How Foreign Influences Impact Haiti’s Future

KPFA - Hard Knock Radio

On a recent episode of Hard Knock Radio, Davey D and Pierre Labossiere from the Haiti Action Committee really dove into what’s going down in Haiti, and let me tell you, it’s a lot. They kicked off talking about Haiti’s past, how it’s the first Black republic to kick slavery to the curb in the 1700s, and how it’s been dealing with a whole mess of stuff ever since, especially with how the US has been meddling in its affairs.

Davey D was like, “Man, this situation in Haiti is complex,” pointing out the rich yet turbulent history of the place. And Pierre? He layered on more, talking about how Haiti’s roots are in this incredible fight for freedom by Africans, and ever since, it’s been uphill, battling against being pushed around by Western countries.

They didn’t shy away from the tough parts, either. Pierre brought up how Haiti’s been fighting against outsiders trying to take advantage of their resources and people. It’s not just about being poor; it’s about resisting a history of being controlled and exploited, with the backdrop of colonialism making everything extra complicated.

Then, things got real intense when Pierre shared this audio from a rich guy in Haiti, talking about starting a war against the Black population to make Haiti “French” again. This wasn’t just some idle threat – it happened in 2016, and they’re planning to get this out to everyone through Hard Knock Radio. Davey D was especially concerned about how the term “gangs” is misused to make Black Haitians look bad.

The talk took a turn to the shady side of things, pointing out how the US has been arming the wrong folks in Haiti, leading to a cycle of corruption and violence. They named names, pointing to US-trained guys who ended up running crime rings in Haiti, and how this has been part of a bigger problem of violence and oppression in the country.

But it wasn’t all doom and gloom. Davey D and Pierre also highlighted the Haitian solidarity movement, reminding us that this isn’t just about Haiti – it’s a global issue. They’re continuing the convo with a big event, bringing in speakers and performers to keep the momentum going.

In essence, what Pierre and Davey D got into was how Haiti’s been fighting forever for its right to be sovereign and independent, against all odds. They made it clear this isn’t just Haiti’s fight; it’s a call for solidarity from everyone who believes in fighting for what’s right.

Below is information provided by the Haiti Action Committee

1) Translation of the attached videotaped death threat after the 2016 elections. It was widely covered in Haitian media and social media including articles in November 2016 in “Le Nouvelliste” https://www.lenouvelliste.com/article/165842/dimitri-craan-convoque-au-parquet-pour-incitation-a-la-violence

and “Reseau Nodwes”

https://rezonodwes.com/2016/11/30/video-dimitri-craan-promet-la-mort-aux-opposants-de-jovenel/.

At the time of this video, people protesting the fraudulent elections were brutally repressed by the UN/US-trained and supervised Haitian police. Fourteen (14) people were reported killed in Bele (Bel-Air). Lasalin (La Saline) was attacked by the specialized police unit BOID in the middle of the night; three infants reportedly died from the tear gas directed at people’s homes; footage begins at the 33:48 time mark –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFiftwfnSg4&feature=youtu.be&feature=share_email

Translation of video/death threat:

“My friends, they are making us sit here, waiting. Results [election] that should have been public since 4:00 p.m., everyone is rushing home; 5:00, 6:00 p.m. then they cut off the power. Still no results were made public; 7:00 p.m. worse. There is nothing that we can do, we have to wait. One thing that they need to know is that all power comes from God and if they do the injustice that they are trying to do to Jovenel Moise since he is a peasant, a son of the land, a son of the people, they are trying to do him an injustice; woe unto these people.

All of them will die one after the other. You will remember what I am telling you right now. Beginning with the people who are determined to challenge Jovenel from taking power, they will die, they will find their death, they will find their death. A death that will come to snatch him/her, take him/her away without much talking. Thank you.”

—————————————————————————————-

2) Anonymous, Self-Identified Member of Haitian Elite – Voice Message circulated on Haitian radio stations and social media on or about Nov. – Dec. 2016. Described as “more inflammatory” by its author than the video above, it was publicized a short time after the death threat above. In racist language, the voice message called for the economic elite to wage war against the impoverished black majority. It was re-broadcast on Radio Timoun in July 2018 and continues to circulate on social media:

Translation of voice message:

“…We have more rights to this country because we are the descendants of the French. We do not have to be afraid of any Lavalas thrash that is trying to scare us to leave the country. The riches of the country are in our hands, we are the owners of the banks, we are the owners of the hospitals, we are the ones who control the commerce. We are the ones who own all that this country has in terms of wealth. We cannot let little Aristide and all his little dirty tramps destroy us.

We have to stand up and defend ourselves. They have rocks, we have weapons, we cannot be afraid to speak to them. If we let them act and we do nothing, they will destroy us. They are saying that we have no right to this country, it was Dessalines who had fought. I will let them know that Petion had fought also and we are the descendants of Petion. Our position is that the struggle must begin. If we cannot put Jovenel Moise as our President to defend us, we will reduce this country to ashes.

All the wealth that we acquired in this country, we have sent it abroad for safekeeping – [gasp from radio host]. We have assets in other countries, we have houses everywhere so that we are not afraid of fighting against them. We are not going to show our faces when we fight them. We will pay them, those among them – because they are a bunch of hungry, a bunch of “chimeres”, a bunch of dirty people. With the money we have made, we can again pay them to fight among themselves so that we can take control of this country.

This country belongs to us; we are the descendants of the French who died and left it for us. They must go back to Africa. We have control of the economy, we have control of the commerce, we have control over the country, we have to take control also of the politics. Politics is the power of weapons, we are not afraid to take up arms; we have to fight against them.

I heard that they have said that they will reduce the country to ashes, I have started to send all my children abroad. I told them to go, I will stay because if I don’t stay it will not be good; I have to stay and fight against them too. I will not be in the streets fighting against them; with the money I have I will take a little group from among the “chimeres” to make them fight against each other so that we can destroy them one after the other.

Okay, these people do not belong to the land of Haiti, they are Africans, they have to return to Africa where they are in the midst of hunger, bunch of dirty people, bunch of filthy, bunch of “chimeres”; you understand. And Aristide, again we have to take him and send him away again so that we gain complete control of the country, totally. Whenever this man is in the country, he prevents us from living, you understand what I am telling you. He prevents us from making money the way we should make money. Black people do not need money to live; light-complexioned people who have the capabilities to live have more needs than they do. For them any small amount of grits, rice that they eat, their belly is full and they engage in sexual activities and have babies. You understand what I am saying to you.

We do not have to be afraid, the struggle is for us too; we have more right to the land than they do. We are the direct descendants of white people from France; they came from Africa, they were in slavery. You understand what I am telling you; we do not have to fear them. We will not stand face to face with them to fight, we will utilize their very own. The ones who have been to school you can already see how we buy them off. Any money that you give them and tell them to say any crap on TV and on the radio, they say it. Why are we afraid?

We have to begin to show ourselves. We see Michel Martelly [former president, 2011 – 2016] came out and fought against them for five years. How come we are afraid? Why are we afraid? Okay, I am trying to utilize Jovenel Moise [Martelly’s handpicked successor] so that I can gain more access to [political] power. They want to destroy us, we are in blood, we are in battle. Each one has to contact another to pass on the message no matter where we are. We are descendants of the French and France stands with us and states that it will give us support. Why are we afraid?

Why are we afraid? We don’t see that in 2004 we had gotten rid of the tramp named Aristide. You cannot see that bombs were dropped on Cite Soleil. We will bomb them again. They took this area, where is it again…? They destroyed it, built little houses on top of little houses in Petionville; we have to destroy this area, drop bombs on them and then we will have our peace. You understand what I am telling you. We have to pass on the message from one to the other, we are not supposed to be afraid.

II see that Acra made a public statement and everyone is all excited. My declaration is more inflamatory; they do not know my name, they do not know who is speaking. We need to pass on the message. The same way that they use the media to scare us, we need to speak to them also. They are a bunch of dirty people, barefoot people. Even when they go to school they remain stupid because we can utilize them in any way we want to. Why are we afraid of them? We have money; people who have money have monopoly over everything. What is going on, you don’t see how much money we have spent to make Jovenel Moise president; about $50 million to make Jovenel Moise president. We can do anything we want in this country, we are the ones who have the money. What are we afraid of? And we have powerful weapons; why are we afraid?

I am asking all the French descendants in the country to stand up, send their children abroad for the time being to the United States and France, and for us to stand up because we have money. We need to put up our money to fight against Lavalas because we will not allow them to be in power again. We all must stand up, there can be no cowards. If Petion were a coward after we killed Dessalines; wasn’t the country divided into two, Christophe governing in the north, as a “mulatto” Petion was governing in the South. What is it? Didn’t we govern?

Pass on the message by word of mouth. We will put our money together and take over the country. We will kick them out and make Haiti a country of light-complexioned people like the Dominican Republic. We will eliminate the majority of the black people and make the remaining few have relations with “mulattos” so that we have a country with light-complexioned people similar to the Dominican Republic. This bunch of dirty people, we have to chase them out, we have to destroy them okay. Do not be afraid. We will utilize Jovenel Moise, it is our money that will make him president. We will use our money, we will still spend more money so that he can move forward. – [END of voice message]

Commentary by host of Radio Timoun morning show at the end of this re-broadcast, July 2018

Thank you very much, thank you. We have heard what they call class [inaudible]. It is a struggle of classes that he has just expressed; the struggle of classes that he will wage…[recording ends]

Hard Knock Radio is a drive-time Hip-Hop talk show on KPFA (94.1fm @ 4-5 pm Monday-Friday), a community radio station without corporate underwriting, hosted by Davey D and Anita Johnson.

The post How Foreign Influences Impact Haiti’s Future appeared first on KPFA.