“We need to act, not because Haiti is some nation of perennial victims we need to have pity on.
We need to act because Haiti is a nation of heroes.
And we need to repay them for what they’ve given us.”
Jay Smooth
QCRED would like to extend its support to the people of Haiti, those in Canada as well as those Haitian members of the university community, in the aftermath of such devastating destruction. We would like to emphasize the importance of understanding how Haiti is situated in regards to both the earthquake and centuries of external intervention. As a nation with such an important legacy in the history of resistance to colonization and oppression, we feel that it is imperative for those of us who are able to assist to do so immediately.
Often in circumstances that require immediate action, we are quick to ignore the historical context in which they are situated. In regards to Haiti, it is important when we are considering taking action that we inform ourselves of how and why this nation ended up where it is today.
Haiti is a nation that has taught the world what freedom means. The battle for independence from the colonial rule of France as well as the struggle for emancipation from slavery defined the ensuing 200 years of Haitian history. In 1804 Haiti became the first republic ruled by people of the African diaspora. Resultantly, Haiti has since struggled to resist ongoing forms of colonization both physically and economically by countries such as France, the United States as well as Canada. Attempts to deny Haitian people their sovereignty are most blatant in the areas of debt and aid.
Even after being forced to pay reparations to France for over 140 years totaling what would today be considered $21 billion dollars (US), Haiti has an accumulated external debt of over $1.3 Billion (US).
In recognizing the extreme circumstances that Haiti is placed in not only in regards to the tragic earthquake but the history of impoverishment that has been imposed on it by imperial powers and western economic interests, we impress the importance of standing in solidarity with the people of Haiti. While it is crucial that aid reaches the Haitian people at this time, it is imperative that it not be tied to attempts to control the nation by outside forces.
It is also important that aid not be caught up in the language of needing to ‘save’ the Other, as is often the case in development rhetoric. Following the earthquake, we have already seen many Canadians decide to go down to Haiti themselves to assist in the provision of aid. We have also witnessed the deployment of the Canadian Forces and the RCMP to assist in rebuilding the region. In response to this we ask, who better to control aid than the Haitian people themselves? How is the militarization of Haiti in this period improving safety when previously military intervention has been the source of such violence? As Canadians we must understand that the historical role of our nation in Haiti causes our bodies to represent ongoing colonization in the region. We must also question our motives for wanting to help the nation of Haiti through removal of healthy Haitian children. How is a nation supposed to rebuild itself when an entire generation is missing?
We must be careful not to disenfranchise those whom we seek to assist through reproducing narratives of enslavement. We need desperately to understand our roles as individuals situated in Canada during this crisis.
Rather than participating in the dialogue of victimization, we must understand how we ourselves are indebted to the nation’s peoples for showing us the fire of resistance.
It is because of this that we must take action.
QCRED encourages donating to the following organizations:
In association with the Haiti Action Committee in San Francisco/Bay Area, this fund delivers resources directly to grassroots organizations in Haiti. It was founded in 2004 following the coup d’etat that forced the elected president of Haiti, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, from office and imposed a two-year regime of human rights violations whose consequence continues today.
In carrying out humanitarian assistance, we act as witnesses and will speak out, in private or in public, about the plights of the populations in danger for whom we work. In doing so, we seek to alleviate human suffering, to protect life and health, and to restore and ensure respect for human beings and their fundamental human rights.
Founded by Haitian-American artist Wyclef Jean, this organization works toward community development to make differences in education, health and the environment on the ground in Haiti.
http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/article/takeaction/globalactionalerts/1074.html
IGLHRC has sent funds directly to SEROvie to allow their services and supplies to continue to reach their LGBT and HIV-affected clients in Haiti. We are also providing funds to groups such as Colectiva Mujer y Salud, a feminist Dominican organization that has crossed the border into Haiti in order to assist with direct relief to our communities and to the many other victims.
One Response
April 20th, 2010 at 9:17 am
И я с этим столкнулся….
“We need to act, not because Haiti is some nation of perennial victims we need to have pity on. We need to act because Haiti is a nation of heroes…..