7208: Haitian society is becoming itself (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: "Dumas F.lafontant" <dfl.limited@usa.net>


   Haitian society is becoming itself
   Dumas Fils Lafontant
   © 2001

   The Convergence Democratic, a fifteen-party opposition alliance, organized
   under the title of ?General States? in order to nominate a provisional
   president because it is challenging the legitimacy of Jean-Bertrand
Aristide
   who was elected president on November 26, 2000. However, the Constitution
of
   the Republic of Ayiti stipulates for a person to become president, s/he
must
   be elected by universal suffrage. Thus the opposition made the rule of law
of
   no use through the provisional president, which it handed down. Does not
the
   opposition therefore err, because it nominated a provisional president? 
   My view on this latest situation is that we can not form intentions except
on
   the basis of what the situation means to us and if we miss the mark on
what
   the situation means, we will form the wrong intentions. However, the
question
   remains open for dialogue. I would suggest though the focal point is the
   significance of dialogue in which, meaning would be essential. 
   Remember before the fall of Duvalier, the nation was marred in mistrust,
the
   people were tongue-tied; for a father, a brother, a cousin could be part
of
   the regime. The year 1986 began a new period of dialogue, the people's
mouths
   opened, freedom of expression ensued. Signs of this liberation appeared in
the
   graffiti on the walls throughout the nation. "Di sa ou vle! "Say what you
   mean." The demands, which this statement illustrated, lacked clarity since
the
   word ?vle? could be translated as will or need. I would say the position,
of
   the people, was ambiguous. Or Ambiguity is a lack of well-defined meaning.
So
   the people, at least tacitly, brought in the notion of meaning as crucial
to
   the understanding of the content of the situation. However, the epicenter
was
   coopted by proponents of the politics of democracy, who shifted the
momentum
   for meaning to a fixed idea. 
   A Constitution was overwhelmingly voted. "Bourik chaje pa kanpe!" declared
   Alvin Adams, former U.S. Ambassador to Ayiti; it is necessary to have
   elections. Otherwise, Ayiti would be isolated from the so-called
democratic
   countries. Well, the significance of democracy is that political plurality
is
   necessary. Assuming, we buy into this idea, we must discover the
possibility.
   This is what allows room for freedom because whatever necessity there is,
it
   is possible. For example, The people elect the president, but depending on
the
   conditions, a person can become president by nomination. 
   So each time, you install a provisional president, you have pulled back.
It
   does not get better from one provisional president to another, right? Now
you
   must conclude that you have missed the mark, therefore you must stop. 
   Far from promoting discord, I am merely suggesting that the form,
democracy,
   must be molded to our objective reality. Otherwise, we will be reenacting
the
   famous neologism "lugubrer" (gloom). "Le nom Francais lugubre encore nos
   contrees" (the French name glooms our countryside) shouted
Boisrond-Tonnerre.
   This paradox made Boisrond-Tonnerre a self-torturer. For the writer of the
act
   of independence, the French (collective person) was indeed a terrifying
   monster and the french name (sound or word), a sound that sowed terror.
Yet,
   he wrote the act of independence in French (Laroche, M., La Literature
   Haitienne, pg., 32).
   It is this rupture in our history that I wanted to raise the many instances
of
   pull back, dating back to Boisrond-Tonnerre. Besides, Ayiti exist
   independently of democracy. Her liberty is the foundation upon which we,
Folk
   of Ayiti, grew up. The point to keep in mind is that the movement of
liberty
   has no definable aspect that is absolute fixed. 
   Haitians know too well the price of unity. Therefore, I am not proposing a
   model to be accepted by all, I intend nonetheless to suggest that we agree
on
   the basis of a just and general strategy. The Organization Fanmi Lavalas
   (OFL), which holds the reins of government and the Convergence Democratic
(CD)
   both have a reality. They both arise from the state. They are not really
   different. They interweave. The main point, though, is they are part of
the
   state it is possible for them to have a rationally comprehensible
   relationship. In this way, we can leave open the possibility of
acknowledging
   the differences that may be found between them without falling into
dualism.
   But I am making an assertion that the state is primary while both OFL and
CD
   are secondary in the sense that what they are and what they do can be
   understood only in the light of the state. Here I must be careful not to
   assert the state too strongly, or I will just simply condone
authoritarianism.

   Moreover, OFL and CD are correlative categories, that each implies the
other.
   This correlation is thus understood as an internal relation, rather than
being
   externally related and isolated. This internal relation is most directly
   experienced in consciousness. According to the content of our consciousness
we
   act, whether right or wrong. So, the content of the situation is
abstracted
   from a wider context, which is so closely connected with the content, that
the
   meaning of the former is not properly defined without the latter, for
example
   democracy in Ayiti. The point is Ayiti is treated as a content in a yet
   broader context, the United States, the world, and so on. 
   Now, the point is the social order is split apart, OFL and CD, each of
which
   have proponents and opponents. It is clear actually that the nation is not
   separate. In fact, you may consider that when the social order is not
broken,
   each part is a superposition of the fundamental law of the society, and
you
   may then comprehend the relationship is flowing. That is why, to overcome
the
   current situation, it requires a concrete explanation, such as a clear
limit
   in the sense that we could observe a bottom level of reality. In
accordance
   with currently accepted contemporary views it might be a fundamental
standard,
   or set of standards, that is the bottom level. This could be, for example,
   some set of elementary necessities out of which we could act. What is of
   crucial significance is that its meaning would be in principle
unambiguous.
   These meanings would be exactly what they were, and anybody who looks
   correctly could find them. They would be a reality that was simply there,
   independent of what it means to us. I will site for example, Cite Soleil
(Sun
   City), the sordid of Ayiti. You might choose to ignore it because you do
not
   know anybody there, and so on, nonetheless, it is real. 
   Or there is tacit knowledge among Haitians that dialogue could dissolve
the
   present situation that lingers on, making us the object of the world
derision.
   Beyond this view, lays the common aspiration to find a mean to sow our
history
   and to let the society of people unfold. How to proceed with this dialogue
is
   therefore of great significance. According to the dictionary, finding an
   accord is the essential meaning of dialogue. However, the word "meaning"
   indicates not only the significance of something to us, but also our
intention
   toward it. If we all have different meanings, if the situation means
something
   different to each Haitian, then we are not going to be able to work
together.
   Based on a certain amount of trust in working together, we can establish
an
   environment in which each individual embraces the other. It is a movement
back
   and forth. In Unfolding Meaning, David Bohm wrote: to think differently,
this
   thought must enter deeply into our intentions, actions, and so on, our
whole
   being. We must mean what we say.
   Indeed, I have borrowed from his model to write this text. Most important,
I
   was able to identify his proposal of the law of the total implicate order,
a
   mode of thinking that starts from the most encompassing possible whole and
   goes down to the parts as sub-wholes in a way appropriate to the actual
nature
   of things, to a moment in the history of Ayiti. It is a story, we all know
too
   well. One night, a multitude of rebels gathered in the woods of Bwa
Kayiman.
   Darkness added to the horror of the scene. All the people saw the
thunderings,
   the lightnings, and the noise of the branches. Suddenly, a priestess drew
a
   vèvè (cryptic writing), and whereupon plunged a knife in the neck of a
pig.
   Then appeared Boukman, who pronounced the sacrament (Price-Mars, J., Ainsi
   Parla l'Oncle, pg., 40). 
   Without a doubt, Bwakayiman was a blood pact, the offering of the pig,
which
   is a discreet animal that walks head down, symbolized the pact among the
   rebels: not to reveal their secret attack and never to bow down to the
   colonialists. That is why it is said: "if Dessalines betrays a hundred
times,
   it is to trick them a hundred times." 
   Boukman mediated the passage from a band of maroons with raw military
skills
   to the indigenous army led respectively by Jean Francois, Biasou, Jeanot,
   Toussaint L'Ouverture, and Jean-Jacques Dessalines that made the soldiers
of
   Napoleon bite the dust. On the day of 18 November 1803 where took place
the
   battle of Vertieres, this decisive battle of the war of independence of
Ayiti,
   the french army suffered its first Dien-Bien-Phu. On the hills streaking
the
   city of Cap-Haitien, that day and not after a philosopher who ventured in
the
   vicinity would have seen the spirit of the world straddling with the
general
   Francois Capois-said-the-death, messengers collapsing without as much
stopping
   their triumphant run. "Only such change, which the passage from French to
   Kreyòl provides an example, can permit us to see the march of history with
a
   new eye. This history to a certain extent results from a Caribbean effort
and
   not just Haitian whereas Toussaint L'Ouverture and Jean-Jacques Dessalines
   were born on the land of Ayiti, Boukman, the precursor of Toussaint
   L'Ouverture, came from Jamaica and Henry Christophe successor to
Dessalines
   came from the island of Grenada (Laroche, M., La Literature Haitienne,
pg.,
   54). 
   Louis Joseph Janvier, Antenor Firmin, Emile Nau, Jean Price-Mars, Felix
   Morisseau-Leroy, Aime Cesaire, Edouard Glissant, Leopold Cedar Senghor, C L
R
   James, Frederick Douglass, James Wendell, et al said it is in Ayiti that
Folk
   of Africa, burnt of skin, for the first time arose to say he believes in
his
   humanity.
   Now, the advent of dialogue makes it possible for us to explore the
conveyance
   of meaning from one person to another and back through sound waves,
through
   gestures carried by light, through books and newspapers, through
telephone,
   radio, television and so on, linking up the whole universe. This activity
is
   what makes society. Without it there would be no society. Communication is
   this activity. That is to say, whatever happens has to be disseminated. It
   helps to bring about a different reality, one that is more harmonious and
   orderly and creative. Through communication people come to one mind. That
is,
   to one meaning. The best illustration of this point is Dr. Price-Mars' view
on
   folktales: the folktales are the works or spontaneous products that gushed,
at
   a given moment, from a genial thought. Adopted by all because they are the
   loyal interpreters of a common aspiration, which became dear to each one
and
   changing, in short, to original creations by the obscure process of the
   subconscious (Price-Mars, J., Ainsi Parla l'Oncle, pg., 172).
   Now, we have learned from philosophy, the system is that which is
perishable,
   rightly so because it emanates from an imperishable need of the human
spirit,
   the need to overcome all the contradictions. You see, on 29 March 1987,
when
   the people voted the Constitution, they did not know the impact it would
have
   on them. So, the blocks come from the program. And what is crucial for
Ayiti
   is easy and free communication without blocks. Politics would effectively
end.
   Our history would be told as the society of the Folk of Ayiti unfolding. 


   Notes

   Alexis, J. S., La Presence de Jacques Stephen Alexis. CRESFED.
Port-au-Prince,
   Haiti
   Bohm, D., (1980). Wholeness and the Implicate Order. Rutlege. London,
England
   Bohm, D., (1986). Unfolding Meaning. Rutlege. London, England
   Laroche, M., (1981). La Literature Haitienne. Editions Lemeac. Ottwawa,
   Canada
   Price-Mars, J., (1998). Ainsi Parla L'Oncle. Imprimeur II. Port-au-Prince,
   Haiti






   Dumas Fils Lafontant is a researcher at Ayiti Vizib, a communication
center.
   He is also a commentator on the weekly radio program, Caribbean Forum,
90.3
   fm, WZBC, Newton, Massachusetts.

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