18275: Saint-Vil answer Reid RE: 18247: Varying Experiences at Bicentennial Celebration (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Jean Saint-Vil <jafrikayiti@hotmail.com>


Ralph Reid rafreid@yahoo.com wrote:<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

“Wow, I'm really hurt. Here you are naming people who were "courageous" enough
to go to Haiti, and you neglect to put my wife and I on the list.”

Dear Ralph,

My apologies to you, to your wife, to my brother Mozart, to my cousins Janie
and Nadège and to their American friends who came to Haiti for the first time
ever, and to several thousand other people whom I failed to name by name but
who were also there, against the best advice of those who love them and were
genuinely scared to see them go to Haiti.

You wrote:

“Oh, but I guess our trip doesn't count, since we were not known as
Aristide/Lavalas supporters, so we had no business being in Haiti for the
bicentennial. After all, that was what we were told by the Chimeres who
attacked us within 45 minutes of our arrival in Haiti.”

Dear Ralph, I would never be so rude or naïve to discount or belittle the very
tragic events that happened to you and your spouse. However, those people who
attacked you could be from any "tribe" and could have also told you that “the
embassy” sent them, and that would not bring us any closer to knowing who
really attacked you and why. What was the point of them self-identifying as
“chimère”? Who gains from putting the fear of his brethren into the head of
each and every Haitian living in the diaspora? Who has to loose from our
involvement in Haitian economic and political life – rather than staying where
we are and forever sending the fat cheques that our loved ones need to go shop
at the market.  Whose natural competitors are we? Call me ‘conspiracy brother’
if you will, but I have developed a particular distrust for these instantly
solved mysteries happening incessantly in our country. Especially, when, at
every turn, the only palpable net result is that former allies in the Haitian
progressive camp find themselves at each other’s throat. Brother Michael
Zinzin, former Panther who I met at the bicentennial celebrations could tell us
quite a bit about what happened to Huey P. Newton and his colleagues in the
‘land of the free’. Fake letters signed by Huey Newton selling Panther brothers
to the agency etc…

You wrote:

“I don't know about Ms. Laurent, but I do know that the other people you name
were escorted by armed security throughout their time in Haiti”

Simply not true dear brother!  My own eyes can confirm how the very eve of
January 1st, 2004 Danny Glover, Ron Daniels and others were eating peacefully
at Harry’s Restaurant in Petion-Ville, with no escort other than the spirit of
our ancestors and the love of Haiti’s peace-loving people. Kim Ives who was
also there could confirm or infirm this observed fact!

You wrote:

“It is very easy to be "courageous" when the guns are by one's side”.

Come on Ralph, it is not fair or useful to belittle the experience of others.
Again, I do not dispute the fact that some criminals attacked you as you
described. Our country is suffering from a spiral of violence that is truly
appalling. However, it is my observation that reports of this violence has been
exaggerated, manipulated and used against the very people who are striving to
make it cease. Let us be careful not help our enemies create a climate of
generalized hysteria in Haiti. We must, instead find the wisdom and courage to
face the reality and transform it in the direction of generalized peace and
sustainable tranquility. The level of real violence is already too high. Let us
work so that the projected nightmare does not also become reality.

People like Thabo M’Beki, Danny Glover and Maxine Waters had nothing to gain
(politically or financially) by going to Haiti for the bicentennial. In fact
they had much to lose in these regards. If they did go, it is because they
understand that what is going on in this country is not a simple fight between
political parties, but the struggle of a global nation (THE AFRIKAN PEOPLE)
searching for air to breath and freedom to be in "their" place under the sun.

Let us encourage a real and thorough disarmament of the population - especially
the youths who should instead of roaming the streets be in school. These Uzis,
M16 and all the other names they have for these foreign-made death machines
have already destroyed too many wasted geniuses in Site Katon, Bèlè, Petyonvil,
Raboto, Soweto, Kingston as they also do in Queens and Montreal Nord.

Let me end with this anecdote:

A good friend from Ottawa called to inquire how I was doing while I was in
Haiti. We spoke, he was happy and relieved to learn that all was well with me
and my family, then I sympathized when he informed me that his house has just
been broken into by thieves. Is the moral of this story that, at least during
that period, Haiti was safe while Ottawa was a haven of thieves? I think not.
‘Reality’ is always far more complex than our individual experiences, not
matter how tragic or fantastic they may be to our eyes.

Peace always and long live Haiti for Haitians !



Jafrikayiti

«Depi nan Ginen bon nèg ap ede nèg!»
http://www.jafrikayiti.com

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