By Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. After more than a century sailing along as an independent black nation, Haiti collided with the Monroe Doctrine in the person of U.S. kingmaker Roger L. Farnham in 1915. He soon met his match in Haitian hero Charlemagne Peralte.
By Christopher Minster, Latin American History/About.com. Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican holiday that celebrates the victory over French forces on May 5, 1862 at the Battle of Puebla. The French attacked Mexico to try to collect a debt from this country after Mexican President Benito Juarez declared bankruptcy from a civil war, but the French were soundly defeated by a cavalry led by young General Porfirio Diaz.
By Syed Hussan, Mary-Elizabeth Dill, and Abeer Majeed, Rabble | Occupy Oakland | Occupy Wall Street | YouTube | Haiti Chery. Occupy May Day in Oakland and New York will be joined by workers the world over. Get informed about the events. Read about the contributions of immigrants to the history of labor and the designation of May 1st as International Workers’ Day. UPDATES: April 30, Peter Seeger’s ” L’Internationale”; May 1, videos of oakland protesters marching early in the day and of later attack on a young woman by police.
By Jean Edner Dorvil in: A Taste of Haiti (Hyppocrene books, NY) | Introduction and recommendations by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. Tomtom ak Kalalou Gombo is now considered to be traditional to the town of Jeremie in southern Haiti, but in colonial times this was the everyday dish of the Haitians. It is never eaten alone.
By Orfilio Peláez, Granma. Three Cuban cave painting sites were discovered in a nature reserve in Imías municipality, Guantánamo province, in February 2012 by the Cuban Speleological Society. A use of the color red, found in these paintings, is rare and presumed to be linked to important events in the lives of the original pre-Columbian inhabitants.
By Staff, AHP | Translation by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. Just out in Haitian bookstores: a new book by former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide titled “Pwezi filosofik pou dekolonizasyon mantal” (Publisher: Henri Deschamps, 2012). It is the Creole version of “Philosophical Reflections for Mental Decolonization” (Publisher: Paradigm Press, 2011). Dr. Aristide shows how the 300-year Haitian journey to freedom has been guided by the African philosophy of Ubuntu: an ethical concept that values connectedness, respect, justice, dignity, freedom, and love. He believes this philosophy gave the strength to resist slavery and can continue to motivate resistance.
Former Slave Jourdon Anderson Speaks from Beyond the Grave
By Jourdon Anderson, with introduction by Jonathan Brown, The Independent | Letters of Note. Humorous response from an emancipated slave to his former owner’s request to return to work on a Tennessee plantation after the U.S. Civil War.
Courtesy of Tortilla con Sal, You Tube | Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. Nicaragua and Haiti have shared the same history of repelling a U.S. occupation only to face the harder task of resisting the unpatriotic army the occupation left behind. Nicaraguans are reclaiming their country, with the youth leading the charge and being the living proofs that the smiles are well worth the process.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Letter from Birmingham Jail
By Martin Luther King Jr, In: Why We Can’t Wait (Harper & Row, N.Y., 1963) | Charles Moore, Photos | Estate of Martin Luther King Jr, Statement by Clergymen | Assembled by Haiti Chery. “I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to ‘order’ than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice….” – MLK
Aid as a Trojan Horse. On the Anniversary of the Haitian Earthquake
By Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. Long before the word sustainable became fashionable, before Henry David Thoreau noted that “A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone,” there was Haiti. (This article is updated from one written last year. It is dedicated to the unknown woman from a camp who said into a TV camera “Pa bliye mwen.” (Don’t forget me.))
Argentina Invokes Universal Jurisdiction for Crimes Against Humanity
By Marcela Valente, IPS, Periodistas En Español | Princeton Principles of Universal Jurisdiction, Univ. Minnesota Human Rights Library. A judge in Argentina has begun to investigate human rights crimes committed during Spain’s civil war and the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco (between 1936 and 1975). The case is invoking the principle of universal jurisdiction for crimes against humanity and has landed in Argentina because Spain’s justice system is not effectively taking action. Indeed Spain is currently persecuting Judge Baltasar Garzón. This story is important to watch. Summary of Principles of Universal Jurisdiction included. (English | Spanish)
Haitian Declaration of Independence, January 1, 1804
“Vow before me to live free and independent, and to prefer death to anything that will try to place you back in chains. Swear, finally, to pursue forever the traitors and enemies of your independence.” – Jean-Jacques Dessalines, January 1, 1804. In the present day: this means anyone who collaborates with foreign occupiers or even tolerates the presence of foreign soldiers on Haitian soil.
By Staff, Essortment | S. Acharya and D.M. Murdock, Truth Be Known. Christmas’ origins can be traced back to celebrations of the winter solstice like the Babylonian Feast of the Son of Isis, the Roman Saturnalia, and the Birth of Pagan Sun God Mithras. In 350 Pope Julius 1st picked December 25th — Mithras’ birthday — as the day to celebrate Christ’s birth, although Christ was probably born in September. Hearty celebrations of the rebirth of the light everyone!
By Staff, BBC | WSWS. Last month, cash-strapped Portugal, which had been ordered by the IMF to privatize, went to sell shares in its state-owned companies to Angola, a former colony that became independent in 1975. To put this story in perspective: 50 years ago, to conclude 450 years of Portuguese control of the trading cities on the Arabian Sea, India had to expel Portugal forcibly from Goa. Western progressives and conservatives alike find these role reversals hard to swallow.