The Struggle For Liberty And Prosperity In Haiti

211 Years in History

It was about 211 years ago, the 1^st of January 1804, when the brave men of Haiti cried victory at last from the chains, the whip, the rapes, and all the brutish savageries of the slave masters. It was not a victory for Haitians alone. It was a victory for the Negro race in general that had been subjected to the abasement of human nature through institutional servitude by other human beings, based on skin pigmentation. Toussaint Louverture, the architect of the fight for liberty in the face of French colonialism, envisioned a society in which all men enjoy equal freedom in accord with the laws of nature and civil society, as introduced by the same French proclamation of “The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizens (1789).”

Toussaint did not wish to break away from France. At the time, Haiti, or Saint Domingue, as it was known was considered the most productive place on earth. The Colons named it, “The Pearl of the Islands” due to its greenish beauty and its richness. The French Colons made fortunes there on the backs of the black ancestors. Toussaint and his collaborators wanted that to change, for the Negroes to have liberty and a share of the productive life that was there. Based on the Declaration of 1789, he declared the slaves free under the constitution of the then mother nation, France. However, Napoleon Bonaparte, the French emperor of the time could not stand to see the Negro people free. He unleashed the mightiest naval forces of the moment to subdue Haiti. Jean Jacques Dessalines, the father of the Independence, cried, “Libery or Death!” After the greatest atrocities, the French militaries capitulated. The Negro slaves won their liberty and their territory. 

Freedom did not bring unity in the new Haiti. It brought faction instead, as the majority Negro population would have to perpetually continue to fight the minority Caucasian and Mulatto that would not recognize the Blacks as equal, to collaborate with them to form an environment of mutual respect and prosperity for all. Now, it is 211 years after the Independence. Haiti  has remained a culture of division and strife that has produced a “Failed State”, as to the standard of the world of Nation States and of the general society of globalization.

The Fight Goes On

Today, 211 years later, the fight goes on. The Haitian mass, the underprivileged, the poor, the illiterate, and those sympathizing with them are doing battle. The Haitian elites and the misinformed call them “ignorant and savage, (sot, bet).” But for a contemporary British author, writing about the American Occupation of the island, he considered the above description as opposite. MARY ANASTASIA O’GRADY wrote recently in the opinion section of the illustrious Wall Street Journal. “…everyday life here is, in the words of Thomas Hobbes, mostly “nasty, brutish and short.” For this we can thank the politicians.” That’s how objective observers view the independence that was produced in Haiti by the Freedom fighters. It is sad. Yet, the mass of the people would never give up their fight for freedom and prosperity. 

So far, for 211 years of existence as a country, Haitian leadership has failed miserably. Today, on the eve of the 211^th anniversary, the most deplorable condition is existed, as described by O’grady; or as illustrated below - Crisis After Crisis: (1) Elections are overdue for three years. (2) Soon all elected representatives would be nulled. (3) The judiciary system is nonexistent or without merit. (4) The Prime Minister was recently forced out by the president facing popular protest. (5) The mass of the people requires the resignation of the President. (6) In summary, Mother Haiti and its poor children are the only losers.

What new generations of Haitians leadership and all those fighting for freedom must comprehend is the Toussaint Louvertue’s dream. It is a world of Liberty of Mutual Respect, where people live and collaborating together for a better society. It is what we call Democracy. Young and new Haitian leaders must take a new approach away from the pass 211 years, where it has been a fight for spoils and winners take all. Today, in the world of globalization, nations are seeking to come together with each other to form common bonds and share interests so that they could live in peace and harmony.

Haitian Elites Must Beware

The world out there is no longer an environment of savagery of hunting and gathering. It is a world of collaboration, of society, of civilization. Nations are joined together to form better societies among themselves and others. Are we so bestial that we cannot even collaborate with our own brothers and sisters? Why can’t we come together and share? Lavalas comes. They take everything to the left. Now Neo Makout is trying to pull everything to the right. It is bestial at the uttermost. No wonder that O’Grady sees life in Haiti as, “nasty, brutish and short.” And, with that, the fight will always be on. Why? Because the leadership, the elites, keeps the environment bestial and animalistic. And what animals do in the wilderness? They chase after each other. They devour each other.

How Long this Is Going to Continue?

The new generation has to choose. Are we going to continue on the destructive paths of our parents? Or, are we going to concoct our own new and better pathways that would lead us in this world of globalization? This is a recipe for you Nouvel Generation: (1) The nation state is a civilized environment where various groups of people live in common accord to better their lives based on societal nature and away from the wilderness. (2) People are brothers and sisters in a national environment, responsible for each other’s safety and well-being, as separated from other nations. (3) The nation state is a collective society; all the nationals must come together in mutual respect, collaborate, and work to advance the better cause of the nation. (4) No other nation is in the best interest of another. The leadership of each nation must take the best strategy to bring the nation to parity with the world of nation states, or it would be a failed state. (5) No one has the right to take full control of the nation. We have to collaborate and share in mutual respect, and work together to accomplish a prosperous civil society. (6) The national representatives must always be ready for dialogue, negotiation, collaboration, and working together to build the nation for the betterment of all national members and the society at large. 

The new generation must adopt a communal sentiment, of collaboration. The young people must join together; they must group to vote for collective and national interests, making sure that leaders understand that they are not free to come, to create conflicts, fight, and waste the meager national resources, and not working together to make the nation better.

Join the conversation. Connect with granmoun@hotmail.com, or Join the Facebook group: MKNA – All Haitians Together For A Better Haiti 

By E.C. GRANMOUN

E.C. Granmoun is the Author of: "Bully: A Novel"  ebook, on amazon.com

Toussaint Must Be Crying In His Grave 210 Years Later

The dream of Toussaint Louverture, the architect of the liberty of Haiti, was to end slavery and keep the entire island of Hispaniola united as part of the French colony. However, Napoleon Bonaparte, the French emperor could not stand to see the Negro people free. He unleashed the mightiest naval forces of the moment to subdue Haiti. After the most atrocious struggle, the French forces capitulated. The Negro slaves won their liberty and their territory. However, Freedom did not bring unity in the new country. It brought faction instead, as the majority Negro population would have to perpetually continue to fight the minority Caucasian and Mulatto that would not recognize the Blacks as equal, to collaborate with them to form an environment of mutual respect and prosperity for all.

Now, it is 210 years after the Independence. Haiti  has remained a culture of division and strife that has produced a “Failed State”, as to the standard of the world of Nation States and of the general society. Today, it is a system of Globalization where all nations are, like, one big society, one big world. In this atmosphere, nations are seeking to come together and form partnerships, to work collaboratively within a giant economy to render life more adaptable. It is sad for Haiti. Haitians are still not able to unite with their own national brothers and sisters. Haitians are still chasing each other like animals in the wild field. Haitians are still not capable of understanding that as members of one nation, they have to respect each other and collaborate with each other to form a progressive Haitian society and to be and accepted member of the general society.

On the ground of Haiti, there is the imperialist force of the United Nations. They have been there since 2004 when American forces kidnapped Jean Bertrand Aristide at the approach of a civil guerrilla band, financed by Americans subjects and corrupted Haitian bourgeois. They are there because the Haitians have not been able to find a common ground as members of one nation to work and build a progressive Haitian society. To make matters worst, the current system of government has not been adherent to democratic principles. So, on the eve of the 210 years festivities, Haiti is found to be in a state of emergency due to poverty, hard life, repression, and elections that have been delayed for over 3 years. The leaders are blaming each other for the failure.

Once again, the Americans are there as referee. IRONIC. The American ambassador called the Haitian leaders into meeting. Not surprising! If people are not able to lead themselves, they have to have somebody putting them in line. The Haitians should learn by now. The Americans have a propaganda. “If you cannot defeat the enemy, you have to join him.” Haitians must start to take a new orientation. After 210 years of fighting among themselves, they  must finally realize that it is leading nowhere for anybody. Nobody has really won. The nation remains the butt of jokes; Haitian are not respected; the Haitian people are not wanted anywhere; and the leaders are like lower “animals” that the foreign nations always have to come to put in line and to throw little crumbs in their baskets, kuiy la.

The 210^th anniversary would be sadly looked upon, just like the bicentennial in 2004. There is too much discord among the leaders and the population in general. The country is in the middle of major civil disobedience. It could be better. If Haitians leaders should learn to cultivate the big vision, to respect, collaborate, communicate, and work together to build a nation for a better Haitian society, the nation would move out of the bestial nature, and the 220th anniversary would be joyful.

Join the conversation. Connect with granmoun@hotmail.com, or Join the Facebook group: MKNA – All Haitians Together For A Better Haiti 

By E.C. GRANMOUN

E.C. Granmoun is the Author of: "Bully: A Novel"  ebook, on amazon.com

Dialogue Should Be The Course of Action

As always, the country is being torn apart. The political groups are keeping distant from each other and want no collaboration. The so called leaders are accusing and blaming each other, but in reality, most want no serious discussion. The executive government is being accused of dictatorship, that cannot be disputed. There are no elections, and the president is waiting to govern by decree. The people have been protesting ceaselessly on the streets of the capital and other major cities in the country. We have an explosive situation on hands.

This is nothing new for Haiti. Throughout the history of the country, that’s generally the way it has been. Our people have been fighting among themselves and are not trying to accomplish anything of significance for the nation as a whole. We are still in a bestial stage, that we cannot unite with our brothers and sisters to work and develop a prosperous human society. Today, in the world of globalization, we should expect matters to be different. We should expect to be coming together, to be moving ahead. Too bad. It is not happening. We have the United Nations on the ground with a mission of stabilization. But, it appears that nothing is changing, and the past is going to continue haunting us for a very long time.

What do we do as members of such a decrepit nation? We don’t want our people to take the streets, protesting, and overthrowing government in place. We would prefer to collaborate with our leaders to work and build our nation. However, our leaders have failed us. They are not working. They are fighting against each other and cannot agree on anything. Very soon, the nation that is one of representation would be left with only the executive government, and the president as a king. We should say by this that the people are right to be upset and to take the streets to reclaim their rights. Still, we should not deter from our effort to bring the nation together. Do not cut heads and burn houses. The faction has been killing us for so long! We must strive now to turn to the right direction.

Dialogue should be the course of action. Even with a king Switmiki, dialogue would be better than the alternative. Of course it would be laughably upsetting for the nation to remain with only Martelly as ‘government’, and for all the posts to be filled with Martelly’s men. Yet, it would still be many times wiser to try to find a reasonable ground of negotiation. We would not discourage the people from protesting. They should always reclaim their rights. However, dialogue should remain the focus. We should not have a king Martelly. Haiti should not be going up in flame either.

It is unfortunate that the so called leaders have allowed the situation to touch this igniting point. Perhaps, this what the government was planning from the start. The people likewise remain with no choice than to protest. But, please keep in mind, dialogue, dialogue, dialogue.

Join the conversation. Connect with granmoun@hotmail.com, or Join the Facebook group: MKNA – All Haitians Together For A Better Haiti 

By E.C. GRANMOUN

E.C. Granmoun is the Author of: "Bully: A Novel"  ebook, on amazon.com

A Memorable Date In History

Liberty is the ultimate right and one of the most beautiful experiences of the human beings. The Christian concept says that God created the man in his image and granted him the freedom of living. The Haitian heroes who pioneered the liberty from mass slavery cried, it is either “freedom or death.” November 18, 1803 marked a decisive date in the struggle for the freedom of the Negro race and the liberty of all mankind. It is the date when the French military force of enslavement, the most formidable military of the moment, succumbed to the band of revolting slaves of Haiti and marked the end of institutional slavery of mankind.

Today, November 2014, a little over 200 years later, this date is much kept in the dark. Most Haitians are not aware of the importance of it; and, it generally not existed for the world at large. Yet, November 18 was the date when the enchained Negro race started to drop the yoke from its neck and the chain from its feet to never wear them again. In the Battle of Vertiere in Cap- Haitian, Haiti, the mighty naval forces of Bonapatre cried, enough! We give up.

It all started with the Negro General Toussaint Louvertre’s declaration of liberty from slavery for all in Haiti, in accord with the Declaration of the Rights of Man in France. Toussaint did not want Independence. He only proclaimed freedom for the slaves, as citizens of France. The colonial power could not consume the freedom for the Negroes. The dictator Napoleon Bonaparte deployed the largest naval forces ever, at the moment, to conquer the tiny island nation and return the Negroes into slavery. After much devastation, atrocities, treasons, diseases, deaths, and tragedies, the colonial forces met with the rebels in the Battle of Vertiere.

Legend has it that it was the most formidable battle. They started in the night of 17. They fought and slaughtering each other through the night and into the day of the 18. At a certain point in the mid afternoon, a General of Brigade named Capois Lamort, was advancing on his horse, and the animal was struck by bullets and fell down the ground; the General kept on moving ahead. Then, a bullet ripped up his hat from his head, and he brandished his sword, crying, “Keep moving ahead, keep moving ahead...” When the cruel French General Rochambeau saw that, he stopped the battle and commanded his troops to applaud the Negro General. Thereafter, the battle raged on, until the French capitulated in the middle of the night.

The important thing is, the French could no longer hold on their atrocious pursuit of the Negro race. They gave up; and the following days, they took up to the seas to whatever destinations that they could safely reach. At that point, all enslaved men and women of Saint Domingue or Haiti became free to never suffer the whip, the yoke, the chains, the rapes, and the evilness of the slave masters again.

Although it is true that Haiti has remained under much difficulty. The Haitians have yet to be unified from the slave system or mentality that had much divided them; there is still a great deal to celebrate. This struggle was not only for Haitians. It was for the whole Negro race and mankind at large. The liberty proclaimed by the Haitian Heroes gave courage to all those afflicted by slavery. It gave them hope. When we have Martin Luther King, Mandela, Obama; it is only the continuation of the seeds of freedom planted by Toussaint Louverture. Now, on 18 November 2014, 211 years later, the Haitians have only to continue building on this freedom. Our forefathers gave us the liberty. Now let us make it work for us!

Join the conversation. Connect with granmoun@hotmail.com, or Join the Facebook group: MKNA – All Haitians Together For A Better Haiti 

By E.C. GRANMOUN

E.C. Granmoun is the Author of: "Bully: A Novel"  ebook, on amazon.com

We Have To Learn To Live Together

At the moment, we have in Haiti what we may call a system of intolerance - Makout Versus Lavalas. Is it so bad that there are two opposing political forces in a country? No, it is  not. In fact, democracy is based on such a notion of different political weights to counterbalance fractious political positions. In the case of Haiti, however, Makout and Lavalas have remained more of obstructive entities rather than democratic power brokers. If Haiti is to move in the right direction, the political entities must look at each other as working partners. We must learn to live together.

How do we live together as one people anyway? We live together by unite and join forces to live and work as one nation, one people, to build a nation of prosperity for the whole. We have to start coming together and applying democratic principles, negotiating, collaborating, and advancing a progressive agenda. Makout and Lavalas do not have to be enemies. They have to be forces working together to balance the nation.

Some people may think, Makout has done too much wrong. Others may think Lavalas is not any better. Both could be true. However, what is important for us now is to not abide by the past, but to begin considering the best alternative to move ahead. And, how do we start? We must begin with our own selves, everybody, his or her own self; we have to take action. After all, what is Makout or Lavalas? Are they not some groups of individuals composing of us? Every Haitian must fit into one group, or some other lesser ones tearing the nation apart. What is important is that everyone starts considering how to join hands with each other for a better Haiti.

Haiti remains a too-divisive environment. You have the minority wealthy class versus the majority poor; the Mulatto versus the Blacks; the city dwellers versus the peasants; people from Port-au-prince versus the provinces; literates versus illiterates; people within the country versus the Diaspora; and you have all the religious conflicts. The fact is, we have to learn to live with all of them. It is a matter of taking strategies to incorporate and tolerate the others in our lives and our surroundings. (1) One of the first things Haitians need to do is to stop destroying government. The question of coup-d’etat, protestation, “cutting heads and burning houses” must stop. There should be enough tolerance to allow an administration to last its five years. Or, if an official or the government is outlawed, there should be some sort of judicial process – no coup-d’etat!

(2) The political forces must learn to tolerate each other, deal with each other, allow each other to participate, and allow the party in power to work. Again, there should be a judicial process to deal with parties that are out of the law. (3) The interest groups have to be fair. You may not like a certain group, but there should be a connecting point that could benefit all. We should reserve the right to bring others to justice when they are wrong; but, when they are right, we need to appreciate them and collaborate with them.

(4) Let us stop the fragmentation and start bringing the pieces together. We must recognize that we are all brothers and sisters under the Haitian flag, and we are condemned to live together according to the law of nature and of nation states. Therefore, please, let us come together and seek a common interest for all on our little territory on earth, that our 10 million brothers and sisters would ever be glued upon. Blacks, Mulattos, Whites, urbanites, peasants, port-au-princians, provincials, literates, illiterates, locals, Diasporas, all the religious groups; we are the ones who make the Haitian nation. And, if Haiti is to be better, it would take all of us. Each one of us must do our part to keep the nation working together for all of us. The next time you see another Haitian, don’t think of him as an adversary or something strange and isolated; think of him as somebody to collaborate,  work, and live with.

Connect with granmoun@hotmail.com or Join the Facebook group: MKNA – All Haitians Together For A Better Haiti.

By E.C. GRANMOUN

E.C. Granmoun is the Author of: "Bully: A Novel"  ebook, on amazon.com

The Nation Must Come Together

The prosperity of a nation depends wholly on the ability of its people to come together and join forces to work and build an appreciated environment for all. Such an environment is based on the common interest of the inhabitants, according to law and order and mutual respect. Haiti needs to come together. Haitians need to come together. The nation must begin to act as one, as an entity in order to prosper in the world of nation states.

Haiti is a very minute place. The entire island of Hispaniola is only 29,530 square miles (76,480 km2). The Dominican Republic occupies much of it, 18,705 square miles, and Haiti 10,714 square miles, just enough to raise a couple millions of animals. Over 10 million Haitians are huddled on this little piece of land, and the population is increasing. And, like it or not, we are condemned to live together there.

If we are condemned to live together, we must live together. The problem is. Haiti remains too shattered. We don’t feel that we are one. We don’t feel that we belong together. We don’t feel that we share one cause. We don’t feel we belong to our nation and must take position to build it and make it something for all of us. We all want to leave. But, sadly, only a few would leave. And, many of those would return after much nostalgia; and, not forgetting those who would be deported. Generally, the other nations do not want us.

Author, Thomas Madiou said, when he told his father of his intention to write a history book of Haiti, his father asked him what about the “division.” His father was worried that he may render the situation worse by telling the truth. I have a similar problem with my friends. They want to know if I believe that Haitians could really come together. I said to one of them, “They have to; or, else…” He adds. “If we don’t do it, nobody is going to do it for us.” The point is. We are condemned to live together. And, we have a responsibility to work together to make our lives better. Other than that, Haiti is going to remain that poor, old, dirty, nasty, trashy, contaminated, desolated nation that no one respects; and, Haitians would remain the restavec people, a subject of repugnance to the world society.

What do we do then to change our course of history? We must take a stand to put an end to the divisive nature of the Haitian. We have to stop the tearing and come together. We must come to agreement: All Haitians Together For A Better Haiti. All on board: (Black, Mulatto, and White, rich and poor, literate and illiterate, urbanites and peasants, no one is left behind).

I mean, we are all belonged, as members of the group. We only need to find a way to come together to help, share, promote, and live with each other. The bourgeoisie does not have to be an enemy of the poor. They need each other to have a prosperous country. The rich people need to invest their money in the country to create work, to create a fair environment for all. The poor men need to appreciate the generous investments and work productively to contribute to the successfulness of the nation. Everybody wins. It is when the rich take their wealth abroad; it is when the poor break and tear down everything; that’s when everybody loses.

We could collaborate and live together productively. The other nations do it, even the small nations around us. Haitians go to the Bahamas, Dominican Republic, and all the smaller islands out there, looking for scraps. The people in these smaller nations are working collaboratively to better themselves. We could do the same. We simply need to start seeing our Haitian brothers and sisters as members of our entity and not just isolated beings. We simply need to start embracing each other and work collaboratively. The bourgeois could bring investments. The poor could provide labor. The urbanites could produce skilled workers. The peasants could work the fields. Everybody has a function.

The next time you see another Haitian, don’t think of him as an adversary or something strange and isolated; think of him as somebody to collaborate and work with - if our people should ever cease to be the laughing stock of the world. Join the call for Haitian national unity. Join our Facebook group: MKNA – All Haitians Together For A Better Haiti.  Or email, granmoun@hotmail.com. Join the conversation

By E.C. GRANMOUN

E.C. Granmoun is the Author of: "Bully: A Novel"  ebook, on amazon.com

A Shattered Nation

If the Haitian nation would come out of the quagmire, the pieces would have to come together. Having said that, I find my mouth trembling, and my heart pumping hard, recognizing the almost impossible task that I am asking. Yet, I recognize, unless the Haitian people come together, and join forces to live and work as one nation, one people, to build their nation, Haiti would never succeed. Thus, I want to borrow the propaganda from President Obama’s first campaign, “Yes we can.”

I mean, the Haitians can come to unity. I recognize, however, it is going to be a tough battle. A little overview of the country’s past would produce a sense of the challenge. Christopher Columbus arrived on the Island that was then called Ayiti Boyo Kiskeya to find the native islanders there. The newcomers overcame the aboriginal people, overworked and abused them, and exterminated them. They brought in Negros from Africa. After about 300 years of abuse and struggle, the black slaves won their freedom from France by much shedding of blood and lost of lives.

This victory was not obtained easily and cleanly. There were much mistrust and betrayal among all groups. And, the strife that emanated from colonialism ended up embedded into the new nation with two faction groups, the Mulattos and the Blacks, defending different interests not advantageous for the whole nation. From there, you have a nation always struggling, deteriorating, moving back in time, to reach the point of the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, and having been declared a “failed state.” Now, a contingent of the United Nations is on the ground, claiming trying to hold the pieces.

The blame is always on as well. (1) The Mulattos, the bourgeoisie steal everything. (2) The poor black mass destroys everything. (3) There are invisible hands maintaining the chaos. Those are the three common antagonistic reasonings. Basically, everybody is blaming somebody.

But, who is really to blame? Some people may not agree with him. Yet, if we would accept the rationale of Felix Morisseau Leroy, everybody is to blame. I would understand it if you should choose to exempt yourself from Tonton Morisseau’s generalization. But, Jesus Christ said the same thing when he declared that anyone not considering himself a sinner should throw the first stone. It is up to every Haitian to decide how he or she fits into this square.

The followings are some of the common sentiments that we are either perpetrators of, or victims thereof:

•      The bourgeoisie, the mulatto, and the elites do not care for the country. They are pillaging, taking everything for their families and friends, and be ready to flee abroad when things get out of control. Therefore, they are not worried about building a nation, or maintaining an environment to help advance the cause of a prosperous Haitian society.
•       The governments are thieves, filling up their pockets. Governments in Haiti have been generally considered kleptocratic. They usually are not concerned about their people and the nation. They are associated with the rich people and indulging in frauds, while stealing from their own people.
•      The poor black mass is ignorant, violent, and ready to destroy. The poor people have an inclination for revenge. Having been victimized, poor, uneducated, and have nothing to preserve; governments don’t protect them and steal from them; the rich do not do anything to ameliorate their conditions; the poor people often become violent, when the bullets of the government are not able to stop them.
•       The invisible hands are always working to disturb the environment. In the history of Haiti, white people have always been a conflicting force. The most important fact to consider, is that, they are always brought in to support a particular group of Haitians.

It does not end here. The fragmentation pierces every joint of the Haitian society. (1) Mulatto versus Black – Some people consider Haiti one or the most racist place on earth. (2) Rich versus poor – Some people consider Haiti one of the most stratified. (3) Port-au-prince versus the provinces. Port-au-prince is the thing. If you are not from there, it is like, you are nothing. (4) Every region is like a little country. It is a common thing for one Haitian to ask another, what country he is from. (5) People from a big city versus a smaller city; people from a smaller city versus a smaller village; people from a smaller village versus the countryside; and, it does not stop here.

What we have here is the shattered nation. It is like every Haitian is in his own little world. We are not in it together. We don’t care for each other. We don’t come together to make that little place that we share together a favorable environment for all. If Haiti should come out of the chaos, Haitians must look deep into those issues, come up with strategies to fight them, and start implementing nation building and national unity.

Please join the Mouvman  Kolektivite Nasyonal Ayisyen (MKNA) - by Join this conversation on this blog or Facebook or Twitter @ecgranmoun. Or email, granmoun@hotmail.com

By E.C. GRANMOUN

E.C. Granmoun is the Author of: "Bully: A Novel"  on amazon.com