For Haiti
Ras Tyehimba (2010)
Dedicated to those brave Haitians who have had to bear the brunt of colonial arrogance, and the indifferent of Caribbean leaders and people. Dedicated to the millions of ordinary Haitian people, living and passed away, who have had to pay dearly for the deep desire to be free from colonial rule. This is dedicated towards those who stories have been untold, those voodoo people, determined not to be whitewashed, who have had the courage to manifest their culture. I salute you.
This is not a feel good poem,
This is a battle axe, Ogun
A thundering lightning bolt, Shango
this is one tenth of the quarter of the half , of the half,
of the half that has never been told
They say Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere
They say it the poorest country in the western hemisphere
They eat mud pies
those people who cannot govern themselves
the disaster in Haiti was not the 7.0 earthquake
The disaster in haiti was not a natural disaster, it was a human disaster
a culmination of centuries of Euro-American greed and intervention
The disaster is Haiti was the system of slavery
the extermination of the first peoples
The disaster in Haiti is greed
who conquered and plundered Haiti
Who kill Boukman and Mackandal
Who kill Touusaint loverture,
Who sanction and isolate haiti
who force them to pay for recognition
Who support Papa doc and Father Doc
Who invade and ocuppy Haiti
who kidnap Aristide
who let Aristide be kidnapped
Who was silent when Aristide was illegally removed
Where was Caricom
Who send solders with weapons of war instead of doctors and search teams
Who let Obama and his US imperial army occupy haiti under the pretext of AID
Where is the so-called us of the caribbean when the US in the caribbean doing what they want
Haiti and Haitians need money, food, clothes, water, and better infrastructure
above those items for basic survival, they need an end to the hegemonic power structures,
an end to the abuse perpetuated by American and European powers
the unholy trinity of Clinton, Obama, and Bush,
an end to the nastiness of the IMF and the world bank
an end to mnc's exploiting cheap haitian labour
an end to the ngo's, missionaries and religious organisations playing savior
while having their agenda to convert these Haitians from their culture
An end to the lipservice and indifference of Caribbean (mis) misleader and academics
any end to the lopsized, Western media, CNN, BBC, Fox and their local reproducers : Tv6, CNC, CNMG
Who will tell the real stories?
Dear Haiti
you are dread,
dread, dread, dread,
dreader than dreadlocks
you of shango, eshu, yemoja, erzulie
you of dambala, the loas, and mysterious night rituals
you with that backward African caribbean worldview
you of that voodoo and resistance
you who dared to run away
and rebel,
you who was rebellious to fight for freedom
you primitive, dark force
who do voodoo
who do voodoo
voodoo, obeah, voodoo, vooodooo
backward, primitive, uncivilized..... they say
cursed, , heathen, pagan... they say
barbarous barbarians.... they say
satanic, the devils spawn, you who made a pact with the devil..... they say
you who are in need of Jesus.... they say
They say they will pray for you, as they have been preying on you for centuries
You the poorest nation in the hemisphere,they say
you
in need of saving,
in need of saving by the world's savior
in need of judeo christian wisdom from the good book
you 'unruly savages'
in need of policing from the world's policeman
Here comes Obama,
bow and applaud him and his imperial agenda, masquerading as change
as he pours koolaid into eager cups
pours honey sweet words into eager ears
sweet words and deadly bombs
sweet words and sanctions,
sweet words and deadly capitalism
sweet words while the brutal American foreign policy continues unabated,
Yes we can
Yes, we can bomb pakistan,
Yes we can have a defense budget of 700 plus billion
Yes, we can send more US troops to Iraq and Afghanistan
same sanctions for, Zimbabwe Cuba, and Iran
same neo liberal policies being crammed down the throats of Caribbean people
by this wanna Be Global Policeman
on whose authority do you stand?
Oh, you of Haiti, they say
rid yourself of your backward culture,
impediments to progress and development
you who are in need of white, saviours,
lily white angels to turn your sins whiter than snow
Oh Haiti!
Haitian people!
black, blacker than black
shango,
spirit,
You who have been called
tree worshipping;
animist;
degenerate pagans;
backward Third World;
Banana Republic;
Voodoo economics;
almost man, almost woman;
Three fifths human;
lower evolutionary form;
you darkness in need of light;
backwardness in need of civilization;
heathen in need of christianity.
Oh Haiti,
those that juk out your eye, accuse you of blindness
those who kill and kidnap your leaders, accuse you of not being able to rule yourselves
The spirit of Boukman, Dessalines, Makandal, Touusaint
numerous faceless and nameless men and women
is alive
in voodoo drums and sacred rituals
beating a beat of resistance,
carrying the torch of freedom
even as the hot burning wax burns the hands that hold up the torch
Voodoo, the culture of resistance
shaped by the fires of revolts against colonial masters
you culture bearers, protectors of your ancient indigenous traditions,
Haitians, courageous people,
I salute you,
the blood of those who fought for liberty and justice will forever stain the conscience of the world.
Author
