Apaid is not a Haitian citizen         Feb 14 2004

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Ezili Danto writes about Andre Apaid

In this essay, dated February 14, 2004, responding to a certain "Pierre Jean", an obvious supporter of the opposition and its constant hammering of Aristide's ties and association with "chimeres" and "thugs," Ezili Danto responds that this thinly veiled criminalization of all supporters of Aristide is analogous to the criminalization of all young Black males in the U.S. and that Haitians will not tolerate the exportation of this racist policy to Haiti by U.S. policymakers and their U.S/Euro-supported opposition groups in Haiti. Ezili Danto also points to the legal basis why opposition leader, Andre Apaid, Jr., does not even qualify to hold an elected office in Haiti.

Apaid is not a Haitian citizen. All Haitians are not thugs

- A postscript

Mr. Pierre Jean;

You know a whole lot more about me than I do you Mr. PierreJean. We don't even know your real name, let alone your profession, while you know very well my stats. But base on all that you have in your "jakout" as you describe it, I was wondering which one are you? Check out this picture from Haiti Progres, dated July 16, 2003, and inform us? http://www.haitiprogres.com/2003/sm030716/index.html .

Sir, your e-mail have such intimate knowledge of Haiti's poor at Cite Soleil, La Saline, of Raboteau, of Solino and elsewhere with Haiti's poor. You even quoted the Nation article, perhaps the very one where the USAID/Boulos front clinic used to keep track of the families at Cite Soleil and recruit FRAPH members was exposed. Although you did conveniently choose to only underline the Nation article and part that support your claims against Fritz Joseph. Thing is, what's troubling is that I see no such criminal allegations being made with reference to any of the suited gangsters in La boule, Petionville et., the wealthy individuals of Group 184, Convergence and their "Armée Sans Manman." But do tell, are you the white guy with the dark glasses holding a state of the art automatic weapon or the one with his hands out in the bullet proof vest escorting group 184 through Cite Soleil, or not?: http://www.haitiprogres.com/2003/sm030716/index.html . Inquiring minds wonder.

POINT ONE: Mr. PierreJean, so far from your e-mails to me have managed to illustrate how non-Haitian you are with your lack of understanding that Syrian and Arab are interchangeably used by Haitians when talking about people from the Middle East who immigrated to Haiti. "Arab" being the more common term. As in: "gade bann Arab-yo." Tell that Haitian whose feeding you info to get with it. He/she is sleeping on the job, sir. I am not a clueless mainstream media reporter who knows nothing about Haiti that you may feed racist images to of how all there is in Haiti and to the Haitian government is a bunch of "chime' and "thugs."

Mr. Pierre Jean, I live in the land where U.S-police shoot unarmed Haitians like Abner Louima who was barbarically terrorized and torture and kill innocent Haitians like Patrick Dorismen and where all black young men, living an urban areas, are labeled thugs and gangsters and presumed to be criminals. I cannot afford willful blindness when that little U.S. policy seems to be rearing its head in Haiti, or, as you lay out for us, at Cite Soleil. I cannot buy into the idea being promulgated by your numerous examples which gives the unbalanced impression that the entire Haitian mass electorate, who voted for Aristide, are simply uneducated "chime" -thugs. This is what, whether intentional or not, that the current U.S. State Department press releases and U.S. Embassy and USAID's very overt support of an opposition, that has called for reprisals against grade school children simply if they go to school, is promulgating!

I, dear sir, cannot willfully ignore that the leaders of the opposition know they will not win in a free election in Haiti, so with the support of the international community they have obstructed every effort towards elections and have, these past four years exercised a virtual veto power upon the State.

Mr. Pierre Jean, you may be able to afford the current State Department's willful ignorance, blindness and fake innocence in reference to the current state of affairs in Haiti because perhaps, to keep the impasse going, is your full time job. It is not mine.

When the selected W. Bush speaks to Haitians, through his functionaries in Haiti and in Washington, about irregularities in ballot tabulations for an election that happened when the current government wasn't even in power, we wonder at the hypocrisy, capriciousness, disingenuity and double standards.

When the said same State Department, without any legal proof, disseminates information that virtually states Aristide is a "thug" because he associates with "thugs," as you have outline for us in your post to me, we wonder at the old relationship between BushÕs father and Chenney and friends with Saddam Hussein, Ben Laden, and the Duvaliers and at why Aristide, who cannot claim such high-powered "thuggish" friends whatsoever is being painted with a brush others better deserve? Why? . Mr. Pierre Jean, as I write this very post, I am listening to the radio which is reporting the most recent US-police shooting of the young, Black and unarmed Timothy StansburyJR., Brooklyn, U.S.of A. Is President Bush responsible for all that the U.S. police and U.S politicians do? Why the double standard for Aristide, sir?

Sir, I cannot share in your glee about the "thugs" you know in Haiti and their complicated relationship to the Haitian government, which relationship I have already traced back, in my last post, to the international community's insistent, back in 1994, that Haitians reconcile with injustice and not demilitarized the old guard and their co-horts.

Sir, where were you under the Duvaliers. Were you similarly appalled by that governments ties with the tonton macoutes and did you write about it. I'd like to see some of those writings please.

It's unfortunate to say the least, that Aristide appointed a former FRAPH member, or, has appointed a Duvalierist as a Justice Minister. But, sir, if we are going to point to Mr. Fritz Joseph, letÕs also point at the bigwigs under the former Haitian military who also have been appointed. Why the double standard, Mr. Pierre Jean. Or, are you only concerned with the criminal records of only those appointees who do not share in your political beliefs? Why haven't you said anything about the San Manmans sir or the thugs within the opposition who killed the new chief of police of Cap Haitian. Are they not flesh and blood also deserving of human rights, freedom of speech, life? and that their vote be counted and respected?

POINT TWO: Moreover, based on what you've written to me so far Mr. PierreJean, you don't even understand what "Marronage" is. You may want to refer to this particular legal strategy next time you address me sir: don't open the door to questions you may not want the answers to. You might accidentally usher in a hold lot more than you bargained for as evidenced by "I defy anyone to ....". I may just decide to answer you and meet that challenge. As you know, all lawyers love a good debate with a worthy opponent. And yes, I shall continue to send our communications, like everything else I am writing in this effort to stop more bloodshed in Haiti and to curtail the overwhelmingly negative images of my Haitian people being sent out for generations of Haitians children to imbibe whole and unfettered. I am sure, base on your last question to me in one of your post, you are all for transparency. Haiti needs open dialogue, participation and transparency from all its children about the issues controlling our lives. This discussion between you and I and the others is just my little bit to that end.

Sir, show me your Haiti and I 'll show you my Haiti. Yes there is corruption in the Haitian police and government, just as there are mayors and governors and policemen all over New York and the US daily being indicted for crimes. Our corruption in Haiti is no greater than the corruption of power in the U.S.

But, it is my overall contention, Mr. PierreJean, that in terms of Haiti's development and movement towards establishing the rule of law and a judicial infrastructure, the greater evil is not Haitian corruption but the superpowers and the Haitian elite who have traditionally fleeced the country dry by exploiting Haiti and the majority of Haitians for their own purposes. You ask about the achievement of the Haitian people these last ten years since they have had a VOICE in their governance, a voice they've not had for almost 200 years. Kindly see my posts on the achievements of Haitians these last ten years at: http://haitiforever.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1144#1144 as corrected and reiterated at: http://haitiforever.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1149&sid=804c594124655dff66d9ca3acab139fe#1149

These where written before the terrorists acts in Gonaive. They were written to try and help stop the media-bitz-and-negativity accelerating violent overthrow of a duly elected President and leading to what we face now. I continue to write, Mr. PierreJean, not because I want to engage in a tit for tat with anyone. But to express a Haitian woman's viewpoint that is nowhere to be seen in the corporate media. I write because I'd like to help save Haitian lives if I can. I write and use the tools of a democracy to get, not only the U.S. and the U.S. media to report the truth about us-Haitians. But to stop the obstructions and let Haiti live. Let us rule ourselves in peaceful co-existence and move peacefully from an electoral democracy to a transparent and participatory democracy. That's my only purpose with these writings, Mr. PierreJean.

As I wrote in one of my referenced post above: "That tiny infantile few in Haiti, who I've named Category Zero are the ones hiding behind school children, (a) dead cadavers stolen from a family funeral, IRI dollars, USAID dollars, European Union dollars, and the CIA manual coming up with the political impasse strategies they currently are using to keep Haiti from developing a domestic economy and educating future leaders in schools who will STEP-up to their illogic and inhumanity with the patience, compassion and tolerance one must show the deranged and mentally insane."

POINT THREE: But listen, PiereJean, for now, I would like end this post by adding a postscript to my post yesterday about Mr. Apaid's citizenship.

"Mr. PierreJean, I have it from a good legal source, from Haiti, that Mr. Apaid did not follow the procedure for establishing citizenship (i.e. having his Haitian parents apply, subject to giving simultaneous proof of renouncing U.S. citizenship, etc.) that you somewhat outlined in your post Apparently, Mr. Apaid filed a fraudulent birth certificate saying that he was born in Haiti to obtain his Haitian passport. It is also true that the original application and the renewals were accepted by Haitian government officials, some of them knowing the information was fraudulent. But the fact that Mr. Apaid supported the Duvaliers. The fact that dictators allowed a fraud does not require a democratic government to repeat it."

See below Congresswoman Maxine Waters confIRMAtion of these allegations and press release dated February 11, 2004 where this prominent US. congresswoman says "Andre Apaid is a Duvalier-supporter, who allegedly holds an American passport and obtained permanent resident status in Haiti through deceptive means. "

see also: Congresswoman Maxine Waters Condemns Violence in Haiti; Calls for State Department to Support the Democratically-elected government of Haiti and denounce Andre Apaid

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Ezili Danto