Haiti
Solemn Commemoration Activities in Montreal Mark 10th Anniversary of the Earthquake: Ayiti la!
 The tenth
anniversary of the earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010 was
commemorated in Montreal on January 11-12 at TOHU, Montreal's
Cité des arts du Cirque, located in the heart of the
Saint-Michel district. The two-day events were organized by la Maison
d'Haïti in close collaboration with TOHU and the participation
of over 40 groups, organizations and artists. Activities included
conferences, artistic and artisanal exhibits, information kiosks, dance
performances, a film screening and a solemn closing event. Hundreds of
people of all ages took part throughout the weekend in exchanges,
learning and paying tribute.
The many activities were instructive in illustrating how the Haitian
people organize to surmount their difficulties. Amongst others, the
film "Haiti Betrayed" provided a wealth of information on the
situation within the country and the foreign interference there, which poses
a block to the Haitian people's defence of their sovereignty. The
one-hour-and-twenty-minute documentary, produced by Elaine
Brière, a documentary photographer and filmmaker from
British Columbia, deals in particular with the Canadian government's
role in Haiti. The ongoing resistance and struggle of the Haitian
people for their dignity against foreign occupiers, both past and
present, is very well illustrated. Interference, intrigues, the sending
of troops to take control of the country, as well as the coup
d'état carried out by Canada, the U.S. and France, with the
collaboration of successive governments in Haiti, are presented.
Efforts by foreign powers, including Canada, to prevent the Haitian
people from affirming their sovereignty clearly emerge through the
presentation of facts, interviews and a review of the history of the
Haitian people.
Workshop on the current crisis in Haiti, January 12, 2020.
A workshop was organized on January 12 by
Solidarité Québec-Haïti to delve into
the crisis afflicting Haiti in the earthquake's aftermath. A very
animated exchange took place during a video-conference between two
activists in Haiti and another in Canada. The corruption of the big
foreign powers and how they act with impunity are key features of the
years following the earthquake. The Interim Haiti Recovery Commission
(IHRC), 13 international members and 13 Haitian members, under
the co-chairmanship of former Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive
and former U.S. President Bill Clinton, was established in 2010
following the quake. The commission's mandate was to manage the funds
collected to assist the Haitian people in the reconstruction of their
country. The commission squandered close to $13 billion in funds with
full impunity. The Petro-Caribe fund of $3.8 billion, an energy
cooperation agreement initiated by Venezuela for the development of
social programs, has also been pilfered. It was the youth who began
asking where those funds had gone. Since then, the Haitian people have
taken to the street to demand justice, condemn the corruption and theft
by the big powers and demand that they leave the country
The weekend closed with a solemn commemoration attended by over 300
people, including survivors of the quake, a large number of
participants from the Haitian diaspora, as well as dignitaries from the
Haitian Consulate and representatives of the federal, provincial and
municipal governments. Dance and music were performed live on stage,
followed by closing remarks from Marjorie Villefranche, General
Director of la Maison d'Haïti, who said in part: "No one has
forgotten. That's why we're here tonight, that's why we commemorate, to
honour all those who perished -- children, fathers, mothers, brothers,
sisters, parents, friends and the unnamed buried without ceremony,
without a grave. With us this evening are the survivors, the bereaved,
united by the same courage, the same will to acknowledge and to pay
homage. Five years ago in this very place, I told you that we were
living through times of crisis, that indifference would become a
formidable foe. I had no idea then of the scope that climate change
would take, nor of the rise of agent orange [in reference to highly toxic
hybrid seeds donated by Monsanto -- TMLW Editor's Note],
populists of all kinds. [...] Your presence here tonight and that of
our elected members, of our unwavering friends reassures me, reassures
us. What it signifies is that we are not giving up. Haiti is not alone
in confronting the violence of social inequality and injustice. The
indecency of those who possess over half of all the planet's wealth is
sickening. However, we also know that many peoples are
resisting, even as we speak. And what if the next goudou [earthquake
rumbling] were to come from us, from the strength of the peoples? The
solidarity of our friends is precious and indispensable. We live on a
planet that demands that we relate to one another to be able to live,
have water, air and food. We must remain connected and supportive of
each other. Thanks go to all our activists, organizations, for their
active, supportive presence [...]"
The weekend's events brought to light the fact that despite the huge
difficulties, the corruption within the ruling class and foreign
intervention, the Haitian people continue to defend their sovereignty
and their right to be. On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the
earthquake in Haiti, they are laying their claims for their dignity,
justice and repairs.
Ayiti la! We are one with the Haitian people!
This article was published in
Volume 50 Number 1 - January 25, 2020
Article Link:
Haiti: Solemn Commemoration Activities in Montreal Mark 10th Anniversary of the Earthquake: Ayiti la!
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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