13906: Dorvilus: Re:13900: Dorce - Re: 13898: Dorvilus: Re:13885: Dorce (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Arsene Dorvilus <arsenedorvilus@phayze.com>

Thank you, Kathy Dorce, for your reply. Allow me now to reply to it. To
suggest that, simply because Aristide is from the south, a northerner would
be more susceptible to manipulation against him  is totally erroneous.
What is currently happening has nothing to do with geography and much to do
with the actions of this government, and also the amounts of money that are
being spent by both sides to promote their own views. The most simple
refutation of Kathy Dorce's north vs south argument lies in a town called
Petit-Goave, arguably a "southern" town, which has had and has been more
anti-Lavalas than any "northern" town I know in recent times.
The fact that the anti-Lavalas protest in Cap-Haitien on November 17 was
noteowrthy had nothing to do with us northerners (Saint-Raphael where my
family is from is considered North) being more likely to be anti-Aristide
or being more likely to be bribed because of it. It had more to do with a
group of younger haitians (initiative citoyenne) taking a stance against
what is happening and having the courage to organize the event. Of course,
all sorts of opportunists came to the event (even the US ambassador) but
the fact is that they were outnumbered by local disenchanted citizens.
It is also worth noting that even the town of Jacmel had anti-government
march recently so this "possibility" that you allude to should be buried
quickly because, while there may be all sorts of forces conspiring to
overthrow Aristide (and I am sure there are, I don't need to be convinced
of that) we northerners would not stoop to conspire with them just because
the president happens to be from another region of the country. After all,
the Convergence has offices in all parts of the country, not just in the
north, and many of its leaders arr southerners, like Paul Denis who is from
a town close to Aristide's hometown.
Rather than accuse us, or suggest that we are more likely to be manipulated
than others, maybe we should look at the issues that have bred the anger
and contempt of the people against the administration first. Maybe we will
begin to understand the level of treason that Lalavas has perpetrated
against the people of Haiti, and espeically its attempt to dissuade the
poor from organizing in such a way as to counterbalance the rich of this
country that have had access to the halls of power always and continue to
have that access. It is clear to me that Ti-Jean or Cilia have no more
access to government officials than in the past, and that while they are
beings asked to defend time and again a "populist"government  against the
outside forces and the bourgeois that have kept them in their misery for so
They are being asked to be vocal when defending Lavalas, but their voices
are not being heard or are savagely being muted when it comes time for them
to articulate their own  revendications. You can fool some people
sometimes, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.
In closing, Haiti has enough problems right now for people to come inject
yet another factor of division, namely "geographicalism" (in the same vein
as "tribalisme" in parts of Africa)   into the mix.