Maggy Gousse with her father and sister in New-York

A bit more than two years after the devastating earthquake, the country which used to be called “The Pearl of the Caribbeans” is still in a complete state of disarray. Many Haitians are very religious people, and some put their hopes more in the hands of God than in human beings for help. The numbers are grim, and quite frankly unacceptable. Two years after the 7.0 earthquake killed some 316,000 people, more than 500,000 are still living in camps, often in horrendous conditions without enough food, clean water or access to toilets.  Some lingering questions are on the mind of all Haitians, either the ones living on the island or the ones of the very large Haitian diaspora. What happened to the billions pledged or donated by foreign aids? And further, why are the participating NGOs so inefficient in their efforts to rebuild Haiti?

"Port-au-Prince" Haiti

After the earthquake, 11 billion was pledged by donor countries and financial institutions combined. If one consider the United States as a typical example, from the $1.14 billion allocated to Haiti, only 30 percent has been spent. For many observers, Haiti seems to be now run by NGOs which may have the best intentions at heart, but are lacking basic transparency and coordination between each other. In her documentary, “Haiti: Where Did the Money Go?”, which was broadcasted by PBS journalist and filmmaker Michele Mitchell raised and pushed this issue better than anyone else. However, in a sense, foreign aid money- with many strings attached- has been armful for Haiti in many ways for decades. For more than 10 years now, Haiti has been called “The Republic of NGOs”, and the earthquake has only compounded the problem by encouraging Haitians to rely preliminarily on foreign aid. Instead, Haitians must relearn some of the forgotten lessons of their rich past and start relying on their strength and the resources of the vast Haitian diaspora.

Grand Rue Downtown Port-au-Prince Street no longer exist

The Haitian Diaspora

More than a 1/4 of the Haitian population lives outside of Haiti. Historically, most of this massive migration started under the rule of Papa Doc Duvalier. Since the mid 1950s, it has constituted an enormous brain drain for the island by depriving it from its best educated people: engineers, doctors, teachers, lawyers, entrepreneurs, nurses, and academics. Around 4 million Haitians live abroad. In the United States there is an estimated 1.2 million Haitians, in Canada 200,000, 2 million in the Dominican Republic, 90,000 in France, and more than 80,000 in the Bahamas. While most people leaving on the island have relied, to some degree, on the financial help from their relatives of the diaspora to survive for decades, this constant assistance (over almost 60 years), just like foreign aid, has been as much of a curse than a blessing. It has, in many ways, prevented Haitians living on the island to believe they can be, once again, truly master of their own land and destiny.

Ibo Beach

Since the earthquake, many Haitians within the diaspora want to do a lot more than just help their own relatives. A few have moved back, some plan to go back and forth, and others want more accountability over the help they provide from abroad. But what they all want, more than anything else, is to help Haiti not only to rebuild from the rubles, but to thrive and become a sustainable nation without handouts and foreign interferences. If this kind of momentum builds within the Haitian diaspora, perhaps a catastrophic event can become the catalysts for a much brighter future for Haiti. But now it is time to let Haitians from the diaspora tell us their stories, to ask them what they want to achieve and how they are planning to do it. News Junkie Post is handling this story in three parts, with each individual story illustrating a deep commitment at different stages.

Delmas Blvd. Port-au-Prince 1981

For Part I, NJP interviewed Maggy Gousse. Maggy Gousse is a realtor, an actress, and a Creole interpreter at the Superior Court of California. Maggy’s family left Haiti when Papa Doc took power, and she was born in the United States. After numerous phone conversations and before responding to our questions, Maggie Gousse made the following statement: “The idea of giving 10 percent of my income to non-profit organizations such as private orphanages, schools, and other projects took place earlier this year. Like everyone else, I gave money to help organizations such as Oxfam, World Vision, and so on. However, I found out that my money was mostly spent towards keeping the staff from different organizations living “the good life” in Haiti. It is the reason why I came up with this idea to get more involved personally and to spread the word and action through the diaspora.”

Maggy Gousse 15 years old

Gilbert Mercier: First, tell us a bit more about your family background. Why did they leave Haiti?

Maggy Gousse: My parents, Antoinette Noel Gousse and Ewald Gousse, wed and left Haiti during the campaign that brought Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier to the presidency of Haiti in 1955. By the way, Haiti should be called Ayiti, it is a Caribbean word, which means “country of mountains”. My mother was a cousin of President Paul Magloire, the president prior to Papa Doc, and my father was related to Louis Dejoie. Both were very involved in politics and were obligated to leave for the sake of their lives. They traveled by plane in 1955, unlike what some people think! I was born in New-York at the Brooklyn Jewish Hospital in 1958. At the age of 3, my sister (she was 4 year old) and myself were sent on American Airlines (in the care of a stewardess) to a boarding school in Haiti. A few months later, at the request of Papa Doc, my sister and I had to be pulled out of the school. The owner, Jacqueline Turian, contacted the American embassy. They immediately came for us and escorted us to a plane back to the United States. In other words, I owe my life to the United States, and being an American is a good thing. After a few years, my parents visited Quebec, and there it was again, another boarding school in addition of having a French Canadian family watching over us. A French education was a must for my parents. They would come and see us regularly. Later on my parents sold the house in New York and purchased one in Laval, a suburb area north of Montreal. After Papa Doc’s death in 1971, we began to travel to Haiti on a regular basis. In my adult years, I returned to live in Haiti in 1989 and worked on a soap opera. I stayed a year until the Aristide campaign begun. There were curfews and shootings on a regular basis. Everyone was afraid. We had secret meetings amongst friends, because it was very dangerous to meet publicly. In our meetings, I always said that Aristide was dangerous because you cannot be a priest then suddenly go into politics. Nobody really listened, it just didn’t make sense to me. Aristide’s campaign raised hatred amongst our people. For example, he said in speeches: “These bourgeois, if they have three cars, they do not need all three. They must share them with all of you”. Therefore, people begun to revolt and went to people’s houses to steal whatever they could. It was the beginning of “dechoucage”-it means breaking into homes. It raised a lot of anger, and it is still present. I really felt the tension then in addition of seeing people being shot right next to me. I left with the intention to go to France. However, my travel agent suggested to stop in California in transit. I took an open ticket for a month, and I have been in California for 20 years.

Maggy Gousse with family in Montreal

GM: In June 2011, President Martelly addressed the Haitian diaspora in New York, and said: “It is important that you understand, you are Haitian, you can not wait until Haiti is good to go back”. What do you think of this statement?

MG: President Martelly is a living example of what he is saying. It is also the very reason he became president. As matter of fact, President Martelly has been helping mothers and children in Haiti for years through his foundation, “Roses and Ayiti Est Trop Riche Pour Etre Pauvre” ( Haiti is too rich to be poor). Martelly started developing support for Haiti the moment he started playing music in the early 1980s. His music has always been about bringing a sense happiness and togetherness to people. Martelly never stopped helping Haiti, although he was renowned worldwide, he always lived in Haiti even so he had a residence in the United States. In 2008, Martelly launched the “Go back to school campaign”. President Martelly is aware of the immense range of professional expertise that Haitians from the diaspora can indeed bring to Haiti. In addition, unlike Aristide, he knows it is practically impossible to accomplish what needs to be done without the help of the Haitian diaspora. Throughout the years, prior the Duvaliers (Papa Doc and Baby Doc) to this day, Haitians throughout the world have preciously kept their culture at heart. Living elsewhere doesn’t change Haitian people. Haitians can easily integrate within the culture of a host country, but the basic cultural identity stays the same. President Martelly sees this and just keeps reminding Haitian people that they are Haitians. It is a reminder for people of the diaspora, like myself, of the very essence of the Haitian revolution victory against French troops in 1804, and it is expressed on our flag by the words “L’Union Fait la Force”-Unity is our Strength.

Manoir Alexandria Hotel

GM: I was recently in a relationship with a Haitian from the diaspora. When I mentioned to her that we should go to Haiti and help, she categorically said no. It was obvious that she is scared of her own country and perhaps even of her own people living in Haiti. Is this fear widespread amongst Haitians from the diaspora, and if it is – why?

MG: Earlier I mentioned “dechoucage”-breaking into homes- which began during Aristide’s campaign in 1990. The situation never stopped and has escalated to kidnapping. Apparently, it is very dangerous in Haiti in regards to kidnappings. As soon as you arrive at the airport, if you are wearing jewelry, you might be followed. I was told not to go. People are desperate right now, they are in survival mode. I know when I am hungry, I get in a bad mood, most people do. Now how about if you have no shelter, just a tent with mud flood everywhere, gasoline at around $6.5 a gallon, a small bag of rice at $5.00 etc. Then you see UN troops, NGOs personals such as the ones working for Oxfam, World Vision, the Red Cross, not to mention celebrities and government officials living in the still standing houses and paying up to $3,000.00 a month of the world-sent money. I think I would be upset as well, and I would be thinking of whatever I can do to support myself and my family. I am not saying that it is right to kidnap or steal, but there are some very big problems in Haiti right now. I do not blame the Haitian woman you mentioned who seems to be afraid to go back. I must say, many Haitians of the diaspora are as discouraged as the ones living in Haiti in whatever condition. Many Haitians from all over the world feel helpless, hopeless and have a huge amount of lack of faith. This misery did not begin with the earthquake. It has been a longtime in the making, with so many unimaginable tragedies going on. To just go to Haiti, as I want to do, takes a whole lot of bravery. First Lady, Sofia Martelly, has done some incredible work with her “Roses Foundation”. The Martellys effort to clean up Haiti’s endemic corruption has to be admired, but corruption runs deep in Haiti and it will take more than the police to deal with it. Haiti needs its own army, in addition to Haitian psychologists, Haitian psycho-educators and Haitian educators, and last but not least Haitian actors. Theater and film have always had a great deal of unconscious influence on people, it is a form of psychology. It is my opinion that artistic expression can be a great tool amongst others. If sending money to Haiti is a great thing to do, it is, however, not enough.

GM: Do you  think the role played by foreign aid, either from countries, the UN or NGOs have been and are beneficial for Haiti’s long term future?

MG: No. Opportunist is the word. I see these people as living the good Haitian life in Haiti that Haitians cannot live in their own country. The Haitian culture is very complex. Now, you must understand that people from different cultures, either the US or elsewhere, shouldn’t go to Haiti thinking they can show Haitians how to live their lives and rebuild their own country. Let’s face it, none of groups of people had ever been to Haiti before the earthquake, and if so very few of them. They never built houses in the Caribbeans, and if so, not in Haiti. I am sure when these groups realized and saw the beaches, and most of all Haitians’ innocence and kindness, they realized how much they could take advantage of them. Saying this, I am also talking about young children, hungry young children giving themselves for a little piece of bread. Yes, it is going on right now as we speak! And it makes me sick to my stomach. If you know what I mean. These people, maybe not all, but most of them are polluting my country of origin by taking advantage of Haitians. The sunshine is one thing, but poverty is the other. The Americas and the rest of the world never ever accepted Haiti because it was the first independent black country in the world which won its freedom by defeating Napoleon Bonaparte. Why? Because it was very important that black people in the United States were never made aware of what freedom truly is. This has always been. America’s dream was always to gain control over Haiti, but it will never happen because Haitians have a revolutionary spirit, and it will never be taken away from them. The UN, the NGOs, and foreign aid should be carefully watched and monitored, held accountable and even investigated because they are abusing Haitians and underestimating the people’s intelligence. Haitians are very smart people. As an example, when Haitians come to the United States, after seven years they own property. Give Haitians possibilities and all is done and happening!

Cook at the Manoir Alexandria Hotel

GM: You are doing a great deal to help Haiti financially, do you feel that your contributions have made an impact?

MG: Oh no. Not necessarily. I decided to bring my knowledge and professional work experience to Haiti a long time ago. It is the reason why I went to live in Haiti in 1989. I obtained a role in a soap opera because I wanted everyone to know me in Haiti. I left Haiti under difficult circumstances knowing and promising to a group of children living on the streets of Petionville that I would come back and do something. I worked in Cite Soleil, a rural area in need, which school of 3,000 children was started by a French Canadian priest while I was in Haiti. I went and sat in a number of little schools-we call these schools “Ecoles Payi” (countryside schools). After my research in Haiti, I wrote an educational program with the hope of implementing it there. The program is based on appurtenance, self esteem, self sufficiency and the love of your country. I studied psycho-education, therefore I applied my knowledge to this program. Anyway, it didn’t work and I was never able to get the educational program off the ground. So instead, I got into real estate thinking that I would sell a substantial amount to make enough money and go to Haiti to to implement the program. I decided to give 10 percent of every completed  real estate transactions to non-profit organizations such as schools, orphanages and private groups located in Haiti. The Haitian people, either living in Haiti or from the diaspora, are the real backbone of Haiti, not foreign aid. If we stick together, as a united people, we will make it happen.

Bourdon Road

GM: For more than a decade now, Haiti has been called “The Republic of NGOs”. How do you think that your proud nation, which was the first one to win its independence from a colonial power and freedom from slavery, can regain its confidence and the control of its own affairs?

MG: I just said it, Haitians are the master of their own faith. It is interesting, the existing problems can turn out to be one of the best things that happened to Haiti. But, it is up to us, Haitians, to turn it around. We have to get rid of the crutches to be able to walk again. Some people have to leave and let President Martelly guide our country. President Martelly went from playing keyboard in small gatherings, then raised himself to a musician known worldwide to finally become president of a country, and he did all of this without cheating. I think it can be called very, very smart. Let him do his work, please. Now, being called whatever names doesn’t mean anything to Haitians, because we have heard it all. When you say something negative about a country like Haiti, in reality, it is trying to raise people’s insecurities. In other words, the very people doing the labeling are insecure, not us Haitians! Labeling by using cheap tactics of inferiority versus superiority never worked, especially with a country like Haiti. Haiti’s nickname is “The Pearl of the Caribbeans” (“La Perle des Antilles”), and always will be. The Pearl of the Caribbeans has been our nickname for centuries.

Maggy Gousse Present

GM: Are you planning to move back to Haiti, and do you think more people from the diaspora should do so?

MG: I must say, I am American born, French Canadian raised, and most of all Haitian, but I can not say I will move back to Haiti. Haiti is the country of my heart, the only place on the planet where I can take my shoes off and feel the soil go right through my veins. It is home. I will always go back to Haiti regardless of the situation. As a matter of fact, if all goes well, I will be there in April. I will do whatever I need to do to be useful. I want to go so much, it is my unconscious everyday mantra. I miss the people, I miss the water- I always pray in the water, I miss the food, I miss the noise, the roosters, I just miss being there! I believe most in the diaspora probably feel very much like me, however, we must become examples and just simply go. The more we go, the more others will. I really believe so. Most Haitians have plans to retire to Haiti. My parents made plans and they actually did move back to Haiti when they retired. They are both resting in peace now, but I am sure there presence is here as I share this with you. Haitians are not that fearful. There is some selfishness like everyone else living a better life elsewhere, but nostalgia often sits in. I am sure of this. I see it whenever there is a Haitian gathering around town. We all go with so much passion and all we talk about is who is going and when! It is simply a matter of time. As matter of fact, I have a very good friend, Gesly Leveque- I understand you are going to interview Gesly in NJP’s 3rd installments of  your Haitian diaspora stories- who was also living in Los Angeles and recently returned to Haiti. She is working on housing development and is very happy being back home. It is indeed very possible to return and make it happen.

Before MKL launched the civil rights movement, America was,de facto, an Apartheid society, divided at its core. America was equal only officially, but in reality it was a  divided and unequal social system where African-Americans were, at large, second class citizens. The message of Martin Luther King and his leadership within the Civil Rights movement were, in essence, revolutionary. But MLK wanted this deep, and much needed, transformation of  the United States social structure to be strictly non-violent. MLK’s peaceful revolution of the 1960s changed America forever, allowing for example the election of a black President in 2008, but in many ways the achievements and gains which were made by the civil rights movement have been reversed. At large, African-Americans and Latinos are still getting the crumbs from the table. Even if it is more settled than before the time of MLK, American cities are still segregated by racial and socio-economic divides. If you are an  African-American man in America between the age of 18 to 30, the chance that you will or have been through the US penal system is, today, more than 30 percent. More than 62 percent of America’s juggernaut prison system’s population is either African-American or Latino.

In many ways, it seems that half a century later, the victories of MLK and the civil rights movement were short lived. With a public education system in shamble, the opportunities  for the poor and minorities to advance and better their lives are melting away like snow under a bright sun. In term of wealth and income inequality, the gap between the 1 percent and the 99 percent has increased many folds since the late 1960s, not decreased. MLK tried to give a voice to the oppressed, the people who were forgotten by the so called American dream. But today, the voiceless are still not heard and they are certainly not invited to have a seat at the same table than the powerful. Even so, the racial divide is more defuse, the class one is more extreme.

However, since the last few months of 2011, this sad state of affairs has taken a turn in the form of the birth of the US Occupy movement. Occupy draws a lot of its thematic and inspirations from the teaching of Dr. King. From the accent on non-violent protest, its oppositions to war and American imperialism, and especially its goal to redefine a society based on the principles of equality, fairness, sustainability and social justice. Martin Luther King knew all along that he had a target on his back, but the advantage of Occupy, in comparison with the civil rights movement, is that it is a horizontal movement with no clear define leadership. If MLK became a clear and easy mark  for the one opposed to social changes in 1968, a leaderless movement like Occupy is, on the other hand, impossible to kill. If a man can be killed, principles or ideas cannot.

Even in a country with no popular revolutionary tradition like the United States, some movements of the 60s were already pushing the envelop a lot further than the hippie agenda of “peace and love”. In the US, the two main more radical groups were the Black Panthers and the Weathermen of the Weather Underground. Both organizations were crushed and criminalized by a police apparatus which has never tolerated real dissent. Will those types of groups re-incarnate themselves in the big ideological tent that is the occupy movement? It is a pressing issue, but it is impossible to forecast. Occupy is not ideologically monolithic, it is so far a mosaic of personalities and ideologies. It combines neo-Anarchists, neo-Marxists, Libertarians and followers of non-violent protest doctrines defined by Gandhi and Martin Luther King. But can advocates of peaceful protest, neo-Anarchists and neo-Marxists work together to define common grounds, strategies and tactics? Or will such disparities be the kiss of death for Occupy?

While the adamant supporters of non-violent actions represent the essence of the movement and its ultimate goal to define a better global society, they might be a bit naive to think that the 1 percent- or more accurately the 0.01 percent-will just give up their wealth and power without a fight exercising, if needed, the most brutal form of repression. Power- either private or public- doesn’t care about ideology, moral or ethics. The ruling class, either in the United States, Syria, Egypt, France or Russia is only concerned about one thing: preserving their power at all cost. It is naive to think that Vladimir Putin is just going to walk away, just like it was naive to think that the al-Assad brothers in Syria would willingly give up their dictatorial grip of the country. The only rule and logic for the powerful is to stay in power. In other words, so few people have a lock on real management of global affairs that violent clashes seem to be unfortunately unavoidable to move the dial in the right direction.

However, it is unlikely to happen in the United States where the population has been beaten into submission for centuries, but it is a completely different story elsewhere. It is unfolding in the Middle-East where violence is on the agenda, some countries in Europe are also prime candidates for such radicalization. It is especially the case for the ones with a history of successful revolutions such as Russia and France.

The global Occupy movement is still in its infancy, and it is so far defining itself more by what it doesn’t want than by trying to establish development model alternatives “written in stone”. Even people who do not want to see the reality of a broken system crumbling in front of our eyes know intuitively that we have entered a period of massive shift. Something which can not be compared with any historical model, and for this reason defying most people understanding. Occupy is one of the engine behind this giant shift, and it is likely to mutate and evolve in the coming months or years. If the few controlling the global wealth and power would be willing to give it up to the 99 percent without a fight, than this revolution of our collective consciousness could be peaceful and bloodless. But it is, unfortunately, unlikely to be the case in our current world where wealth and power call the shots regardless of any rules or moral concerns.

Editor’s Note: All photographs by Empanada Paris.

Last summer, Britain was engulfed by riots in the very heart of London for more than a week. Even so the riots were provoked by police brutality and racial tensions, they were a symptom of  a wide discontent and of a deeply rooted social malaise. Europe’s leaders are focusing their attentions on budget deficit, credit rating and short sighted economical concerns. But by doing so, they are seeing just one tree and not the forest, and are committing enormous mistakes in a desperate attempt to shore up a castle made of sand. On one hand, widening deficits are forcing more borrowing from EU governments, but-in a blatant contradiction- on the other hand, the austerity measures, once fully implemented, will put economic growth even further out of reach.

In Germany, Chancellor Merkel had a gloomy New Year’s Eve forecast for the EU. Merkel said that “Europe was facing its harshest test in decades” adding that 2012 “Will no doubt be more difficult than 2011″. Merkel is now setting up the tone in Europe, and her pessimistic forecast was echoed in Italy and Greece by the two financial technocrats in charge: Prime Ministers Monti and Papademos. Indeed, the economic picture is bleak for Europe, and most economists-on both sides of the Atlantic- are forecasting a recession for 2012.

In France, the country good credit rating is likely to be downgraded. France’s credit downgrade could happen as early as mid-January, and it will unquestionably push France’s government to implement drastic austerity measures similar to the ones in the works in Greece, Italy, and Spain. However, France has a long and solid tradition of revolution and protests, and no matter which French parties try to implement unpopular measures, French people will take their anger to the streets. Europe, at large, by sticking to its overall austerity plan, is rejecting the Keynesian economic stimulus approach favored by the United States since the 2008 global financial crash.

Under the impulse of Merkel, every governments in Europe are imposing belt tightening measures of spending cuts-especially in social programs- and of property tax and income tax increases. By doing so, European governments are bending backwards to send a reassuring message to the “masters of the universe” controlling financial markets. On Friday, Spain announced a larger than expected budget deficit for 2011. And on January 9, the two lead EU players, Merkel and Sarkozy, will try to set up a new treaty imposing tight budget requirements on all EU members.

Naturally, the austerity measures across Europe will have the side effect to fuel the Occupy movement. If 2011 was the year of the Arab Spring, and in the United States the year of Occupy Wall Street, Europe could very easily become the new center stage of social unrest which will make the events of May 1968 look pale in comparison. May Day 2012 is an Occupy benchmark, and it is likely to get European’s governments attention.

In Italy and Greece, former bankers, Mario Monti and Lucas Papademos, have taken over exploiting the fear of bankruptcy and social “chaos”. Monti and Papademos are the faces of this new EU in the making where the 0.1 percent financial elite is in the process of ruling the 99 percent by economic diktats. Both men are not merely apolitical technocrats, they are players of the global financial elite working on behalf of the IMF, the European Central Bank and the Franco-German directorate of the EU.

In this financial form of enslavement, Greece, Italy, and soon to follow Spain, Portugal and Hungary will not be operating as equal partners in a union dominated by banks and financial considerations. The European Union was once a dream to secure prosperity for all, strengthen democracy in formerly autocratic states such as Greece, Spain and Portugal. But one of the main goals of the European Union was to make sure Europe couldn’t be engulfed in the madness of war anymore by getting rid of nationalism.

However, the take over of the EU by public and private financial institutions, with Chancellor Merkel and President Sarkozy acting as brokers and enforcers, is having the opposite effect and re-opening all wounds. More and more young people in Spain, Italy and Portugal are voicing their anger at having to go to Germany or France to find work. This financial take over by the IMF, the European Central Bank and private banks follows a doctrine of limited sovereignty, and can be described as collective enslavement by national debt. Greeks are so outraged about this new form of occupation of their country that some Greek cartoonists are depicting German Chancellor Merkel in Nazi uniform.

The Berlin consensus, imposed on the “poor” members by Merkel and Sarkozy in early December, was painted as a “sign of political will and a new step forward in unification”, but it will more likely lead to a dismantling of the EU. American banks are smelling the blood in Europe’s troubled economic water, and are seizing on new investment opportunities by going on an European shopping spree. The global financial market speculation on the European debt crisis has become an excuse to enforce an austerity agenda to curb labor rights and roll back the welfare state. The costs of the EU debt crisis are being strictly shifted to the poor and the middle class which are depending on public services that are being systematically slashed.

The European Union has entered a phase of global austerity enforced from the top without consensus or democratic control. However, history has given us many examples that a system based on sharp social regressions, dictated from the top, is not sustainable in a democratic system. Occupy movement’s chapters are exploding everywhere in Europe, including within the boundaries of the two dominant powers: Germany and France. Anyone with  political acumen understands that as the regressive austerity measures are implemented everywhere in the EU, the opposition from Occupy will keep growing, and at some point, perhaps in the spring, will gain such a  critical mass that it will reach a tilting point which is likely to play out in Europe’s streets.

Editor’s Note: All photographs by Das Schaf Dolly.

Even so the United States is usually described as a two parties political system, it has been in the reality of policies, both foreign and domestic, a one party system, with minute nuances between Democrats and Republicans, for the past 30 years. In this uniform political landscape, there are really only two worthwhile exceptions which do not belong to what has morphed a democracy into an oligarchy/plutocracy: Senator Sanders and Representative Ron Paul. Ron Paul is tracking remarkably well in the GOP primaries, but even so his campaign is actively trying to tap into a potential Occupy voting block, he is unlikely to get any real momentum going in his attempt.

Some view the Occupy movement, both in the United States and Europe, as “vague and lacking focus, despite good intentions”. Indeed the scope of the Occupy movement is wide in its critics of neoliberalism, war, inequality, corporate controlled globalization, and concentration of wealth. But the wide scope of Occupy shouldn’t be confused with a lack of focus. The Occupy movements is a “big tent” encompassing a lot of causes, but the essence of it is rather simple. Ideologically Occupy can be defined as an anti-neoliberalism and anti-corporatism movement fighting for the rights and interests of the 99 percent.

But Occupy can not be simply reduced as a movement debating ideologies. Instead, the Occupy movement is about redefining moral and ethical principles. Philosophically and morally it is a fight for equality and social justice against oppression. The Occupy movement is not trying to re-invent the wheel either. Occupy gets its core direction from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which fundamental principle is non-discrimination. Human beings, where ever they are, shouldn’t have they rights denied based on class, race, gender, disability and religion.

Occupy is about leveling the global playing field in human affairs to give the many real say and power over the few. Occupy is about defining a real democracy where the long forgotten and mainly never applied  motto of the French revolution “Liberty, Equality and Fraternity” would be implemented and not just mere lip service and make believe. Occupy is about challenging the failed world order of corporatism and neoliberalism. For the Occupy movement, we are all Egyptians, and we are all the 99 percent fighting to define a better world without oppression, war, famine, inequality and gross mismanagement of our collective resources.

By Ron Steinman

The 9 year war in Iraq is over – technically, that is — on the ground in the war zone. Here are some numbers about the war in Iraq that we have been seeing in the past few weeks that are worth repeating. In the nearly decade long years of war, 4,486 Americans died with 32, 219 seriously wounded. Many more suffered minor wounds and soon were back in combat. It cost $390,000 to deploy one soldier for one year. The total cost of the war is at least $1 trillion dollars. Iraqi civilian casualties are still hard to determine, but the low is 100,000 dead. The high might be as many as 600,000.

Those are important numbers but here are some other numbers that are even more important and immediate. These are about what happens when the troops return home, when they try to adjust to civilian life, look for jobs and settle down, difficult in any circumstance but more so because we are still in the throes of the recession. This is the human face of war and how after fighting in a war, life is never the same. Re-entry into civilian life has been difficult for as many as 25 percent of returning vets. The figure rises to 44 percent for those “who served in the ten years since September 11, 2001. The longer the service, the more deployments to the war zone, make it that much harder for a demobilized trooper to return to civilian life, to a life of normalcy. Interestingly, vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have had a harder time adjusting to civilian life than those who returned from World War II, Korea and, surprise, even Vietnam.

According to the Pew Research Center, unemployment for returning vets is at 21 percent, far higher than the national average. More than 220,000 returning veterans are out of work. Enlisted personnel have a much harder time finding work than do commissioned officers or those who went to college or spent some time in college. There is a true disconnection between veterans and potential employers that is certainly a reflection of the place the all-volunteer army now has in our society. Though many veterans are highly skilled, what they know and how they work does not always translate into a good employment situation for them. It seems that many employers cannot seem to find work for returning warriors. Employers have trouble figuring out how veterans fit in and exactly what skills they possess in a civilian market, especially one that is affected by a still deep recession. Someone described how employers look at the men and women who were in our armed forces as an “alien species.” Some returning vets express a desire to return to the military where they have their meals, a regular salary, a place to bunk, and a job they know and understand. Until we bridge the gap between those who serve and those who do not or have not, until we realize that our citizen army is not really a reflection of America as a whole, the divide will only grow between this new citizen army and the general public at large.

Even though our military is made up of volunteers, the government’s power can waste youthful lives through death or at what might seem worse, the lasting consequences of war, physical maiming and PTSD. The war in Iraq is a special case because it should never have happened. As a nation, we are good at filling young troopers’ minds with the idea of sacrifice, of heroism, of patriotism. But none of that rhetoric matters to returning vets if they cannot find work and peace at home. If when the soldier comes home, he or she cannot find work and a viable place in society, these men and women must be questioning what they were doing in Iraq in the first place.  In any case, the war will never end for many of the almost million and a half men and women who served multiple deployments to Iraq.  War never ends for those who were in one. Once America’s proud boots on the ground, many returning veterans are struggling to find a place in a society often blind to who they are and where they once were.

The major problem with the military in America and America itself is that we have successfully created a new underclass, the professional soldier. It is a group of men and women in uniform who most people in our country have no connection. A volunteer army is a very good idea on the surface. But many people who are not part of its ethos know or can identify with the men and women in uniform. They cannot see them, touch them, or experience the life they led in the war zone. That is for the soldier’s immediate family, their neighborhood, their hometown, their base, and their often tight-knit world. Once they are home and out of uniform, they disappear from view so swiftly many of us do not know they were somewhere else, fighting for our freedom.

In speaking about veterans, the Veterans Administration supplies us with yet another number that should be of concern. As of January 2011, 67,495 veterans of all wars were homeless. The good news is that number is down 12 percent from 2010 when the count was 76,329. But we still have a long way to go to get all vets off the streets.

Now with the war officially over, by 2012, there will be only a handful of troops in Iraq to guard a huge American embassy staff. Keep in mind, though, there are still as many as 100,000 troops deployed in the region. They, too, will eventually return to civilian life. They, too, deserve a good deal when they come home. Does this sound as if I am advocating special treatment for those who served? You would be wrong to think otherwise.

Editor’s Note: Ron Steinman is executive editor and a columnist for online magazines, The Digital Journalist and The Digital Filmmaker. An award-winning producer for NBC News and NBC’s Today Show, he served as bureau chief in Saigon during the Vietnam War, and later as bureau chief in Hong Kong and London. At ABC News Productions, he produced documentaries for A&E, TLC, The History Channel, and Discovery. He is currently an independent documentary producer, director and writer through his company, Douglas/Steinman Productions. He is the author of seven books, including “Inside Television’s First War: A Saigon Journal,” that details how NBC News covered the war in Vietnam.

Mayan Calendar: December 21, 2012

In this regard, this Tsunami wave of truth sweeping the world, is already in the works today lifting the veil on the misconceptions and falsehoods of our era dominated by violence, greed and the relentless quest for more power by the political, financial or corporate elite. The Mayans did not see the fateful date of  December 21, 2012 as “the end of the world”, but, instead, they perceived it as a time of transition from one world age into another. The core message of the Mayans concerned our ability to make a choice, and either embrace bravely this new future or try to hold on to the past and face potential dreadful consequences. According to the Mayans, our resistance or acceptance of this paradigm shift could determine if the transition happens with chaos and violent cataclysmic changes or instead with peace and tranquility.

“Many people have an intuitive sense that the end of the Mayan calendar will bring a shift in consciousness. Yet, it is rarely clearly stated or explained exactly what is the source of such a shift, how it will happen or what would be its nature,” Wrote Carl Johan Calleman in March 2010. Dr. Calleman has a PHD in physical biology from the University of Stockholm, and currently teaches at the International Metaphysical University.

Dr. Calleman argued that for the “shift of consciousness” to be successful, a massive participation is required. “Initially, there will be a great need for people to take initiatives to disseminate the call for the Conscious Convergence around the world,” wrote Calleman.

Occupy: Catalyst of a Global Consciousness Paradigm Shift

The paradigm shift described by Calleman as either shift of consciousness or Conscious Convergence is already on its way. The train of history has “left the station”, and, as a matter of fact, it is a bullet train. This paradigm shift of  global human history started in the Spring of 2011 in the Arab word. First, it was Tunisia, then it quickly moved to Egypt and the rest the Middle-East in countries such as Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, and Syria in a rapid domino effect. Most of the so called “experts” and “analysts” of Middle-East affairs and entire governments were completely caught by surprise. However, the chain of events of the Arab revolution was highly predictable without referring to either the Mayan prophecy or other crystal balls. At our modest publication, Liam Fox and myself wrote about it from the very start.

Since the Arab Spring, the Occupy movement has shown a remarkable adaptability and resilience, and it is now becoming viral. It has caught on in Western Europe, in Greece, the UK, Spain, Italy, France and Germany. But more importantly, it is now a force to be reckoned with in the bastion of imperialism: the United States of America. The main reason why the Occupy movement is getting so much traction in the United States is that nearly one in two Americans-according to new US Census Bureau figures- have fallen into poverty or are struggling to live on low income.

“The record number of people in the United States who are falling into poverty is a human rights crisis, one that demonstrates the painful consequences of the US government’s failure to recognize economic, social and cultural rights as fundamental rights. The international community-with the United States playing a leading role-recognized in adopting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, that human beings can only achieve freedom from fear and want, as well as freedom of speech and belief, if conditions are created whereby all people can enjoy all human rights,” said Amnesty International’s Demand Dignity Campaign Director Tanuka Loho on December 15, 2011.

The Occupy paradigm shift is not a supernatural “meant to happen” force or strange astrological phenomenon, but instead it is a prosaic movement grounded in some simple principles such as fairness, equality and social justice. It has its foundation in the conviction that  99 percent of the world population should be controlling resources and managing their own affairs instead of  letting 1 percent of it run the world in such an unsustainable way that they are joyfully taking us to an abyss.

The Occupy paradigm shift is a Tsunami wave of change, coming from millions of people across the planet. In the past week, it has reached Russia, and the Occupy movement will certainly put China and India promptly on their “to do list”. The tyrants, the dictators, the oligarchs, the Illuminati, and the “masters of the universe” of the financial world have been put on notice by the 99 percent. If they resist, the Tsunami wave of the Occupy movement will eventually topple them or fully degrade their power and wealth. It is just a question of time, and after all there is a full year left before the end of the Mayan calendar. Remember the empty promises of “hope and change” made in 2008 by the current CEO/PR person of  America Empire Inc.? The Global Occupy movement is probably our best hope, not as the 99 percent but as human beings, to resolutely change our course and promote a world where a “Dog eat Dog” culture does not prevail. A way of life that is based on fairness, justice and on the respect of the Universal Declaration of  Human Rights.

The occupy movement themes of grievances and protests  can be historically compared to similar movements in the late 60s, in particular May 1968 in France. But during this mini-revolution in 1968, the protests got violent and the ideology behind it had a clear Marxist or Anarchist undertone. The 1968 French revolution ultimately failed but it shook France’s power apparatus. However, there are lessons to be learned from the successes and failures of May 1968. The most effective tactic applied by the protesters was a general strike which completely paralyzed the country for five weeks.

General Global Strike and Large Street Protests

The global capitalism system is like a giant octopus with many heads and  tentacles reaching everywhere. Single state players matter less and less. In order to tackle the tremendous global strength of this nexus of finance and repressive power enforced by what is becoming a global police state, the global occupy movement, short of becoming radicalized and violent, must consider the best tools at its disposal: a coordinated global strike and street protests across the world. The occupy movement must also work on defining an overall platform instead of just relying on various slogans. In other words, the occupy movement must become a political force.

Consumer Boycott

Activists in camps that are still standing, such as the one in McPherson Square in Washington DC, rely on food donations to survive. But, right “next door”, you have Starbucks, banks, and fancy restaurants and stores. The people against the movement view the activists as harmless “hippies” in need of “a shower and a job”. A global general strike, massive street protests, and a consumer boycott would have, on the other hand, a real impact on the global capitalism giant hydra. Fighting a global system with peaceful means requires global strategies, not local ones. The various Occupy movements must define a common discourse, a precise platform and adopt effective strategies such as strike and consumer boycott. Otherwise, it is likely to fizzle and melt away like snow under a bright Spring sun.

It also explicitly prohibits undocumented immigrants from receiving any public benefits or from attending publicly-owned colleges or universities.  At elementary, middle, and high schools, though attendance is not prohibited, faculty is required to keep a current tally of suspected “illegals.”

It is also an indictment of the Gadsden facility’s dehumanizing treatment of non-citizens, a callous, livestock approach that has been widely reported and continues in its malignancy.

Again, as I noted in my recent piece, the detained immigrants at ECDC have nearly all been given final return orders – meaning they should be sent home – but in fact quite a few of the detainees cannot be returned to their country of origin and have/will not be designated elsewhere. With full knowledge that their wards are entitled to be released immediately if without a practical  date of foreign repatriation, authorities are incarcerating such cases for six months or more, with no accountability.

Section 287(g) is the addendum to the Immigration and Nationality Act allowing the Department of Homeland Security to designate and qualify state law enforcement for immigration enforcement and  federal detention. At the beginning of 2011, the Section 287(g) program at ECDC was slated by ICE to be discontinued, as part of department-wide cost-cutting consolidation measures. The incarcerated immigrants in Gadsden were to be moved to Atlanta (nearer access to federal courts and legal resources).

However – the Etowah facility’s approximately 300 ICE detainees provide the county with 40 jobs, in addition to around $5 million a year in additional government revenue. The loss of the detainees would constitute an economic body-blow to a county already reeling from recent recession, and the public was rallied behind Sheriff Entrekin.

Here’s where Sheriff Entrekin calls Representative Robert Aderholt of Alabama’s 4th district, who in turn arranges  meetings with Director Morton of ICE and others, and lo and behold -on April 8, 2011, the Etowah Sheriff’s Office released the following:

ICE TO STAY AT ECDC

Congressman Robert Aderholt spoke with Etowah County Sheriff Todd Entrekin Wednesday afternoon, stating Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has made a decision to stay at the Etowah County Detention Center (ECDC). The decision came after several months of meetings between the Etowah County Sheriff’s Office, the Alabama congressional delegation and ICE.

“Our sincere thanks and gratitude goes to Congressman Robert Aderholt and his staff for their hard work and dedication to keeping jobs and revenue in Etowah County,” says Sheriff Entrekin. “This is an example of how government should work. The moment we heard about ICE’s surprised us with a decision to move out of Etowah we called Robert. He jumped in with both feet to help and thanks to Robert leading the charge in Washington our voice would was heard and our story told to the decision makers at ICE.

“I want to applaud Congressman Aderholt’s work as the Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security.” He continues, “Congressman Aderholt’s proven and effective leadership is needed in today’s government when America is facing continuous threats of terrorism against our nation’s security.”

source

Before I lay out the circumstances in detail which indicate the presence of underhanded dealings, a few words first on why I am making this announcement. I make public my investigation for two main reasons. The first is to help force my own transparent handling of the results; the second is a provision for my safety, should what I suspect and what I expect to see evidence of turn out to be demonstrably true.  My pecuniary as well as physical well-being could likely be imperiled should I threaten revelations that convict powerful men, and power is something Aderholt doubtlessly holds in spades.

I have no proof of any illegal conduct, but even if the sure facts, about to follow, are no more aggravated than what appears right now, it is still an instance of gross abuse of power to leverage influence without regard to the interests of the marginalized.

Sheriff Entrekin contacted Rep. Aderholt, and at the end of what they describe as months of negotiating with ICE administrators, Director John Morton acceded the great benefit of Etowah’s cost efficiency and tightly-run ship.

Some problems:

ICE is one of 5 major agencies absorbed into the post-9/11  Department of Homeland Security, and operates as an arm of the DHS.  The DHS is overseen in the House of Representatives by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, which happened to hold a hearing on ICE’s 2012 budget request starting April 1– –  seven days before they announced the renewal of ECDC’s contract.

Oh, and the Chairman of the Subcommittee:

Robert Aderholt.

It only gets worse when you add to the narrative a particularly regressive idiosyncrasy of Alabama law: from code established in 1939 (a time when in the South public officials derived most of their income from fees), county Sheriffs are permitted essentially absolute discretion with excess funds apportioned for the jails they administer. Before you scoff at the antiquity and its unlikelihood, consider that in 2009 Sheriff Greg Bartlett of Morgan County was jailed for practically starving his inmates and pocketing the savings on food costs.

There is a pattern of rigged government endemic to the South which acts as a bulwark of regression. Its typical action is to hamstring the ability of a whole class of people to stabilize their personal interests, let alone prosper and compete. After the civil war,  as slaves tried to establish livelihoods for themselves and take advantage of their new rights under the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, Politicians in Washington passed remote legislation while the South instituted “Black Codes,” and with the abandonment of freed slaves by North, pulling out their troops in exchange for a Republican term in the White House, in 1878, Southern states like Alabama passed constitutions designed to ensnare former slaves in a slavery  indentured commercial and political necessity.  African Americans were herded in the very street for “loitering” and worked, often till death, at the service of  mining corporations, under the long arm of the law.

The new masses of the marginalized are being served with the same fate. All that I have shared with you thus far has been a matter of public record (spoken of proudly, in fact, by participants). The immigrants at Etowah County Correctional facility are being held in judicial purgatory – people who would be under only slightly different conditions classified as “stateless people” and eligible for the protection of political asylum in any UN member nation are exploited for their price per head in rent from the Federal government. Illegal or not, and I suspect (hence, am investigating) that much done was less than kosher, the leverage exerted by Robert Aderholt on behalf of fellow Etowah county native Sheriff Entrekin was a gross conflict of interest.

Join Occupy Birmingham and others in speaking up for these exploited people. Raise your voice.

Slaves no more.