Egyptian solidarity demonstration in San Francisco

On Saturday, January 29, a solidarity demonstration with the Egyptian people was held in San Francisco.

Over 350 people marched up Market St, according to organizers, with nearly 1,000 people rallying in the U.N. Plaza near Civic Center.

For over five days, Egyptians have hit the streets demanding dictator Hosni Mubarak, president of Egypt, resign. The recent unrest in Tunisia sparked what some are calling the new Egyptian Revolution. Mubarak is widely unpopular in Egypt, but maintains power by silencing opposition and use of police forces to crush dissent.



While traveling throughout Egypt (Kemet) in the summer of 2010, many Egyptians expressed their displeasure with Mubarak's rule. While many had hope in U.S. President Barack Obama, many were wary of his continued support for the Egyptian dictator.

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Haiti Activists: Prosecute Baby Doc, Return Aristide

By Haiti Action Committee
Special to TheBlackHour.com

Haiti Action Committee strongly supports the call for the immediate arrest and prosecution of Jean- Claude Duvalier. We also take this moment to support the Haitian people’s campaign to return President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to Haiti.

It is unconscionable that the dictator Duvalier is now staying at a luxury hotel in Port-au-Prince while the twice-democratically elected President Aristide remains in forced exile in South Africa.

We have witnessed the return of former dictator Jean Claude “ Baby Doc” Duvalier to Haiti with disbelief and outrage. During his rule, from 1971 to 1986, Duvalier launched a reign of terror against any form of political opposition. Thousands of Haitians were raped, murdered or disappeared. Over 3000 political prisoners were tortured and then killed at Fort Dimanche, Duvalier’ s torture chamber.

One former political prisoner, Rolande Michell, told The New York Times the following story about his incarceration:

"It is a bad place," said Mr. Michell. "They starved me, but I was fortunate. They starved men to death. They beat men to death. I saw them cut into the muscle of one man's leg so he would limp. You could hear men screaming all the time.

"They made me promise to be faithful to Duvalier. I promised so they would not kill me."

Haitians who lived through the Duvalier era carry these memories with them today. Duvalier’ s return sends them a chilling message – that in today’ s Haiti, Duvalierism is alive and will be tolerated as part of the political landscape.

It took a determined popular movement to oust Duvalier. It was this movement – representing the vast majority of Haitians -- that swept President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to an overwhelming electoral victory in 1990. And it is this movement that is demanding his return today.

Ousted in a U.S.-orchestrated coup in 2004, President Aristide remains the most respected and trusted voice of the poor within Haiti. Perhaps that is why the current Haitian government, the U.S. State Department, and the United Nations – the same authorities that allowed the return of Duvalier – continue to block President Aristide’ s return.

A 2005 Wikileaks cable documents the US government "insistence that all efforts must be made to keep Aristide from returning to Haiti or influencing the political process.”

They are standing on the wrong side of history. It is time for President Aristide to return and time for Jean-Claude Duvalier to be held accountable for his crimes against the Haitian people.

Photo: Former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier retreated to a private residence north of Port-au-Prince after missing a flight out of the country on Thursday morning. Photo by Ramon Espinosa (AP)

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The Haiti Action Committee is a grassroots organization working for the masses of the Haitian people. Visit the HaitiAction.net website for breaking news and analysis about events happening on the ground.

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Laney College student Egypt bound for educational program

Laney College student Reginald James, host of The Black Hour, will be heading to Egypt at the end of May.

Support my journey to Egypt.

The two week trip is a part of the Merritt College Africana Studies Department's Study Abroad program. The purpose of the program is to "globalize students’ understanding of the African world historically, culturally and politically from an African Centered perspective."

James participated in a 2006 trip to Jamaica with Merritt College and is looking forward to visiting Africa for the first time.

"Growing up, I dreamed of going to Egypt," James said. "Then Michael Jackson's 'Remember the Time' video came out when I was at Longfellow (Elementary) and I said, 'I'm going to Egypt.' Now, I've been blessed to have a dream come true."

"Growing up, I dreamed of going to Egypt. Then Michael Jackson's 'Remember the Time' video came out when I was at Longfellow (Elementary) and I said, 'I'm going to Egypt.' Now, I've been blessed to have a dream come true." Reginald James

The trip is being led by Professor Manu Ampim, a history professor at Contra Costa College in Richmond and adjunct faculty of Africana Studies at Merritt College. With over 20 years experience in Primary Research, Ampim is a reknown African scholar exposing fraudulent attempts to de-Africanize Egypt, known as Kemet.

Priority enrollment in the study aboard program is given to student activists, economically disadvantaged students of color, and single-parent students.

James is currently raising money for the rest of the trip's expenses. He has set up a special blog, California to Cairo to document the trip and accept donations.

"Traveling always makes you grow as a person. This experience will make me a better person for the community I serve," James said. "Besides documenting the trip on the Cali to Cairo blog, I will be making community presentations this summer and through the fall, to share my experiences."

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To contribute, visit http://calitocairo.blogspot.com

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Haiti Relief Benefit in Oakland

Haiti Relief Fundraiser Sunday, January 24, 7 p.m. Black Dot Cafe 1195 Pine St. West Oakland

With reports of over 150,000 dead in Haiti following a 7.0 earthquake, the U.S. response and media coverage of the Haiti disaster mirrors that of Hurricane Katrina.

The San Francisco Bay View, the POCC and the Haiti Action Committee will host a Haiti Relief Benefit at the Black Dot Cafe in West Oakland Sunday, January 24.

THe featured speaker is Pierre Labossiere, co-founder of the Haiti Action Committee. The event will also include Oakland attorney Walter Riley, co-founder of the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund (HERF) and a survivor of the 7.0 Earthquake that rocked the nation.

Funds raised at the event will support the continued efforts of the Haiti Action Committee, as well as put a media-medical team on the ground. The team will not only provide immediate aid to the Haitian people, but give a real account of the Haitian people's plight, opposed to the subliminally racist coverage that distorts truth that is taking place now.

"You know they’ll go where the needs are greatest and the stories most compelling," writes Mary Ratliff, editor of the San Francisco Bay View newspaper.

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Haiti 2010: An Unwelcome Katrina Redux

(Editors Note: The People's Advocate Cynthia McKinney, a former Georgia Congresswoman and 2008 Presidential Candidate speaks to the militarized U.S. response to the Haiti Earthquake)

By Cynthia McKinney

CYNTHIA MCKINNEY"Much to my disquiet, it seems, here we go again. From the very beginning, U.S. assistance to Haiti has looked to me more like an invasion than a humanitarian relief operation."

President Obama's response to the tragedy in Haiti has been robust in military deployment and puny in what the Haitians need most: food; first responders and their specialized equipment; doctors and medical facilities and equipment; and engineers, heavy equipment, and heavy movers. Sadly, President Obama is dispatching Presidents Bush and Clinton, and thousands of Marines and U.S. soldiers. By contrast, Cuba has over 400 doctors on the ground and is sending in more; Cubans, Argentinians, Icelanders, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans, and many others are already on the ground working--saving lives and treating the injured. Senegal has offered land to Haitians willing to relocate to Africa.

The United States, on the day after the tragedy struck, confirmed that an entire Marine Expeditionary Force was being considered "to help restore order," when the "disorder" had been caused by an earthquake striking Haiti; not since 1751, 1770, 1842, 1860, and 1887 had Haiti experienced an earthquake. But, I remember the bogus reports of chaos and violence the led to the deployment of military assets, including Blackwater, in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. One Katrina survivor noted that the people needed food and shelter and the U.S. government sent men with guns.

Much to my disquiet, it seems, here we go again. From the very beginning, U.S. assistance to Haiti has looked to me more like an invasion than a humanitarian relief operation.

On Day Two of the tragedy, a C-130 plane with a military assessment team landed in Haiti, with the rest of the team expected to land soon thereafter. The stated purpose of this team was to determine what military resources were needed.

An Air Force special operations team was also expected to land to provide air traffic control. Now, the reports are that the U.S. is not allowing assistance in, shades of Hurricane Katrina, all over again.

On President Obama's orders military aircraft "flew over the island, mapping the destruction." So, the first U.S. contribution to the humanitarian relief needed in Haiti were reconnaissance drones whose staffing are more accustomed to looking for hidden weapon sites and surface-to-air missile batteries than wrecked infrastructure. The scope of the U.S. response soon became clear: aircraft carrer, Marine transport ship, four C-140 airlifts, and evacuations to Guantanamo. By the end of Day Two, according to the Washington Post report, the United States had evacuated to Guantanamo Bay about eight [8] severely injured patients, in addition to U.S. Embassy staffers, who had been "designated as priorities by the U.S. Ambassador and his staff."

On Day Three we learned that other U.S. ships, including destroyers, were moving toward Haiti. Interestingly, the Washington Post reported that the standing task force that coordinates the U.S. response to mass migration events from Cuba or Haiti was monitoring events, but had not yet ramped up its operations. That tidbit was interesting in and of itself, that those two countries are attended to by a standing task force, but the treatment of their nationals is vastly different, with Cubans being awarded immediate acceptance from the U.S. government, and by contrast, internment for Haitian nationals.

"Interestingly, the Washington Post reported that the standing task force that coordinates the U.S. response to mass migration events from Cuba or Haiti was monitoring events, but had not yet ramped up its operations."

U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral James Watson IV reassured Americans, "Our focus right now is to prevent that, and we are going to work with the Defense Department, the State Department, FEMA and all the agencies of the federal government to minimize the risk of Haitians who want to flee their country," Watson said. "We want to provide them those relief supplies so they can live in Haiti."

By the end of Day Four, the U.S. reportedly had evacuated over 800 U.S. nationals.

For those of us who have been following events in Haiti before the tragic earthquake, it is worth noting that several items have caused deep concern:

1. the continued exile of Haiti's democratically-elected and well-loved, yet twice-removed former priest, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide;
2. the unexplained continued occupation of the country by United Nations troops who have killed innocent Haitians and are hardly there for "security" (I've personally seen them on the roads that only lead to Haiti's sparsely-populated areas teeming with beautiful beaches);
3. U.S. construction of its fifth-largest embassy in the world in Port-au-Prince, Haiti;
4. mining and port licenses and contracts, including the privatization of Haiti's deep water ports, because certain off-shore oil and transshipment arrangements would not be possible inside the U.S. for environmental and other considerations; and
5. Extensive foreign NGO presence in Haiti that could be rendered unnecessary if, instead, appropriate U.S. and other government policy allowed the Haitian people some modicum of political and economic self-determination.

Therefore, we note here the writings of Ms. Marguerite Laurent, whom I met in her capacity as attorney for ousted President of Haiti Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Ms. Laurent reminds us of Haiti's offshore oil and other mineral riches and recent revivial of an old idea to use Haiti and an oil refinery to be built there as a transshipment terminal for U.S. supertankers. Ms. Laurent, also known as Ezili Danto of the Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network (HLLN), writes:

"There is evidence that the United States found oil in Haiti decades ago and due to the geopolitical circumstances and big business interests of that era made the decision to keep Haitian oil in reserve for when Middle Eastern oil had dried up. This is detailed by Dr. Georges Michel in an article dated March 27, 2004 outlining the history of oil explorations and oil reserves in Haiti and in the research of Dr. Ginette and Daniel Mathurin.

"Unfortunately, before the tragedy struck, and despite pleading to the Administration by Haiti activists inside the United States, President Obama failed to stop the deportation of Haitians inside the United States and failed to grant TPS, temporary protected status, to Haitians inside the U.S. in peril of being deported due to visa expirations."

"There is also good evidence that these very same big US oil companies and their inter-related monopolies of engineering and defense contractors made plans, decades ago, to use Haiti's deep water ports either for oil refineries or to develop oil tank farm sites or depots where crude oil could be stored and later transferred to small tankers to serve U.S. and Caribbean ports. This is detailed in a paper about the Dunn Plantation at Fort Liberte in Haiti.

"Ezili's HLLN underlines these two papers on Haiti's oil resources and the works of Dr. Ginette and Daniel Mathurin in order to provide a view one will not find in the mainstream media nor anywhere else as to the economic and strategic reasons the US has constructed its fifth largest embassy in the world - fifth only besides the US embassy in China, Iraq, Iran and Germany - in tiny Haiti, post the 2004 Haiti Bush regime change."

Unfortunately, before the tragedy struck, and despite pleading to the Administration by Haiti activists inside the United States, President Obama failed to stop the deportation of Haitians inside the United States and failed to grant TPS, temporary protected status, to Haitians inside the U.S. in peril of being deported due to visa expirations. That was corrected on Day Three of Haiti's earthquake tragedy with the January 15, 2010 announcement that Haiti would join Honduras, Nicaragua, Somalia, El Salvador, and Sudan as a country granted TPS by the Secretary of Homeland Security.

President Obama's appointment of President Bush to the Haiti relief effort is a swift left jab to the face, in my opinion. After President Bush's performance in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the fact that still today, Hurricane Katrina survivors who want to return still have not been provided a way back home, the appointment might augur well for fundraising activities, but I doubt that it bodes well for the Haitian people. Afterall, the coup against and the kidnapping of President Aristide occurred under the watch of a Bush Presidency.

Finally, those with an appreciation of French literature know that among France's most beloved authors are Alexandre Dumas, son of a Haitian slave, and Victor Hugo who wrote: "Haiti est une lumiere." [Haiti is a light.]

Indeed, Haiti for millions is a light: light into the methodology and evil of slavery; light into a successful slave rebellion, light into nationhood and notions of liberty, the rights of man, and of human dignity. Haiti is a light. And an example that makes the enemies of black liberation tremble. It is precisely because of Haiti's light into the evil genius of some individuals who wield power over others and man's ability, through unity and purpose, to overcome that evil, that some segments of the world have been at war with Haiti ever since 1804, the year of Haiti's creation as a Republic.

I'm not surprised at "Reverend" Pat Robertson's racist vitriol. Robertson's comments mirror, exactly, statements made by Napoleon's Cabinet when the Haitians defeated them. But in 2010, Robertson's statements reveal much more: Haitians are not the only ones who know their importance to the struggle against hatred, imperialism, and European domination.

This pesky, persistent, stubbornly non-Western, proudly African people of this piece of land that we call Haiti know their history and they know that they militarily defeated the ruling world empire of the day, Napoleon's France, and the global elite at that time who supported him. They know that they defeated the armies of England and Spain.

Haitians know that they used their status as a free state to help liberate Latin Americans from Spain, by funding and fighting alongside Simon Bolivar; their example inspired their still-enslaved African brothers and sisters on the American mainland; and before Haitians were even free, they fought against the British inside the U.S. during its war of independence and won a decisive battle in Savannah, Georgia, where I have visited the statue commemorating that victory.

Haitians know that France imposed reparations on them for being free, and Haiti paid them in full, but that President Aristide called for France to give that money back ($21 billion in 2003 dollars).

Haitians know that their "brother," then-Secretary of State Colin Powell lied to the world upon the kidnapping and second ouster of their President. (Sadly, it wouldn't be the last time that Secretary of State Colin Powell would lie to the world.) Haitians know, all-too-well, that high-ranking blacks in the United States are capable of helping them and of betraying them.

Haitians know, too, that the United States has installed its political proxies and even its own soldiers onto Haitian soil when the U.S. felt it was necessary. All in an effort to control the indomitable Haitian spirit that directs much-needed light to the rest of the oppressed world.

"Every plane of humanitarian assistance that is turned away by the U.S. military (so far from CARICOM, the Caribbean Community, Médecins Sans Frontieres, Brazil, France, Italy, and even the U.S. Red Cross)--as was done in the wake of Hurricane Katrina--and the expected arrival on this very day of up to 10,000 U.S. troops, are lasting reminders of the existential threat that now looms over the valiant, proud people and the Republic of Haiti."

While the tears of the people of Haiti swell in my own eyes, and I remember their tremendous capacity for love, my broken heart and wet eyes don't dampen my ability to understand the grave danger that now faces my friends in Haiti.

I shudder to think that the "rollback" policies believed in by some foreign policy advisors to President Obama could use a prolonged U.S. military presence in Haiti as a springboard for rollback of areas in Latin America that have liberated themselves from U.S. neo-colonial domination. I would hate to think that this would even be attempted under the Presidency of Barack Obama. All of us must have our eyes wide open on Haiti and other parts of the world now dripping in blood as a result of the relentless onward march of the U.S. military machine.

So, on this remembrance of the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I note that it was the U.S. government's own illegal Operation Lantern Spike that snuffed out the promise and light of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Every plane of humanitarian assistance that is turned away by the U.S. military (so far from CARICOM, the Caribbean Community, Médecins Sans Frontieres, Brazil, France, Italy, and even the U.S. Red Cross)--as was done in the wake of Hurricane Katrina--and the expected arrival on this very day of up to 10,000 U.S. troops, are lasting reminders of the existential threat that now looms over the valiant, proud people and the Republic of Haiti.

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Emergency Vigil in Solidarity with the People of Haiti in Oakland

The Haiti Action Committee and Congresswoman Barbara Lee will hold an emergency vigil in solidarity with the people of Haiti on Monday.


Photo: Flickr user Miriam Godet

Oakland Vigil for Haiti Monday, January 18th, 5:00 P.M. Oakland Federal Building 1301 Clay Street (12th Street BART Station)

By Robert Roth
Haiti Action Committee

Three million people are homeless, untold thousands are dead. With their own hands, Haitians are heroically digging out friends and relatives from the rubble left by the devastating earthquake, showing once again their resilience, determination and courage in the face of disaster.

Days after the earthquake, the United Nations admits it has fed only 8000 people. With thousands of U.S. troops headed to Haiti, it is clear that the U.S. and UN are more concerned with "securing" Haiti than with feeding and housing people. Millions of dollars worth of food and medicine sits on the tarmac at the airport in Port-au-Prince while the poorest communities remain without aid.

In a scene reminiscent of Hurricane Katrina, 10,000 people have sought refuge in the Aristide Foundation near the airport in Port-au-Prince. Over 50 doctors are there, yet no medical supplies or food has arrived.

We remember the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

This is a time to respect the resiliency and courage of the Haitian people. It is a time for aid, not charity, for solidarity not a U.S. military take-over. And it is a time to return President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to his homeland.

Please support community-based organizers in Haiti who are working day and night to get aid to the people. Please contribute to Haiti Emergency Relief Fund.

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Earthquake kills 100,000 in Haiti

Support long-term action in Haiti


REUTERS

Over 100,000 people are feared dead, following a devastating blow that hit the Carribean nation of Haiti.

There are two ways to donate:
Via PayPal or Mail check made out to: "Haiti Emergency Relief Fund/EBSC" donations tax deductible send mail to: East Bay Sanctuary Covenant 2362 Bancroft Way Berkeley, CA 94704 EBSC is a non-profit 502(c)(3) organization tax ID#94-3249753 All donations are acknowledged.

Haiti has been hit by the strongest earthquake in 240 years. The enormity of the effects of this devastating 7.0 quake are only barely understood at this time. It's feared that 100,000 people have been killed and perhaps millions left homeless. This is a moment in which your solidarity is of critical importance.

As the only nation of African people in the Western Hemisphere to lead a violent revolution for freedom, this country -- the poorest in the Carribean -- holds a special place in the African Diaspora.

The outpouring of support has been outstanding, following a Twitter led campaign by celebrities like Wyclef -- a Haitian native -- and others. The FBI has warned of internet fraud and scammers attempting to profit off the suffering of Haiti.

The Black Hour is encouraging those who wish to make a donation to support the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund. Donations will be forwarded to people on the ground to help them rebuild what has been destroyed.

The Haiti Action Network -- a grassroots movement including labor unions, women’s groups, educators and human rights activists, support committees for prisoners, and agricultural cooperatives – will attempt to funnel needed aid to those most hit by the earthquake. Grassroots organizers are doing what they can – with the most limited of funds – to make a difference. Please take this chance to lend them your support.

From the Haiti Action Committee:

Since its inception in March 2004, the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund (H.E.R.F.) has given concrete aid to Haiti’s grassroots democratic movement as they attempted to survive the brutal coup and to rebuild shattered development projects. We urge you to contribute generously, not only for this immediate crisis, but in order to support the long-run development of human rights, sustainable agriculture and economic justice in Haiti.

They emphasize:
ALL MONEY GOES DIRECTLY TO GRASS ROOTS ORGANIZATIONS.

Oakland Seen reports Oakland activists Walter Riley and Barbara Rhine are unaccounted for in Haiti. Riley is father of legendary Hip Hop artists Boots from The Coup.

Families of Americans living in Haiti are encouraged to contact the State Department at 888-407-4747.

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