After more than six months in office, the "Boniface-LaTortue government has failed to serious tackle the task of disarming all illegally armed groups," according to the National Coalition for Haitian Rights (NCHR), in a report on the violence of the past week. Yesterday, the bodies of three slain police officers were buried as gunshots rang out in the area around the funeral (read the AP report here).
Last Tuesday, following a three-week withdrawal from Gaza, Israeli forces invaded the northern section of the Gaza Strip. The ensuing week has been one of the deadliest periods in Gaza in years. (For an overview of the last four years of intifada--1,008 Israelis and 3,334 Palestinians dead-- read Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi's analysis on Electronic Intifada.)
Our partners in Gaza are doing their best to do their work and live their lives, but they are struggling. In addition to the 66 Palestinian deaths (including 19 children), there has been extensive damage to infrastructure, including the total destruction of water, power and sewage systems for more than 100,000 refugees.
The distribution of food aid to flood-ravaged Gonaives continues to be harried by armed gangs and looters, while ex-military rebels have challenged U.N. troops and said they would begin patrolling the streets of the city themselves, as the Haitian police have yet to mount a decisive plan for security.
Meanwhile, in Port-au-Prince, a march to commemorate the 13th anniversary of the September 30, 1991 coup that deposed President Aristide erupted into violence.
The situatation is charged, to say the least. All of the actors in last winter's protests and last spring's insurgency are still active and armed, and there haven't been any signs to suggest that anyone has a plan to return the country to peace or stability.
The National Coalition of Haitian Rights (NCHR) has issued a statement on the anniversary, and on the state of Haiti's struggle to build a just, democratic political and economic system for all its citizens. We've posted it here for your consideration.
The news coming out of Gonaives and the surronding area is troubling.
Today there are reports that Haiti's former military have begun patrolling the area to prevent looting, and growing concern about the extent of damage the storm has done to crops in the area.
The Haitian National Police and the UN forces have been able to do little to insure the security of local and international aid workers, or to facilitate the delivery of direly-needed food, water and emergency shelter materials.
When President Aristide left office, the one thing that was clear to all Haiti observers was that if there was any hope for Haiti to return to a truly democratic government, and--dare we dream--to move toward a truly democratic society and economy, one of the first priorities had to be the disarmament of the rebel forces whose threatened besiegement of Port-au-Prince helped drive Aristide from office. (Even Rebel leader Guy Philipe announced in March that his men would hand in their guns.)
In the early stages, U.S., multi-national and U.N. forces announced that they would begin the disarmament process, but the rules of engagement for that military/humanitarian intervention collapsed to the point that the U.S. refused to use its helicopters to help victims of the catastrophic floods of the spring.
The continued presence of illegal armed gangs and militias throughout Haiti "seriously threatens the democratic process in Haiti and plans for holding elections in the coming year," as Pierre Esperance of the National Coalition for Haitian Rights said in an interview with Radio Metropole last week.
In the last couple of weeks there have been reports of increasing activity by members of Haiti's former army and other armed groups in Haiti. At the same time, the Haitian judiciary is taking troubling steps further down the road of impunity and politicization.
This week former soldiers--who were part of the armed uprising that led to Aristide's ouster in February--chased the police out of the southern town of Petit Goave and took the town over in an attempt to force the interim government to re-instate the army, which Aristide dissolved in 1995. (See this Reuters report for details.)
After far too many days without a new post on Grassroots Journal--well, okay, weeks--we are once again turning our attention to the weblog.
Many of us have read report backs and journals from friends, loved ones, acquaintances that travel or visit Palestine filled with first impressions, checkpoint stories and vivid descriptions of the brutality and impact of the Israeli Occupation on everyday life in Ramallah, Rafah, Jenin, Hebron etc...Never having been in Palestine myself, I have been craving for stories of hope, beauty and laughter intertwined with those of pain, resilience and despair. Suheir Hammad, who is one of my favorite poets and writers has been traveling in Palestine and the Middle East this summer and has been writing journal entries that to me, have satisfied those cravings in a very poetic way. (See two random excerpts below). Check out her Journal on Palestine on her website at http://www.suheirhammad.com/.
As I write this some dear friends of mine are traveling throughout Palestine and connecting with Palestinian youth, artists, families and organizers along the way. Check out their beautiful picture log most of which were taken by photographer Justin McIntosh at http://capedmaskedandarmed.com/justin/. One of my favorites is the one of Abu Dis Youth posing with the Puerto Rican flag. Enjoy!
"Wafa has picked up ca-ak and eggs. The bread is fragrant in the car. He's also picked a stem of jasmine and placed it in his car like a bouquet. The scents are of a peaceful morning. We drive into the mist that drapes the hills of this country. We drive by goats herders and sheperds drinking strong coffee under tents to prepare for the grueling physical work of tending. The sun is in the sky, a bright disk of white behind the mist. It looks like the moon."
"Palestinian girls, in every area I have visited are drawn to bright colors and patterns. In town, there is more black and white, hijab and long...but in the country and in the camps...the colors of poppies and limes, sky and mint.Thank you, Dead Prez. It is indeed bigger than Hip Hop. There are many secrets in this earth. Hushed Stories of touchings and rapes. The Occupation has denied breathing room for critical gender analysis, and safe space. And it is the girls who suffer."
The Democratic National Convention is coming to Boston. Plans are in place to dramatically restrict vehicle and pedestrian traffic in the center city. Just yesterday, a judge said that the space being prepared to keep protestors "under wraps" resembled an internment camp, but he refused to order the police to re-think this radical restriction of the right to assembly. Life is good in the Cradle of Liberty. The jury is still out on whether or not any of this could prevent the feared terrorist attack, but turning Boston into a police state will surely keep thousands of people from exercising their democratic rights...such as they are.
Luckily, the DNC will not be the only political gathering in Boston during July's final days.
The international donor conference on Haiti closed on July 20 with pledges of $1.037 billion from the international community, including $239 million from the United States. As the weeks and months pass, we will watch closely what becomes of these pledges.
The World Bank sounds absolutely giddy in its post-conference press release. One billion dollars sounds great, but it is worth noting that none of these pledges are on paper: They all come from press statements like the one made by Colin Powell. At Grassroots International, our auditor insists that a pledge must be very specific and in writing before it is considered real. The same standard should apply to these donor conferences.
On July 19 and 20, representatives of the world's major donor countries and institutions will gather in Washington to discuss aid to Haiti. Four prestigious and powerful actors-The United Nations, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and the European Commission--will host the meeting and make a pitch for $924 million to help jumpstart an economy that is clearly on life support. One expects the four hosts will come up with something to sweeten the pot for the bilateral donors.
While there's no doubt that drought-stricken Haiti needs rain, the water-poor nation did not need the flash floods that struck late in May, killing thousands and leaving thousands more without food, shelter or potable water. There's also no doubt that Haiti could use a helping hand from the international community, but to date, U.S. and French and now U.N. forces have done little to really help Haiti's most vulnerable citizens. Click here to read Grassroots' analysis of the situation.
By Nisrin Elamin
CNN and BBC headlines about Israeli withdrawals from Gaza, Iraqi sovereignty and Israel dropping Sharon's bribery case have made me feel like some people are living a different reality than the rest of us. Never mind, that two brutal occupations persist and that plans for withdrawal, handing back power and restoring democracy and justice seem further away from reality than ever. Can we let what happened in Gaza and Abu Ghraib fall through the cracks and into oblivion so quickly? Can we allow flagrant U.S. and Israeli violations of international laws to continue without organizing internal opposition and dissent?
Those were some of the questions I was thinking about on my way to the 3rd Annual National Organizer's Conference of the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation that took place on June 4-7, 2004 in Washington D.C.
After months of political turmoil, Haitians now face one more calamity. The Haiti Support Group today reports that hundreds of Haitians have died over the last few days in floods and landslides as torrential rains sweep the country.
This news comes from a country where water shortage is a permanent way of life. The UK-based Center for Ecology and Hydrology places Haiti first on its list of the world's "Water Poor Countries." The list is based on a comparative statistical index of the population's access to clean water. Water is judged to be more scarce in Haiti than in Niger, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Malawi, the countries that follow Haiti on the list.
The following is a note from Heba Zayyan, the PR Officer at the Women's Affairs Center, one of GRI's partners in Gaza. For the fourth consecutive day, the Israeli Defense Forces have expanded their brutal military offensive in Rafah town and refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip.
How can one's sanity accept what's happening now in Rafah? 120 houses at least were demolished whose habitants (200 families) are totally living in tents. It is another nakba in the Palestinians' life in the full meaning of the word. How far can one believe that people, secure in their homes at night are being called to leave without delay, not given time to collect some their belongings or even their ID cards? What's happening in Rafah carries the brutal barbarianism of the Israelis that's done in the name of protection of borders. How can we still believe in peace and democracy if people who demonstrate against the unexplainable Israeli violence, will get killed by heavy missiles? The first line of the demonstration was children who were enthusiastic and innocent enough to ahead the demonstration. Where are these children now? They are all uprooted from their dreams of a liberate state to be shattered into pieces.
The following is a note from Ahmed Sourani, director of External Relations for the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC). PARC is one of the most important players in the Palestinian agricultural sector focusing on rural development, environmental protection, and strengthening women's position in society in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In the aftermath of the Likud Party's rejection of Ariel Sharon's plan for Israel to unilaterally withdraw from Gaza, the IDF has stepped up its military actions in Gaza.
May 1st - International Workers Day was honored in many locations throughout Haiti. Thousands gathered in Port au Prince at the Champs de Mars, and almost a thousand gathered at the national training center of the Mouvman Peyizan Papay ( MPP) in Papay. All were present to celebrate but also to raise their voices and tell their transitional government, as well as the international community, about their hopes - about their needs - and what they are no longer willing to tolerate.
Satellite internet on a mountainside in the heart of Haiti's Central Plateau - only one of the achievements, among many, of the Mouvman Peyizan Papay - The Peasant Movement of Papay (MPP). The oldest and best organized of Haiti's peasant organizations, the MPP, is celebrating International Worker's Day tomorrow with a large agricultural fair drawing peasants from various regional associations to celebrate and demonstrate what can be done when peasants put their heads together.
