25730: (Arthur) GARR on the Jacques Roche murder, plus poem (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Tttnhm@aol.com

GARR* press release (unofficial translation by Charles Arthur for the Haiti
Support Group)

Jacques Roche, a close collaborator with GARR, was killed by his captors on
14 July having been kidnapped on Sunday 10 July in Nazon, an area of the
capital, Port-au-Prince.

Despite the payment of a ransom, Jacques Roche was beaten, tortured and
finally executed. His dead body was found in the Delmas 4 zone, an area of the
capital controlled by armed gangs linked to the ousted 'Lavalas' regime.

Jacques was a social worker, a journalist, a poet, and an activist committed
to social change in Haiti. He had collaborated with GARR on the issue of
internally displaced people during the February 2004 crisis, as well as on the
issue of the creation of a free trade zone in Ouanaminthe on the border with the
Dominican Republic. He wrote a number of texts to try and inform the Haitian
population about various subjects of public interest, amongst others: "Le vent
de Maribahoux", a poem describing the destruction of fertile land by the
construction of the free trade zone on the border, and "L'enfant de la Canne", a
poem about the Haitian children in the sugar cane compounds (bateys) in the
Dominican Republic.

It is with great sadness, indignation and concern that we inform you of
Jacques' tragic death. We are sharing with you a poem that he wrote (in English,
and the original in French):

* GARR (Le Groupe d'Appui aux RapatriÃs et RÃfugiÃs) is a platform of
associations and non-governmental organisations working on the issue of migration.


Child of the cane


I am a child of the cane,

A child of hell

I belong to no land,

My hands murmur in the racket.


I am a child of the cane,

A border child

I belong to no country,

My hands howl in silence.


I am a child of the cane,

A child of shame

I belong to no people,

My hands denounce the chaos.


I am a child of the cane

A child of hopelessness

I belong to no nation,

My hands hope in oblivion.


I am a child of the cane,

A child of the revolt

I belong to no race,

My hands cry in history.


I have no playground but the canefield

I have no recreation but the field

I have no horizon but the field

My hands seek a homeland

My hands go in search of a childhood

My hands seek urgent support

And my sight wanders over the island.




L'enfant de la canne


Je suis un enfant de la canne

Un enfant de l'enfer

Je n'appartiens à aucune terre

Mes mains murmurent dans le vacarme.



Je suis un enfant de la canne

Un enfant de la frontiÃre

Je n'appartiens à aucun pays

Mes mains hurlent dans le silence.



Je suis un enfant de la canne

Un enfant de la honte

Je n'appartiens à aucun peuple

Mes mains dÃnoncent dans le chaos.



Je suis un enfant de la canne

Un enfant du dÃsespoir

Je n'appartiens à aucune nation

Mes mains espÃrent dans l'oubli.



Je suis un enfant de la canne

Un enfant de la rÃvolte

Je n'appartiens à aucune race

Mes mains pleurent dans l'histoire.



Je n'ai de cour que le champs

Je n'ai de rÃcrÃation que le champs

Je n'ai d'horizon que le champs

Mes mains cherchent une patrie

Mes mains quÃtent une enfance

Mes mains quÃmandent une urgence

Et mon regard erre sur l'Ãleâ


Jacques Roche

__________________
Forwarded as a service of the Haiti Support Group - solidarity with the
Haitian people's struggle for human rights, participatory democracy and equitable
development - since 1992.

www.haitisupport.gn.apc.org