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, […]
Global Revolution: Can We Take Money Out of the Social Equation?
Our neo-liberal capitalist world order is crumbling. Massive popular protests have erupted in the past few weeks in Greece, Spain, Portugal, Haiti and France. The current system has made money and financial considerations at the core of everything. People are valued for their assets or net worth, not for what they are as human beings. […]
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 […]
Can a Global Revolution Be Non-Violent?
Turning the Other Cheek or an Eye for an Eye? September 17, 2012 was the one-year anniversary of the Occupy movement, and sadly enough it was a sentimental fare illustrating not only the good intentions but also the enormous limitations of the movement. In New York, Occupiers got pushed around by the NYPD without much […]
Colonialism of the Mind – Part I
“Les intellectuels ont toujours été des courtisans. Ils ont toujours vécu dans le palais.” | “Intellectuals have always been courtesans. They have always lived in the palace.” – Pier Paolo Pasolini (1922-1975) Western journalists increasingly assume the voices of subjugated countries’ natives while muzzling them by denying them access to the press. In the United […]
