The Pulse of Climate Change
The first thing Haitian children learn about the geography of their country is that it is at “the center of the greater Antilles, with Cuba to the west, Jamaica to the southwest, and Puerto Rico to the east.” Would one expect less of a people who had the temerity to fight the only successful slave […]
UN’s Violent Kleptocracy Prepares to Stay in Haiti
The so-called United Nations peacekeeping force is growing as surreptitiously as a cancer into a world transnational army. Since 1991 the force has expanded from 13,000 to more than 90,000, and into the highest-profile UN department, with an annual budget around $7 billion. The “Mission des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation en Haiti” (MINUSTAH) takes […]
Biodiversity and Sustainability Are Closely Linked to Language and Culture
An unprecedented study of global biological and cultural diversity paints a dire picture of the state of our species. Like the amphibians that climb to ever tinier areas at higher altitudes to avoid being extinguished by global warming, most of the world’s species currently huddle in a tiny fraction of the Earth’s surface, and most […]
Mountains Behind Haiti’s Protests
Haitian proverb: “Dèyè mòn, genyen mòn.” (Behind mountains hide more mountains.) Haiti’s most populous cities erupted in marches, sit-ins, strikes, and barricades throughout September 2012. This revolt began with the teachers during the first week of the month. By Monday, September 10, the country’s educators were protesting, not only in Port-au-Prince, but also in Jeremie, […]
Colonialism of the Mind – Part II
Of all the campaigns to undermine Haitian culture, the one to discredit restavek adoption — in which a biological parent collaborates with a respected adult to care for a child — enjoys the most zealous support from the west’s non-governmental organizations (NGO) and alternative press. This campaign reached fever pitch after Haiti’s Prime Minister […]
