This historic moment belongs to all of you who stood with the indigenous Haitians at HLLN who work to make a space for Haiti's authentic voices without officialdom's approval. It's a harsh journey.The return could have been a six-hour trip to Brazil and then just a few hours to Haiti. But it took 18 hours because the "benevolent internationals" interested in our "democracy and stability" wouldn't allow former President Aristide, the symbol of the poor's empowerment in Black Haiti, to travel through their territories.
Etched on the older people's faces is the truth of this woman's sign,
"We suffered greatly, (but) we had faith you would return home."
Thousands of Haitians died during the past seven years at the hands of
the U.S. and U.N. forces occupying Haiti, compounded by the over
300,000 who were killed in the earthquake and over 4,600 killed so far
in the cholera epidemic. -- Photo: Etant Dupain, brikourinouvelgaye.com
Lack of media coverage of Aristide's return as opposed to dictator Duvaliers return is highlighted by Democracy Now! special video coverage, part 1 and part 2 of huge celebrity welcome for AristideIt took 18 hours for Aristide to reach Haiti. Going from South Africa to Northern Africa in Senegal took 10 hours, while from Senegal to Haiti took another eight hours. I hear England wouldn't allow a landing either. That long, long road is symbolic of the Haitian struggle. That long road Ezili's HLLN has shared with you and with your support and forbearance. Unlike colonial celebritism with Sean Penn, no one will give us accolades for a mere six months journey in Haiti. Ours is a centuries-long journey. We overstand. The struggle continues" (Beating back the elite's rabid rage: Against all odds Aristide returns to Haiti.)
It's very telling how little mainstream media coverage and attention there is to Aristide's return and the huge celebrity welcome he received from the people of Haiti. In contrast to the almost complete news blackout about Aristide's force and power in Haiti, the bloody dictator, Baby Doc Duvalier , got much coverage and massive print and spin, misleading readers to think Haiti's poor majority want bygones to be bygones because they're "too young and don't remember Duvalier's atrocities"!
It's also telling to know that the presidents of the U.S . and France and the secretary general of the U.N. made phone calls to South Africa in an attempt to block Aristide's return to Haiti, despite the welcome you see and that they knew he would receive. In contrast, France allowed bloody dictator, Baby Doc Duvalier, to return to Haiti without any problems. Obama and Ban Ki-moon made no phone calls to stop it. In fact, the U.N. provided security for the brutal Duvalier from the airport to his luxurious Haiti hotel.
You will see in the videos, the U.N. soldiers are nowhere visible on the trip home from the airport with Haiti's first democratically elected president! These powerful but brutally warmongering forces are only exposing their own indefensibility as representatives of civilized peoples of the world. The world's eyes are wide open. (See, Don't be distracted by Aristide in Haiti by Ezili Dantà ² and Avatar Haiti.)
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The lack of media coverage of Aristide's return is highlighted as we watch Democracy Now! coverage of the huge and historic celebrity welcome for Aristide
The Historic Return of the Aristide Family to Haiti. Democracy Now! Special Report: Part 2
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The Haitian resistance against the Western bicentennial re-colonization of Haiti lives onFrancisco Herrera sings "Look at Haiti'
Aristide's triumphant return to a celebrity welcome
At HLLN we make a point to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, AP and Miami Herald with this Aljazeera video. These mainstream papers especially, with the help of Amy Wilentz and Michael Deibert, have, these last seven years (some with more pinache and therefore more dangerous than others), demonized president Aristide, harped on the lack of popularity of Jean Bertrand Aristide and have stated outright or strongly implied that he was a criminal, he enriched himself at the people's expense and had "little dictator" tendencies. The damage and carnage caused to Haitians by these folks is immeasurable.
We circle out of this bunch Jonathan Katz, whose AP articles did not parrot the State Department/USAID propaganda as "news." Al Jazeera, since it came on the scene after the earthquake with its Haiti correspondent, Sebastian Walker, has led the way for Haiti's real voice to be heard.
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