Global Voices Online Misses Haitian Independence Day – January 1
GVO’s featured Haiti blog for the 1st day of January is Pwoje Espwa which offers a prayer for the new year. Haiti needs more than a prayer as it remains under occupation on the 204th anniversary of the country’s independence. In an attempt to bring to readers’ attention that this is Independence Day for Haiti and that all is not well, I posted the following note to the GVO website.
Today, January 1, is the 204th anniversary of Haitian independence. In late November 1803, Haitian slaves, led by Jean-Jacques Dessalines, achieved victory in a twelve year war for independence from the French and sent Napoleon’s army packing. The victory by the Haitian slaves resulted in the establishment of the first independent black republic. But, over the next 200 years, the international community interfered numerous times in Haiti’s internal affairs, especially France and the US.
Today, Haiti is under occupation by the United Nations, a force formed under the direction of the US, France and Canada. I am providing you with a URL for a two part photo essay/article by Wadner Pierre, a young Haitian freelance journalist in Haiti. The article, written in February 2007, chronicles the effects of the current occupation on one of the poorest neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince, Cite Soleil. The photos are incredible and the story is very compelling.
I couldn’t let January 1 pass without acknowledging Haiti’s Independence Day and encouraging everyone to learn more about Haiti.
Check out Wadner Pierre’s two-part story “Brutalized and Abandoned: Residents of Cite Soleil Speak Out”
If interested in checking out this young journalist’s blog:
http://wadnerpierre.blogspot.com
Also, for background on Haiti since the 2004 coup that resulted in the kidnapping of the president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, please go to: http://hcvanalysis.wordpress.com
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