Essential The Official Contemporary Haitian Geopolitics/Event thread

[ZoeGod]

And to France. The indignation.

It is so blatant it is infuriating.

 

[loyola llothta]

Fun Fact:
Haiti was involved in a lot wars, one of them was when Greece fight for independence. Greece made the call to Haiti for help for the War , so Haiti respond by sending coffee to finance the revolution. Haiti was the 1st country to recognize independent Greece , in 1821.

"16 years later, the declaration of the Greek Revolution against the ruling Ottoman Empire recieved a warm response in Haiti. Not only was Haiti the first country that recognised the Greek War of Independence and the Greek state but 100 volunteers also departed from the island to join Greeks. Unfortunately those brave men never arrived in Greeece, probably because of a pirate attack on their ship."

S/o my Zoes

How Haiti helped Greece in its fight for independence

Many know that Haiti's help was crucial in the liberation of many Latin American countries, the most remembered being the liberation of Venezuela, however most are unaware that the first Black Republic also helped many other countries well beyond its shores in the Americas.

This Article will analyze the role of Haiti in the establishment of Greece, as an independent country.

Between 1821 and 1832, the Greek revolutionaries waged wars against the Ottoman Empire, which has been ruling most of Greece since 1453. Out of money, supplies and help from their European neighbors, the Greek revolutionaries decided to seek help from a small nation. A nation very far away from theirs, which was not only famous for its own successful revolution; for having defeated the powerful armies of Spain, Britain and France to gain freedom, but also because of its open-arms policy to all territories fighting for self-determination: Haiti.

Jean-Pierre Boyer, President of Haiti, responded positively to the requests of the Paris Greek Committee in 1822 to help Greece

They sent a letter to then Haiti's president Jean Pierre Boyer, asking him for military and monetary help for their fight against Ottoman rules.
Haiti was in financial ruins however. The country had lost nearly all of its sources of revenues in the wars for independence against the French empire.
Plus the recent integration of former Spanish colony (modern day Dominican Republic) into Haiti was also having some financial restraint on the Haitian government.

In a lengthy letter, on January 15th 1822, President Boyer explained to Adamantios Korais, then Governor of Greece, that due to Haiti's financial situation he would not be able to send money nor men to Greece, but promised to do all that he could to help in their cause for freedom.

"...The revolution which triumphs on the eastern portion of our island is creating a new obstacle in carrying out our aim; in fact, this portion, which was incorporated into the Republic I preside over, is in extreme poverty and thus justifies immense expenditures of our budget."
"Such a beautiful and just case and, most importantly, the first successes which have accompanied it, cannot leave Haitians indifferent, for we, like the Hellenes, were for a long time subjected to a dishonorable slavery and finally, with our own chains, broke the head of tyranny."

President Boyer did find a way to help the Greeks; with the letter, he sent a cargaison of 25 tons of coffee, one of the most important commodities of the time, to Adamantios Korais, to be sold on behalf of the greek revolutionaries for the procurement of supplies; thus making Haiti the first country in the world to recognize Greece as an independent country, and the first one outside Europe to help the country of Socrates achieve self-determination. Two months later, Great Britain followed Haiti and recognized Greece as an independent country.


Link article :
How Haiti helped Greece in its fight for independence
THE FIRST NATION THAT RECOGNISED THE GREEK INDEPENDENCE: HAITI

President Boyer reply in Greek:

"
Εις τα Παρίσια

Πριν ή δεχθώμεν την επιστολή υμών, σημειουμένην εκ Παρισίων τη 20ή παρελθόντος Αυγούστου, έφθασεν ενταύθα η είδησις της επαναστάσεως των συμπολιτών υμών κατά του δεσποτισμού, του επί τρεις περίπου διαρκέσαντος εκατονταετηρίδας. Μετά μεγάλου ενθουσιασμού εμάθομεν ότι η Ελλάς αναγκασθείσα τέλος πάντων εδράξατο των όπλων, ίνα κτήσηται την ελευθερίαν αυτής και την θέσιν, ην μεταξύ των εθνών του κόσμου κατείχε.

Μία τόσον ωραία και τόσον νόμιμος υπόθεσις, και προ πάντων αι συνοδεύσασαι ταύτην πρώται επιτυχίαι, ουκ εισίν αδιάφοροι τοις Χαϊτίοις, οίτινες, ως οι Ελληνες επί πολύν καιρόν έκλινον τον αυχένα υπό ζυγόν επονείδιστον και διά των αλύσεων αυτών συνέτριψαν την κεφαλήν της τυραννίας.

Ευχηθέντες προς τον ουρανόν, όπως υπερασπισθή τους απογόνους του Λεωνίδου, εσκέφθημεν ίνα συντρέξωμεν τας γενναίας δυνάμεις τούτων, ει μη διά στρατευμάτων και πολεμοφοδίων, τουλάχιστον διά χρημάτων, ως χρησίμων εσομένων διά προμήθειαν όπλων, ων έχετε ανάγκην. Συμβεβηκότα όμως, επιβαλόντα τη πατρίδι ημών μεγάλην ανάγκη, επησχόλησαν όλον το χρηματικόν, εξ ου η Διοίκησις ηδύνατο καταβάλει μέρος. Σήμερον έτι η επανάστασις, η κατά το ανατολικόν μέρος της νήσου επικρατούσα, υπάρχει νέον προς την εκτέλεσιν αυτού του σκοπού κώλυμα. Επειδή το μέρος όπερ ηνώθη μετά της Δημοκρατίας, ης προεδρεύω, υπάρχει εν μεγίστη ενδεία και προκαλεί δικαίως μεγάλην του ταμείου ημών την δαπάνην. Εάν δ' επέλθωσι κατάλληλοι, ως επιθυμούμεν, αι περιστάσεις, τότε βοηθήσωμεν προς τιμήν τοις τέκνοις της Ελλάδος, όσον δυνηθώμεν.

Πολίται, διερμηνεύσατε προς τους συμπατριώτας υμών τας θερμοτέρας ευχάς, ας λαός του Χαϊτίου αναπέμπει υπέρ της ελευθερώσεως αυτών. Οι μεταγενέστεροι Ελληνες ελπίζουσιν εν τη αναγεννωμένη ιστορία τούτων άξια της Σαλαμίνος τρόπαια. Είθε παρόμοιοι τοις προγόνοις αυτών αποδεικνυόμενοι και υπό των διαταγών του Μιλτιάδου διευθυνόμενοι, δυνηθώσιν εν τοις πεδίοις του νέου Μαραθώνος τον θρίαμβον της ιεράς υποθέσεως, ην επεχείρησαν υπέρ των δικαιωμάτων αυτών, της θρησκείας και της πατρίδος. Είθε, τέλος, διά των φρονίμων διατάξεων αυτών μνημονευθώσιν εν τη ιστορία οι κληρονόμοι της καρτερίας και των αρετών των προγόνων.

Τη 15η Ιανουαρίου 1822 και 19η της Ανεξαρτησίας

ΒΟΓΕΡ
"

@biscuitsnbangers can read greek?

 

[NotaPAWG]

How Haiti helped Greece in its fight for independence

President Boyer reply in Greek:

"
Εις τα Παρίσια

Πριν ή δεχθώμεν την επιστολή υμών, σημειουμένην εκ Παρισίων τη 20ή παρελθόντος Αυγούστου, έφθασεν ενταύθα η είδησις της επαναστάσεως των συμπολιτών υμών κατά του δεσποτισμού, του επί τρεις περίπου διαρκέσαντος εκατονταετηρίδας. Μετά μεγάλου ενθουσιασμού εμάθομεν ότι η Ελλάς αναγκασθείσα τέλος πάντων εδράξατο των όπλων, ίνα κτήσηται την ελευθερίαν αυτής και την θέσιν, ην μεταξύ των εθνών του κόσμου κατείχε.

Μία τόσον ωραία και τόσον νόμιμος υπόθεσις, και προ πάντων αι συνοδεύσασαι ταύτην πρώται επιτυχίαι, ουκ εισίν αδιάφοροι τοις Χαϊτίοις, οίτινες, ως οι Ελληνες επί πολύν καιρόν έκλινον τον αυχένα υπό ζυγόν επονείδιστον και διά των αλύσεων αυτών συνέτριψαν την κεφαλήν της τυραννίας.

Ευχηθέντες προς τον ουρανόν, όπως υπερασπισθή τους απογόνους του Λεωνίδου, εσκέφθημεν ίνα συντρέξωμεν τας γενναίας δυνάμεις τούτων, ει μη διά στρατευμάτων και πολεμοφοδίων, τουλάχιστον διά χρημάτων, ως χρησίμων εσομένων διά προμήθειαν όπλων, ων έχετε ανάγκην. Συμβεβηκότα όμως, επιβαλόντα τη πατρίδι ημών μεγάλην ανάγκη, επησχόλησαν όλον το χρηματικόν, εξ ου η Διοίκησις ηδύνατο καταβάλει μέρος. Σήμερον έτι η επανάστασις, η κατά το ανατολικόν μέρος της νήσου επικρατούσα, υπάρχει νέον προς την εκτέλεσιν αυτού του σκοπού κώλυμα. Επειδή το μέρος όπερ ηνώθη μετά της Δημοκρατίας, ης προεδρεύω, υπάρχει εν μεγίστη ενδεία και προκαλεί δικαίως μεγάλην του ταμείου ημών την δαπάνην. Εάν δ' επέλθωσι κατάλληλοι, ως επιθυμούμεν, αι περιστάσεις, τότε βοηθήσωμεν προς τιμήν τοις τέκνοις της Ελλάδος, όσον δυνηθώμεν.

Πολίται, διερμηνεύσατε προς τους συμπατριώτας υμών τας θερμοτέρας ευχάς, ας λαός του Χαϊτίου αναπέμπει υπέρ της ελευθερώσεως αυτών. Οι μεταγενέστεροι Ελληνες ελπίζουσιν εν τη αναγεννωμένη ιστορία τούτων άξια της Σαλαμίνος τρόπαια. Είθε παρόμοιοι τοις προγόνοις αυτών αποδεικνυόμενοι και υπό των διαταγών του Μιλτιάδου διευθυνόμενοι, δυνηθώσιν εν τοις πεδίοις του νέου Μαραθώνος τον θρίαμβον της ιεράς υποθέσεως, ην επεχείρησαν υπέρ των δικαιωμάτων αυτών, της θρησκείας και της πατρίδος. Είθε, τέλος, διά των φρονίμων διατάξεων αυτών μνημονευθώσιν εν τη ιστορία οι κληρονόμοι της καρτερίας και των αρετών των προγόνων.

Τη 15η Ιανουαρίου 1822 και 19η της Ανεξαρτησίας

ΒΟΓΕΡ
"

@biscuitsnbangers can read greek?

I can not but I did not know any of this thanks

 

[loyola llothta]

"Why is Haiti so poor. " Old article(2004) but great insight



Throttled by history

Gary Younge in Port-au-Prince Haiti's leaders have failed it, but it has also been squeezed dry by a vengeful West

As civil war encroaches, civil society implodes and civil political discourse evaporates, one of the few things all Haitians can agree on is their pride in Toussaint L'Ouverture, who led the slave rebellion in Haiti that established the world's first black republic. "The transformation of slaves, trembling in hundreds before a single white man, into a people able to organise themselves and defeat the most powerful European nations of their day, is one of the great epics of revolutionary struggle and achievement," wrote the late Trinidadian intellectual CLR James in his book The Black Jacobins. The transformation of that achievement into a nation riven by political violence, ravaged by Aids and devastated by poverty is a tragedy of epic proportions.

The nation's 200th anniversary this year looks back on 13 coups and 19 years of American occupation, and now once again looks forward to more bloodshed and instability. The country's political class must bear their share of responsibility for where they go from here. Western powers, particularly France and the United States, must also take responsibility for how they got to this parlous place to begin with. If Haiti shows all the trappings of a failed state, then you do not have to look too far to see who has failed it.

The most urgent issue is to stem the descent into gang warfare and political anarchy. In this the Haitians have been let down by poor domestic political leadership on all sides. In the nine years since Jean-Bertrand Aristide's Lavalas party has been in power, economic improvements have been few and human rights abuses have been many. With no army and only a few thousand poorly trained police, Aristide has relied on armed gangs to sustain his authority. In 2000 he rigged parliamentary elections, sparking outrage and laying the basis for a broad-based opposition, which has gathered pace and strength in recent months.

But while the political opposition, based in Port-au-Prince, has grown in size it remains diminished in direction and devoid of strategy. With no agenda beyond forcing Aristide to resign, it offers only the possibility of even more chaos. Its ability to destabilise, and inability to lead effectively, have left a vacuum filled by an armed opposition, comprising henchmen from previous dictatorships.



The relationship between those who seek to remove Aristide peacefully and those committed to violent methods is increasingly blurred. The political opposition says it shares the aims of the armed rebels but not their methods. Even if that is true in principle, it is rapidly becoming meaningless in practice. The rebels care little for human rights and less for human life. No one doubts they could get rid of Aristide; no one seriously believes they will restore democracy.

But if the bicentennial offers a bleak backdrop for the immediate fate of the first black republic, it also offers the opportunity to place these events in some historical perspective. For ever since Haitian slaves expressed their desire to breathe freely, Western powers have been attempting to strangle its desire for democracy and prosperity at birth.

"Men make their own history," wrote Karl Marx. "But they do not make it just as they please; they do not make it under circumstances chosen by themselves, but under given circumstances directly encountered and inherited from the past."

From the outset Haiti inherited the wrath of the colonial powers , which knew what a disastrous example a Haitian success story would be. In the words of Napoleon Bonaparte: "The freedom of the negroes, if recognised in St Domingue [as Haiti was then known] and legalised by France, would at all times be a rallying point for freedom-seekers of the New World." He sent 22,000 soldiers to recapture the "Pearl of the Antilles".

France, backed by the US, later ordered Haiti to pay 150m francs in gold as reparations to compensate former plantation and slave owners as well as for the costs of the war in return for international recognition. At today's prices that would amount to $18bn. By the end of the 19th century, 80% of Haiti's national budget was going to pay off the loan and its interest, and the country was locked into the role of a debtor nation - where it remains today.

Any prospect of planting a stable political culture foundered on the barren soil of economic impoverishment, military siege and international isolation (for the first 58 years the US refused even to recognise Haiti's existence). In 1915, fearing that internal strife would compromise its interests, the US invaded, and remained until 1934.


If those who now preach compromise had practised those values in the past, Haiti might have nurtured the kind of political traditions that could withstand its divisions today. Haiti is a reminder of how Western democracies have wilfully amassed their wealth on the backs of impoverished dictatorships.

So Haiti lurched from coup to coup, most notably under the dictatorship of "Papa Doc" Duvalier and then his son, "Baby Doc", supported by the US and France. In 1990 Aristide appeared as the best hope to break the cycle. With an overwhelming democratic mandate, the liberation theologian was swept to power, as Haitians brushed the floor ahead of him with palm leaves. Deposed in a coup, he returned in 1994 with US military assistance.

But, in return for political freedom, Aristide was compelled to accept economic enslavement at the hands of the IMF and the World Bank. Post-colonial military aggression gave way to brutal globalisation. Before Aristide had even considered fixing the elections, the West had already rigged the markets.

Take rice. Forced by the agreement to lower its import tariffs, Haiti found itself flooded with subsidised rice from the US, which drove Haitian rice growers out of business and forced the country to import a product that it once produced. When the country fined US rice merchants $1.4m for allegedly evading customs duties, the US responded by withholding $30m in aid.

None of this excuses the shortcomings of either the current administration or its detractors. But it helps explain why the roots of the current crisis are so deep, and spread so far. Aristide has tainted a nascent democratic culture. But to allow him to be deposed at the hands of former dictators will destroy it altogether. Aristide could do far better for Haiti. Haiti could do far worse than Aristide.

Article link:
Throttled by history

 

[BigMan]

New president in Haiti brehs

 

[loyola llothta]

New president in Haiti brehs

if you dont mind im about to wild out about that after i drop a few jewel leading up to the current climate of Haiti

 

[loyola llothta]

The tragedy of Haiti is a history of Betrayal, isolation, ostracism, and interventions.

Dr. Eric Pierre, from the Ontario Historical Society wrote this eloquent piece, on bicentenary of the independence of Haiti, in 2004. He spoke first of the history of enslavement , resistance and the betrayals, even from those like Simon Bolivar, who was given Haitian assistance to launch revolutions in Latin America:

Dr. Eric Pierre

The year 2004 is the bicentenary of the independence of Haiti, the birth of the first black republic, the second independent nation in the Western hemisphere, second to the United States. The United Nations proclaimed 2004 the year of the commemoration of freedom and the struggle against slavery in recognition of the first defeat of the colonial system in 1804.

Anniversaries normally are important landmarks in the history of a nation, opportunities for joyful celebrations. More importantly, they are opportunities for reflection, introspection, evaluation, and new direction. Opportunities to take an objective look at ourselves, to assess the road we have traveled, and to design our path into the future.

Anniversaries are opportunities for asserting our connection with our past and our ancestors, for learning from the challenges and setbacks they overcame and for taking pride in their victories and accomplishments.

The most significant and coordinated assault on slavery and the colonial system started in 1791, two years after the French revolution. The French Revolution did create a historical context favorable to the events that culminated with the final victory of 1804. But it did not inspire the thirst for freedom nor did it create the determination, courage, strategic discipline and military intelligence of the African masses. The spirit of rebellion revealed itself in the uprisings taking place on the slave boats during the trips from Africa to the Americas and the Caribbean. It manifested itself very early with such brave acts as escapes, poisonings, fires, suicides, and infanticides.

Women preferred to undergo abortions or even kill their own children instead of bringing them into a world of humiliation and infamy. It is important to underscore the significant contribution of women in these early stages. We should also recognize the injustice dealt to them by history for failing to pay homage to the specific identity of those female freedom fighters who were imprisoned, hanged and tortured. They will remain illustrious anonymous forever. The rebellion evolved into more organized expressions such as "maronnage" and unsuccessful uprisings such as the one led by Mackandal.

Yes, prior to 1789 the spirit of freedom was a determinant factor in the dynamics of conflicting forces in Saint-Domingue(Haiti). We have to question the intentions of the historians who exaggerate the contribution of the French revolution as ideological foundation of the Haitian revolution. After 13 years of war, atrocities, and destruction, Haiti became an independent nation. It was indeed a page of glory in the ignominious history of slavery and colonial domination. It was a symbol of unity between Haitians of African and mixed European and African ancestry who fought victoriously to proclaim the first declaration of universal human rights that included African citizens in the full sense of the term. It was posthumous glory for Bookman, Toussaint Louverture, Sanssouci and all the martyrs. It was a proud moment for Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Alexandre Petion, Capois Lamort, Boisrond Tonnerre, all the generals and freedom fighters.

The colonial powers quickly realized the significance of our independence. They viewed it as a dangerous precedent and vowed to keep the liberation disease from spreading. They quarantined the new nation. Cardinal Talleyrand called Haiti a "haven of barbarian piracy" until France granted conditional recognition to the independence in 1825 upon payment of the first installment of an indemnity of 100 million francs.

It took the United States approximately 60 years to recognize Haiti's independence when in December 1861 President Lincoln said that he "failed to discern.. any good reason not to recognize" the independence of Haiti.

The Vatican did not have any diplomatic relations with the new nation until 1860. In the meantime the Catholic religious guidance of Haitians was left to a combination of real priests, excommunicated priests or impostors.

No foreign heads of state set foot on Haitian territory for any extended visit before President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1934, at the end of the American occupation. Haiti was indeed a leading force in the struggle for freedom in the Americas. The Venezuelan revolutionaries Francisco Miranda and Simon Bolivar were given the necessary assistance: food, weapons, and Haitian soldiers in their struggle for independence. The same Simon Bolivar did not invite Haiti to the Congress of Panama. His representatives were given specific instructions: " The government regards with repugnance the idea of treating Haiti with the same etiquette generally maintained between civilized nations".

The tragedy of Haiti is a history of isolation, ostracism, and interventions. It is also a history of betrayal by an unscrupulous ruling class more interested in conspicuous consumption and personal wealth than nation building. At the same time, it is a history of demands for freedom, human rights, and human dignity, not only for Haitians, but also for all citizens of African descent. For that matter, it includes any social class, nation, or ethnic group whose rights are being trampled upon.

Haitians remember with pride and expectation for respect, the participation of a contingent of Haitian volunteers who participated beside the Americans at the battle of Savannah in 1779 in the war against England.

When the abolitionist John Brown was hanged in 1859, the Haitian public and intelligentsia were outraged. Funeral services in his memory took place across the country. Haitians identified themselves with his struggle against slavery and pulled together their meager financial resources to send a sizable amount of money to his widow and family.

In the darkest moments of isolation, abject poverty, political destabilization, Haitian masses still view themselves as pioneers and champions of the struggle for human rights, justice and equality.

The tragedy of Haiti is that of the majority demanding for itself the rights and dignity enjoyed by a small oligarchy that is not willing to relinquish one iota of its wealth.

President Roosevelt defined the following four freedoms:

• Freedom of speech and expression
• Freedom of worship
• Freedom from want
• Freedom from fear

According to him, the defense of these freedoms was a legitimate right for all nations and all citizens. These rights are the pillars of any democratic system. These rights are the foundations of social harmony and social peace. They are the pillars of democracy.

As the Haitian nation is turning a new page in its history, my hope and the hope of everyone observing the developments in the country is that the political and financial leadership, as well as the international community, realize a fundamental, obvious and basic reality: the Haitian majority is not asking for more than those freedoms. I doubt that they will settle for less than a clear and concerted attempt to change their horrible and inhumane living conditions.

Let us pray for common sense, dialogue, tolerance, and mutual respect in Haiti. Let us pray for reconciliation in Haiti and reconciliation with Haiti.

Article Link:
On the Bi-Centennial of Haiti - Articles - Ontario Black History Society

 

[loyola llothta]

Haiti's "Pact with the Devil"

Jan 15, 2010 12:24pm EST by Ojibwa

For so some background logic, The Pact with the Devil is to reference to the racist evangelical propaganda spewed by Pat Robertson. The author of the article Ojibwa, refuted so beautifully in his diary on the rec list

In 1791 the African slaves in Haiti revolted against their white masters. The slave revolt was nourished in the clandestine gatherings of the African-based Voodoo religion and thus the white slave owners soon concluded that the slaves must have made a pact with the devil for their revolution to be successful. This is a sentiment which echoes two hundred years later among some white Christians. In this diary, I would like to explore Haiti’s Voodoo religion.

While the island of Hispaniola was originally colonized by the Spanish, in 1697 they ceded the western third of the island to the French. This portion of the island would later become Haiti.

The French colony became one of the wealthiest European colonies in the Caribbean. The wealth came from forestry and sugar which contributed to the environmental degradation of the country. The sugar plantations depended heavily upon slave labor which was imported from Africa. The African slaves brought with them their religion which became known as Voodoo.

The term "Voodoo" (also written as Vodun, Vodoun, Vodou, and other spellings) has its roots in the African word for "spirits." During the colonial era, the French actively suppressed the Voodoo religion. The plantation masters and the Catholic priests forbade all Voodoo practices, so many of these practices were merged with Catholic elements to hide them from colonial authorities.

Voodoo became a mechanism for keeping African cultural elements alive and encouraging ideas of freedom. In the late 18th century, nearly 500,000 African slaves under the leadership of Toussaint L’Ouverture began a revolt and in 1804 Haiti became an independent country.

While 80% of today’s Haitians are officially listed as Catholic, and 16% as Protestant (10% Baptist and 4% Pentecostal), over half of the Haitians continue to practice Voodoo. It is not uncommon for people to go to a Voodoo temple on Saturday and a Christian Church on Sunday. During the 1940s, Catholics attempted to eradicate Voodoo by burning down temples and destroying sacred artifacts. As a result, the religion went underground again. In the 1950s, the Catholics stopped their war against Voodoo and since then have incorporated Voodoo drums and melodies into their services.

While the 1987 Constitution permits Voodoo, many of the evangelical Protestant groups continue to oppose the religion. Evangelical Protestants denounce Voodoo as devil worship and claim that Haiti is being punished by God for the sins of the Voodoo followers.

The Hollywood image of Voodoo which emphasizes evil spirits, "voodoo" dolls, violence, and bizarre rituals is mostly a fiction. The central tenet of Voodoo is healing: helping people overcome physical and spiritual sickness with the aid of spirits. It is estimated that 60% of all Voodoo activity is about healing.

Spirits are summoned with offerings, such as sugar cane and rum, and with animal sacrifices, usually chickens and sometimes larger animals such as goats. Nearly every Voodoo ceremony involves an animal sacrifice. By killing the animal one releases life which rejuvenates the spirits.

The Voodoo pantheon is quite complex and may represent the merging of several African tribal religions and elements of Catholic Christianity. It includes deities, spirits, and ancestor veneration. Spirits are not considered good or evil, but fall into two basic categories: Rada, the calm, happy spirits, and Petro, the animated spirits often associated with black magic.

While most Haitian Voodoo practitioners are monotheistic, a relationship with spirits is one of the central tenets of the religion. Anyone can become possessed by spirits and spirit possession is not uncommon in Voodoo ceremonies. The spirits offer help to those possessed in the form of good fortune and protection from evil. There are spirits which are associated with natural phenomena, historic and mythical individuals, and with specific clans or tribes.

Dancing is essential at a Voodoo service and the music is provided by drums. During this time the spirits can "mount" people—that is, they take over a person’s body for a time.

The Voodoo priesthood includes both men (houngan) and women (mambo). In addition to healing and performing religious ceremonies to call or pacify the spirits, they also tell the future and read dreams, cast spells and create protections, and create potions for various purposes. They may or may not be paid for any of these services.

Haitian Voodoo views sexual orientation as a part of the way people were created and therefore homosexuals are allowed to pursue members of the same sex just as heterosexuals are allowed to pursue the opposite sex. The Voodoo pantheon includes spiritual patrons for both gay men and for lesbians

Article Link:

Haiti's Pact with the Devil


Some Backdrop:
"The racist evangelical propaganda spewed by Pat Robertson during the Earthquake that hit Haiti that killed 300,000 plus Haitians:"

While the revolution against slavery was commendable, the manner in which it was achieved was deplorable. On August 14, 1791, a group of houngans (voodoo priests), led by a former slave houngan named Boukman, made a pact with the Devil at a place called Bois-Caiman. The founding fathers and others present vowed to exterminate all of the white Frenchmen on the island. They sacrificed a black pig in a voodoo ritual with hundreds of slaves drinking the sacrificial pig's blood. In this ritual, Boukman asked Satan for his help in liberating Haiti from the French. In exchange, the voodoo priests offered to give the country to Satan for 200 years and swore to serve him. On January 1, 1804, the nation of Haiti was born and thus began a new demonic tyranny.

 

[loyola llothta]

WILL $500,000 EARMARK FOR CONTROVERSIAL MINISTRY BE USED TO FIGHT VOODOO AND SATAN IN HAITI?

"Avidor's diary highlights funding for am Adoration Church Project in Haiti which promotes this warped view of Haiti's struggle for freedom:"

By Ken Avidor in 2009

Senator Amy Klobuchar (MN-D) has sponsored an earmark for the Halloween-hating Minnesota Teen Challenge Ministry. According to the website on another ministry, Minnesota Teen Challenge are about to embark on a mission to reverse what they describe as 200 years of Satanic rule in Haiti.

According the Adoration Church (Savage, Minnesota) website, the Halloween-hating Minnesota Teen Challenge Ministry is considering opening a “leadership training center” in Haiti:

Some key leaders from MN Teen Challenge traveled to Haiti in early 2008. After seeing the incredible poverty and desperate living conditions that are all too common throughout Haiti, visiting the prison systems and having an audience with the President of Haiti and other government, business and church leaders a dream was born…


The Dream…Haitian Leadership Training Center

A transformational program which breaks the downward cycle of poverty, failure, and sin, and which expands the Kingdom of God by equipping male young adults to become godly leaders in Haiti. Minnesota Teen Challenge seeks to be an organizing catalyst that develops alliances with other Christian organizations in order to fully train and mentor students in discipleship, social justice, morality, economic development and servant leadership skills.

It would be interesting to know who some those “key leaders” of MNTC were (more on that later).

In earlier diaries, I’ve posted quotes from MNTC newsletters that indicate that the MNTC leadership seems to think they are locked in a Manichean struggle with Satan, Pokemon and Harry Potter. Keep in mind there’s quite a few congressional representatives led by Senator Amy Klobuchar who think this epic battle between good and evil is worth funding with a $500,000 earmark.If you scroll down that same Adoration Church web page about Teen Challenge’s Haitian project, you come to this brief, but odd history of Haiti beginning with Haiti’s struggle for independence:



A Basic Overview of Haiti:


Haiti is a small Caribbean country that shares an island with The Dominican Republic only a 90 minute flight from Miami, Florida – a short distance, but a world apart. This island could be a tropical paradise but has fallen far short throughout its turbulent history. Crime is rampant throughout the nation, but most notably in the capital city of Port Au Prince (where we will be much of the time). This former French colony overthrew their French slave owners through the only successful slave uprising in modern history and the nation of Haiti was born. While the revolution against slavery was commendable, the manner in which it was achieved was deplorable.

On August 14, 1791, a group of houngans (voodoo priests), led by a former slave houngan named Boukman, made a pact with the Devil at a place called Bois-Caiman. The founding fathers and others present vowed to exterminate all of the white Frenchmen on the island. They sacrificed a black pig in a voodoo ritual with hundreds of slaves drinking the sacrificial pig’s blood. In this ritual, Boukman asked Satan for his help in liberating Haiti from the French. In exchange, the voodoo priests offered to give the country to Satan for 200 years and swore to serve him. On January 1, 1804, the nation of Haiti was born and thus began a new demonic tyranny.

Since that time, Haiti has suffered oppressive poverty, unsanitary conditions, natural disasters and civil war. The nation has a long and sordid history of violence, poverty and has been plagued by political and natural disasters, theft, corruption, drug traffic and in spite of an endless supply of foreign aid to the country; Haiti remains the poorest and most needy country in the hemisphere. The average annual income of approximately $300 USD for a typical Haitian family of five or six members. One half the population is thought to be illiterate and the life expectancy is only 52 years. With unemployment over 70%, most adult men have never held a job in their lives. Haitian poor live day-to-day, generation-to-generation without hope of life getting any better. For them, the long night of unrest seems relentless.

Humanitarian and government officials are renown for being corrupt. Haiti is a haven for the drug trade. Haiti currently has United Nations Peace Keeping Force to help maintain peace and security. The U.N., foreign governments and a variety of mission and humanitarian organizations have poured countless resources into Haiti, the poorest country in this hemisphere. In spite of mountains of foreign assistance, these initiatives do not seem to take root and produce lasting fruit in this spiritually dark voodoo culture. Internationals with long standing ties to Haiti remain frustrated and skeptical of lasting change happening on this Caribbean island. Haitians that profess some level of allegiance to Jesus Christ have been characterized by fraud, theft, and spiritual elitism within a highly-fractured Christian community.

Even in a brief history of Haiti, there ought to be some mention of foreign military interventions and 19 years of American occupation, not to mention the crippling debt Haitians have been forced to pay as a price for their emancipation.

The Guardian:



From the outset Haiti inherited the wrath of the colonial powers , which knew what a disastrous example a Haitian success story would be. In the words of Napoleon Bonaparte: “The freedom of the negroes, if recognised in St Domingue [as Haiti was then known] and legalised by France, would at all times be a rallying point for freedom-seekers of the New World.” He sent 22,000 soldiers to recapture the “Pearl of the Antilles”.


France, backed by the US, later ordered Haiti to pay 150m francs in gold as reparations to compensate former plantation and slave owners as well as for the costs of the war in return for international recognition. At today’s prices that would amount to $18bn. By the end of the 19th century, 80% of Haiti’s national budget was going to pay off the loan and its interest, and the country was locked into the role of a debtor nation – where it remains today.

Any prospect of planting a stable political culture foundered on the barren soil of economic impoverishment, military siege and interna tional isolation (for the first 58 years the US refused even to recognise Haiti’s existence). In 1915, fearing that internal strife would compromise its interests, the US invaded, and remained until 1934.

If those who now preach compromise had practised those values in the past, Haiti might have nurtured the kind of political traditions that could withstand its divisions today. Haiti is a reminder of how Western democracies have wilfully amassed their wealth on the backs of impoverished dictatorships.

I’m guessing that Craig Sulentic, a board member of MNTC and Adoration Church’s “connection” to the MNTC Haiti project would prefer to blame Satan for Haiti’s woes rather than Western democracies as he is a campaign donor to ultra-right-wingers Norm Coleman and Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.

As further proof of the right-wing bent of the Adoration Church, the churches web site links to the ex-gay ministry Exodus and right-wing, anti-gay Focus on the Family:



Exodus – A worldwide Christian organization called to encourage, stengthen, unify and equip Christians to minister the transforming power of the Lord Jesus Christ to those affected by homosexuality. They are the largest Christian referral and information ministry dealing with homosexual issues in the world today. They offer monthly newsletters, annual conferences, speaking engagements and online services.


If you are not familiar with Exodus, watch the excellent video about so-called ex-gay ministries at IN THE LIFE:

...

What is interesting about the timing of the NTC’s mission to exorcise the Devil in Haiti, is that one of MNTC’s former board members, Frank Vennes Jr. and his lawyer has been caught in the complicated web of fraud surrounding the Ponzi scheme… a scheme that has cost MNTC millions of dollars forcing cutbacks and layoffs. Frank Vennes Jr. has not been charged with a crime, but the DOJ claims they have evidence that Vennes was aware that something was amiss back in December, 2007… the same month that Congresswoman Bachmann wrote a letter to George Bush requesting a pardon for Frank Vennes Jr.… which is also around the time somebody at MNTC (according to the Adoration Church) got the idea that opening a “Leadership Training Center” in Haiti was a splendid idea:



Some key leaders from MN Teen Challenge traveled to Haiti in early 2008


…and according to the Livesay Haiti blog, those “key leaders” are down there in demon-possessed Haiti right now:



The Board of Directors from MN Teen Challenge are headed down here on Friday to scout locations and fact find…


The folks from MNTC will be battling Satan’s evil hordes for a week according to the itinerary (see below). But it appears that they will also be having a “fun day” (nice of Satan to allow that).

As I gaze out past my computer here in Minneapolis at the raging blizzard outside my window… As I contemplate the predicted below-zero temperatures (11 below tonight and minus 3 for a high tomorrow), I wish I too had enlisted to fight in the U.S. taxpayer-subsidized struggle with Satan on the sun-drenched sands of the Godless Caribbean like the valiant board members of Minnesota Teen Challenge.

Link Article:

Will $500,000 earmark for controversial ministry be used to fight voodoo and Satan in Haiti? - Shadowproof

 

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Black Agenda Radio(For Week of January 2, 2017) : Haiti Election Part 1.

Haitians Take to Streets to Defy U.S. – and Americans Should Do the Same
Jovenel Moise, the rightwing candidate that elections officials claim won 55 percent of the vote in a four-way presidential race, “is the individual that the United States understands will continue the plunder, the pillaging that they’ve been doing in Haiti,” said Daoud Andre, a Brooklyn-based Haitian community activist and radio host. Charging the November 20 vote was rigged, tens of thousands of Haitians have engaged in nearly daily protests. U.S. progressives should take note, and “not take on Donald Trump from a defensive position,” said Andre. “I think we have to go back to the militant movements of the Sixties, movements for people to take their destinies in their own hands. We cannot be afraid of a clown. These are paper tigers.”

Video is in the link:

Article Link:
Haiti election | Black Agenda Report

 

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Haitians Say “No” to the Imperialists and Their “Banana Man”

by Èzili Dantò

Five years ago, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton imposed a criminal right-wing regime on the militarily occupied people of Haiti. Now the U.S. and its allies have rigged yet another Haitian presidential election. “The CIA and US government have been busy creating new gangsters, terrorists and drug dealers in Haiti, as they’ve done in Jamaica, Syria, Venezuela and Libya to serve U.S. goals and interests.”

by Èzili Dantò
This article previously appeared on the author’s web site.

“It's time for the Haiti authorities to justly apply the wishes of the people.”

‪"We will burn the country down before we allow ourselves back into a US banana republic slavery with Jovenel Moise," say the protestors to the Obama-backed November 20, 2016 electoral fraud. -- YouTube

‪Washington and the CIA works perpetually to put in a right-wing president and parliament in Haiti. They want Haitians who are like they are -- well versed criminals, assassins, money launderers, drug peddlers and gun-runners. Folks with no moral compass who make no bones about detaining and murdering dissenters and whistle blowers. Putting in a criminal parliament to validate laws, written in Washington, is the sole purpose of the current blackmailable Haiti parliament who come under the US-CIA rigged elections of August 9, 2015 and November 20, 2016. (See video: Confessions of Economic Hit Men)

‪All the Haiti resistance sectors to the US-Obama attempt to steal the November 20, 2016 elections and install another Hillary Clinton puppet president in Haiti have come together -- Moise Jean Charles, Jude Celestin, Maryse Narcisse.

‪This coalition against US-imposed fake elections to install more dictatorship and occupation are outraged at the newest Obama-backed electoral fraud. They denounce the Haiti billionaires, who along with the Obama administration, mock the Haiti voters by selecting the right wing candidate, Jovenel Moise, who is under investigation for money laundering, as their next Haiti puppet. The protestors say that the PHTK Martelly replica is imposed by the imperialist to further enrich the global oligarchs, plunder Haiti and keep the population in perpetual poverty. They say no: no to subjugation and exploitation. No, to the new “Banana Man.”

“They denounce the Haiti billionaires, who along with the Obama administration, mock the Haiti voters.”


But the two centuries of American destructive apartheid and neocolonialism continues just as this Haiti generation, like the ones before, resist. The morally challenged, super wealthy families, both in Haiti and in the international community, continue to terrorize the poor and outgunned.‬

‪"We will never agree for foreigners to give us our president, down with Martelly and Jovenel Moise --Haiti protestors, December 16, 2016‬

‪If there’s no respect for the Haitian people’s votes and voice, the Washington-backed Jovenel Moise will be shoved down their throat to rule with a new Parliament filled with criminals and DEA suspected drug-dealers such as Guy Philippe, who is said to have won a Senate seat. The CIA and US government have been busy creating new gangsters, terrorists and drug dealers in Haiti, as they’ve done in Jamaica, Syria, Venezuela and Libya to serve U.S. goals and interests. The ruthless imperialists, their top inbred bloodline families, media minions and neoliberal economic academia still have spiteful visions of a plantation Haiti; a Banana Republic run by a US puppet president called the “Banana man”— their white pearl, again. It sounds like twilight science fiction but it’s real.

‪The Haitian people disqualified Jovenel Moise from the race for president 2015. It's time for the Haiti authorities to justly apply the wishes of the people and the laws of sovereignty, self-determination, decency and civility. No criminals and electoral fraudsters should hold office in Haiti.‬

Èzili Dantò is executive director of the Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network.

Article:
Haitians Say “No” to the Imperialists and Their “Banana Man” | Black Agenda Report

 

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Black Agenda Radio for Week of December 19, 2016

Haitians Protest Theft of Election -- Again
For more than a month Haitians have filled the streets to reject an election count that gave U.S.-backed presidential candidate Jovenal Moise 55 percent of the vote in a four-way race. The tally is “totally unacceptable,” said Pierre Labossiere, of the Haiti Action Committee, which backed Maryse Narcisse, the candidate of former president Jean Bertrand Aristide’s party, Fanmi Lavalas --- which was credited with only 8 percent of the vote. The two other major parties also rejected the tally. Who fixed the vote? “The corrupt provisional council, with the help of the UN and the active support of the U.S., France and Canada -- the usual,” said Labossiere. Hillary Clinton’s intervention was key to installing the previous president, Michel “Sweet Mickey” Martelly.

Link Article and Video of the Radio Show:
Black Agenda Radio for Week of December 19, 2016 | Black Agenda Report

 

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Black Agenda Radio for Week of November 2, 2015

Massive Voter Suppression In Haiti
Haiti held presidential elections on October 25, following disastrous legislative elections this summer that were wracked by violence perpetrated by allies of the U.S. backed government. The failure to punish those responsible for the repression on August 9 produced a “catastrophically low” turnout of 20 to 30 percent in October, said Brian Concannon, of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti. His interpretation is disputed by Pierre Labossiere, of Haiti Action, who was part of a human rights and fact-finding mission to the island nation. Labossiere believes supporters of the Family Lavalas party of former president Jean Bertrand-Aristide, who was deposed in a 2004 U.S.-backed coup, turned out in huge numbers in October, but that many were denied access to the polls. He predicts that vote tallies to be released this week will show Lavalas was able “to overcome a lot of these fraudulent practices that were carried out.”

Link Article and Video:
Black Agenda Radio for Week of November 2, 2015 | Black Agenda Report

 

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Black Agenda Radio for Week of August 17, 2015

Washington Still Has Designs on Cuba
After more than half a century, the U.S. embassy in Havana formally reopened, last week. But, that doesn’t mean U.S. subversion against Cuba will end any time soon, said Dr. Gerald Horne, professor of history and African American Studies at the University of Houston and author of many books, including Race to Revolution: The U.S. and Cuba During Slavery and Jim Crow. Horne noted that the U.S. became even more aggressive against Haiti after Washington finally recognized the Black republic, 58 years after the triumph of the Haitian revolution. “At best, you can expect Washington to simply change its strategy to destabilize the Cuban revolution,” said Horne.


Haiti Votes – Four Years Late
For the first time in four years, Haiti held elections for its national legislature, earlier this month. “The election had many serious problems,” especially the lack of voting sites in poor neighborhoods, said Brian Concannon, of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti. This was also the first time since the U.S.-backed coup and occupation of 2004 that the Lavalas party, which used to command huge majorities at the polls, has been allowed to field candidates. The ballot counting has been slow, but Concannon expects “that Lavalas is probably the most popular party,” despite the damage done by 11 years of repression.

link Article and Video:
Black Agenda Radio for Week of August 17, 2015 | Black Agenda Report

 

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Jovenel Moise wants a representation of the diaspora (who represents 2 to 3 millions people) at the National assembly . What y'all think about that ?