12157: President Aristide's Flag Day Speech May 18 2002 (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: MKarshan@aol.com

Unofficial translation

President Jean-Bertrand Aristide
May 18, 2002
Speech on the occasion of the 199th anniversary of
Haiti’s Flag Day at Arcahaie, Haiti

Excellency, Mr. Prime Minister,
Distinguished members of the Ministerial Cabinet,
Mr. President of the National Assembly,
Honorable Senators of the Republic,
Mr. President of the Chamber of Deputies,
Honorable Deputies of the Republic,
Mr. President of the Court of Cassation,
Ladies, Gentlemen, Mayors of the Arcahaie,
Excellency, Mr. Apostolic Nuncio,
Distinguished members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Ladies, Gentlemen, members of the Consular Corps,
Ladies, Gentlemen, representatives of International Organizations,
Mr. Director General of the Police,
Dear Policemen, dear Policewomen,
Religious Authorities,
Mr. Rector of the Haitian State University,
Dear Academics,
Ladies, Gentlemen,

I am honored and pleased to be with you today, like I was pleased to be at the Port-au-Prince Airport at 2:30 this morning for a patriotic vigil with the government.

The same joy brings us here, to Arcahaie, where the First Lady and I, united with Haitians from the 565 communal sections, our fellow citizens, and our brothers and sisters from the Tenth Department, are pleased and proud to salute the brave population of Arcahaie, on this very special day. A population that has always nourished the sacred flame of unity for the country’s sons and daughters.

Honor and respect for all of you from Arcahaie.

Lend me your hands for a salute and applaud everybody from Arcahaie. Honor and respect for you.

I need to hear a bigger applaud, please!

Louder still, they deserve this!

Yes, indeed, it was here, on May 18th, 1803, that the famous Arcahaie Conference took place. Yes, one of the most important political strategies of our history came out of this city of our bi-color flag. On that day, the indigenous army generals, Dessalines, Christophe, Pétion, Gabart, adopted the plan for the final phase of the war for independence. And for the apotheosis, all together, they pulled up to the summit of human dignity our red and blue bi-color flag.

Let’s put up our flag and let’s applaud for our beautiful flag, the same way our ancestors would have applauded if they were alive and here with us.

We paid tribute to our flag. Now young ones, we will pay tribute to our flag. Let’s put our voices together and repeat with me: Honor for our ancestors.

Honor for our ancestors.
Again.
Honor for our ancestors.
Glory to the Gods of freedom!
Glory to the Gods of freedom!
Honor for our ancestors!
Honor for our ancestors!
And hurray for that great victory!

And that is why we, people of Haiti, will never tire of speaking out the words, together with people of Arcahaie: Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité! (Freedom, Equality, Fraternity) Together!
Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité!
Once again.
Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité! A trilogy that is totally opposite to genocide.

By creating our flag, our ancestors rejected the most horrible genocide of the 18th century, which had actually started with Christopher Columbus’ first trip in 1492 when the entire Taïno population became enslaved. After their second trip, Columbus and his colonists gave a new impulse to the genocide. According to some historians, the islanders’ population, which was around 8 million people at the time, was brought down to 100 thousand when Columbus left our island in 1500.

Half a century later, there were only 200 Taïnos on our island. During the years that followed, they were considered an extinct population, just like the 7 million other native inhabitants of the Antilles. Elsewhere in America, during the slavery years, Indians were dying at a frightening rate. Of the 30 million natives who lived from Panama to Rio Grande, only 1.3 million were left in the year 1595. His Eminence Desmond Tutu wrote that genocide is possible the minute that the victims are considered as being sub-human.

Dear fellow citizens,

On this May 18,2002, allow me to declare this luminous truth: We need to eradicate from our political thinking the genocidal inheritance left by the conquest and the colonization. And under this principle, any political strategy that prolongs the crisis is genocide. And I repeat: any political strategy that prolongs the crisis is genocide.

Dear fellow citizens,

Dear sisters and dear brothers from the Opposition,
Today, the celebration for our flag is inviting us to transcend our political parties, classes and clans so we may find a solution to this crisis, to lead our country towards a better tomorrow. For the flag, for our homeland, let’s walk in unity towards democracy and never towards "democide.”

Indeed, democracy and "democide" are opposites. We have suffered enough from totalitarian governments, responsible for collective murders, or "democides," responsible for flagrant violations of human rights. During the 20th century, 170 million innocent victims were killed by these anti-democratic forces in the world. We ought to declare: Never again! Never again under the flag of Freedom, Equality and Fraternity. Because here or elsewhere, democracy and "democide" are opposites.

We know where we come from, we know what we are going through and we know where we want to go. Let’s say with all our hearts and conviction, with all our souls: Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité!

Together.
Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité!

I heard a voice saying you are with me. I am with you also. Let’s put our hands up and let’s say it louder:
Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité!
Two hands up.
Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité!

We are a peaceful nation.
We are a heroic nation.
With our conviction, with much conviction, we cry out loud: Freedom or Death!
Together.
Freedom or Death!
Louder!
Freedom or Death!

Yes, democracy and "democide" are opposites. The National Emblem reminds us, Heads of State and Government, Ministers and members of the Grand Corps of State, that we have the absolute obligation to guarantee the right to life and respect of the human person to all citizens without exception. And this is in accordance with Article 19 of our Constitution. This requirement is also in accordance with the first article of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, where we can clearly read: "The peoples of the Americas have the right to democracy and their governments have an obligation to promote and defend it. Democracy is essential for social, political and economic development of the peoples of the Americas," end of quote. In this context, we are not surprised to see Article 17 of the Democratic Charter refer directly to the reinforcement and the preservation of institutional democracy.

Dear compatriots,

Our flag has been torn too many times by violent coups d’etat. Now it needs to fly high in an environment where there is political and economic stability. That is why, at the Summit of the Heads of States in April 2001, we adopted the democratic clause rejecting all alterations or unconstitutional interruptions of democratic order.

We need peace, health, education, respect, security and lasting development. For our flag, for our homeland, let’s walk in unity towards an end to the crisis. Let’s walk fast! Let’s walk united, quickly and well. This is what we need to bring back the hope to 8 million men and women.

Who would like to see the crisis end quickly?
Who would like to see the crisis end quickly?
I can hear everybody’s positive answers. Please, let me see your hands up if that is what you want.
All of you who would like to see the crisis end quickly, put both hands up, so I can see them clearly.
Is it time for the crisis to end?
Is it possible for the crisis to end quickly?
Is it possible for the crisis to end quickly and well?

To encourage our opposition brothers and sisters – for we are all brothers and sisters. It is up to them and me, together with our friends from the international community, to assume this heavy responsibility. Let’s join our hands to those of our ancestors to clap a big bravo in advance for the crisis that will end.

Louder, louder!

If it was up to me, or it was up to the Haitian people, this crisis would have ended a long time ago. And as both Haitian people and I have brothers and sisters in the opposition, it is our responsibility to work together to end this crisis that has lasted too long already. We do not applaud for the fun of applauding. We applaud because our hearts and souls are very hurt by the consequences of the crisis. Let’s show once again our will to see the end of the crisis, let’s clap our hands louder together with our ancestors’ hands.

On May 18th, 2001, we had declared clear and loud: United we stand, divided we fall.

Today, this message needs to be even more powerful. And this is why I chose to come back to the same place to declare the same message. This means that the opposition and the government in power need to get united under the flag of Papa Dessalines, every time the nation is in danger. Under our flag, Papa Dessaline’s flag, the government and the opposition need to get together every time it is necessary. Right now, it is more than necessary. Under this Dessalines flag, the opposition and the government can’t be enemies. Opponents, yes. Adversaries, maybe.   But enemies, no. We are from the same land, we all come from the same father, who gave us the same flag. We need to get together.

United we stand, divided we fall. Haiti needs all her sons and daughters without distinction, so we can walk united towards a new Haiti. And because united we stand, united we will have the strength to fight corruption, drugs, impunity and poverty.

When one of us is hungry, it concerns all of us, because everybody has the right to eat. And hunger is not a sweet thing.

Is hunger a sweet thing?

Are there many people in our country who suffer from hunger?

When a father or a mother knows his or her child is hungry, can he or she be happy?

Today, my heart is like the heart of all fathers or mothers who still don’t know how they will feed their children today. Today, my soul is like the soul of all fathers who left their homes this morning without eating, not knowing if they will find money to bring food back to their families later.

Today, it is like when a mother is so hungry that she can’t even breastfeed her baby. We are like this baby’s older brothers or sisters who watch their innocent sister suffer. There are farmers all across the country, in all the mountains, who still don’t own a piece a land to work on.   Farmers who don’t have any fertilizers to help their land produce more food. Farmers who don’t have tools or water to work their land, this land Dessalines gave them to produce enough food for them to eat. I feel like they do, because their suffering is my suffering. And I wouldn’t be worthy of celebrating this Flag Day if I didn’t feel the pain of hunger inside me; just like anybody who is sensitive enough will feel it! You can feel it every time you face all those hungry people. Where there is hunger, there is illness. When they are weakened by hunger, it is easier to catch diseases. That is why when some of you lower your heads, you see stars. Why? Because weakness invades you, it takes control of your body. Some of you go to school on empty stomachs. How do you expect to follow in school? How can you possibly concentrate?

There are some young people among you who don’t even have the energy to study when you get back home because you don’t have anything to eat after school.

But even in this great suffering, in this calamity, I find a consolation in our people. Yes, there are many hungry people in our nation. But none of us is a beggar, a mendicant. We are hungry, we know the pain of hunger, but we are not beggars. We have dignity, we are proud. We have the strength to walk with our heads up, following the path that will bring enough food for every soul in our country, so we can eat together under our blue and red flag. Now, let’s clap our hands to encourage all the good patriotic persons who are working to end the crisis, to help get enough food for everybody in the country. All of us who know the pain of hunger, but who are not beggars, let’s clap our hands, because there is hope in this country, there is hope for the Haitian people.

Like I said earlier, where there is hunger, there is illness. And we can observe this phenomenon throughout the world. Out of the 3 million persons who suffer from tuberculosis and die because of that disease each year, 95% live in third world countries. In the year 1970, 92 million people were suffering from hunger in the world. In the year 2002, there are over 800 million. That means that we are not the only ones living with this problem. And from the 800 million people suffering from hunger, between 13 to 18 million die of it each year. Their pain is our pain -- we cannot forget them. Where there is poverty, where there is hunger, unfortunately, AIDS is there as well. In 1993, there were about 13 million people who had AIDS in the world.   8 million were from South Saharan, Africa. Here, there are 300 thousand people who live with the virus in their blood. We are all brothers and their suffering is our suffering, no matter what country they are from, or live in. We cannot forget that unfortunately, 4.3 million persons have died because of AIDS already. Another illness is when people don’t know how to read or how to write. This is why we declare, under our flag: it is not normal for us to celebrate our flag’s 200th anniversary next year and see over 65% of our population that still can’t read or write.

Help me congratulate everyone who works hard with the youth in the alphabetization (literacy) campaign. Help me congratulate them.  I congratulate them with all my heart, I congratulate them with all my soul.  And I borrow your hands to show them our thankfulness for their solidarity. Help me say thank you and that is also your thank you.

We mark that point: we will put up the 2003 flag on top of the Alpha Citadel.
If you can read, read it with me.
We will put up the 2003 flag on top of the Alpha Citadel.
Where do you see it written?
Put out your hands to show me. Show me where you see it written. Put out your hands.
Very good young ones.
In your opinion, can most Haitians see what is written down here?
If you can’t read, can you see what is written down?

Isn’t it sad when we see all our brothers and sisters who don’t know how to read or write? Well, I want to congratulate you once again, all youth who will make it possible for us to celebrate our flag’s 200th anniversary with less people in our country who can’t read or write. And as I said before, when people can’t read or write, it is a real illness.

Article 32.2 of our Constitution declares that the State has the obligation to lead an alphabetization campaign. Without the country’s youth, it is very difficult for us to do that. In order to put up our flag on top of the Alpha Citadel, we need to be brave, to be courageous, to stand up as a new generation that will build a new Haiti.

University students,
Secondary school students, primary school students,
All alphabetization instructors,
Let’s strengthen alphabetization campaign!
Let’s bring it up higher; at the same time we bring the flag up higher!

There are about 800,000,000 illiterates in the world. Every time we work to bring down that number, we put up a light for the country and for the entire world. This is also why we know that what has been done already is nothing compared to what needs to be done now, in order to find money to build more schools in the country. The more we are, the easier it will be to carry out the mission of education.

In 1991, there were 900 primary schools in the country. Now, there are 1,149 primary schools. And if there hadn’t been those 3 years of a coup d’etat, how far ahead we would be! It is so sad to think where we would be now if there hadn’t been 2 years of that crisis already!

This is why we need to do everything we can to end the crisis as quickly as possible, because it is necessary to have more schools, more money for education, for universities. We will not hesitate a minute to make all necessary sacrifices to end the crisis.

Education and representative democracy are essential to political and economic stability. So we believe that democratic and free elections can take place in November 2002 or in the first semester of 2003, to renew the two-thirds of the Senate and the Territorial Collectivities (local representatives).

The more security there is, the smoother the elections will go. To increase that security, we will work relentlessly. We need more security. And there will be more security, more justice, because our flag is a flag of justice. Here are some of the many decisions that were taken concerning justice:

-Starting on May 20th, 2002:

-Justices of the Peace, Prosecutors and Instruction Judges will visit the prisons, starting with the National Penitentiary, in order to hear all prisoners who never saw their own judges.

-For this, many Instruction Judges and Assistant Prosecutors from the Civil Court of Port-au-Prince will be available to go to the National Penitentiary.

-Non-jury trials will take place in June in Port-au-Prince. 39 cases, from 1996 to 2000, will be heard. Simultaneously, the most senior members of the Civil Courts of the Republic are organizing trials by jury before the judicial holidays.

-Nomination of many more judges and assistant prosecutors will be made in order to fill the vacant spots during the holidays and to stimulate the judicial system. Priority will be given to those attending the School of Magistrates.

-Creation of a National Commission to Combat Drugs.

-Nominations to the Financial Resources Control Unit.

-Organization of meetings with Justices of the Peace in order to reduce the number of people kept in custody in police stations.

-To guarantee respect for private property in accordance with Article 36 of our Constitution, additional measures will be taken by the Government.

-Opening in the near future of a Tribunal de Paix in the eastern section of Port-au-Prince.

-Measures will be taken to reactivate the roving justice project.

-  Whether it is in the streets while we struggle to increase security, whether it is within the State’s institutions while we bring back order to fight back the corruption inherited from the years of dictatorship, with the law in hand, we will put in application zero tolerance!

Zero tolerance.

Is the message clear?

…But not only in the provinces.  In the cities as well, outside the state administration, inside it, wherever the dictatorial years left corruption behind, we will apply zero tolerance.

We are a nation who knows what we like. We are a nation who knows what we want. We are a people who knows the taste of our mouth. We are a people who knows what we want. We are a people who knows what’s nice.  With the law in our hands, zero tolerance will bring us a nicer and more prosperous Haiti. Thus, in celebrating next year the bicentennial of our flag, we will have an improved country and at the same time a better Arcahaie. As many of you called for through your mayor, we will strive and succeed.

Dear fellow citizens,

When our voices rise up against corruption and anti-democratic practices, our eyes will contemplate the opening of the roses of justice and solidarity. During the slavery years, we were victims of a massive extermination, but now we stand as heroes under the shade of our flag. Our people were able to cultivate solidarity beyond the borders, beyond time.

So we share the pain and the hope of all the nations who were or still are victims of genocide. The Tutsis and the Hutus, from Burundi and Rwanda, Cambodians, the Jews, Native Americans, Tzigans, the Peoples of Palestine, of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, all those who are craving for justice and solidarity.

We are the worthy sons and daughters of our nation’s fathers who left us our flag. We have a strong sense of belonging to this ancestral territory and we will always remain open to an immeasurable cosmos, to all humans and to all the peoples of the planet who are craving for peace and justice.

May each day our flag remind us of those transcendental values to accelerate the historical walk towards:

1. The end of the crisis;

2. The strengthening of democracy;

3. The celebration of our flag and bicentennial independence.
198 years ago, our ancestors wrote down independence in red, the color of their blood.

Today, let’s write democracy in blue and red, the colors of our bi-color flag.

Thank you.

President Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Arcahaie 05/18/2002