haiti is right now in the throes of starvation, following Hurricane Noel. A message from attorney Marguerite Laurent, of the Haitian Lawyers Leadership Council, says Haitians are now in desperate need of food and drinkable water: “We are especially in need of potable water, water treatment equipment and medicines like aquatabs to make the water safe to drink. “The folks also need blankets, non-perishable foods, first-aid supplies, toothpaste, soap, toothbrushes, shoes (sneakers), sandals, undergarments – both for men and women. “However, the most urgent need we are hearing about, from the people of Site Soley, over and over again, is for food and for water treatment (acquatabs) tablets. “.HLLN has spoken to the folks at acquatabs (www.aquatabs.ca) and they agreed to provide us with a few emergency packs at their cost. “We’d like to purchase as many emergency packs of Acquatabs as we can raise the money for. The cost, we were quoted, for each emergency package is $350 Canadian dollars, not including freight costs. Each tablet treats 20 litres or five gallons. Each emergency package contains 14,000 tablets. “So, if you’d like to help us with the cost of the water treatment tabs, make a
donation at our (HLLN) paypal account: “If anyone knows an organisation willing to DONATE acquatabs, that would obviously be even more appreciated. “FOOD: Those who wish to send food directly to the people of Site Soley may do so through CAM (Caribbean Air Mail – www.camtransfer.com/index.jsp) and indicate you are sending the food donation to me, Evel Fanfan, AUMOHD DWA MOUN, Phone: 509-754-8022 ), CAM in Haiti will call Mr Fanfan and his people immediately, as soon as the packages are paid for and AUMOHD-CCDH will make direct distribution to Site Soley families who are hurt, hungry, and homeless. “You can buy packages of foodstuffs at US$100, US$200, US$300 and up, on the Internet from (8 to 5pm) anywhere in the world, and it will be packaged in Haiti and distributed to the receiver the same day. CAM will deliver the food package to whatever location Evel Fanfan/Aumohd should request. This is the way most Haitians use to help their families in Haiti. “And, the manner that will assure the food goes DIRECTLY and IMMEDIATELY to the intended beneficiaries in SITE SOLEY. “If you do send anything through CAM 1-800-934-0440 (Haiti Division), whether it is a money or food transfer, let them know that you are working with the Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network and that you want verification that the items you purchased was given directly to Evel Fanfan/AUMOHD DWA MOUN, Phone: 509-754-8022.” I think that we need to put our money where our mouths are, and when we talk about Caribbean solidarity we need to take the small concrete steps needed to demonstrate that we are not prating hypocrites. Copyright©John Maxwellß ********************************************** Join Danny Glover and others in a 24 hour fast for the safe return of Haitian Join Danny Glover, Martin Sheen*, Ron Kovic* and others in a 24 Hour Fast Tuesday, Nov. 13 gather at 10:30am outside the Brazilian Consulate 8484 Wilshire Blvd (at La Cienega), Beverly Hills Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine, the internationally respected Haitian human rights activist, disappeared in Haiti on the evening of 12 August. He is an extraordinary grassroots organizer beloved by his community, and a leading advocate for the poor, including street children, teenage mothers and victims of torture. Please urge the Brazilian government which plays a key role as head of the UN forces responsible for law and order in Haiti since the 2004 coup, as well as the governments of the US and Canada which are also key figures, to do all in their power, including making resources available to ensure Lovinsky’s immediate and safe release to his family and the community who need him. We all owe a great debt to the Haitian people. Haiti holds a special place in the hearts of many. As the first Black republic, Haiti led the way for the emancipation of those enslaved everywhere; it was a refuge for Simon Bolivar, the liberator of Latin America, and Haitian troops fought alongside him. The spirited and principled determination of Haitian people and their refusal to bend to the powerful forces which have tried to keep them down, have been and continue to be an inspiration throughout the world but especially to those of us who work to defend human rights. Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine personifies the Haitian spirit which refuses to submit despite all the odds. WHAT YOU CAN DO The Haitian grassroots has called for worldwide actions to
press for Lovinsky’s release. You can answer their call by: Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine is co-founder of Fondasyon Trant Septanm, an organization formed by family members and others concerned about the victims of the 1991 coup in Haiti. Similar to the work of internationally renowned Mothers of the Disappeared in Central and South America, for over a decade, the September 30th Foundation held weekly vigils demanding justice for victims of human rights violations and for the release of political prisoners. Lovinsky was co-founder of Fondasyon Kore Timoun Yo (Foundation for the Support of Children) for young street children in Port au Prince, FAM (Foyer pour Adolescentes Mères), a center for teenage mothers, and Map Viv (”I Live”), a program designed to give medical and psychological aid to the victims of the 1991 coup. His present community-based human rights organization Fondasyon Trant Septnm grew out of the work of those earlier efforts. Coordinated by the Ad Hoc Working Group on Haiti which includes: ANSWER
Coalition, CISPES/LA, Coalition in Solidarity with Haiti, Global Women’s
Strike/LA, International Action Center, and the Pan African Activist Coalition. websites: www.haitisolidarity.net www.HaitiAction.net www.globalwomenstrike.net * have been invited Forwarded by the Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network |
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