Teaching About Haiti. INSTITUTION Ecumenical Program on Central America and the Caribbean, Washington, DC.; Network of Educators on the Americas

Home , Anansi, Boukman Eksperyans, Culture of Haiti, Guede, Henri Namphy, Ibo loa

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AUTHOR Sunshine, Catherine A.; Menkart, Deborah TITLE Teaching about Haiti. INSTITUTION Ecumenical Program on Central America and the Caribbean, Washington, DC.; Network of Educators on the Americas. REPORT NO ISBN-1-878554-10-7 PUB DATE 93 NOTE 33p. AVAILABLE FROMNetwork of Educators on the Americas, 1118 22nd St., N.W., Washington, DC 20037 ($1). PUB TYPE Guides Classroom Use Instructional Materials (For Learner) (051) Guides Classroom Use Teaching Guides (For Teacher)(052)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Colonialism; *Cultural Background; *Cultural Education; Cultural Influences; Folk Culture; Foreign Countries; *Latin American Culture; Latin American History; Learning Activities; Nationalism; Religious Factors; Secondary Education; *Social History; Social Influences; Social Studies IDENTIFIERS Caribbean; *Caribbean History; *Haiti

ABSTRACT Developed for secondary students to place political situations in context, this document uses essays, interviews, songs, literature, and prose to present the culture of Haiti and the history of colonialism, neo-colonialism, and struggles for independence. After a historical overview, a chronology provides key dates in Haitian history. Maps of Haiti and the Caribbean precede two folktales that blend African and European folklore to become part of the cultural heritage of the Haitian people. The tradition of work exchange by the rural Haitians originating from West African roots is explained and illustrated by a story. After describing voodoo and its development as a resistance force in Haiti, data on conditions in Haiti provide statistics on such topics as population trends, life expectancy, illiteracy rate, and infant mortality rate. Six stories illustrate Haitian daily life. Music plays an integral role in the social and religious activities, and four songs and discussion questions provide opportunities for student participation. Seven teaching ideas provide further information on activities. A list of 12 organizations and journals and 26 sources (including videos) for further information on Haiti concludes the guide.(CK)

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BEST COPY AVAILABLE 2 Teaching About Haiti

In the last few months, Haitian refugees have As the Haitian literacy primer says, "Reading and frequently been a lead news story. But the media writing are only one step toward knowledge." What's seldom provides enough background to help students the next step? Listen to Haitian music. Invite a speaker develop an educated opinion about the roots of this to your classroom. Write letters to the editor about crisis. what you have learned about Haiti. Organize a pre- Teaching About Haiti was developed to give sentation during Black History Month. Get involved secondary school students the information they need in the national campaign to restore democracy to to place the current political situation in context. Haiti. Visit Haiti. And more. Haiti's history and culture are presented The editors through essays, interviews, songs, welcome feed- literature and prose. back from teach- This publication is an in- ers and students troduction to Haiti. On the who have used this inside back cover, we have publication. Which recommended books and sections proved most videos to further your effective? Whatshould study of Haiti, the first be modified, deleted or Black republic in the added to future editions? Americas. Please contact us at the NECA address below.

Knowing how to read and write is one step toward knowledge. From the Goute &JO-este of Salt Mission Alpha Literacy Primer, 1986.

A production of the Network of Educators on the Ameri- Laurie Richardson, Minor Sinclair, Nicole Smith-Leary, Bea cas (NECA) and the Ecumenical Program on Central Rief, Frances Nolting Temple, Claudette Werleigh. Many America and the Caribbean (EPICA) as part of the others assisted along the way. Thank you. Caribbean Connections series for the Haiti Solidarity ©1993, the Network of Educators on the Americas (NECA) Week Coordinating Committee: Americans for and the Ecumenical Program on Central America and the Aristide, American Friends Service Committee, Chi- Caribbean (EPICA) cago Coalition for Democracy in Haiti, Clergy and Readings and photos separately copyrighted. Laity Concerned, Pax Christi USA, Quixote Center/ Haiti Reborn, and the Washington Office on Haiti. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted with- Introductions, history, and editing by: out prior permission of the publishers, except by instructors Catherine A. Sunshine and Deborah Menkart for the specific purpose of classroom use. Research and editing: Erica Gilbertson This publication funded in part by the Arca Foundation. Photographs: Mev Puleo/lmpact Visuals, Donna De Cesare/ ISBN: 1-878554-10-7 Impact Visuals Desk-top publishing: Deborah Menkart Additional copies of Teaching About Haiti can be requested Special assistance with layout: Jim Reese from NECA, 111822nd Street, NW, Washington, DC 20037, Cover photo of young boy at the Missionary Brothers of (202) 429-0137 at minimal cost. Call for prices. Charity Home for Young Boys, aid Soleil. Courtesy of Additional information on the Haiti Solidarity Week Cam- Mev Puleo/Impact Visuals, © 1992. paign available from: The Quixote Center, PO Bol Assistance with research, critiquing, typing and proofread- 5206, Hyattsville, MD 20782, (301) 699-0042. ing: Marx Aristide, Jennifer Bauduy, Judith Bauduy, Dan Order an organizing packet on Haiti and other materials from: Behrman, Serge Bellegarde, Lily Cérat, Veronica Fern, Clergy and Laity Concerned, 340 Mead Road, Decatur, Erica Gilbertson, Matt Grossman, Doug Hess, George Jacobs, GA 30030, (404) 377-1983.

2 )I Haiti in History

Once a land in which all its inhabitants were well- The Conquest fed, Haiti is now the poorest country in the Western ColumbuF landed on Ayiti in 1492 and claimed Hemisphere. One out of five children die before the age of five. Life expectancy is 54 years. Human rights the island for Spain. He renamed it. La Isla Española abuses against those who criticize the government are (Hispaniola). It became the first Spanish settlement in unimaginably cruel. Why are people suffering? How the Americas. are the people of Haiti trying to change thesecondi- Columbus and his sailors hoped to profit from tions? How can we help ? Haiti's history of colonialism, their "discovery." They mistakenly believed gold neo-colonialism and the struggles for independence could be found in abundance on the island. The can help you to explore these questions. settlers fOrced the Tainos to labor in unproductive Haiti and its next-door neighbor, the Dominican gold mines, and massacred them when they tried to Republic, share the second-largest island in the Car- resist. The persecution of the Tams was cruel in the ibbean. Before the arrival of the Europeans, the island extreme. A Spanish priest who accompanied Colum- was a homeland of the Tafrio Arawak, a native people bus, Bartolomé de las Casas, reported that "the con- originally from South America. They called it Ayiti, quistadors would test their swords and manly strength Or "mountainous land." on captured Indians and place bets on the slicing off of heads or the cutting of bodies in half with one The Tainos blow." Ayiti, also called Quisqueya, was a center of After initially welcoming the visitors, the Talno Tamil() Arawak culture in the Caribbean. It was divided tried bravely to defend themselves. There were many into live main cacicasgos or kinship nations. The battles in which the Talno routed the Spanish, but Tams lived in small villages along coastal areas and European cannons, steel swords, horses and dogs river deltas. Each village was governed by a cacique, finally overwhelmed the Tafrio resistance. Diseases or chief, who could be a man or woman. like smallpox also killed many of the native people. The Tainos' f(xxl came from hunting, fishing and Within 50 years of Columbus' arrival, the Taino agriculture, and the population was well-fed. Every- Arawak population of Hispaniola had been virtually one in the society worked, even the caciques.Coop- destroyed. eration and sharing were basic to the Tainos' way of The Africans life. Each village had a central plaza called a baley, used for 'lb replace the Tainos' labor, festivals, ball games, and re- the Spanish began bringing in ligious ceremonies. Africans to work as slaves. But If you had visited Ayiti lispaniola,it turned out, had jast prior to the Spanish con- 1 ittle gold, and most of the Span- quest, you would have seen a ish eventually moved on to lush and fertile land. The is- search for riches in Mexico and land was covered with for- Peru. ests teeming with plant and Spanish neglect of animal life. There were so Hispaniola opened the way for many birds that flocks flying French and British pirates who overhead would darken the used the western part of the is- sun. land as a base. Eventually, per-

The Anavalc carved figures in human and animal shapes from stone shel4 tiy>og gold and other materials. Tliefigures, called =Ls , were used to drive away evil spirits and ensure a good harvest. 3 4 manent French settlements were established. Spain ceded the western third of Hispaniola to France in 1697. France called its new colony St. Domingue. The French imported at least half a million Afri- cans to work on sugar, coffee, cotton and indigo plantations. Under French rule, St. Domingue became the most valuable colony in the Caribbean, producing more sugar than all the British Caribbean islands put together. This wealth was based on brutal slavery, administered by corrupt French military officials. Many Africans died after only a few years in St. Domingue; they were quickly replaced by new arrivals. The Haitian Revolution After nearly a century of suffering, in 1791, the slaves on St. Domingue rose up in rebellion. Unlike slave revolts elsewhere, the St. Domingue slaves Touaseint Louverture, 1743-1803 successfully overthrew their masters and the entire in part to Vodou, based on African religious beliefs, slave system. They won the colony's independence which bonded slaves of different ethnic backgrounds from France and established the world 's first indepen- together (See Vodou: A Haitian Way of Life). Sec- dent Black republic, Haiti. ond, the French Revolution of 1789 upset the balance Several factors contributed to the slaves' success. of power in France's colonies and triggered slave Most important were the unity and rebellious spirit of rebellions all over the Caribbean. the St. Domingue slaves themselves. This was linked The leadership of Toussaint Louverture was a "The slaves destroyed [the plantations] third critical factor. A former slave, Toussaint was a brilliant military and political strategist. Under his tirelessly. Like the peasants in the Jacquirie or the Ludite wreckers, they were seeking their leadership, the slaves defeated Spanish and British salvation in the most obvious way, the destruction invasions and forced France to aboiish slavery. of whatthey knewwas the cause of their suffering; Napoleon Bonaparte's French troops finally cap- and they had suffered much. They knew that as tured Toussaint and exiled him to France, where he long as these plantations stood, their lot would be died. But the army of former slaves, led by the Black to labour on them until they dropped. From their general Jean-Jacques Dessalines, went on to defeat masters they had known rape. torture, the French forces. On January 1, 1804, Dessalines degradation, and, at the slightest provocation, declared independence. The new stite was baptized death. They returned in kind... Nowthat they held Haiti, from the Arawak name for the igland. power, they did as they had been taught. The Two Worlds of !IWO And yet they were surprisingly moderate... They did not maintain this revengeful spirit for TheWestern, slave-holding powers viewed the long. The cruelties of property and privilege are Haitian Revolution as a dangerous example of slave &ways more ferocious than the revenges of revolt. They isolated the new Black republic, cutting poverty and opprecsion. For the one aims at off trade and refusing diplomatic recognition. France perpetuating resented injustice, the other is merely recognized Haiti in 1838 in exchange for a large a momentary passion soon appeased... in all the payment which placed Haiti heavily in debt. The records of that time there is no single instance of United States did not recognize Haiti until 1862, after such fiendish torture as burying white men up to the slave-holding states seceded from the Union. the necR and smearing the holes in their face to This isolation had some positive effects: it al- attract insects, or blowing them up with gun lowed a vibrant and original Haitian culture to de- powder, or any of the thousand and one bestiali- velop and flourish. During this period, Haitian Creole ties to which they had been subjected..." (or Kreyol) emerged as a language in its own right, From: James, C.L.R. The Black Jacobins. drawing elements from French and from Mikan 4 5 languages. sure that European commercial interests did not com- On the other hand, Haiti's ten years of war, pete. They especially feared the extensive German followed by its political isolation, concentrated power commercial involvement in Haiti. Using Haitian po- in the hands of the Haitian military. Many of the litical instability as a justification, U.S. Marines in- Haitian presidents who followed Dessalines were vaded Haiti in 1915. They stayed for19years. generals of the slave army. Their rule was dictatorial The U.S. imposed martial law and took control of and often corrupt. Haiti's finances. It rewrote the Haitian constitution to French colonial rule had divided the population permit foreigners to own land. U.S. investment in by race, and these divisions persisted. Few whites Haiti tripled between1915and1930.Under U.S. were left in the country after the revolution.But military rule, roads, telephones and electricity were rivalry continued between Black Haitians and those extended to some parts of Haiti. But many of the roads of mixed race, known as mulattoes. Many mulattoes actually were built by Haitians who were forced to had owned property before the revolution, and they work without pay. This forced labor, along with the remained a privileged class. But now, Black officers racist attitudes of many U.S. soldiers and administra- from Toussaint's army competed forpower and wealth. tors, caused widespread resentment. The most important division, however, was not AHaitian resistance leader, Charlemagne P6ralte, between Blacks and mulattoes. It was between a tiny, led an army of peasant zebels who fought against the privileged minority (which included Haitians of both occupation. But the U.S. military put down the revolt, races) and the majority of the populdon, the former killing thousands of Haitians. Charlemagne P6ralte slaves. The elite group lived in the towns, especially was assasinated and his body put on gruesome dis- the capital, Port-au-Prince. It controlled the govern- play. ment, the military, and commerce. The majority of The United States finally pulled out of Haiti in Haitians lived in the countryside, fanning small plots 1934, leaving behind a legacy of anti-American feel- of land. They grew coffee for export, and crops such ing It also left a U.S.-trained military force, the as corn, beans and yams to eat. Thesefarmers paid Haitian National Guard, which replaced the remnants taxes which went into the pockets of government of Tou.ssaint's army. The Guard became the founda- officials. But the government did almost nothing to tion of a new Haitian army, which involved itself in help the rural areas, which lacked roads, schools, politics and held virtual veto power over election electricity or running water. results. In1957,Francois Duvalier, a doctor, was These two worlds of Haitithe towns and the elected president with the Haitian army's and the U.S. countrysidewere culturally separate as well. Town- government's support. dwellers used the French language for the affairs of The Duvalier Regimes government and commerce. But most rural people spoke Haitian Creole. They were shut out of the Instead of keeping his promise to help the Black political process, which was carried out in a language majority, "Papa Doc" Duvalier beilt a family dictator- they did not speak. ship. He killed, imprisoned or exiled thousands of Town people often tried to imitate a European people who he thought might threaten his rule. To lifestyle. In the countryside, by contrast, life was eliminate possibleorganized opposition, he destroyed shaped hy Vodou and other African-based traditions. or took over political parties, student organizations, These included a rich folklore of stories, legends, trade unions, and the press. proverbs and songs (see Folktales). Customs of shar- Duvalier created an armed militia loyal to him- ing and self-help, such as the konbit, helped peasvnt self, the Tontons Macoutes. In 1964 he declared communities survive in the face of government indif- himself President-for-Life. Haiti would have no more ference (see The Konbit). elections. Papa Doc died in1971after handing the presi- U.S. Occupation dency to his 19-year-old son lean-Claude. The younger In the late 1800s, U.S. business interests such as Duvalier, sometimes called "Baby Doc," executed sugar and fruit growers were expandingsouth, into the fewer political opponents than his father. But he Caribbean. U.S. trade with Haiti was igowing, and continued to use arbitrary arrest, torture and imprison- U.S. officials and business leaders wanted to make ment. some donors to reduce their aid. But the United States continued its support. U.S. officials knew that Duvalier was brutal; but his anti-commtmism made him ap- pear a useful ally. This policy protected the profits of U.S. businesses with invest- ments in Haiti, but it did not benefit the majority of U.S. citizens. And by helping to keep a cruel dictator in power, Wash- ington increased the suffering of the Hai- tian people. Duvalier Overthrown From the late 1970s onward, various factors weakened Jean-Claude Duvalier's Papa and Baby Doc hold on power. Foreign governments, Haiti under the Duvaliers was marked by ex- including the U.S. under President Carter, urged tremes of poverty and wealth, as it still is today. Per Duvalier to ease repression. In response, Duvalier capita income was only $377 in 1985; most Haitians allowed some political parties, trade unions, human earned even less. The Duvalier family's lbrtune was rights groups and independent journalists to function. estimated to be $500 million or more, most of it With the election of President Reagan in 1980, obtained through comiption. Government officials, however, anti-communism again replaced human army officers, coffee exporters and landowners lived rights as the basis of U.S. policy. Twenty-four days in luxuriou.s hillside \nilwith fountains and swim- after Reagan's election, the Duvalier government ming pools. In the slums below, poor people crowded arrested more than 200 human rights workers, law- into wretched shacks crisscrossed by open sewers. yers, trade unionists and journalists. The crackdown The unequal distribution of wealth in Haiti con- temporarily smashed the democracy movement, but tributed to environmental destruction. Rich landown- Haitians' hopes for freedom had been raised. ers, the state, and foreign companies controlled the Economic conditions became steadily worse for best calm lands. As a result, poor farmers had to clear most I Jai ti ans. In 1978 a disease called African swine land on steep mountain slopes to plant their crops. As fever killed some Haitian pigs. To stop the spread of trees were uprooted, erosion stripped the soil away. the disease, U.S. agencies supervised the slaughter of Tree.s were also cut to make chareeal, the only fuel the entire Haitian pig population, including healthy poor families could afford. The hills became barren hogs. For many rural families, the pigs had repre- and dusty. sented their only cash savings. Their loss left rural Poverty forced hundreds of thousands of rural Haitians worse off than ever before. Haitians to migrate to Port-au-Prince in search of Some wealthy Haitians were also becoming dis- work. Others were recruited to cut sugar cane in the satisfied with Baby Doc. Quarrels among the power- neighboring Dominican Republic, under conditions ful weakened Jean-Claude Duvalier's control. resembling slavery. Thousands more fled to foreign The opposition movement that finally toppled countriesthe United States, Canada and France, Duvalier was not an armed insurgency. Nor was it led among others. An estimated one million Haitians now by politicians. Rather, the driving energy came from live outside Haiti. young Haitiansstudents, young working adults, Aid from foreign governments and international schoolchildrenangered by the suffering under lending agencies provided much of the revenue for Duvalier. Duvalier's government. Much of it disappeared into They were encouraged by new forces within the the pockets of corrupt officials. Foreign churches and Catholic Church. The Catholic bishops had long charities provided most public services like clinics supported the Duvalier government, but many priests, and schools. nuns and lay Catholics did not. They lived and worked The Haitian government's corru tion rom ted with the poor, and saw Haiti's problems through thzir

7 BEST COPY AVAILABLE eyes. These religious workers helped to organize the killings and torture they had committed. ti legliz, or little church. In these base Christian When people tried to protest peacefully, soldiers communities, Haitians came together to pray and opened hie. Persons who spoke out against the gov- discuss the country's problems. Church workers who erningcouncil were arrested, or simply "disappeared." spoke out against the government were jailed and The new leaders represented the same groups even tortured. As a result, members of the Catholic which had held power all along: wealthy civilians, hierarchy gradually turned against the regime. high-ranking military men, Tontons Macoutes. They Anti-government protests swept through Haiti in did not want to lose their privileges. Above all, they 1985. Encouraged by the Church, tens of thousands of did not want any investigation into past human rights people marched in processions, singing "We would abuses. Haitians began speaking of the new govern- rather die standing up than live on our knees !" During ment as "Duvalierism without Duvalier." protests in the town of Gonaives, soldiers shot four United States support helped keep the governing schoolchildren dead. This was the turning point. council in power. Soon after Duvalier's departure, the Rebellion against the government spread through the U.S. sent tear gas, truncheons and rubber bullets to countryside, finally reaching the capital. help the Haitian army "keep order." The gear was Faced with widespread revolt, U.S. officials de- used against unarmed civilians, and Haitians' anger at cided that Duvalier had to go. Two months after the the United States grew. Gonaives shootings, the U.S. government fmally cut U.S. officials argued that the governing council off economic aid to the Haitian government. Without U.S. bapport Duvalier could not stay in power. On Union Organizing After Duvalier February 7, 1986, a U.S. Air Force jet flew Duvalier I cannotfind wordsto adequately explain to and his family to exile in France. you the true conditions under which we are work- Thousands of Haitians took to the streets in joyous ing. Let me just give you a few examples. Workers celebrations. Afterwards, "Operation Uproot" sought at Fabnac arein ternperatArres of 35-45' C [95-113' to wipc out all traces of the Duvalierist past. Through- F]. We breathe plastic and chemical materials out Haiti, people organized to force Duvalier support- without any protection. The noise surpasses all = from public office. Some Tontons Macoutes were normal decibels. We receivel 5 gourdes [$3] for lynched by angry mobs; most escaped into hiding. each day's work... Duvallerlem Without Duvalier On March 11th, 1986, we wrote a letter which For the first time in decades, people could discuss we sent to management, the Ministry of Social politics openly. They could form organizations not Affairs and all the press in the country. We told controlled by the government. Hundreds of groups them that we workers at Fabnac had formeda sprang* including fame's' associations, human rights unionto ask for better working conditons and to groups, youth clubs and neighborhood committees. claim our rights, as one Is supposed to do in a Through these organizations, Haiti's poor sought democratic society. . major changes in their country. All Haitians, they ...To our great astonishm ent,they fired all those argued, should have access to food, jobs, housing, who had joined the union.The managem entformed land and education. The elected leaders should serve its own union with three members, all heads of the people in a constitutiorr democracy. departments in the factory...Under the pretext that These expectations were soon disappointed. Af- those who had been fired the previous day would ter Duvalier left, U.S. officials helped organize a hasty return to create trouble, three truckloads of Leop- transfer of power to a governing muncil composed of ards and Cassernes Dessalines military arrived at men who hed been closely associated with Duvalier. Mews with automatic armsmachine guns, Uzis, The council did not enact any economic or land M16s and galliles. reform benefiting the poor. The minimum wage re- We realize thatwe have not become free since mained at $3.00 per day. When workers tried to form the 7th of February .. unions they were fired, just as in the old days under - a worker In Port-au-Prince at Fabnac, a company that Duvalier. The council allowed notorious Duvalier m adetennle shoes and Fab detergent. The worker would not officials to leave the country rather than face trials for reveal hie name for fear of reprisal. March 23, 1986. Photo: Mike Kamber. A victim 04 attack at a pollingstalion. One Sunday morning in 1988, .7" Aristide's parishioners were in church '74: 7-44.4440.4 .1041b singing "Let the Holy Spirit descend on us. We have a mission for Haiti." Suddenly armed men blasted thechurch with machine gun fire. At least 13 churchgoers lay dead and 80 were wounded. The church burned to the ground. Aristide's message also alienated the top levels of the Catholic hierarchy. A month after the church was attacked, the Vatican ordered Aristide to leave

I Haiti. In response, Haitians took to the would hold elections soon. But as the election date streets in huge demonstrations of support for Aristide. neared, it became clear that powerful groups in Haiti They blocked the road to the airport, and Aristide did not want voting to take place. Death squads remained in Haiti. roamed the capital, dumping bodies in the street. When the military rulers announced that elections Arsonists torched the headquarteis of the electoral would be held in 1990, Aristide announced his candi- commission, the company that printed the ballots, and dacy, calling the campaign Operation Lavalas. He the homes and offices of presidential candidates. said, "Alone we are weak; together we are strong. All On Nov. 29, 1987election daytruckloads of together we are a deluge." He promised a government soldiers and Tontons Macoutes raced from one poll- based on participation, honesty, and justice. ing station to the next, strafing lines of voters with On Dec. 16, 1991, Haitians turned out by the machine gun fire. By 9 a.m. dozens of people lay dead. thousands to vote for Lavalas. Aristide won with 67% The election was canceled. of the vote.s--a 1 a ndsl ide. A rival candidate backed and The next two years saw a succession of leaders financed by the United States, Marc Bazin, received installed by army-controlled "elections" and coups. only 13% of the votes. International observer teams The vibrant democratic movement of youth, peasant pronounced the election free and fair. groups and human rights organizations wasforced Ilaiti now had a democratically elected president underground. Many of its members were jailed, ur for the first time in its history. He faced a daunting forced to leave the country. task. Expectations wcrc high: Haitians hoped the new government would quickly dismantle the Duvalierist Laval as system, stimulate One of the few who dared speak out publiclyeconomic develop- against the regime was Father Jean-Bertrand Arist id e, ment, and provide parish priest of a small church in one of the capital's everyone in Haiti most desperate slums. Fr. Aristide worked with the with a decent qual- An nou kole zepad poorest Haitians. He founded an orphanage called ity of life. pou yon Ayiti miyo. Lafanmi Selavi (The Family Is Life) where homeless Initsseven boys could study, play and work in a community. months in office, Fr. Aristide preached fiery sermons about Haiti's Aristide's govern- need for a lavalas- a cleansing flood to rid the ment made signifi- country of corruption and make it new. He talked cant progress.It about the aimy's brutality, and about how the rich in started the process Haiti took advantage of the poor. He spoke about how of reforming the army and bringing it foreign interests had controlled Haiti throughout much Let's put our shoulders of its history. under civilian con- together for a better Held Aristide's message angered members of the pow- trol. The notorious United Nations' Mission of Observers Haiti 1990 erful class. Numerous attempts were made on his life. Tontons Macoutes 8 Aristide: !n theParisfl of the Poor

Father Jean-Bertrand Aristide is it not be wisermore Chris- president of Haiti currently in exile. A tianfor the pastor, while he leading member of the Ti Lcgliz (Little feeds thase children, to help the Church) movement, he has spent his peasant learn to organize? Isn't life ministering to Haiti' s poorest com- this a better way to stop the numities. Fr. Aristide gained the re- children's cries of hunger for- spect and love of many Haitians by ever? As long as the pastor keeps speaking out fearlessly about the injus- feeding the peasant's children tice in Haitian society. But his message without helpingdeliver the peas- angered those who profit from the.sys- ant from poverty, the peasant i tem, and there have been several attempts to assassinate him. Here Fr. will never escape the humiliat- Aristide explains why the church should ing fate to which he has been help organize for change. assigned by the corrupt system. In Haiti, it is not enough to heal When the pastor only fees the wounds, for every da y another wound children, he is participa'ing in opens up. It is not enough to give the poor tbod one that corrupt system, allowing it to endure. When the day, to buy them antibiotics one day, to teach them to pastor feeds the children and helps organize the read a few sentences or to write a few words. Hypoc- peasants, he is refusing the corrupt system, bringing risy. The next day they will be starving again, feverish about its end. Which behavior is more Christian, again, and they will never be able to buy the books that more evangelical? hold the words that might deliver them. Beans and rice I chose the second course, along with many of are hypocrisy when the pastor gives them only to a my colleagues... I chose to help organize youth, I chosen few among his own flock, and thousands and chose to preach deliverance from poverty, I chose to thousands of others starve. encourage my congregation to hope and believe in What good does it do the peasant when the pastor their own powers. For me it is quite simple: I chose feeds his children? For a moment, the peasant's life over death. I preached life to my congregation, anguish is allayed. For one night, he can sleep easier, not life as we live it in Haiti, a life of mud, dank like the pastor himself. For one night, he is grateful to cardboard walls, garbage, darkness, hunger, dis- the pastor, because that night he doe,s not have to hear ease, unemployment, and oppression. But life as a the whimpers of his children, starving. But thesame decent [XXX' man should live it, in a dry house with free foreign rice the pastor feeds to the peasant's a floor and a real roof, at a table with food, free from children is being sold on the market for less than the curable illness, working a meaningful job or tilling farmer's own produce. The very food that the pastor the fields to his or her profit, proud. feeds the peasant's children is keeping the peasant in 'lite only way to preach a decent poor man's life poverty, unable himself to feed his children. And in I laiti is to preach self-defense, defense from the among thosc who sell the foreignrice are the big system of violence and corruption that ruins our own landholders who pay the peasant fifty cents a day to and our children's lives. I hope and trust that I have work on their fields; among these who profit from the preached self-defense to my people. I would feel food the pastor gives the children are the same men myself a hypocrite otherwise. And I would rather die who are keeping the peasant in utter poverty, poverty than be a hypocrite, rather die than betray my people, without hope. rather die than leave them behind in the parish of the Would it not bc betterand I ask the question in pom. all humility, in its fullest simplicityfor the peas.tt Excerpt from:Aristide, J-B. (1990.) In the Parish of the Poor to organize with others in his situation and forcethe Writings from Haiti. New York: Orbis Books. largelandholders to increase t he peasants' pay? Would Photo: © 1992, Mev Puleo/Impact Vlsuals. and rural police were reined in. Human rights abuses Port-au-Prince hantytou resident. "Now we feel and street crime dropped dramatically. hungry after we've eaten, because we have lost him." The administration attacked government corrup- Within a month of the coup, refugees began tion, bloated payrolls and drug running. The economy pouring out of Haiti. During the seven months of began to grow again. Aristide quickly gained the Aristide's administration only 1,275 Haitian boat confidence of foreign governments, and 15 interna- people had been picked up by the U.S. Coast Guard. tional donors pledged $500 million in grants and loans That number exploded to almost 40,000 in the first 15 for Haiti's development. Most important of all, the months of the military regime. After initially holding mood in Haiti changed to ch.& of hope. The flow of the refugees in a makeshift camp, the Bush Adminis- "boat people" leaving Haiti slowed to a trickle, as tration finally ordered that all Haitians picked up at sea Haitians began to see a future in their own country. be returned to Haiti. Even those who feared for their The Coup: Starting Again lives in Haiti would be given no chance to state their case for asylum in the United States. The 1991 election had installed a popular leader, Bush Administation officials wanted the flow of but it had not changed the underlying structures of the refugees to stop, but they were unwilling to address society. Corrupt anny officers and wealthy civilians the cause of the problemthe illegal military regime still held the real power. President Aristide's vow to and human rights abuses in Haiti The United States root outcorruption and reform the military challenged joined Latin American countries in imposing a trade the power and privileges of these groups. On Sept. 29, embargo on Haiti, but the embargo was weakly 1991, the army staged a bloody coup d'etat. Aristide enforced, and it failed to persuade the military to give was forced into exile. up power. U.S. media has been subject to the influ- The military set up a series of puppet regimes to ence of public relations firms hired by the de facto provide a facade of civilian rule. In 1992 Marc Bazin, government to down play human rights abuses and the U.S. favorite, was installed as prime minister, but discredit President Aristide. the armed forces remained in control. As 1993 begins, intense negotiations are under The military unleashed a reign of terror aimed at way to find a solution to the Haitian crisis. The silencing and destroying the democratic movement. incoming Clinton Administration has promised to An estimated 3,000 people were killed in the twelve change the Bush policy in regard to refugees. Whether months after the coup. Gunmen rode through poor the new President will also take strong measures to communities which were known to support Aristide, enable Aristide to return to Haiti remains to be seen. firing randomly. The rural police chiefs were installed For the vast majority of Haitians, the restoration once again to terrorize the countryside. of the democratically elected Aristide government is Others, fearing for their lives, have gone into the only acceptable alternative. But other changes hiding. Resistance to the military regime continues, must take place in Haiti. High-ranking officers who but it has gone largely underground. Public meetings were linked to Duvalier, who committed human Coast Guard Interdictions of Haitian Refugees rights abuses, or who were involved in coup d'etats Monthly Totals for 1991 through May 31, 1992 must be replaced by officers whose pasts are clean. Theeinees The military must be brought under civilian control. A new national police force, not connected to the army, will have to be formed. And major changes are needed in the judiciary system to sever it from its Duvalierist past. Mast Haitians, meanwhile, are struggling just to

2 survive in a country where this fequires tremendous

lo. U.K Mot Aro Moy I.,Jul Avg Sep Gel eo nits I. 141. Ap. May courage and ingenuity (see Haitian Voices). Hopes L. Aristide administration Post Aristide for rapid change have died. But Haitians still have a are forbidden and military ies are everywhere, even vision of change, of a democratic society that permits inside the schools. The dominant mood in Haiti now a decent life for all its people. Haiti will not know is anger and despair. "With Aristide, we never felt peace until the patterns of the past are broken and this hungry even when we were starving," explained one vision becomes a reality.

10 KEY DATES IN HAITIANHISTORY

pre-1492 Homeland of the Taino Arawak people. Landis low pay and dangerous working conditions :ak,st' very fertile. Taino Arawaksocio-economic system wryly repressed. provides food for all the about one-tnillkm Tainos. 1971 Francois Duvalier dies after naming his son kall. 1492 Christopher Columbus lands and claims theisland for Claude as President-forLife. Spain. Spanish build settlement of La Navidad. 1972 First Haitian "boat people" arrive in Florida. 1492-1550 Arawaks enslaved by Spaniards; forced labor 1980 Crackdown on opposition groups; 200 jota Doh sts, and disease destroy Arawak population. lawyers and human rights workers arrested. 15203 Spanish begin importing African slaves toreplace 1981 U.S. and international agencies slaughter pigs in Arawaks' labor. Haiti following outbreak ol African swine teem 1629 French buccaneers establish base, leading toFrench 1984 Anti-government riots in major Haitian towns. settlement of western Hispaniola. 1985 Soldiers shoot four schoolchildran during No 1697 Treaty of Ryswick divides Hispaniola into St. Domingue tests. (French) and Santo Domingo (Spanish). 1986 Duvalier leaves with family for exile in France other 1750-90 St. Domingue produces more sugar than any 1987 National Governing Council formed, headed hy Caribbean colony, with labor of at least half a million Lieutenant General Henri Namphy. slaves. 1987 National election held Nov. 29, 1987. Soldiers 1791 Slave uprising led by Boukman. and Tonlons Macowe massacre voters; election is 1793 Slavery abolished in St. Domingue. cancelled. 1798 Slave army led by Toussaint Lo uvert uredefeats British 1988 Army holds fraudulent election; Leslie Manigat invasion force. becomes figurehead president. Coup d'etats put nen. Namphy in power, followed by Lt. Gencial 1802Napoleon Bonaparte sends French troops toSt. Domingue to restore slavery. Tou.ssaint is captured. prosper Avril. 1803 Army of former slaves, led by Dessalines,defeats 1990 Haiti successfully holds first democratic elections. Aristide wins with 67% of the popular vote against French forces. a well-financed candidate backedby the United 1804 Dessalines proclaims Haiti's independence. States. 1806 Dessalines assassinated. 1991 February: Aristide is inaugurated. The economy, 1807-20 Haiti divided into northern kingdomruled by Ilenri education and human rights begin to improve. Flow Christophe and southern republic governedby of refugees slows to a trickle. Alexandre Petion. September: Army seizes power in coup d'etat; 1820 Reunification under Jean-Paul Boyer. Aristide goes into exile. Severe repression is unleashed against democratic and grass-roots groups. 1838 France recognizes Haitian independencein exchange Thoustu als of refugees begin fleeing I miii inboats. for large fmancial indemnity. October: 34 member nations of the Organization ol 1822-44 Haiti occupies Spanish Santo Domingo, American States condemn the coup, call tor Aristide's 1862 United States recognizes 1 laiti. return and a trade embargo against theillegal mili- 1915 United States occupies Haiti. tary regime. 1915-19 Charlemagne Peralte leads peasantresistance to 1992 May: President Bu.sh orders U.S. CoastGuard to occupation; captured and assasinated in 1919. intercept all Haitians leaving the island in boatsand return them to Haiti. 1934 U.S. occupation withdrawn. July: Marc Bazin, who won only 13% of the popu- 1957 Francois Duvalier elected president. lar vote in 1991, is sworn in as prime minister 1964 Francois Duvalier proclaims himselfPresident-for- September: Firs' anniversary of the coup. Piesident Life. Aristide addresses the United Nations CencialAs- 1970-80 s Shift from agriculture to assemblyindastry such sembly. 50.000 people march in New liorP toshow as tennis shoes andbaseballs. 85% of profit from support for his return to Haiti. industry goes to the United States. Efforts torotest II 12 usatO STATIII

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12 BESTIZPVMUNI' 3 Haitian Folktales

In West Africa, storytelling was a richly devel- Many Haitian folktales center on two charac- oped art. Villagers would gather around a fire at ters, Uncle Bouki and Ti Malice. Uncle Bouki is a night to hear one of their neighborsperhaps an laughable bumpkinfoolish, boastful and greedy. old woman or mantell favorite tales. Many of Ti Malice is his opposite, a smart character full of these involved animal characters, such as the spider tricks. These same qualities are found combined in Anansi. Stories often told of a practical joke or Anansi the spider, the hero of many Caribbean trick,or sought to explain how a certain thing folktales. In Haiti, they are divided between the two began. characters of Uncle Bouki and Ti Malice. Africans transported to the Caribbean, includ- Haiti 's oral tradition also includes many other ing Haiti, brought their folk traditions with them. types of stories, proverbs, riddles, songs and games. These blended with elements of European folklme Storytelling in Haiti is a performance art. The to become part of the cultural heritage of Caribbean storyteller uses ..'..!fferent voices for each charar;ter peoples. in the story, and often sings a song as part of the narrative.

UNCLE BOUKI GETS WHEE-Al

Uncle Bouki went down to the city to market, to sell some yams, and while he was there he got hungry. He saw anold man squatting by the side ofthe road, eating something. The old man was enjoy- ing his food tremendously, and Bouki's mouth watered. Bouki tipped his hat and said to the old man, "Where can I get some of whatever you are eating?" But the old man was deaf. He didn't hear a wordBouki said. Bouki asked him then, "What do you call that food?" Just then the old man bit into a hot pepper, and he said loudly, "Whee-ai!" Bouki thanked him and went into the market. He went everywhere asking for five Bouki reached in and took out a potato. "That's centimes worth of whee-ai. The people only laughed. no whee-ai," he said. He reached in and took out a Nobody had any whee-ai. pineapple. "That's no whee-ai," Bouki said. He reached He went home thinking about whee-ai. He met Ti in and took out oranges. "That's no whee-ai," he said. Malice on the way. Ti Malice listened to him and said, Then he reached way to the bottom and grabbed "I will get you some whee-ai." cactus leaves. The needles stuck into his hand. He Malice went down and got some cactus leaves. He jumped into the air. He shouted, "Whee-ai !" put them in a sack. He put some oranges on topof the "That's your whee-ai," Malice said. cactus leaves. He put a pineapple on top. Then a Reprintedfran Hardd Courlander,The Drum and the Hoe: Life potato. Then he brought the sack to Bouki. and Lore of the Haitian People(Univ. of California Press, 1960).

.1 4 THE PRESIDENT WANTS NO MORE OF ANANSI

Anansi and all his smart ways irritated the Presi- didn't I tell you I never wanted to sec you again dent so much that the President told him one day: clothed or naked?" "Anansi, I'm tired of your foolishness. Don 't you ever And Anansi said, "My President, I respect what let me see your face again." So Anansi went away you tell me. I'm not from the palace. And a clothed and I'm not na- few days later he saw ked." the President coming down the street, so he This time the Presi- quickly stuck his head dent told him, "Anansi, into the open door of a if I ever catch you again limekiln. on Haitian soil I'll have you shot." Everyone on the street took off their hats So Anansi boarded a when the President boat and sailed to Ja- passed. When he came maica. He bought a pair to the limekiln, he saw of heavy shoes and put Anansi's behind stick- sand in them. Then he ing out put the shoes on his feet and took another boat He became angry back to I laili. When he and said, "Ki bounda sa arrived at Port-au- ki pa salye mwen?" Prince he found the (Whose behind is it that President standing ort doesn't salute me?) the pier. Anansi took his "Anansi," the Presi- head out of the limekiln dentsaidsternly, and said, "Se bounda "Didn't I tell you that if `Nansi ki pa salye ou." I ever caught you on (It's Anansi's behind Haitian soil again I'd which didn'tsalutc you.) have you shot?" An artist's impression of Anansi. The President said "You told me that, angrily, "Anansi, you Papa, and I respected don't respect me." what you said. I went to Jamaica and filled my shoes Anansi said:"President, I was just cloiritz w hat von with sand. So I didn't disobey you because I'm now told me to do. You told me never to let you see my walking on English soil." face." Vocabulary The President said, "Anansi, I've had enough of limekiln: furnaze for making lime by burning your foolishness. I don't ever want to see you again, limestone or shells clothed or naked." Port-au-Prince: capital of Haiti So Anansi went away. But the next day when he English soil: Jamaica was still a colony of England saw the President coming down the street he took his when the story was told clothes off and put a fishnet over his head. Reprinted from: Courlander, H. (1960.) The Drum and the Hoe: When the president saw him he shouted, Anansi, Life and Lore of the Haitian People. University of California Press. Graphic courtesy of P. Hyacinth Galloway.

14 15 The Konbit: WorkingTogether 1

In West Africa, most people live by farming the land. But clearing a fiele4 planting a crop, or bringing in a harvest is often too much work for one family. As a result, many African societies have forms of cooperative labor exchange. When a member of the community needs help with a task, he or she calls for volunteers. Neighbors come together work is to do the job, and the host, for whom the as petforme4 rewards them with food and drink Ihr.. ttg---? There is plenty of singing, joking and feasting, as .3. well as hard work it it After slavery ended in the Caribbean, many Afro-Caribbean people became farmers. They continued the African tradition of work exchange, which goes by different names in different parts of the Caribbean. InJamaica it is called "day work " "work sport" or "digging match." In Tobago it is '11 "lend-hand, " and inTrinidad " gayap. " In Grenada 41".-10 .Nigar it is a "maroon." .0111117=7.1.10 In Haiti the tradition is called a "konbit. "(The .1 %IP French spelling is "coumbite.") It is so important to Haitian rural life that it is evenfeatured in folktales and literature, such af the following ex- clouds bound the summits of the mountains. The cerpt from Haiti's classic novel, Mastersof the countryside emerged from sleep. In Rosanna's yard Dew. Here we see how the konbit tradition has the tamarind tree suddenly let fiy a noisy swirl of been a source of strength and unity for Haitian crows like a handful of gravel. rural communities. Casamajor Beaubrun with his wife, Rosanna, and their two sons would greet them. They would start out In those days when they all had lived in harmony, with "Thank you very much brothers" since a favor is united as the fingers of the hand, they had assembled willingly done: today I work your field, tomorrow you all the neighborhood in collective coumbites for the work mine. Cooperation is the friendship of the poor. harvest or the clearing. A moment later Simeon and Dorisca, with some Ah, what coumbites ! Bienairné mused. twenty husky men, would join the group. Then they At break of day he was there, an earnest leader would all leave Rosanna bustling around in the shade with his group of men, all hard-working farmers: of the tamarind tree among her boilers and big tin pots Dufontain, Beauséjour, cousin Aristhène, Pierrilis, whence the voluble sputtering of boiling water would Dieudonné, brother-in-law Mérilien, Fortune Jean, already be rising. Later Délira and other women wise old Boirond, and the work-song leader, Simidor neighbors would come to lend her a hand. Antoine, a man with a gift for singing... Off would go the men with hoes on shoulder... Into the field of wild grass they went, bare feet in Lowering the fence poles at the entrance to a plot of the dew. Pale sky, cool, the chant of wild guinea hens land where an ox skull for a scarecrow blanched on in the distance. Little by little the shadowy trees, still a pole, they measured their job at aglance--a tangle of laden with shreds of darkness, regained their color. An wild weeds intertwined with creepers. But the soil was oily light bathed them. A kerchief of sulphur-colored Continued on pagel 8.

15 6 Continued from page 15. good and they would brambles were scat- make it as clean as a tered on the ground. table top. This year Beaubrun and his sons Beaubrun wanted to would gather them up try eggplant. and set fire to them. "Line up!" the What had been use- scjuadronchiefs would less weeds, pricldes, yell. bushes entangled with tropicalcreepers, ThenSimidor would change now to Antoine would throw fertilizing ashes in the the strap of his drum over his shoulder. tilled soil. Beaubrun was overjoyed. Bienaimé would take trt his commanding posi- "Thanks,neigh- tion in front of his mn. bors!" he kept repeat- Simidor would beat a ing. brief prelude, and the rhythm would crackle under his "You're welcome, neighbor!" we replied, but fingers. In a single movement, they would lift their hurriedly, fordinnerwas ready. And what a dinner!...In hoes high in the air. Abeam of light would strike each the cauldrons, the casseroles, and the bowls were blade. For a second they would be holding a rainbow. stacked with barbecued pig seasoned hot enough to Simidor's voice rose, husky and strong...The hoes take your breath away, ground corn with codfish, and fell with a single dull thud, attacking the rough hide of rice, too, sun rice with red beans and salt pork, the earth... bananas, sweet potatoes, and yams to throw away! The men went forward in a straight line. They felt Abridged from: Rcumain, J. (1944.) Masters of the Dew Photo: Mev Puleofimpact Visuals Antoine's song in their arms and, like blood hotter than their own, the rapid beat of his drum. Suddenly the sun was up. It sparkled like a dewy foam across the field of weeds. Master Sun! Honor We5,11: African Roots and respect, Master Sun! We black men greet you 1--1.:ikar, cooperative work group has with a swirl of hoes snatching bright sparks of fire with European and American from the sky. There are the breadfruit trees patched ,q 2:ndbarn-building parties; but also has with blue, and the flame of the flamboyant tree long HP Eu wean characteristics. The rhyth- smoldering under the ashes of night, but now bursting .,vnc.l onized useof the hoe,the singing into a flare of petals on the edge of the thorn acacias... rfie musicians who stand to one side There sprang up a rhythmic circulation between the workers, the calling of the the beating heart of the drum and the movements of urn rappels, the special consider- the men. The rhythm became a powerful flux pen- and the concept of long-term etrating deep into Cleir arteries and nourishing their ,:i7 endeavor are all of West African muscles with a new vigor... Th;2 konbit is the legitimate descendant of The high-class people in the city derisively called enun dokpwe,thekurum ofthe Mambila these peaants "...barefooted vagabonds..." (They are (v),::n<,,), the Ku of the Kpelle (Liberia) and too poor to buy shoes.) But never m ind and to hcl l with ,r,Sriezin cooperative systems. them !Someday we will take our big flat feet out of the soil and plant them on their behinds. H '.,50.) 7710 Drum and the Hoe: Life and 1_3111 versi ty at Cali fcrnis Prase. They had done a tough job, scratched, scraped, and shaved the hairy face of the field. The injurious

16 1 7 HSI COPS MAILAIL N./ N../ N/ `,/ / / " /S. /" " " N" " " " "" " " " "/" / N/ N / " Vodou: A HaitianWay of Life

Wlutt do you know about Vodou? What stereo- human hospitality. Therefore, during a Vodou cer- types about Vodou practices aretypical in the United emony, the people may sacrifice asmall farm animal, States? Discuss these and see how they comparewith often a chicken or goat, to them. Afterward, the your views after you readthis section. worshippers cook and eat the animal. To attract more In the plowing article, DonaldCosentino, asso- divine attention, servants of the iwa draw special em- (Vodou ciate professor ofAfrican andCaribbeanfolklore and blems, called veve, on the floors of the hounfors mythology at UCLA and co-editor ofAfrican Arts temples) and dance and sing their fitvorite songs. Magazine, introduces us to the histotyandpractice of The lwa communicate with their servants through minds and bodies. Spirit Vodou. a spiritual possession of their Scholars now call the African-derived religionof possession is common in many religions throughout Haiti Vodou, which means "spirit" in theFon lan- the world, including the Pentecostal andHoliness guage. Fon people live inthe West African country of churches in the Uni ted States. In Haiti, it is sa'hat the Benin. During the seventeenth andeighteenth centu- lwa ride their servants like horses and sometimes are ries, many Fon, along with Yoruba andIbo people called divine horsemen. When a worshiper isbeing from neighboring Nigeria. Kongopeople from Zaire ridden, he or she speaks and acts like thelwa... and Angola in central Africa, and otherAfrican ethnic Afteiward, the person who was possessed cannot groups, were forced intoslavery and sent to the French remember the experience. colony that would become Haiti. The Haitian Revolution began in 1791during a Although these people came fromdifferent cul- secret Vodou ser vice when theslaves vowed to free of tures, they shared many religioustraditions. They all themselves. Eva since Vodou has been a vital part revered a god who was the makerof all things. Continued on pa e 18. Because the distance between this supremegod and humans was very great, Africans alsohonored spirits who were less powerful than this godbut more powerful than humans. These spirits included ancestors of the living, spiritsof twins, and other spiritual beings who represented forces of nature(i.e. the (xean, sky, sun,lightning, and forests) or human emotions (i.e. love, anger, mercy, laughter,and grief). In time, the slaves combined these commonbe- liefs into one religion. They called the supremebeing Bondye (from the Creole words for "goodgod") and identified Bondye with the Christian creator.Since Bondye was far away, they called onancestral and twin spirits who lived nearby fOrsupernatural help. Nonmortal spirits gathered together from manyAfri- can religions are calledlwa. They are thought to be very concerned withhuman welfare and are called upon to solve problems.There are hundreds of lwa, but the most famous include thekind and fatherly snake spirit Damballah; Ogun, aforceful military spirit; Erzuli, the queen of loveand beauty; and Veve Drawing From: Ferere, Gerard Alphonse. (1989.) LeVodouisme Guede, a gross trickster who lives ingraveyards but Haitien/Haitian Vodouism. Philadelphia: St. Joseph's also loves and cares for children. University Press. Bilingual Edition. Because the lwa are close to humans,they enjoy 17

18 Haitian musician Ronald Derenoncourt would. (Aboudja) plays in a musicalgroup called Sanba The radio stations in Haiti don't playour music. Yo, which draws inspiration from the singing and There are just a few stations whichbegrudgingly druintning of Vodou services. In the following give two hours a day for Vodou music. Thepeople interview, he explains why he believes that Vodou who control the radio must be interested in is indeed "more than a religion"it is destroy- a founda- ing their own culture, or they wouldplay more tion of Haiti's way of life. traditional music. They are encouraging thecity people to care more about Michael Jacksonthan For three years, Aboudja and fellow musicians about their own music. conducted research on Vodou. We learned to- Our mission is to publicize gether about the people, the rhythms, ritualsnot our music; that's why we sometimes have to as tourists, but by spending months at a time with go abroad. But we them.`Yi. came as students, and they wouldn't mind staying here and playingour music were our for our own people, because teachers. 1 was arrested 27 times duringmy re- our music belongs to them. Without them, it wouldn't exist. search. This was during the Duvalier regime,up until 1986. Interview with Ronald Derenoncourt (Aboudia) byKathie In 1986, they formed the musical group Sanba Klarreich, Port-au-Prince, 1989. Yo. Sanba, an indigenous word used by the Indians who lived on this island, means musician. Every member of Sanba Yo is involved in Vodou. In vodou there is a spirit called the loa. The loa is not a spirit in the Cathol ic sense, it is the energy that we keerd locked inside ourselves. With the help of the Continued from page 17. music and the singing, we liberate that energy. Haitian history.Pictures of Catholic saintsare painted The slaves came here from all over Africa. on hounfor walls to represent the lwa. Catholicprayers Although they were forced to speak a certainway, and symbols are used in Vodou ceremonies. Ceremo- adopt European names, and submit to baptism, nial costumes, rituals, and designsare copied from the they never forgot their culture. At night, they kept Free and Accepted Masons, a secret fraternity. Through dreaming about freedom. these "recyclings," Vodou has helped African people Many slaves fled the plantations, and these to survive slavery and to make sense of their lives in "maroons" created camps in the mountains. But the "New World." Vodou is a religion of tolerance. It they came from different ethnic groups, different has kept alive old African beliefs and borrowed freely from European traditions. cultural and religious backgrounds. In the maroon camps, in order to survive, they had to get together Not everyone in Haiti practices Vodou. Some to work the land, practice their religion, and live. Haitians are opposed to the religion, and followers of Vodou have often been persecuted by the They needed a consensus, and that way of lifewas govern- Vodou. ment But the new Haitian Constitution recognizes Vodou as the inheritance of all Haitians, and there is Vodou gave us our independence. It's the only a growing appreciation in the United States of the restant force we have in this country. It's the only influence of Vodou on our own culture. Vodou music foi,e, that really can resist cultural attacks from has inspired American jazz and rock'n'roll. Paintings outsiders. Vodou is more than just a religionit's by Vodou artists such as Hector Hyppolite and Andre really a way of life. Vodou is the fuel of this Pierre are now recognized as treasures of world country. art. If we put aside our negative stereotypes about "voo- There is a class of people in Haiti who have doo," we will see Vodou as an important and exciting houses and cars; they are well off. But they are not expression of African culture in the New World. patriotic about the history or culture of their country. Sure, they listen to our music and they like it, Reprinted with permission from Faces: The Magazine About People, February 1992 Issue on H atti. A cut:ft.lion of Cobblestone hut they hear it as exotic music, like an American Publishing, Inc. (See address and ordering Information on p. 31.)

18 9

0 Haitian Voices

The majority of lIaitians today have a vision of Beatrice has never known poverty, although her a democratic society thatHaiti's military backed family is not rich. She has the opportunity most government does not share. This vision, andHai-. Haitians lack, to study and go to college. But her tians' determination to make it a reality, is Haiti's awareness of how those around her are suffering hope for the future. has led Beatrice to ask questions, and finally to The Haitian people's strength and courage has commit herself to the struggle for change in Haiti. enabled them to keep on under adverse conditions. The follow ing section includes Allies, Fifi's and Strategies for economic survival vary. The vast Beatrice's stories, as well as the personal testimo- majority of Haitians, like Anit, live by farming the nies of street children, a political organizer and a land. Although Anit's plot of land is small, and her Haitian-American first grade teacher. living conditions barely minimal, land ownership The section below provides current data on is her security for the futurc. Haiti. Numbers and statistics can't give us a com- Others arc not so lucky. Many peasants who plete picture of Haitian daily life. However, when have lost their land, or who cannot live on whatthey used in conjunction with real life stories, these are paid for their crops, havehad to move to the figures give us a background for understanding the towns to seek work. Fifi earns $15 amonth as a conditions within which the majority of Haitians domestic servant in Port-au-Prince, cleaning the live and work. houses of well-off families. Her own family of (Please note that first names only are used throughout this seven lives in a one-room housewithout running section for the protection of those interviewed.) water. Yet for many families in the cityslums, conditions are much worse. Current Conditions Population (1991-92) total: 6.47 million Malnourishment (1988) 14 years & younger 40% pre-school children 75% 15-64 years mild 46% moderate 25% Population in Rural Areas (1988) 74% serious 4% Illiteracy Rate (1991-92) Population in Port-au-Prince (1988) 684,284 overall 47% rudimentary dwellings 63% female 52.6% sanitation services 1% 30% no toilet or latrine Population Who Attend School (1988) no drinking water supply 90% between 6 and 24 years 38% Life Expectancy (1992-92) The 1991-92 statistics are from: Social Indicators of Economic overall 54.4 years Development, A World Bank Book. International Bank for women 55.7 years Reconstruction and Development/World Bank. John Hopkins University Press. 1992 Infant Mortality Rate (1 991-92) 94.7/1(XX)live births The 1988 statistics are from: Health Conditions in the Americas, (U.S. infant average mortality rate: 9.8/100(? in Volume II. Pan America-1 Health Organization, 1990. 1989, District of Columbia 22.911(XX)) Suggestion: Students can prepare charts using Child Deaths (1988) this data. before First birthday 10-12% before age 5 20% 19 `)0 Anit: Farming ina Small Village

Nestled in the hills above the town of Miragoane Anit never received a dime for her four pigs they sits the tiny hamlet of Paillant. Most people walk killed. the two hours back and forth to buy their goods. She did, however, hide one of her pigs, and Mit has lived in Paillant all of her o0-some hopes that this one will produce piglets. Anit also years. You follow the small dirt road, passing has chickens which lay eggs. She has a goat, but is Anit's sister's house, and stop just before reaching waiting to fatten him up before she eats or sells him. her brother's house. Anit is up at five every morning. She starts with Ma's property is defined by a neatly con- household chores, helped by a young girl and boy structed fence of tree trunks bound together with who work for her in exchange for room and board. twigs. You follow a narrow path that is swept every Anit's kitchen is a small grass hut beside the red and morning, and enter the lakou, a yard with mango, blue house, a common arrangement for rural Hai- orange and avocado trees. tian households. Water is carried froma well ten The house is multicolored, in typical Haitian minutes away. style. The faded red and blue exterior is accented by The family normally eats corn, rice or millet; neatly potted plants on the porch. Inside, there's a with the occasional addition of beef or goat meat small room with two large beds, and another room which she buys wrapped up in leaves, froma that serves as both dining and living room. A small neighbor. TV plays silently. When dines are rough, like now, we eat When they can, my children visit me. soup made from water, some kind of leafy But life in Haiti is difficult. From Port-au- greens, a banana, and dumplings made Prince to Miragoane, transportation costs from flour and water. We wash the pots 10 gourdes [521. Then another three and pans with water and scrub them with gourdes from Miragoane to Paillant plus oranges and leaves to get them clean. back again. My kids just don't have that But I am never discouraged. I wake up kind of money. every morning and pray. I ask for strength Arit is lucky. She inherited land with her house, and endurance. I'm Catholic and go to and it has provided her and her family an income to church every Sunday, but I believe in vodou survive. She paid for all her children to go to school too. If someone gets sick, I go to the herbal through the hard work she invested in her crops. doctor first, because the regular doctor Public school fecs can cost anywhere from $5 to charges $5 just for a consultation, and then $75 a month, plus the additional cost of uniforms you have to have cash to buy medicine. and materials. They don't give credit. The main crop in An i t's garden is corn, and she I'm waiting for times to get better. We also grows beans and peas. Even though they are don't have anything left to lose now, so high in the mountains, it's too hot to plant other what can we do? I am lucky, I've leda good cash crops, such as onions, carrots and potatoes. life, and I have nine healthy children and This year, my corn is dying because of more than ten healthy grandchildren. And the drought. In a good year, I can harvest I still have my land. Noi everyone in Haiti 50 mamit cans/ at 10 gourdeS per mamit. can say that. In a bad year, I may only harvest 10. When she needed cash, Anit used to be able to sell her black Haitian pigs for up to $150 each. But several ycars ago, U.S. government agencies organized the slaughter of all Haitian pigs because of a swine fever epidemic. In spite of the Haitian Prepared by Kathie Klarreich from Interviews conducted in government's promise to reimburse the peasants, Pcct-au-PrInce In 1989. 20 21 II A Fifi: Raising a Family in theCity

Fifi moved from the southern town of Jeremie mamits [cans], which costs about $2.80 and when she was thirteen. With barely enough money is enough to make two jars. I have to pay to feed themselves, the family could notafford to someone 20 cents to roast the nuts, and at send Fifi to school. As a result, she never learned to least another 20 cents to use their grinder. read or write. If I 'm lucky, though, I can sell the peanut Although rural life was hard, life in Port-au- butter for $2 per jar. Prince is anything bu; easy for Fifi. She, her hus- We eat mostly rice, beans and corn. A band Jean-Paul and their five children live in a one- mamit of rice costs about $3, beans $4, and morn house. corn $1.30. One mamit lasts aboutthree The house has electricity, but Fifi has to walk to days. A gallon of cooking oil is $4 or $5, a public tap to get water. Thereis one bed, a chair and then we spend about $10 a month on and a television, but no table, fan or radio. They pay charcoal for a cooking fire. Plus there are $150 in rent every six months, plus $3 per month the daily things we need to put in the foo4 for electricity. like spices, salt, garlic and bouillon cubes. Fifi's husband used to do masonry, repairing Occasionally I buy a chicken in the market and cleaning for an apartment building, earning for $3 or $4 but we don't splurge like that $60 a month. But he has recewly been fired.Now very often. he earns only small amounts washing cars, and the Fifi is not sure if she will be able to continue to family depends on Fifi's income. send her children to school. I am responsible for taking care of my It's not just school fees. There are whole family. And all I am earning is $15 a uniforms which cost $7 and right now they month. I wash Mr. Pierre's clothes once a each have only one; even if it is dirty, they week, and in the morninr I clean his house. have to wear it. Then there are supplies I used to have more jobs doing the same notebooks cost 40 cents each, erasers and_ thing for other people, at $30 per job. But sharpeners 30 cents, pens 20 cents, and those people have moved away, and here I pencils 10 cents. am, stuck with almost nothing. Plus I have to pack them lunch. That's Sometimes I make peanut butter to get at least another $20 a month. If I don't a little extra money on theside. There are have money to give them for lunch that times when I don't even have enough money day, I won't let them go to school. I refuse to buy the peanuts. Usually Ibuy two to have them beg. Prepared by Kathie Klarreitth based on Interviews conducted In Port-su-Prince In tizt AL Port-au-Prince: Men pullingcarts filled with bags of charcoal. The minimum wage 4 In Haiti is $3 a day--theee men often sarr less. I(is sa have a I. of only 7 1., after they i-egIn this work di * to the strain ta their bodies. 21 22 Beatrice: High School Student

In Haiti, there is a big difference between the "ti problems existing at the very core of the Catholic bourgeoisie" and the bourgeoisie. I grew up in the Church. Not only the church, but the other big "ti bourgeoisie" class, and for us life isn't really institutions that control the country, like the mili- privileged. We don't suffer from lack of food or tary. The Bishops felt threatened and ended the shelter, but we don't have extra each month to do program. Now they want to resume it but on one many things. The bourgeoisie are the ones with the condition: that the program limit itself to teaching big homes and fancy cars. They can afford to eat in people to read without mentioning their everyday restaurants and travel. We don't have a car or even social and economic situation. running water in the house. I dedicated my body and soul to this program. So when I became involved in the struggle to So I can 't filid words to explain how hurt I felt when liberate Haiti, I was not rebelling against my class. the Bishops stopped it. I felt that some light I had Instead, I was trying to improve the situation for those inside which was motivating me had died. My only even less fortunate than me. It is more a concept of hope was that the people who benefited from the redistribution, because the wealthy here have every- program would pressure the government to con- thing and the poor have absolutely nothing. tinue it. I've always been called a rebel at home or in Before Jean-Claude Duvalier left the country, school. I remember once I was chosen by the school when we founded the group in St. Jean Bosco to be the flagbearer in the annual flag-day parade. Church, I felt pressure from my family, mostly my I refused, saying that I'll never set foot in the mother. She was scared for me, scared that I would National Palace yard. The principal told me that it be killed by some trigger-happy Tonton Macoute. was the least I could do, to pay back the government My mother used to tell me that what she spent for for giving me a free education. I had to do it, but my education was a waste, and then burst into tears. when I got to the grounds of the Palace yard, I gave Now things are a little better. She sees things the flag to someone else. differently than she did a couple years ago. In 1986, I decided to drop out of school for a Before, when I went out with my friends, I while. This was the time that everyone was looking thought dressing up and looking sharp was really for a way to change things in Haiti. People were important. I had to wear a different outfit each time willing to stop what they were doing and get I went out. When I dressed up, I felt like somebody. involved in liberating the country. We finally had Now, I can go two or three months without new freedom to organize, freedom for the press. We clothes, and I still feel like a person. wanted to take advantage of this new opening. There are so many people who don't have food, That's why, along with other young people of who have to go without the absolute basic necessi- mixed economic background, we founded a group ties. Where I used to spend money on material called SAJ (Solidarity with Youth) at St. Jean things like clothes, today I spend what little extra I Bosco Church. We formed this group to help. Now have differently. Like buying pencils and paper, we have local branches in Les Cayes, Verette, that can aid people to gain literacy. Jacmel and other places in the country. For each of us it's an individual fight that we We work towards social justiceto make Haiti can only win by working together. My hope is that a place where everyone can find food, health care, the people will finally organize themselves, forget good education, and a decent place to live. We want their minor differences and work together to win to put an end to the old order of things where only the fight. a small group of people own everything. Beatrice and other members of her group worked with a church sponsored adult literacy program called Mission Alpha. When people got Beatrice was Interviewed by Kathie Klarreich In Port-au- interested in Misson Alpha, it opened their eyes to Prince In 1989. 22 23 Fatil and Ayiti: Living on the Streets

Children are hardest hit by the poverty in Haiti. stayed out in the hot fields until noon. Then we went Thousands migrate to the capital, Port-au-Prince, in back from I pm until 6 pm. Afterwards we washed, search of work Large numbers of children become do- cooked, and collapsed on our straw mattresses, mestic servants in the city and others, such as Fad' and I was smaller than the other guys, too small to do Ayui, are sold into slavery to cut sugar cane in the the work. I cooked for Eril and Fatil, and when they neighboring Dominican Republic. came back from cutting cane we ate together. FATIL, age 18 One day we decided we had had enough. So one by one we washed our clothes. When they were nice Life in Haiti is good for the wealthy and sorrowful and &An, we put them on and escaped. for the poor. What the poor people are going through is comparable to being born a slave. Where else do When we got to Santo Domingo, we were lost. you find thousands of kids sleeping in the streets, Someone we met convinced us to stay in the Domini- knowing they will wake up in the morning without a can Republic and work at his construction site. After a little while, I decided to leave. I wasn't making any gourde [20 cent.s] to buy food? When we try and work money, and Fatil and Eril had to support me. So I said in the streets cleaning cars, the wealthy people only goodbye to my friends, and without even one gourde look down on us. One day, a friend of ours came to see us, a guy in my pocket, I found my way to the bus station.I named Jean Marc. He promised to take us to the waited for the right time to sneak on the has. I didn't make it, though. The driver saw mc and kicked me capital of the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, out. I went behind a restaurant and fell asleep, where he thought we could find work. We accepted Two Haitian men woke me up and asked what I because. we knew there was nothing positive here for was doing. I explained I'd been sold to cut cane and us, and we trusted him. I called Eril andAyiti, and we was trying to find my way back to Haiti. They had a went along with him. brother who was a truck driver, and they said I could When we got to the border, we were told to get out ride on the top of his big truck. of the car and continue on foot. We climbed a moun- At one of the check points, the police made me tain and ended up at a military station in Jimani where get down. They said they would arrest me because I we had to give our names and sitand wait. Jean Marc didn't have any papers, and they would throw me went for some water and never came back. We never back in a batey. But I was lucky. Three other saw him again. Haitians said I could hide in their big truck, and I Then we were told we weren't going to Santo crawled in and escaped from the station. Domingo, but to a batey [worker camps] to cut cane. The officials at the border demanded to see my We said we couldn't do that because we didn't know passport. Of course I didn't ha one. I explained how. At that point we were told we had each beensold I'd been forced to enter the country w ithout one, for 75 gourdes to cut cane, and if we refused we would and if they didn't let me go, I'd cross the mountain be thrown in jail. We had to agree. in front of us on foot. I was fortunate, because I We got to the batey and found out exactly what it found someone who spoke Creole. He said I ..vuld was: heavy work. The leaves of the canestalks cut us cross the border without a passport, and he gave like blades. They told us if we returned to our country me five gourdes. I was so happy. I made it all the they would beat us, arrest us and throw us in jail. way back. AYITI, age 12 Interviews by Kathie Klarreich in Port-au-Prince in 1nii9 They gave us rice, oil, bouillion cubes, and a bit of Taste of Salt: A Story Of Modern Ileifi dried fish. For work, they gave us a machete and by Frances Temple something to sharpen it with. We had a mattress of To learn more about the life of children in Haiti, read dried grass woven together, and an empty gallon can the fictionalized account of 17.year-old Djo, Written to keep water in. for high school and adult readers. Recommended by School Library JournaL Ordering information, p. 31. We started work every morning at 6 am, and 23 24 Pierre: Political Refugee Denied Asylum

For over a hundred years, Haitians have endured My brother, Paul was with me on Guatanamo. I some of the most brutal human rights abuses in the was interviewed on December 19 and 27. My impres- Western Hemisphere. The pattern of violent repression sion of Guantanamo was one of disorganization. has resulted from corrupt government leadership (sup- People did not have control. I told the woman inter- ported by the United States) and a powerful military. viewer what had happened to me. She spoke Creole Unfortunately, some of the worst cases of abuse have but not very well. The Immigration promised to call been recorded within the last several decades. The Duvaliers (1957-1986) executed and exiled me and said my interview was good. When I was thousands of people. Their own police force, the Tontons called, it was to return to Haiti. Macoutes, carried out the genocide against any orga- On February 3, 1992, the Coast Guard tookme nized opposition. and many other.; to Port-au-Prince. I vas very afraid Haiti's human rights record improved dramatically because there were soldiers around and they took our under President Aristide. However, after the coup in pictures and fingerprints. At the port, a TV crew from 1991, the de facto government immediately launched a World Monitor TV Boston asked me how I felt. I did campaign of violent repression. Reported human rights not feel comfortable talking to them with the military violations include torture and short-term arbitrary ar- around. I was afraid of them but they said I could trust rests without warning accompanied by severe beatings. them so I let them take me to my house. They filmed An estimated 3,000 people have lost their lives. me and my family in my home and outside with their The military and police forces have systematically targeted President Aristide supporters, especially in cameras. Many people came around because of the the rural areas. Among the most severely repressed are TV crew and van. I got very nervous. The TVjournal- the women's groups, peasant development groups, trade ists gave me a letter with their phone number and left. unions, church groups and youth movements. An esti- Shortly after, two soldiers came and asked me mated 200,000 people are in hiding. where 1 had been. I said in Cap Haitian. They said I Those who have attempted to flee the country, have was lying and that they would be back. I left because faced the additional risk of detention at Guantanamo, I knew I could not sleep in my house anymore. I called or being returned to Haiti by the U.S. Coast Guard. the TV j ou rnalists and they took me to their hotel. That Attorney Catherine Cassidy participated in the March night the military L.ame to my home. They beat my 1992 Pax Christi USA team researching human rights mother, sister and n iece because they were"Lavalas". violations in Haiti since the coup. While there, she interviewed Pierre, a Haitian repatriated from They asked for me hut could not find me. Guantanamo, now in hiding in Port-au-Prince. Since then my family has left the house. My brother Paul who was also later returned to Haiti has disappeared. He met with my mother in hid ing but has I am twenty-one years old. I was very active not been heard from since. I am afraid he could be supporting Aristide. The voting bureau was at my dead became he would have contacted my mother by house. The military was all over our neighborhood now. after the coup d'etat on September 30. A group of soldiers came to my house on October 1. I was home `'4. 1 in the back but my sister talked to them. The soldiers $$$ 4111111k asked for me and my sister told them I was not home. r When they started to search the house I fled out the back. I knew they were killing people who took a 444, stand for Aristide. I hid for two months in a place s Lo: south of Port-au-Prince. The situation did not improve with the militarythey were asking for mc by nameso I knew I had to leave the country. About Source: A Dream Deferred: Human Rights In Haiti, A Joint December 13, I took a boat with 18 othets and was Report by Pax Christi USA, Global Exchange, Leadership Conference of Women Religious, Washington Office on Haiti, picked up by the US Coast Guard. Witness for Peace. March/April 1992,

24 25 Lily Cérat: Haitian-American School Teacher

Haitians abroad have played a dynamic role in Haiti's political, economic and cultural life. Here we learn about the experiences of one Haitian immigrant in New York, home of the largest population of Hai- tians outside Haiti. Marie Lily Cdrat is a mother, a first grade teache- P.S. 189, and an activist in Brooklyn's Haitian community. She spoke to NECA about why she came to the United States, about what being Haitian means to her, and about her dream of freedom and democracy for her homeland. Why did you leave Haiti? Both political and economic motives were entangled in our departure. My father came in 1968 during Papa Doc's dictatorship when men his age were persecuted and killed for trying to better their future. My mother followed him in 1978. Three years later, when I was 19, I too came to New York. Ms. COrei teaches 1st grade Haitian and African-Am en- How did you find life in New York compared to can students. What are they studying? Many of their Haiti? lessons are In Creole. Dld you know that after Spanish, In New York you live indoors spiritually, you Creole is the most common foreign language spoken by are afraid of the next person, afraid of your neigh- students in New Yon( public schools? bors. At first, I was very homesick. It was meeting grant community have expanded since Aristide old friends among our large, closely knit Haitian first came on the scene. Aristide has always spo- community that kept me going. ken Creole. All Haitians speak and understand We all complain about the winter. The first winter Creole. [Only 10% speak French.] Since the coup is very harsh, but every time it comes you feel terrible. the politicians are using the old tactics to I discovered prejudice in New York. I was fired marginalize the people. They are using French in from my first job at an Arby's restaurant when they the Parliament and to address the nation. found out I was from Haiti. Aristide raised people's consciousness both How hnportant are Haitian immigrants to Haiti ? here and in Haiti. The people cannot be put off in Haiti relies greatly on the diaspora in New a corner by the politicians. They want a leader who York, Miami, Montreal and also in Europe. One speaks their language, who communicates. reason is economic. The money that we sendback In your school, what do you teach children to our families is the backbone of the economy. But about the people of Haiti? politically we have also helped. During both I teach them that we area determined people, we Duvalier dictatorships many of our journalists and are proud and honest. I know that other powle have activists from the opposition relocated and contin- these characteristics too, but we are strong like trms ued their work from here. So people in our commu- and we are self-assured. We are intelligent even nity are informed. when we are illiterate. Despite the odds against us in The protest marches we have held, especially Haiti and in New York we have tremendous intuitive since the oup d'etat against Aristide, have played gifts for survival. As a child I never knew my mother an important role in pressuring U.S. politicians. was illiterate because her other senses gave her the Have you noticed any changes in the Haitian information the written words couldn't. And I know, immigrant community since you've come here? I really know, that eventually Haiti will be for The political views and the life of the immi- Haitians and Haiti will be free. 25 26 Songs of Resistance

Music plays an integral role in the social and Haiti were based on an African style of extended religious activities of Haitian evetyday life. Histori- family residence around a central courtyard. This type cally Haitian music developed through the synthesis of collective living arrangement is still practiced in of European and various African musical traditions. much of Haiti, even in the urban areas, and is called a Some of the African musical characteristics are the lakou or courtyard. In the songs, the lakou is a symbol collective quality by which the performers engage the of deep family roots and traditions, a tie to land and participation of the audience, the featuring ofpercus- place, and a sense of commitment and community. sion instruments, and the emphasis on improvisation. Lwa. Afro-Haitian religion recognizes a supreme Ihe /nost pervasiye feature of the music is its use for deity, Bondye, and a large number of ancestral spirits social commentary. Since a majority of the popula- and deities of natural forces and human archetypes. tion is illiterate, information and ideas are shared These deities are known as lwa, miste, or zanj. Some through music. One contemporary group that com- law are: (Met) Gran Bwa an Afro-Indian deity of the municates Us political views through music is called deep woods; (Kouzen) Azaka/Zaka an agricultural the Boukman Eksperyans. lwa protector of peasants and farmers. Boukm an Eksperyans Background Soul in a Bottle: is a protest against those who In the aftermath of the September 1991 coup control others and force them to live by foreign against President Aristide, Boukman Eksperyans cultural standards. The bottle refers to certain prac- has continued to play despite censorship and in- tices ofBoko, or sorcerets, who are reputed to be able timidation. Three of their songs were banned by the military authorities in 1992 as "too violent" and to control people by capturing their souls in bottles. OurAncestors: Congo, in addition to being an radio stations were prohibited from playing them. One of these songs, Kalfou Danjere states that ethnic grouping in Haiti, is also a term used deroga- torily for someone who looks like a rural mountain those who lie, cheat, kill, and steal will be judged at inhabitant. Our Ancestors talks of taking pride in the crossroads, a place of central importance in being called Congo. They draw parallels between Vodou metaphysics. traditional Haitian culture and Jamaican Soldiers and Macoutes are a fixture at Boukman Rastafarianism. concerts where they try to prevent the group from playing censored songs. It is thanks to the informal The above text and the following songs are from the compact cassette industry in Haiti, to the support of Haitian disk Kalfou Deniers (1992) Island Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of Salenjo Music/Scngs of immigrant communities abroad, and to international Polygram, Inc. exposure that the voices of Boulanan Eksperyans ade the efforts of authorities to silence them. Haitian Art Language The February 1992 issue of Faces: A A rev, terms in the Engl ish version of Boukman's Magazine About songs arc intheir original Creole because they defy People features the straightforward translation. art and culture of Haiti for grades 4-7. Ginen is derived from the name of a region of West Readings and hands- Africa ( Gu i nee) and has a complex set of meanings. on activities. See p. Itcanhe used to refer to the African homeland, to a 31 for ordering Information. spiritualrealmwhere the Vodou deities live, and to a m(lre general stateof spiritual development and aware- Cover of February Issue by popular laitians who practice Vodou. Haitian artist u. Peasant settlements in post-revolutionary Julien Valery.

2.6 27 Boukman Eksperyans

Alask4k , 7-4,coAs

kk tot !IL Photo: Steve Winter (English Translation) Nanm Nan Boutby Soul In a Bottle

Anye, sa red o! Hey, this is rough! Anye, sa red o! Hey, this is tough Nanm nou lan boutey Our soul in a bottle Sa red o! This is tough!

Sa red o! This is tough! Anye, sa red! Hey, this is tough! Sa red o wo! Sa red ol This is tough! This is really tough! Nou bczwen pale kou moun sa yo Nou bezwcn we kou moun sa yo We have to speak like these people Nou bezwen tande kou moun sa yo We have to see like these people Nou bezwen gade kou moun sa yo We have to listen like these people We have to look like these people Nanm nou Ian boutey anyc Wa ayo o! Our soul in a bottle Wa ayo o! Anye sa red o wo wo! Sa red o! Hey, this is tough! Ki le nape rive o! This is tough! Ki !e nap pran Konsyans Me Zanmi sa red o! When will we arrive When will we take a stand (Repeat) Ouyee nan revolisyon na pwalc My friends this is tough! We're going to join the revolution! Lyrics by: T. Beaubrun Jr. and Mlmerose Beaubrun. See page 30 to( discussion questions. *1992 Bale* Muslc/Songs 7'.:.'lr_trarnintemational, Inc.

28 Listen To Me Our Ancestors Chorus: Listen to me ...Our ancestors Understand me Nago people Listen to me Vodou Congo The truth is talking Natty zing, natty dread Nago Yoruba The truth speaks Wo wo wo wo wo Children come to listen Listen to me Our ancestors A revolution is truly starting Congo people Our true family Yes, the truth speaks Natty dread, natty zing Children gather together From the Mandingo and the Fon peoples... Listen to me Love will truly govern Congo oh! oh! (Repeat after every line below) (Chorus) Congo doesn't bother me You'll call me Congo Yes, the truth talks to dismiss me as backwards Ginen come to listen Congo doesn't bother me Listen to me Swearing doesn't bother me All of the Indian spirits return Refrain: The Congo queen rises Rises, rises, rises, rises Yes, the truth speaks Three words speak Congo oh! oh! (Repeat after every line below) Listen to me Congo doesn't bother me Oh, ginen will govern You call me Congo to dismiss me as backwards Listen to me the truth speaks Congo doesn't bother me A little chat speaks Wherever you go, you try to panic me The truth is talking the truth is talking Congo doesn't bother me Human beings, if you're there, come to listen Swearing doesn't annoy me (Chorus)... Congo doesn't bother me... (Repeat refrain) Listen to Me/Tande M Tande. For Discussion 1. Currently many political decisions are made based on what will be most financially "profitable" for business. Our Ancestors/ Zansit Nou Yo. For Discussion How would the world be different if the Boukman's Two students can prepare to read the song aloud. They concept of "love" goverened? can ask the rest of the class to repeat "Congo oh! oh!" at 2. Boukman band says "the truth is talking." Some the appropriate times. Then discuss: people would say that there is not one truth about 1. What groups in your community are looked down on history, but instead that there are different, equally as poor people are in Haiti? How is this seen, e.g. valid perspectives. Using Haiti as an example,is insults, job discrimination. What are the categories? there one historical truth to be known or are there two (e.g. race, rural vs. urban, class, gender, etc.) equally valid interpretations of reality? 2. Boukman speaks of the links between the people of 3. Using the same chorus as in Listen to Me, write a song Haiti and the Rastafarians in Jamaica. What links can or poem about the truth of your own community or you see between people in your own communities? Or city. What do you want children to know that they across borders, e.g. between you and people in Haiti? might not be hearing in the traditional media? 3. Share a geographic map of Africa. Why are the names 4. The song talks about how Ginen will govern and of the peoples in th .t song who were brought as slaves Indian spirits will return. What would this mean? not easily found on the map? Compare the coloniza- Would this be better? Why or why not? tion of Africa with the colonization of the Caribbean. Please note: Due to space limitatcris, only the English translations we inciuded of theeetwo wogs. The original Creole Is on to U. 28 2J Teaching/Action Ideas

1. Math and Economics. a. To investigate the cost of changes that have happened in your life in the last ten living in Haiti, refer to the interview with Fifi on page 29. years and your hopes for the future. (Students can align Calculate her monthly earnings, assuming that she sells themselves with other witnesses to coordinate testi- 10 mamits of peanut butter a month to supplement her mony.) income from housekeeping. Now calculate her monthly a. Fifib. Beatricec. lilyd. Anit expenses, in luding rent, electricity, food, and school e. Member of the Boukman Eksperyans band lunch. (You will need to multiply the cost of the school f. Military general supplies by the number of children she has and then g. CEO from a baseball manufacturing company divide by 12 months. First you will have to determine h. Representative of a conservative U.S. "Tnink Tank" how many pencils, pens and notebooks each child should i. A once-fertile mountain have for the year.) j. A street in Port-au-Prince where children live Can Fifi's family survive on her income, now that k. St. Jean Bosco church (See history.) her husband is out of work? If not, what are her options? (More than one student can be assigned to each role.) b. Duvalier is estimated to have deposited approxi- Students could contact various organizations for policy mately $86 million in private overseas accounts in the statements to assist with the preparafion of their testimony. (If early 1980s. This includes funds skimmed in the pro- time is limited time, ask agencies to fax information.) Progres- cessing and distribution of U.S. food aid. Given the sive perspective: contact any of the organizations listed onpage 30. Conservative perspective, contact the State Department current cost of living that you have calculated for (Public Information Division, Rm. 5831, US Dept. of State, Fifi's family, how many families could have lived on Washington, DC 20520-6810), or conservative and ultra-con- this money for a month? For a year? servative think tanks such as: Heritage Foundation (Publica- Refer to the section in this teaching guide on tions Dept., 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE, Wash., DC 20002, Fairness in the Media. Taking the amount that Ron 202-546-4400), the Puebla Institute (131918th St. NW, Wash., Brown was paid each month to represent the Duvalier DC 20036, 202-296-8050), or The Center for Strategic and Intunational Studies (1800 K St., NW, #400, Wash., DC government, how many families could have lived on 20006, 202-887-0200). this amount per month? Per year? c. To further your study of math and economics, 3. Racism. Haiti can be used as an example of how investigate the impact of the assembly plants in Haiti. racism has been used to ju.sti fy for ign policy. Trace the Calculate how much money was taken out of Haiti by history as follows: (1) Conquest (refer to Columbus' U.S. assembly plants in a particular year. Then make logs), (2) Slave trade, (3) U.S. (-Id French relations with a list of the typc of grassroots development projects Haiti immediately after the revolution (The United which could have been supported with those funds. States and France refused to recognize the new govern- Sources for relevant information listed on page 31 are: ment. Why?), (4) United States Occupation of Haiti in The Other Side of Paradise and Haiti: A Look at the the early 1900s (State Department and other govern- Reality. In addition, the Inter-American Foundafion and ment officials made numerous racist statements to jus- Oxfam have useful figures on the cost of development tify the invasion and abuse of Haitians), (5) Current projects. Policy: What is the U.S. government's current policy toward Haiti? Is the current policy racist? The govern- 2. U.S. Policy. Simulate a Congressional Hearing on ment statements are no longer as blatant as they were in U.S. policy toward Haiti. Five students can form a the early part of this century. However, Representative Congessional Committee. The remaining students can Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) and others argue that the select one of the roles below and provide testimony. actions speak just as loud as words, and that the treat- (Some of these roles are directly from the publication.) ment of Haitian refugees is a racist policy. What do you These witnesses are to convince the Congressional com- think? mittee of their recommendation for U.S. policy. To 4. Fairness in the Media. Vyle.w peeTective is pre- prepare,write an interior monologue from the perspec- sented in your newspaper? Mni major papers rely tive of your role. Write about some of the most dramatic primarily on news from the Stare 1)...Iartment and other 29 3 0 "inside the Beltway" sources or public relations firms. protect the Haitian refugees who are truly fleeing repres- In an effort to "encourage" the press to print their sion, and (3) to end the source of repression in Haiti. perspective, the de facto Haitian government hired the House/Senate Switchboard 202-224-3121 public relations firm Craig Shirley and Associates to US House of Reps, Washington, DC 20515 promote support for them and to discredit Aristide. The US Senate, Washington, DC 20510 Duvalier government did the same thing. They paid Ron Key Representatives: Lee Hamilton-IN, Charles Rangel- Brown (recently nominated as Secretary of Commerce) NY, Tony Hall-OH. a retainer of $12,200 a month from October of 1983 to Key Senators: Edward Kennedy-MA, Joseph Biden- July of 1986 to represent them in the United States. DE, Christopher Dodd-CT, Kweise Mfume-MD These public relations firms put a certain "spin" on President: Bill Clinton, White House, Wash, DC 20500 the news. For example, in the last 6 months, news on b. Write letters to the editor and editorial pieces about Haiti focused almost exclusively on the refugees and the situation in Haiti. Look for articles to respond to what we should "do about them." Rarel y was there news about Haiti or Haitian refugees. about efforts to return the democratically elected Presi- C. Host a speaker or video about Haiti at your school, dent to his post or about the minimal refugee flow while union or professional association. An excellent video he was in power. for this purpose is Killing the Dream. (Sec p. 31.) Investigate who funds the major newspapers and d. Organize a candlelight vigil in memory of the more press associations. Whose interests do they represent? than 3,000 Haitians killed since the coup. (Refer to Bagdikian, B. (1991.)The MediaMonopoly. e. For more ideas and resources, request an organizing Beacon Press.) packet from Clergy and Laity Concerned, address Study your local press coverage. What slant or below. "spin" are they takinri,? Isitfair coverage? If not, organize a letter writing campaign. For documentation Organizations/Journals on accuracy in the press, refer to the publication Extra from Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR, 130 Amnesty International, 322 8th Ave., New York, NY 10()01. West 25th Street, NY, NY 10001, (212) 633-6700). (212) 807-84(X). Write for human rights reports. Center for International Policy, 1755 Massachusetts Ave. 5. Soul in a Bottle: a. What other metaphors could NW, Washington, DC 20036. (202) 232-3317. he used for control or repression'? b. Are there family Clergy and Laity Concerned (CALC), 340 Mead Road, or social traditions in your neighborhood that are Decatur, GA 30030, (404) 377-1983. being "kept in a bottle"? Should they be revived or Ecumenical Program on Central America and the Caribbean protected? Why or why not? (EPICA) 1470 Irving St., NW Wash, DC 20010. (202) 332- 6. Black llistory Month Display on the First Black 0292. Republic: Scvneti Ines the bust way to learn is by Global Exchange, 110 Maryland Ave. NE, Washington, DC 2(XX)2. (202) 547-2640. teaching. Prepare an educational display for the school on Haiti. Since there arc typically many stereotypes Haitian Enforcement Against Racism, 13% Flatbush Ave, about Haiti, the information could be shared under Brooklyn, NY 11210. (718) 604-3665. headings that begin with the question "Did You Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, 330 Seventh Ave, NY, NY 10001. (21 2) 629-6170. Write for reports, such as Know...?" Try to make the display as interactive and Paper Laws, Steel Bayonets: Breakdown of the Rule of Law dynamic as possible. Imagine that you were a student in Haiti. from another class walking by, what would grab your National Coalition for Haitian Refugees, 16 East 42nd Street, attention? What would challenge your assumptions'? 3rd Floor, New York, NY, 10017. (212) 867-0020. Publish What would make you want to learn more'? What Haitilnsight.Free subscription. actions are you going to encourage the readers/viewers Pax Christi USA, 348 East 10th SI., Erie, PA 16503. (814) of the display to take'? 453-4955.Human rightsreports. 7. Support the RA.toration of Democracy in Haiti. As People to People, 414 Summit Ave, St. Louis, Mo. 63119. students dnd teachers, there are many actions you can (314)961-(1316. Organize high school student tours to Haiti. take to support the restoration of democracy in Haiti. Quixote Center/Haiti Reborn, PC) I3ox 5206, Hyattsville, The,c iniia. Call or write as many senators and MD 20782. (301) 699-0042. pos cpecially those in your Washington Office on Haiti 110 Maryland Ave. NE, Wash, iireston lemocracy and DC. (202) 543-7095. Write for human rights reports and deic Picidcnt Aristide to Haiti, (2) to Urgent Action appeals. News clipping service also available. _ . 30 Further Reading op Haiti Due to limited space, we include only a few of the most important titles with which to begin your study of Haiti. Many of these include extensive bibliographies. A longer list of publications and organizations is included in the tabloid, Haiti: A Look at the Reality (see non-fiction below under Brescia.) Fiction Force on Central America. Secondary and Adult. Endore, G. (1991.) Babouk. NY: Monthly Review. The slave Lawyers Committee for Human Rights. Haiti: A Human revolution. Forward by Jamaica Kincaid. Secondary and adult. Rights Nightmare. 330 Seventh Ave, NY, NY 10001. Adult. Roumain, J. (1944.) Masters of the Dew. London: Heinemann. Métraux, A. (1959.) Voodoo in Haiti. N.Y. Schocken Books. A classic novel. Adult. An authoritative analysis of vodou by a respected scholar. Adult. Temple, F. (1992.) Taste of Salt: A Story of Modern Haiti. Sunshine, C. (1991-92.) Caribbean Connections: Overview N.Y.: Orchard Books. A compelling story as told by 17-year-old of Regional History; Puerto Rico; Jamaica. Washington: Djo from his hospital bed after being beaten by the Macoutes. Paints EPICA/NECA. See below. Secondary and adult. a picture of the contemporary life of many young Haitians. $14.95 Trouillot, M. (1990.) Haiti: State Against Nation. N.Y from Orchard, (800) 672-6672. High school and adult. Monthly Review Press. Adult. Wolkstein, D. (1978.) The Orange Tree and Other Haitian Wilentz, A. (1989.) The Rainy Season: Haiti Since Duvalier. Folktales. NY: Alfred Knopf. All ages. New York: Touchstone/Simon and Schuster. Adult Non-Fiction Yoder, C. (Ed.) (1992.) Faces: Special Issue on Haiti. NH: Aristide, J.-B. (1990.) In the Parish of the Poor. New York: Cobblestone. Excellent sections on art and culture. Order for $5.95 Orbis Books. Adult. from Faces, 30 Grove St, Peterborough, NH 03458. Grades 4-7. Bany, T.; Wood, B; & Preusch, D. (1984.) The Other Side of Videos (Prices include postage.) Paradise: Foreign Control in the Caribbean. N.Y.: Grove. Press. Adult. Black Dawn. Award-winning animated film tells the story of Haiti's revolutionary past through the paintings of over a dozen Brescia, S. (Ed.) (1992.) Haiti: A Look at the Reality. Tabloid on Haitian artists. Available in French, Creole or English. 20 min. VHS Haitian history, religion, human rights, refugees, economy, women + study guide $35.50. Schenkman Books, 118 Main Street, Roches- and development, environment and more. 1-4 copies: $2.50 ea; 5-9: ter, VT 05767, (802) 767-3702. $2 ea; 25-49: $1.25 ea. Call for other bulk rates. Quixote Center, PO Box 5206, Hyattsville, MD 20782, (301) 699-0042. Aduit. Haiti: Killing the Dream. Powerful documenuny on the history and current situation. Interviews with President Aristide, clergy, crass Courlander, H. (1960.) The Drum and the Hoe: Life and Lore section of Haitian people, military junta, U.S. State Departmen: and of the Haitian People. Berkeley: University of California more. Ideal for schools. 60 min. $25. Crowing Rooster Productions, Press. A comprehensive source of information on Haitian beliefs, PO Box 1944, Canal St Station, NY, NY 10013, (800) 424-0305. folklore, spirituality, dance, songs, games, proverbs, and more. Adult. Haitian Pilgrimage. Traces journey of a Haitian-American family Donahue, D. & Flowers, N. (1992.) Haitian Refugees and from Boston back to their roots in Haiti. Includes glimpses of a Vodou Human Rights: Activities for the Classroom. Amnesty Interna- ritual, interviews with President Aric'ide, and more. Critiques myths tional. $2. Amnesty, Educators Network Contact, 53 W. Jackson, about Vodou. 27 min. $27.50. Same distributor as Black Dw-an. Room 1162, Chicago, IL 60604, (312) 427-2060. Grades 7-12. Kafou: Perspectives from a Small Island. Videos on Haitian James, C.L.R. (1989.) 2nd ed.The Black Jacobins. New history, culture and traditions. Contact DCPS, Channel 48 Atten: York: Random House. This powerful book is the classic account Kafou, 1709 3rd St. NE, Washington, DC 20002 (202) 576-7741 of the Haitian Revolution of 1791-1803. Adult. Krik?Krak! Tales of a Nightmare. Dramatized story of the Golden, R.et.al. (1991.) Dangerous Memories: Invasion and ancestral struggle for freedom. 78min. Call for price. Mountain Top Resistance Since 1492. Chicago: Chicago Religious Task Films, Box 684, 128 E. Broadway, NY , N Y, 10002. (212) 226-4093. Sources Caribbean Connections Africa World Press, 15 Industry Court, Puerto Rico, Jamaica Trenton, N.T 08638. (609) 771-1666. and Overview of Regional History Haitiana Publications, 221-09 Linden Blvd., Cambria Heights, NY 11411 (718) Each illustrated book brings Caribbean523-0175. Wealth of books on Haiti in Creole, Overview of REGIONAL HISTORY voices to the classroom through fiction,French and English. Also textbooks from Haiti oral history, interviews, drama and songs.in Creole. Lesson plans included. Excellent for sec-Heinemann, 70 Cfc rt. Portsmouth, NH ondary schools, colleges, and commu-03801, (603) 131-7894. Reelue,t c-nt2 )gue nity groups. Send purchase order or checkon African and C bl-re.;:n literature for $15 each (except Overview $18.95) Monthly Review '7'ess, 155 W 2-3a1 St. payable to NECA (includes postage) to:NY, NY 10011, (212) 691-2555. NECA 1118 22nd Street, NW Please not Many of the organi79tions on Washington, DC 20037 A ublication of NECA and EPICA. page 30 also provide public:116:ms. 31

12 Haitiah Proverbs ,w

Se le koulbv mouri, ou konn longe Only when the serpent dies do you know its true length.

Bwa pi wo di li we, grenn pwenmennen di li wèpasel. The high tree says he sees far, the walking (traveling) seed says he sees farther.

Yon set dwet pa manje kalaiou. \ 111MW.4 A single finaer can t eat okra.

Bei antbman pa di paradi. A beautiful burial does not guarantee < heaven.

Konstitisyon se papye, bayonet se fe. The constitution is made of pa;. er, but the bayonet is made of steel.

Rach nan dlo pa konnen mizb itch nan 0soft. Rocks in the water don't know the misery of rocks in the sun.

Sa je pa we kb pa tounen. What the eye doesn't see, doesn't move the head. rut Kay koule tronpe sok, men li pa Ironpe lapli. The house that leaks can fool the sun, but it can't fool the rain.

Deyb man gen man. Behind the mountains, more mountains.

1 These are just a few of the Photo: 0 1992 Mev Puleo/ Impact hundreds of Haitian proverbs. 3 3 BEST COPY MAUI