Haiti, mother of liberty

Haiti, mother of liberty
Hundreds of thousands celebrate Haiti?s 200th birthday


While the world?s major news media minimize Haitians? support for their government, this picture tells the truth: A sea of Haitians came out New Year?s Day to celebrate their bicentennial and the leadership of President Aristide. Meeting with the foreign press on New Year?s Eve, Aristide said that he is happy to hear criticism and welcomes protests, because they are proof that Haiti is a democracy. ?We cannot have a democracy in Haiti without an opposition,? he said.

Haitians young and old joyfully and peacefully celebrated 200 years of freedom on New Year?s Day.
Photo: Thony Belizaire, AFP
Port-au-Prince, Haiti - Thursday, Jan. 1, 200 years from the day Haitian revolutionaries proclaimed their own liberation from slavery and their victory over the colonial powers that ruled the world, hundreds of thousands of Haitians danced in the streets, and dignitaries from around the world thanked Haiti for opening the door to independence for oppressed people everywhere.

?Indeed,? South African President Thabo Mbeki assured the crowd, ?all African people, wherever they may be, on the continent or in the Diaspora, view the Bicentenary of the Haitian Revolution as an inspiring occasion that communicates an important message to all of us that the poor of the world can and must act together decisively to confront the common challenges they face - poverty, underdevelopment, discrimination and marginalization.?

?In three centuries, approximately 15 million Africans were transported like livestock in the bowels of ships across the Atlantic Ocean,? Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide said and, with a nod to President Mbeki, added, ?Today, the boat from South Africa brings the power of liberty to celebrate 200 years of liberty. To our brothers and sisters of Africa, ?Hello! Welcome! We love Africa!??

In her turn at the podium, Congresswoman Maxine Waters said that she had come with great joy to join her friend, President Aristide, and the people of Haiti. She read a resolution now before Congress ?honoring the slave soldiers of Haiti who fought alongside the soldiers in Savannah (Georgia).? ?Haiti,? she affirmed, ?is the mother of liberty.?

Haitians worldwide pledge solidarity with Haiti


Junior Desamord raises shackles during the celebration Jan. 1 marking Haiti?s 200th anniversary of independence and freedom from slavery.
Photo: Andres Leighton, AP
After the dancing and the speeches, celebrants came together Saturday for a conference called Solidarity For Haiti 2004 convened by the Haiti-based organization Fondasyon 30 Septanm and the U.S.-based Haiti Action Committee. More than 100 people from over 30 organizations in Haiti, Africa, Europe and North America, after discussing how to support democracy in Haiti and fight disinformation about current events in Haiti, issued the following declaration:

We, sons and daughters of Haiti and true friends of Haiti, who came and saw with our own eyes how the vast majority of the Haitian people celebrated the bicentennial with pride and in peace, declare:


Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, right, embraces his special guest, South African President Thabo Mbeki, during the bicentennial celebration Jan. 1.
Photo: Andres Leighton, AP
1) Our engagement to work with the people of Haiti to end social exclusion in Haiti;

2) Our commitment to work with the Haitian people to protect their sovereignty, including: a) the right of the Haitian people to elect their own leaders; b) the obligation of foreign diplomats to respect national and international laws (including the 1963 Vienna Convention) concerning their activities in Haiti; c) the right of the Haitian people to be free from foreign meddling, including financing of groups fomenting violence and social conflict in Haiti;

3) Our commitment to help the Haitian people force the former colonial powers to return funds taken from Haiti (reparations). Especially France, which crippled the Haitian economy with the so-called debt of independence, which Haiti was forced to pay over 100 years (restitution of $21 billion); as well as the United States, which plundered Haiti?s national reserves during the nineteen years of occupation (1915-1934).

4) Our commitment to help the Haitian people achieve political stability, and our unequivocal support for the Constitution?s 5-year presidential mandate - not one day less, not one day more.

5) Our commitment to help the Haitian people invest in peace and overcome fear, making 2004 a YEAR OF PILGRIMAGE FOR ALL PEOPLE WHO LOVE FREEDOM to come and support Haiti, the Mother of Liberty.

Email the Haiti Action Committee at haitiaction [at] yahoo.com.