Alo tout moun! Welcome to the latest edition of Woy Magazine’s weekly newsletter, providing you with must-know news and commentary on Haiti and our Diaspora.
We can’t do this work without you. Please consider becoming a patron of Woy Magazine on Patreon. You can learn more here.
Insecurity Mounts
On Thursday evening, news of another possible massacre in the Bèlè neighborhood in the capital surfaced, with videos and voice notes detailing acts of arson and gun violence by gangs. As you may recall, similar events took place last Spring and Summer with the citizens of Bèlè and other working class/poor neighborhoods seeking refuge on Chanmas to avoid being attacked.
Despite outcries from activists and civil society leaders, no justice has been sought or delivered in any previous cases. While the United States sanctioned notorious gang leader Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier and two former members of Jovenel Moïse’s regime for the 2018 La Saline massacre, no other repercussions or stances have been taken by the Haitian government or the U.S. against similar tragedies. (Source: Haitian Times)
Soon after the massacre began, viewers of a Christian praise livestream witnessed a kidnapping of four church members right before their very eyes.
A Lil Hypocrisy
Ironically enough, this week the United States U.S. Department of State released a report on human rights practices in Haiti. Despite their continual support of the Moïse regime, the U.S.’ cited “numerous reports of arbitrary and unlawful killings perpetrated by armed gangs allegedly supported and protected by members of the government..” listing notable victims such as Gregory St. Hilaire and Me Monferrier Dorval:
Significant human rights issues included: reports of unlawful and arbitrary killings by gangs allegedly supported and protected by unnamed officials; excessive use of force by police; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary and prolonged pretrial detention; a judiciary subject to corruption and outside influence; physical attacks on journalists; widespread corruption and impunity; lack of investigation of and accountability for violence against women; and the worst forms of child labor.
The government rarely took steps to prosecute government and law enforcement officials accused of committing abuses. There were credible reports that officials engaged in corrupt practices, and civil society groups alleged widespread impunity.
We should note that in the face of all these issues, the U.S. Embassy in Haiti has reiterated President Joe Biden’s directive to immigrants to “not come” to the U.S.
Defense of the Constitution
On Sunday and Monday, Haitians took to the streets once more to celebrate the Constitution’s 34th anniversary, and defend it from Jovenel’s proposed referendums:
Septuagénaire aveugle, Michel Péan tenait aussi à participer à cette manifestation. L’ancien secrétaire d’État aux personnes handicapées ne mâche pas ses mots contre le projet de référendum : « Je trouve que c’est une plaisanterie parce que le fond du problème haïtien n'est pas un problème de Constitution : depuis que les gens ont une velléité totalitaire, dictatoriale, ils font ce qu'ils veulent, qu’il y ait une Constitution ou pas. Donc cette affaire de référendum, c’est une plaisanterie. » (Source: RFI - Amériques et Haïti)
Constitutional scholars have repeatedly warned that some of the proposals set forth by Jovenel would leave his political party stronger than ever and upend any possibility for a true democratic process in Haiti. As a refresher, here are some of the proposed changes being pushed forth by Moïse:
A glaring omission that a president cannot serve for more than two terms. The current constitution bars presidents from serving two consecutive terms. As the Associated Press reports, “it says nothing about whether they can be served consecutively.”
The draft drops the requirement that in order to be president of Haiti, an individual needs to have lived in the country for five consecutive years before the date of general elections. It only notes that a presidential candidate “must have habitual residence in Haiti.” Experts see this as a way to allow members of the dyaspora to have more power in the political ongoings of the country, as they are currently barred from running for high office in Haiti.
The seat of the Prime Minister would be replaced with a Vice-Presidential role.
The proposal calls for the creation of a unicameral legislature, taking the place of the current Senate and Chamber of Deputies which President Moïse dismissed in early 2020. (He has ruled by decree since then.) Additionally, the members of this legislature would be elected every five years to fall in line with the presidential terms (The AP notes, “…some senators are currently elected every two to six years.”) (Source: Woy Magazine Newsletter - March 26, 2021 )
AlterRadio hosted a special segment this week exploring the different political philosophies and principles which resulted in the 1987 Constitution. You can listen to the episode here.
International Day of Solidarity
On Monday, solidarity groups across the globe carried out their own events and shared messages of support with the Haitian people. From Zambia to the Dominican Republic, people around the world echoed calls for Jovenel to step down and for the U.S. government and other foreign institutions to suspend all support for the de-facto ruler.
Scholar and co-creator of the iconic book The Black Jacobins, Selma James, released a statement in honor of the day:
Today marks the anniversary of the signing of the constitution written by the people after they had overthrown the Duvaliers’ dictatorships. It remains an occasion for celebration. It also frames the cause for which Haitians are risking their lives: the attempt by Jovenel Moise, placed in power by the US, to replace the constitution in order to reimpose a new dictatorship. Many people have been murdered, raped, their homes destroyed by official and unofficial death squads.
Today’s Black Jacobins, man, woman and child, are the inheritors of the great revolution that defeated Napoleon and other imperial powers to abolish their slavery and create the first independent Black Republic in 1804.
Here are a few clips and photos from the solidarity activations:
Ladies First
The steady stream of marches will continue with a women’s led march set to take place on April 3, the National Day of the Haitian Women’s Movement. This date signifies the 35th anniversary of the largest women’s march in Haitian history. Taking place months after Duvalier was ousted, Haitian women from all backgrounds marched through Port-au-Prince and other parts of the country to demand that they be included in the nation’s reconstruction of democracy:
Two months after the liberation, on April 3, 1986, more than 30,000 women took to the streets of Port-au-Prince in a peaceful protest organized by some 15 different groups. “It was a revolt against exclusion. The country was being remade and we didn't want it to be remade without us” (nou pa t vle peyi a ta refet san nou). (Personal conversation with Myriam Merlet, Enfofanm, March 17, 1999). The issues on the banners of the marchers were many: poverty, sexual harassment, rape, loans for women, joblessness, education. The April 3 anniversary is recalled each year and has been proposed as a national women's day. (Source: Peacewomen.org)
This was a particularly important show of power by women as the brutality and violence inflicted upon them by the Duvalier regime, at the time, was unmatched:
as Duvalier reached the height of his power, women were captured and detained, exiled, raped, and even executed (Charles 1995). Blatant political-based brutality against women and the enemization of dissenters was unseen in this way before, despite Haiti’s long and tumultuous political history. It has been noted by Haitian feminist scholars that the Duvalier regime was the most active opponent of women’s empowerment in the history of Haiti’s government, damaging the effectiveness of the country’s women’s movement significantly (Charles 1995). (Source: Gender In Haiti)
The event ended up changing the face of the feminist movement in Haiti:
The 1986 march, organized by more than a dozen grassroots groups, called attention to sexual and gender-based violence, women’s financial exclusion, lack of access to health and education, among other issues. For many women who participated in this march, including my mother, it was the first time they felt socially empowered. Despite a few critics, the event was well-received and marked the renewal of Haiti’s women’s movement; eventually contributing to the creation of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Women’s Rights, Haiti’s participation in the 1995 Beijing Conference, and the ratification of the Belem do Para Convention. (Source: Woy Magazine)
Title 42
This week, a number of immigrant rights groups have been observing the Title 42 Week of Action to demand the Joe Biden Administration do away with harmful immigration policies and actions that continue to see large numbers of Haitian and other immigrants deported in numbers surpassing the Trump administration. You can sign the petition to demand the U.S. government restore its asylum system here.
The latest edition of the North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA) is dedicated to analyzing the political situation in Haiti and it’s relationship with the U.S. Empire:
the situation in Haiti is directly connected to U.S. Empire. It is at the other end of racial capitalism’s brutal accumulation and the repressive state apparatus necessary to maintain it. To look at the situation in Haiti is to look at U.S. Empire, and vice versa. As Empire’s decline triggers fascist efforts to cling to power, these states sanction ongoing police brutality and paramilitary terror against dissenting Black bodies, embodied in white vigilantes or militias in the United States and neighborhood-based gangs in Haiti. At the same time, both states have rendered women and LGBTQI+ people more vulnerable.
For this edition, NACLA sat down with Ninaj Raoul, who once served as a Kreyòl interpreter at Guantanamo Bay, to discuss the U.S. immigration policy towards Haiti:
About 40,000 people came through [Guantanamo] that first year from October 1991 to June 1992, and about 25 percent of them were allowed to come into the United States.
A small percentage were found to be HIV positive in Guantanamo. That was probably less than 2 percent, but it was so highly publicized that you would think all 40,000 refugees were HIV positive. There was an HIV exclusion ban in place at the time in 1992 that wasn’t actually lifted until [January 2010 by] Barack Obama.
Additionally, KPBS - San Diego recently published a story on the discrimination Haitians are experiencing in Tijuana migration camps:
[Guerline] Josef led a group of Haitian-Americans down to Tijuana last month, in an effort to connect with the Haitian asylum-seekers and make sure they’re safe.
What they found wasn’t reassuring. Haitians were leaving the camp, because they felt discriminated against by the Central American migrants.
“After a couple of weeks we started seeing some anti-black sentiment growing within the camp,” she said. “And increasingly, we have seen the vulnerability of black migrants in Mexico, in Tijuana, the way they can be targeted, they cannot blend in. The moment they show up, they know they don’t belong there.”
Rara Season
If you didn’t know, it’s officially rara season in Haiti. In your throwback Woy piece of the week Ayiti Bel and Taino L. go into the history and rites of the tradition:
During holy week, the groups perform some spiritual rituals which became necessary when the angels and saints disappeared into the underworld on Good Friday. The groups hit the trail for three days straight. At the end of the third day, which is either Holy Saturday or Easter Sunday, they burn a stuffed doll which symbolizes Jesus being crucified.
Every rara group has a lakou, the stronghold of Vodou, for the lwa, protectors, that they serve in a small ceremony before the group heads out. These lakou are overseen by a patriarch, ougan (Vodou priest) or Papa lwa. It is rare for the lakou to be headed by a manbo (Vodou priestess). Hounsi, the newly initiated and faithful members, and the Ougan or mambo, together form the group of chantrel (folklore musicians), samba (composers), and simido (singers).
To help you get in the celebration spirit, here’s a livestream of some rara festivities taking place in Latibonit. See you next week!
For more content be sure to visit us at woymagazine.com and follow us on Twitter at @woymagazine.