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Haiti Why Haiti? When a country endures such exorbitant suffering for so long, perhaps we subconsciously blame the victim or feel a sense of impotence and choose to place our energy elsewhere where more hopeful outcomes abound. As one late to discover Haiti, given the huge U.S. involvement in this beleaguered nation, I recommend it to your attention. It is the skeleton in the family closet you resist opening, but it is a revelation to take a peek. Historically it follows a pattern of U. S. resistance to Latin American leaders who articulate a radical social message for the poor: unacceptable to U.S. interests. During the Eisenhower administration in the 1950s, President Arbenz of Guatemala was dispatched, as was Allende in Chile, by the Nixon/ Kissinger administration. Jean Bertrand Aristide’s overthrow, after huge electoral victories in 1990 and again in 2000, fits the pattern. The U. S. could never stomach Aristide, either as radical priest or President committed to the poor. Paul Farmer in his book The Uses of Haiti speaks of the 1991 Inauguration festivities, “The final event of the festivities involved sharing the table with the poor. Aristide’s first breakfast in the palace was not for visiting dignitaries, nor was it for members of the local ‘Lions’ Club’: instead he served breakfast to hundreds of street kids and homeless poor. He spoke: Today I’m here to say to you that you are human beings just as important as anyone else. Rich and poor, we’re all people, and we must love one another. If there’s enough for the rich, then there must be enough for the poor, too. If the National Palace was formerly for the rich, today it’s for the poor.” You might say his inaugural address of February, 1991 sealed his fate and he was overthrown in a coup led by the infamous General Raoul Cedras in September, 1991. Aristide’s courageous and dramatic disbanding of the army in 2001, whose leadership was identified with drug trafficking, reminds one of Archbishop Romero’s call/command to the Salvadoran military, to stop the oppression of the poor. We were a delegation of six, led by Bishop Tom Gumbleton of Detroit and Johanna Berrigan of the House of Grace Catholic Worker. Bishop Gumbleton has labored for years on behalf of Haitians. Our primary mission was to seek justice for Fr. Gerard Jean-Juste, charismatic, outspoken defender of the poor, who categorically rejected Aristide’s forced departure as illegal and unconstitutional. Fr. Gerard is pastor of St. Clare’s in Port-au-Prince and a fearless champion of human rights. One is reminded of the coalition of religious and secular forces that coalesced in the Gospel narrative to destroy Jesus; he was too dangerous. “...you fail to see that it is to your advantage that one man should die for the people, rather than the whole nation should perish (Jn 11:50). Romero too was deemed expendable. Fr. Gerard was arrested in October, 2004 and held for six weeks without charges and then released. In July, 05 he was rearrested and remains incarcerated. The initial charge was murder of a journalist, but after discovering he was not in the country when the crime occurred; a new charge of orchestrating the assassination was leveled. The powers that be do not want him about speaking; too dangerous. Why so much energy for Fr. Jean-Juste among hundreds of incarcerated victims? Because he is a perfect metaphor for all of Haiti’s tragic history. Does the U.S. support the new version of Papa and Baby Doc Duvalier, ruthless killers, or exert its power to set free Fr. Gerard Jean-Juste and allow truly free elections? Paul Farmer documents in detail how the U.S. blocked for three years 2001—2004 the $500 million approved by the International Monetary Fund for Haiti, rendering Aristide helpless to address the desperate needs of the people. Farmer draws a chilling analogy between the $500 million approved in the 1980s by the Carter/Reagan administrations to the Salvadoran government to crush the revolutionary effort seeking relief for the oppressed, despite a poignant plea from Archbishop Oscar Romero not to fund the army. The $500 million denied Aristide was a crushing blow to the poorest of people. Haiti achieved its independence from France in 1804, the first democratic nation in Latin America, a Black Republic. The U. S. with its huge investment in the economy of slavery waited almost sixty years to grant recognition. Race has remained the elephant in the room with Haiti and the U.S. The fate of Fr. Gerard remains uncertain. He is allowed to celebrate Mass daily. There is a transparent goodness to the man, a touching compassion for his people and a marvelous sense of humor. Praying the “Our Father” and singing “We Shall Overcome” with him are forever imprinted on my memory. Remember Fr. Gerard in your prayers and all political prisoners in Haiti and throughout the world, especially the victims of torture. We all own a piece of man’s inhumanity to man. In Haiti the inhumanity is just a little clearer. E-mail the State Department asking for Fr. Gerard Jean–Juste’s release: Human Rights officers Dana Banks (banksd@state.gov) and Kevin Higgins (higginshkp@state.gov). P.S. Paul Farmer, MD, friend and supporter of Fr. Gerry says the jailed priest has chronic lymphocytic leukemia, based on a blood sample taken on December 23. Dr. Farmer states Fr. Jean-Juste needs to be released immediately for treatment in the U.S. Joe Bradley |