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May 18, 2010 - No. 92 30th Anniversary of Gwangju People's Uprising207th Anniversary of Haitian Flag Day• 30th
Anniversary of Gwangju People's Uprising Korea 30th Anniversary of Gwangju People's Uprising
The Gwangju People's Uprising was a glorious revolutionary action undertaken to oppose the brutal military dictatorship of General Chun Doo-hwan. Chun had come to power through a U.S.-engineered military coup that overthrew the government of President Choi Kyu-hah and imposed martial law in south Korea in May 1980. According to various news and eye-witness reports, the Gwangju People's Uprising was triggered by student demonstrations on the morning of May 18 in defiance of the new military edict closing the universities and stifling any political dissent. The police were unable to hold the organized resistance of the people so a Special Forces unit trained for assault missions was dispatched to smash the uprising. The Special Forces used tear gas, batons and rubber bullets to try and suppress the uprising but still workers, shopkeepers, and parents took to the streets to defend their children. Then the military opened fire, killing close to two hundred people and wounding hundreds more.   Gwangju, Korea, May 18, 1980: Soldiers are deployed against the people to brutally quell the Gwangju Democratic Uprising. On May 20, some 10,000 people demonstrated in Gwangju. Due to the widespread militarization of the society, most major workplaces in south Korea had caches of weapons. Protestors seized these weapons, buses, taxis, and even armoured personnel carriers, forming armed militias to fight the army. On May 21, the Special Forces were forced to withdraw and the city fell to the citizens. The next five days were unprecedented in south Korean history. The people organized themselves into citizens' committees to ensure the well-being and security of everyone. Food, medical and transportation systems were organized and lively political discussions took place where the people gathered to discuss their future and their opposition to the U.S. occupation of south Korea and the military dictatorship. On May 24, 15,000 people attended a memorial service in memory of those who died at the beginning of the uprising at the hands of Special Forces. On May 25, about 50,000 people gathered for a rally in Gwangju and adopted a resolution calling for the abolition of martial law and the release of Kim Dae Jung. (Kim, who passed away in August 2009, was at the time of the uprising a well-known political prisoner. He would later become the eighth President of the Republic of Korea and play a significant role in moving forward the north-south dialogue for reunification. Along with the leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Kim Jong Il, Kim Dae Jung co-signed the historic June 15 North-South Joint Declaration which paved the way for a new period in the struggle for Korean reunification.) Soon after this, the U.S. government of Jimmy Carter intervened because the Gwangju Uprising was seen as a threat to U.S. strategic interests on the Korean peninsula and Asia. The U.S. ordered the Chun regime to move troops from the De-Militarized Zone (DMZ) separating north and south Korea and to re-occupy Gwangju. On May 27, at 3:30 am, the army swarmed Gwangju in Operation Fascinating Vacations. The people of Gwangju resisted courageously against this act of state-terror. In the ensuing battle, thousands of civilians were
killed and close
to 15,000 people were injured. More than 1,500 people were taken into
custody and many were tortured. Seven people were executed and 14
received life-sentences for taking a stand against the U.S. sponsored
military dictatorship and
to demand their rights. The significance of the Gwangju People's Uprising is
that it
delivered a decisive blow to U.S. imperialism on the Korean peninsula
and signalled a turning point in the struggle of the Korean people's
collective will to rid their nation of the U.S. military occupation of
the south. It was also a decisive battle in the Korean peoples' project of national reunification, their fight for democratic reforms and an end to U.S.-installed military dictatorships in the south.
The Gwangju People's Uprising today finds expression in the determination of the Korean people south and north to oppose the criminal activities of the U.S.-installed puppet government of Lee Myung Bak, a government of national betrayal that continues to impose retrogressive anti-democratic measures in south Korea including using the anti-communist National Security Law to criminalize and persecute patriotic and reunification forces in south Korea. Under these conditions, the 30th anniversary of the heroic Gwangju People's Uprising serves as a beacon to all the fighting forces in Korea as well as in the world who are joined in the struggle to rid the world of Anglo-American imperialism once and for all. On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Gwangju People's Uprising, TML calls on the working class and people to intensify their support for the heroic Korean people in their just struggle against the U.S. military occupation of south Korea, to resolutely oppose the U.S. nuclear blackmail and military provocations against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and to vigorously support their more than 60-year struggle to realize the independent and peaceful reunification of their divided country through their own efforts. Hail the 30th Anniversary of the Heroic
Gwangju People's Uprising! 207th Anniversary of Haitian Flag Day
On May 18, 1803, the main leaders of the people in rebellion against the French army of Saint-Domingue -- present-day Haiti -- were called together to the headquarters in Archahaie by their commander, General Jean-Jacques Dessalines. The time was critical to create a sign of solidarity that would signify the people's definitive detachment from France and at the same time, their rejection of anything that could remind them of their enslavement. In the presence of all his commanders, Jean-Jacques Dessalines asked that they bring him a French flag. Abruptly he removed the white colour. A woman by the name of Suzanne Flon, stitched from end to end the remaining blue and red colours
In this way, the Haitian flag and Flag Day represent the more than 200-year struggle of Haitians to affirm their sovereignty once and for all. In 2010, the flag and what it represents take on particular poignancy given the work by Haitians to recover from the devastating earthquake of January 12, 2010 at a time the U.S., Canada, France and other countries are seeking to capitalize on this tragedy for self-serving aims. Haiti Canada's Self-Serving Law and Order "Aid" to Haiti   On May 7, Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon completed a three-day visit to Haiti, which was punctuated with announcements of various projects to be funded by the Canadian government. Given that health care and rebuilding of housing remain the most urgent need of the Haitian people, it is notable that aid being provided to Haiti by the Government of Canada is focused on law and order measures such as prisons, policing and the judicial system. A May 7 Foreign Affairs' press release reported that "the Government of Canada has contributed $4.4 million to the International Organization for Migration for the construction of the Croix-des-Bouquets prison and has also provided $2.5 million to Avocats sans frontières Canada for a project that aims to improve Haitians' access to justice. [...] "Minister Cannon visited Jacmel and Léogâne, as well as Croix-des-Bouquets, where the prison is nearing completion. In addition to supporting the prison's construction, Canada has committed to helping make it operational through the presence of Correctional Service Canada officers, who will train and mentor their Haitian counterparts. The new Port-au-Prince area detention centre will reduce overcrowding, helping improve prisoners' health and safety." A May 5 press release states that the Canadian government "will increase its support for Haitian justice and security institutions by $10 million over last year's contribution, to a total of $25 million." It also quotes Minister Cannon, who states with utmost condescension: "Our common vision for Haiti is a country built squarely on the foundations of security, sovereignty, the rule of law, economic prosperity and equality of opportunity. This is not an impossible goal. It can be achieved under the leadership of Haiti's government and with long-term commitment and collaboration among donors." TML denounces Canada's anti-people "assistance" to Haiti and the condescending and racist view espoused by Minister Cannon and the Canadian government that the Haitian people's only hope of governing themselves will be through the tutelage of neo-colonial masters. Moreover, those institutions that the Government of Canada is funding are precisely those rejected by the Haitian people, such as the Haitian National Police which was dismantled during the government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and resurrected following the 2004 coup. The Haitian National Police and the UN peacekeeping forces MINUSTAH (in collusion with Canadian-funded NGOs) have been central to violently suppressing and imprisoning the people's forces especially supporters of President Aristide and activists of Fanmi Lavalas, ever since the coup instigated by the U.S., Canada and France took place. Far from ensuring that Canada's assistance to Haiti is consistent with the desire of Canadians to provide genuine humanitarian aid, the Canadian government is attempting to continue its anti-people annexationist program for Haiti under the guise of humanitarian aid in response to the January 12 earthquake. It must not pass! The working class and people know from their own experience how the police and military are used to suppress the people's just struggles and that law and order measures cannot resolve any social or economic problems in the people's favour whether in Canada or abroad. TML calls on everyone to step up and broaden the work in support of the Haitian people. Demonstration Protests Haiti's Handover to ForeignersA mass demonstration of at least 2,000 people took place on May 10 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti outside the ruins of the National Palace denouncing the inaction of President René Préval in response to the January 12 earthquake and demanding his immediate resignation. Many Haitians consider the president had an unacceptably low profile following the quake in light of the gravity of the situation and is now trying to use the dire situation in Haiti to extend his term in office, news agencies report. The demonstrators also called for the return of democratically-elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide ousted by a foreign-backed coup in 2004. The protest, called by nearly 40 political parties and other opposition groups, was met with trucks filled with riot police who fired tear gas, while a U.S. Army helicopter circled overhead. At a news conference, Préval assured the public that he would leave office as scheduled, by May 14, 2011, exactly five years after his 2006 inauguration. "I want to establish stability in this country," Préval said. Haiti was scheduled to hold presidential elections before February 2011. However, also on May 10, a quorum of the 29-member Senate voted to extend Préval's term up to 96 days due to the emergency situation in the country. The 99-seat lower chamber approved the measure the week before. Those who oppose the extension say the extension or any delay in the vote is unconstitutional. It should be noted that since the 2004 coup which ousted democratically elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, supporters of Aristide and his party Fanmi Lavalas, have been blocked through bureaucratic or even violent means from participating in elections. A May 10 news report from the Al Jazeera underscores the serious problem the Haitian people are confronting, namely, being blocked from exercising control over their destiny by those who would have them as a subject people: "[As of midnight on May 10, t]he entire lower house and one-third of the senate are no longer sitting because the earthquake prevented February's legislative elections from taking place. 'Effectively the parliament is ceasing to exist as a governing body and the people on the streets are pretty concerned about that,' Al Jazeera's Seb Walker, reporting from Port-au-Prince, said. 'It concentrates power in the hands of the president and the international commission that has been set up with former U.S. president Bill Clinton as a co-chair. 'The people say that this means the day-to-day running of the country is now out of their hands.'" The commission, which also includes Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive, will oversee $9.9 billion in foreign reconstruction money pledged at an international donors conference at the end of March. This amount is 40 percent larger than Haiti's entire gross domestic product. Many of the protesters said Préval has sold the country to foreign powers, while the commission violates Haiti's sovereignty. "Préval should leave power and he should be arrested," Maxime Geffrard, one of the demonstrators, shouted. "He is a traitor because he wants to sell the country to foreigners." Claudy Louis, a 29-year-old schoolteacher, said, "Préval has used the drama that our country went through and turned it into an opportunity for himself. Instead of looking out for the people, he quickly hatched a plan to benefit the small group of people around him, the bourgeoisie." (Press TV, Al Jazeera. Associated Press) Cuba's Dreamcatcher Role in Haiti
On May 5, 2010 a moving ceremony was held in Havana, Cuba to mark the continuing success of the Canadian Network on Cuba (CNC)'s Cuba for Haiti Campaign. The campaign, launched in January 2010 in response to the earthquake disaster has thus far raised nearly $100,000 to support the Cuban Henry Reeve Medical Brigade in Haiti. Participating in the event, held at the headquarters of the Instituto Cubano de Amistad con los Pueblos (Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples -- ICAP), were Raciel Proenxa Rodríguez, Director of Economic Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Commerce and Investment, Isaac Saney, Co-Chair and National Spokesperson of the CNC, officials of ICAP, members of the Canada-Cuba solidarity movement and Haitian youth studying in Cuba. Proenxa thanked the CNC for its contribution and explained where the money is being spent. At the time of the earthquake in Haiti, 402 Cuban internationalists, 302 of them medical personnel, had already been helping Haitians, Proenxa pointed out. Since the earthquake, he explained, Cuban cooperation has grown to 1,304 persons, with 679 Cubans, and 625 graduates and students from 26 other countries, trained and educated free of cost at Cuba's Latin American School of Medicine. He further noted that as of May 4, 2010, 330,306 patients have been treated, with 8,428 surgeries performed. Proenxa emphasized that Cuban assistance encompasses more than just the provision of immediate medical attention. It is now also focused on strengthening and rebuilding the Haitian healthcare system. Toward those ends, the Cuban medical and paramedical internationalists work in 56 hospitals and healthcare centres, and have installed and equipped 30 rooms, in which 85, 401 patients have been treated.
For information about the Cuba for Haiti campaign of the CNC go to www.canadiannetworkoncuba.ca or to make a contribution, contact: cnc@canadiannetworkoncuba.ca. To contribute directly make cheques out to 'The Mackenzie-Papineau Memorial Fund,' indicating on the cheque memo line 'Cuba for Haiti' and mail to: Mackenzie-Papineau Memorial Fund & Friends of the Mac Pap Battalion (Int'l Brigades), Att: S. Skup, 56 Riverwood Terrace, Bolton, ON L7E 1S4. Cuban Medical Aid to Haiti:
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Today marks the 30th
anniversary of the
heroic Gwangju People's
Uprising which
took place in the city of Gwangju, south Korea, from May 18-28, 1980.
This important anniversary is being commemorated in Korea and other
countries.
On behalf of the CNC, Saney
stressed that the Cuban
internationalist mission not only assists the Haitian people at a time
of great need, but underscores the magnitude of the island's generosity
and national altruism. In this regard, the success of the Cuba for
Haiti Campaign lies not only in the money
that has been raised but also in the possibility it offers to
participate in a truly humane solidarity project, Saney said. Saney
recalled that in 1998 at a meeting between then Canadian Prime Minister
Jean Chrétien and Cuban President Fidel Castro, the leader of
the Cuban Revolution proposed a joint Cuba-Canada
cooperative project to rebuild the Haitian healthcare system. Cuba
could provide the personnel and Canada could contribute the material
resources required, Castro pointed out. Even though Chrétien
ignored the proposal, the CNC decided to take it up, Saney said. The
fundraising for Haiti via the Cuban internationalist
mission has been very warmly
received by Canadians, he said. Despite
being ignored by the Canadian monopoly media, the campaign demonstrates
the confidence that the Canadian people have in Cuba, he added. He
pointed out that some of the contributions have been given by people
simply on the grounds that
if the money they want to give to Haiti goes through Cuba, they feel
confident it will safely reach its destination and not be squandered in
corruption or misused. This shows the respect and admiration of
Canadians for the Cuban people and their efforts to build and defend a
society centred on independence, justice
and human dignity, Saney said.
Saney concluded by
presenting Proenxa with a
dreamcatcher made by the Mi'kmaq people of Nova Scotia. Dedicated to
the Henry Reeve Medical Brigade, Saney noted that just as the
dreamcatcher allows only good dreams to pass through while destroying
nightmares, so too the Cuban medical and
educational internationalist missions stop the nightmares of disease
and illiteracy from reaching the people, while demonstrating the
alternatives which permit people to realize their deepest aspirations,
and that another better world is possible.
 Jacmel, Haiti: Cuban pediatrician with mother and child in January 2010. (Granma) |
Canada's contribution included the deployment of 2,046 Canadian Forces personnel, including 200 DART personnel. The DART (Disaster Assistance Response Team) received the most media attention, as it conducted 21,000 consultations -- though it should be noted they do not treat any serious trauma patients or provide surgical care. Indeed, among the DART personnel, only 45 are medical staff, with others being involved in water purification, security, and reconstruction. In total, the Canadians stayed for only 7 weeks.[10]
The United States government, which received extensive positive media attention, sent the USNS "Comfort," a 1,000-bed hospital ship with a 550-person medical staff and stayed for 7 weeks, in which time they treated 871 patients, performing 843 surgical operations.[11] Both the Canadian and US contributions were important -- while they were there.
Lost in the media shuffle was the fact that, for the first 72 hours following the earthquake, Cuban doctors were in fact the main medical support for the country. Within the first 24 hours, they had completed 1,000 emergency surgeries, turned their living quarters into clinics, and were running the only medical centers in the country, including 5 comprehensive diagnostic centers (small hospitals) which they had previously built. In addition another 5 in various stages of construction were also used, and they turned their ophthalmology center into a field hospital -- which treated 605 patients within the first 12 hours following the earthquake.[12]
Cuba soon became responsible for some 1,500 medical personnel in Haiti. Of those, some 344 doctors were already working in Haiti, while over 350 members of the "Henry Reeve" Emergency Response Medical Brigade were sent by Cuba following the earthquake. In addition, 546 graduates of ELAM from a variety of countries, and 184 5th and 6th year Haitian ELAM students joined, as did a number of Venezuelan medical personnel. In the final analysis, they were working throughout Haiti in 20 rehabilitation centers and 20 hospitals, running 15 operating theatres, and had vaccinated 400,000. With reason Fidel Castro stated, "we send doctors, not soldiers."[13]
A glance at the medical role of the various key players is instructive.
Comparative Medical Contributions in Haiti by March 23[14]
MSF Canada USA Cuba
No.
of
Staff
3,408
45
550
1,504
No. of Patients Treated 54,000 21,000
871 227,143
No. of Surgeries
3,700 0
843 6,499
These comparative data, compiled from several sources, are particularly telling as they indicate the significant (and widely ignored) medical contribution of the Cubans. In fact, they have treated 4.2 times the number of patients compared with MSF (which has over twice as many workers, as well as significantly more financial resources), and 10.8 times more than the Canadian DART team. (As noted, Canadian and U.S. medical personnel had left by March 9). Also notable is the fact that the Cuban medical contingent was roughly three times the size of the American staff, although they treated 260.7 times more patients than U.S. medical personnel. Clearly, there have been significant differences in the nature of medical assistance provided.
It is also important to note that approximately
one-half of the Cuban medical staff was working outside the capital,
Port-au-Prince, where there was significant damage as well. Many
medical missions could not get there, however, due to transportation
issues. Significantly, the Cuban medical brigade
also worked to minimize epidemics by making up 30 teams to educate
communities on how to properly dispose of waste, as well as how to
minimize public health risks. Noted Cuban artist Kcho also headed a
cultural brigade made up of clowns, magicians and dancers, supported by
psychologists and psychiatrists,
to deal with the trauma experienced by Haitian children.
Map indicating the location of Cuban hospitals in Haiti on February 5, 2010. (AIN Infographics)
Perhaps most impressively, following the growing
concern for the health of the country, due to a poor and now largely
destroyed health care system Cuba, working with ALBA (the Alianza
Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América) countries,
presented to the WHO an integral program to reconstruct
the health care system of Haiti. Essentially, they are offering to
rebuild the entire health care system. It will be supported by ALBA and
Brazil, and run by Cubans and Cuban-trained medical staff. This is to
include hospitals, polyclinics, and medical schools. In addition, the
Cuban government has offered to increase
the number of Haitian students attending medical school in Cuba. This
offer of medical cooperation represents an enormous degree of support
for Haiti.[15] Sadly, this
generous
offer has not been reported by
international media.
While North American media might have ignored Cuba's role, Haiti has not. A pointed remark was made by Haitian President Mr. René Préval, who noted, "you did not wait for an earthquake to help us."[16] Similarly, Haiti's Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive has also repeatedly noted that the first three countries to help were Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.
Sadly (but not surprisingly), while Cuba's efforts to assist Haiti have increased, international efforts have continued to dwindle. The head of the Cuban medical mission, Dr. Carlos Alberto García, summed up well the situation just two weeks after the tragedy: "many foreign delegations have already begun to leave, and the aid which is arriving now is not the same it used to be. Sadly, as always happens, soon another tragedy will appear in another country, and the people of Haiti will be forgotten, left to their own fate." Significantly, he added "However we will still be here long after they have all gone."[17] This in fact has been the case. Canadian forces, for example, returned home and the USNS Comfort sailed several weeks ago. By contrast, Cuban President Raúl Castro noted: "we have accompanied the Haitian people, and we will continue with them whatever time is needed, no matter how many years, with our very modest support."[18]
A representative of the World Council of Churches to the United Nations made the telling comment that "humanitarian aid could not be human if it was only publicized for 15 days."[19] Today Cuba, with the support of ALBA and Brazil, is working not to build a field hospital, but rather a health care system. And, while international efforts have been largely abandoned, the Cuban staff and Cuban-trained medical staff will remain, as they have done for the past 11 years, for as long as necessary. This is a story that international media have chosen not to tell -- now that the television cameras have gone. Yet it is an extraordinary story of true humanitarianism, and of great success in saving lives since 1998. Moreover, in light of Cuba's success in providing public health care (at no cost to the patients) to millions of Haitians, this approach to preventive, culturally sensitive, low cost and effective medicine needs to be told. That significant contribution to this impoverished nation, and Cuba's ongoing commitment to its people, clearly deserve to be recognized. Until then it will sadly remain as one of the world's best-kept secrets.
Notes
1. "Audit of USAID/HAITI
Hurricane Georges Recovery
Programme." USAID. 15 May, 2001. Retrieved 10 March, 2010 from
2. See entry for "Haiti" on the Pan
American Health
Organization website, found at
http://www.paho.org/english/dd.ais/cp_332.htm. Accessed February 2,
2010.
3. William Steif, "Cuban Doctors Aid
Strife-Torn
Haiti." The State. April 26,
2004, and found at
http://havanajournal.com/culture/entry/cuban_doctors_aid_strife_torn_hai...
Accessed
June
21,
2007.
4. See entry for "Haiti" on the Pan
American Health
Organization website, found at
http://www.paho.org/english/dd/ais/cp_332.htm3. Accessed February 2,
2010.
5. Anna Kovac, "Cuba Trains Hundred of
Haitian Doctors
to Make a Difference," August 6, 2007. Located on the MEDICC website at
http:www.medicc.org/cubahealthreports/chr-article.php?&a=10354.
Accessed February 2, 2010.
6. Ibid.,
"Haitian
Medical
Students
in
Cuba."
Medical
Education
Cooperation
With
Cuba.
12
January,
2010. Retrieved 12
January, 2010 from , "La colabaración cubana permanecerá
en Haití los años que sean necesarios", Cubadebate. 24
February, 2010. Retrieved 9 March, 2010 from , "Fact Sheet: Cuban
Medical
Cooperation With Haiti." Medicc Review. 15 January, 2009. Retrieved 2
February, 2010 from http://www.medicc.org/ns/index.php?s=104.
7. "Haiti Earthquake: Special Coverage."
CNN. 20 March,
2010. Retrieved 22 March, 2010 from
8. Tyler Maltbie, "Haiti Earthquake: The
Nations That
Are Stepping Up To Help", The
Christian Science Monitor, Posted January
14, 2010 on
http://www.csmonitor.com/layout/set/print/content/view/print273879.
Accessed January 28, 2010.
9. "Two Months After the Quake, New
Services and New
Concerns." MSF. 12 March, 2010. Retrieved 17 March, 2010 from
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news/article_printcfm?id=4320
10. "Canada's Response to the Earthquake
in Haiti:
Progress to Date." Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada.
March 17, 2010. Retrieved 17 March, 2010 from
http://www.internaitonal.gc.ca/humanitarian-humanitaire/earthquake_seisme_h
aiti_effort
11. "USNS Comfort Completes Haiti
Mission, March 9,
2010?. American Forces Press Service. 9 March, 2010. Retrieved 11
March, 2010 from
http://www.trackpads.com/forum/defenselink/928304-usns-comfort-completes-ha
ti-mission
12. John Burnett, "Cuban Doctors
Unsung Heroes of
Haitian Earthquake", National Public Radio report, January 24, 2010,
and found at http://www.npr.org/templates/story.ph?storyID=122919202.
Accessed 28 January, 2010.
13. José Steinsleger. "Haiti, Cuba
y la ley
primera," La Jornada, February 3, 2010., Data in this section came from
the address given by Ambassador Rodolfo Reyes Rodríguez on
January, 27, 2010 in Geneva at the 13th Special Session of the U.N.
Human Rights Council on Haiti. It can be accessed at "Cuba
en Ginebra: ‘Ante tan difícil situación humanitaria en
Haití no puede haber titubeos ni indiferencia," on the
Cubbadebate website:
http://www.cubadebate.cu/especiales/2010/01/27/cuba-en-ginebra-sobre-reconstruccion-haiti
14. Connor Gorry. "Two of the 170,000 +
Cases." Medicc
Review. March 8, 2010. Retrieved 10 March, 2010 from
http://mediccglobal.wordpress.com/
"Cooperación con Haití debe ser a largo
plazo." Juventud Rebelde. 23
March, 2010. Retrieved March 23, 2010 from
http://juventudrebelde.cu/internacionales/2010-03-23/cooperacion-con-haiti-
debe-ser-a-largo-plazo
"Haiti: Two Months After The Quake, New Services and New
Concerns." MSF. 12 March, 2010. Retrieved 17 March, 2010 from
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news/article_print.cfm?id=4320
"Haiti-USNS Comfort Medical And Surgical Support." U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. 11 March, 2010. Retrieved 11
March, 2010 from http:www.hhs.gov/Haiti/usns_comfort.html
Brett Popplewell. "This Haitian Town Is Singing Canada's
Praise." The Star. 26
January, 2010. Retrieved 17 March from
http://www.thestar.com/printarticle/755843
"USNS Comfort Leaves Haiti." 13 News. 11 March, 2010.
Retrieved 11 March, 2010 from
http://www.wvec.com/internaternalz?st=print&id=87243182&path=/home
15. In a March 27, 2010 meeting in
Port-au-Prince
between President Préval and the Cuban and Brazilian ministers
of health (José Ramón Balaguer and José Gomes),
details were provided about what Balaguer termed "a plot of solidarity
to assist the Haitian people." Gomes added "We have just signed an
agreement-Cuba, Brazil and Haiti-according to which all three countries
make a commitment to unite our forces in order to reconstruct the
health system in Haiti. An extraordinary amount of work is currently
being carried out in terms of meeting the most basic and most pressing
needs, but now it is necessary to
think about the future [...] Haiti needs a permanent, quality
healthcare
system, supported by well-trained professionals [...] We will provide
this, together with Cuba-a country with an extremely long
internationalist experience, a great degree of technical ability, great
determination, and an enormous amount of heart. Brazil and Cuba, two
nations that are so close, so similar, now face a new challenge:
together we will unite our efforts to rebuild Haiti, and rebuild the
public health system of this country." See "Cuba y Brasil suman
esfuerzos con Haití," Juventud Rebelde, March 28, 2010
(Translation to English provided by authors).
16. "Presidente Preval agradece a Fidel y
Raúl
Castro ayuda solidaria a Haití." 8 February, 2010. Retrieved 9
February, 2010 from
http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2010/02/08presidente-preval-agradece-f...
17. María Laura Carpineta, "Habla
el jefe de los
344 médicos cubanos instalados en Haití desde hace doce
años." Página 12 [Argentina]. February 4, 2010, found at
CUBA-L@LISTA.UNM.EDU19
18. Ibid.
19. "Press Conference on Haiti
Humanitarian Aid," held
at the United Nations on March 23, 2004 and found at
htto://www.un.org/News/briefings/docs/2004/CanadaPressCfc.doc.htm.
Accessed November 21, 2008.
* Emily J. Kirk will be an M.A. student in Latin American Studies at Cambridge University in September. John Kirk is a professor of Latin American Studies at Dalhousie University, Canada. Both are working on a project on Cuban medical internationalism sponsored by Canada's Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). Professor Kirk co-wrote with Michael Erisman the 2009 book "Cuba's Medical Internationalism: Origins, Evolution and Goals" (Palgrave Macmillan). He spent most of February and March in El Salvador and Guatemala, accompanying the Henry Reeve Brigade in El Salvador, and working with the Brigada Medica Cubana in Guatemala. This commentary was first published by Cuba-L Analysis.
Democracy in Haiti's Earthquake Zone:
"We Want Our Voices to Be Heard"
"We are living in the mud. We are wet and we are hungry. Those in charge have left us without hope. If they have a plan we do not know it. We are asking about the future. And we want our voices to be heard, " Suzette Janvier a resident of St. Martin (a neighborhood of central Port-au-Prince) - April 24, 2010
Each Saturday for the past two months a thousand or more Haitian earthquake survivors have met in the auditorium of the Aristide Foundation for Democracy to talk about the future of their country. Since its founding in 1996 the Aristide Foundation, whose auditorium seats up to 3000 people, has provided a place for grassroots activists and ordinary Haitians to come together to debate and discuss national issues. In response to the earthquake the Foundation is sponsoring weekly public forums in which participants tell their stories, talk about the conditions of their lives, and describe their needs; they receive training or information on the current situation and on their rights under the Haitian constitution, and the United Nations principles on Internally Displaced People; and together presenters and participants brainstorm and discuss actions that can be taken to make their voices heard. Each forum has drawn between 900-1500 participants; the majority of those attending are living in spontaneous settlements across the earthquake zone -- as are the majority of the citizens of Port-au-Prince. Delegations come from other parts of the country as well, particularly the South and Southeast -- Jacmel and Les Cayes -- which were also hit hard by the quake.
Participants at AFD forums have offered vivid testimony about conditions of life in Port-au-Prince since the earthquake. Now that the rains have begun, people describe spending the nights "domi pandeye," (sleeping while balancing upright), standing under their plastic sheeting because there is no room for everyone to be sheltered and lie down, and because water floods the tents. During the rainy season, which has already begun, but will intensify in May, it rains nearly every night. In the morning the sun blazes, the heat under the plastic sheeting -- which is all most people have to protect themselves -- is stifling. They are now living in "labouye" (the mud) 24 hours a day, in camps almost uniformly lacking in latrines, or other sanitation.
They describe the struggle to feed their families.The price of basic foodstuffs (rice, beans, cornmeal, cooking oil, and charcoal for cooking) have risen 15-30% since the earthquake, while incomes have all but disappeared. Only those receiving funds from family overseas are able to purchase food. For those dependent on international aid, finding food for their families is an unending labor. Coupons for food might be distributed in the camps once a week, though not to everyone and not with predictability. Women who were able to get the coupons must then go to a different site, often miles away, and line up long before the sun rises. If they are lucky, by noon they might receive a 50lb bag of rice, which must then be carried or transported back to where they are living. The next day the same struggle might begin again this time to find cooking oil -- one day spent in line waiting for the coupons, another day to travel to where the oil is being distributed, in a completely different location than the rice. Often these ventures yield nothing: there aren't enough coupons to go around, the rice runs out, the distribution center has been relocated, or it does not open due to security concerns. And with the rains bags of rice get wet and spoil.
Participants describe with horror a dramatic rise in prostitution -- young women and girls selling their bodies to feed themselves and their families.
They describe the dire health conditions in the camps where infectious diseases are poised to run rampant. Each Wednesday since March 10, 2010, the Aristide Foundation has held a large free clinic in the auditorium of the Foundation, providing primary care services to 1,200 people every week. What AFD doctors see and hear from patients in the clinics confirms the testimony in the forums -- that is, high rates of illness that result from the conditions in which people are living: malnutrition, diarrhea among children, urinary tract and other infections.
The first demand of those who have gathered at the AFD in the forums is for temporary housing in safe and sanitary locations. The second is for food. Beyond this jobs, education, healthcare, and -- despite the fact that most of the participants are urban -- they are demanding real investment in agricultural for food production that can one day offer food security to the country.
Underlying all of this, participants in the forums are asking to participate in the planning of the nation's future -- the necessary precondition for real recovery. Those gathering at the AFD, feel more intensely than ever before, a profound sense of exclusion.
Certainly there was no attempt at consultation or participation with Haiti's vibrant and engaged grassroots organizations in the preparation of the PRND (the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment) put forward by the Haitian government to the international donors conference on March 31st. On the eve of the donor meeting, on March 27, over 1,200 people met at the AFD for a debate focused on the constitution -- specifically the constitutionality of the creation of the 20-person Interim Commission for the Reconstruction of Haiti, dominated by foreigners, which will oversee all international funding. the next, even larger, forum focused on the GOH plan to extend its emergency powers for 18-months in order to allow the Interim Commission to be created and to exercise extra-constitutional powers. Fourteen hundred people gathered, and most expressed deep concern over the repercussions for Haiti's sovereignty. This was followed by three days of sit-ins of 500-600 people, at the Haitian parliament, to protest the passage of the law.
In addition to preparing the plan and creating this Interim Commission without participation, there has also been almost no communication about what might be in that plan. People coming to the forums at the Foundation have all heard there's a plan. they have no idea what is in it. They hear billions of dollars were pledged in New York. They have little faith this money will be given, and no faith that what is given will be spent in their interests.
The issue at the top of everyone's mind is the question of temporary resettlement, of moving people out of the way of the clear and present danger that the coming more intense rains represent. But three months after the quake, no clear message or plan has been articulated by the Haitian government or international NGOs.
In early April, there were several reports of forced removals of people encamped on the grounds of private schools, private property, and from the soccer stadium. At some sites bulldozers arrived without notice to tear down shelters and families were left with no a place to go. To date it appears the only voluntary relocation which has had any success is at Corail, where over the last week or two the Haitian government in collaboration with international NGOs has begun to move people from the Petionville golf course (where more than 45.000 people are encamped) to a relocation center at Corail, but this camp is only intended to hold 7,500 people.
Over one million people are estimated to be homeless in the metropolitan area. If there are plans for temporary shelter for anyone other than those on the Golf Course they are not being communicated to the general public. Those gathering at the AFD express fear that they will be forcibly evicted from the camps where they are living. They are also skeptical about plans to relocate people to remote areas, which would leave them cut off from the economic life of the city, meaning cut off from the mutual aid provided by families, communities, neighborhood associations etc, and the informal economy.
Mutual aid and the informal economy are the only things that keep Haitians alive. That was true before the quake and it is still true. Efforts to assist must empower Haiti's powerful networks of mutual aid and the informal economy -- not dismantle, not ignore them.
What would it mean to empower them? Community kitchens in the camps, loans to women to restart "ti komès" (informal sector commerce), relocation for those in imminent danger with their participation, finding way of keeping people close to the city if that is what they desire. And if, as we hear, decentralization is a goal for Haiti's future, then who is talking to the residents of Port-au-Prince about lives they might imagine outside the city? And why out of $12.2 billion dollars requested in the Post Disaster Needs Assessment (the plan) was only $41 million, or .3%, allocated for agriculture and fisheries, i.e. for local food production?
Forums at the Aristide Foundation, held on March 13, March 20, March 27, April 3, April 17, and April 24, along with the International Women's Day event on March 8, 2010 (attended by 3000 women) represent the largest indoor gatherings of Haitians to discuss and debate the country's future since the earthquake. We are not aware of any occasion since January 12 where the Haitian government, the UN or any international NGO planning Haiti's future and the distribution of aid funds, have brought large groups of Haitians together to ask for their opinions, their input, or their stories.
Finally, those attending the forums at the AFD are unanimous in their call for the return of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to Haiti. It is best summed up by Jean Vaudre, a community organizer from Bel Air, who said at the forum on April 17, "If Aristide were here even if he had no money to help us, he would be with us, in the rain, under the tents. If he were here we might believe, we might have hope that we will be able to participate in the future of the country." Hope is a commodity in short supply right now in Haiti. Is there some way of rebuilding the country without it?
* Laura Flynn is a member of the board
of
the Aristide Foundation for Democracy-US, which supports the work of
the Aristide Foundation in Haiti. AFD-Haiti was founded by
Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 1996 on the principle that to bring real
change, 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. For 14 years the Foundation has dedicated itself to
providing educational opportunities, and opening avenues of democratic
participation for those who traditionally
have had no access to education or voice in national affairs. Since the
earthquake the AFD has mobilized its staff, doctors, volunteers and
supporters -- nationally and internationally. The AFD is operating
Mobile Schools in 5 refugee camps, participating in mobile clinics, and
providing medical care to 1,200 people
at the AFD each week. For more on the current work and history of the
Aristide Foundation -- and lots of great photos from the mobile schools
visit our website: http://www.AristideFoundationforDemocracy.org
If you are interested in establishing
sister school relationships between schools in the US or elsewhere and
the Mobile Schools in Haiti please email us at
AristideFoundation@gmail.com.
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