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18413: Anonymous: See who are supporting Aristide for that Democracy (fwd)
DEEPENING THE ROOTS OF HAITI'S DEMOCRACY
Since 1986 the Haitian people have traveled a long and
difficult road from dictatorship to democracy.
Overcoming devastating setbacks such as the coup
d'etat of 1991, they have achieved a degree of freedom
and peace unprecedented in Haiti's history. But today,
a fundamental question remains. Will electoral
democracy translate into concrete changes in the lives
of ordinary Haitians? Former President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide created the Aristide Foundation
for Democracy with a simple principle in mind: the
promise of democracy can only be fulfilled if all
sectors of Haitian society are able to actively
participate in the democratic life of the nation.
To bring real change, democracy in Haiti must go
beyond the polling place. It must become a daily
practice. Democracy must include those at the margins
of society: street children, market women, landless
peasants, restaveks (children living in Haitian
households as unpaid domestic laborers), and the urban
poor. And it must address the issues of primary
importance to the majority of Haiti's seven million
citizens: food, jobs, health care, education, justice,
and peace.
The Aristide Foundation for Democracy is dedicated to
opening up avenues of democratic participation for
those who traditionally have had no voices in national
affairs. It seeks to echo and amplify the voices of
the Haitian people on a national and international
level, and it strives to foster dialogue across class
and social lines.
To create the conditions in which democratic
participation is possible for all Haitians, the
Aristide Foundation works in three key areas: creating
forums for dialogue; supporting literary programs; and
fostering communiy-based economic initiatives.
Mildred Aristide
Responsable de la Fondation Aristide pour la
Democratie
FORUMS FOR DIALOGUE
The space to participate
There are few institutions in Haitian society that
permit the nation's poor majority to voice its views
on issues of national importance, or that foster
dialogue across class and social lines. To fill these
needs, the Foundation sponsors popular symposiums,
debates, conferences, training workshops, and radio
programs.
A Meeting Ground
Forums at the Foundation's conference center bring
together up to 3'000 people from both urban areas and
the countryside, provoke debate throughout the
country, and help to define national priorities.
National media coverage helps to broaden access to
these events. Forums address topics such as
disarmament and Haiti's new police force, building
peace, the progress and current needs of Haitian
women, the impact of structural adjustment, and
justice.
Radio Programs
Radio is Haiti's most dynamic and accessible medium.
With its finger on the pulse of the nation, it is the
primary source of news and information for most
Haitians. The Foundation supports the following radio
programs, which bring rarely heard voices to the
airwaves:
Tout Moun Se Moun
A radio broadcast produced by the Foundation, Tout
Moun Se Moun gives the microphone to ordinary Haitians
to analyze and debate the issues of the day.
Radyo Timoun
A radio station staffed and operated by street
children, Radyo Timoun airs daily news, features and
music programs, highlighting youth and children
issues, and shedding light on the plight of Haiti's
more than 200'000 street children. Initiated by Former
President Aristide, the station is now looking to
expand its broadcasting and programming capacity.
LITERACY
(Analfabet pa bet)
A tool for participation
Eighty-five percent of Haiti's population is
illiterate. Most Haitians are, therefore, effectively
excluded from fully participating in the nation's
political, social and economic institutions. The
Aristide Foundation supports Creole literacy programs
to put a fundamental tool of democracy, the ability to
read and write, in the hands of Haitian citizens.
It sponsors training workshops for literacy workers,
and is creating a Creole language library. In
partnership with Lafanmi Selavi, the center for Port
au-Prince street children founded by Jean-Bertrand
Aristide in 1986, the Foundation develops literacy
projects to reach Haiti's thousands of homeless
children.
COMMUNITY-BASED ECONOMIC INITIATIVES
The means to participate
Moving from misery to poverty with dignity
Unemployment in Haiti is close to 70 percent, and the
average Haitian earns less than $300 dollars a year.
To offer a hungry person only words would be callous;
to offer them only food would be hypocritical. The
Aristide Foundation for Democracy attempts to balance
two imperatives: addressing the root causes of poverty
and meeting immediate material needs of the poor. To
give communities the opportunity to generate income
for their members and increase food production, the
Foundation offers the following:
Technical assistance in the formation of cooperative
income generating projects. We give priority to food
production projects.
Financial management training for members of
cooperative groups. Credit for community-based income
generating projects.
The Aristide Foundation for Democracy is a registered
non-profit corporation. All Foundation funding is
obtained from private sources. Donations can be sent
to:
(in the U.S.) P.O. Box 490271 Miami, Flonda 33 14g
(in Haiti) B.P. 806 Port-au-Prince Haiti
I would like to support the following:
Literacy
Forums for Dialogue
Community-Based Economic
Names:
U.S. Board of Directors
Dr Paul Farmer
Joanne Kehoe
Ira J. Kutzban
Carole Sambale Tannert
Mildred Aristide.
U.S. Board of Advisors
Michael Barnes Rep. Donald M. Payne
Taylor Branch Rep. Carrie P. Meek
Dr. Glenn Bucher N.C. Murthy
Rep. John Conyers, Jr. Rep. Charles B.
Rangel
Rep. Ronald Dellums Michael Ratner
Jonathan Demme Dr Paul Reiss
David Dinkins Julia Roberts
Bishop Thomas Randall Robinson
J. Gumbleton Ed Saxon
Ethel Kennedy Irwin Stotzky
Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II Susan Taylor
Charles J. Ogletree Rep. Maxine Waters
Rep. Major Owens Ambassador Robert
white