[News] Haiti events in Oakland - 3/10 - Hear So An - 3/14 - Explosive new Pina film premiere
Anti-Imperialist News
news at freedomarchives.org
Mon Mar 5 11:56:39 EST 2007
Two Great Haiti Events in Oakland
1. An evening of Resistance, Solidarity & Song with So An - A hero of
the Haitian Resistance, singer and grassroots organizer, Annette
Auguste ("So An") was seized from her home by US Marines as part of
the 2004 coup d'etat in Haiti, and held as a political prisoner for
over 2 years. Jail did not stop her from organizing or from singing,
and she's still doing it today.
Come welcome So An - Saturday, March 10th, 7PM at The Uptown,
401-26th St [a welcoming, intimate space betw B'way & Telegraph, nr
19th St BART, Oakland]. Music by Vukani Mawethu Freedom Song Choir,
by So An herself and by her husband Wilfrid, a master drummer. Don't
miss this rare moment; in this fleeting world, it's one you will remember.
2. Haiti: We Must Kill the Bandits - Premiere of the explosive new
90-minute film by Kevin Pina, introduced by So An.
Wednesday, March 14th, 7PM, Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Ave.,
Oakland. In a just world, this riveting documentary would get an
Oscar. It shows how foreign occupiers -- from the US Marines 1915-34
to the US, France, Canada and the UN in the present day -- have tried
to demonize and kill the popular movement in Haiti for freedom,
sovereignty and democracy. And it tells the story of the Haitian
Resistance that will not die.
REZISTANS (Lyrics to So An's song, translated from Kreyol)
I. We have endured thirty seasons of pain. We are trapped in a
tornado of danger. We are bent but have not broken. We are a people
who have resistance
We spent days without food. We crossed the desert on foot. We spent
nights without closing our eyes. We are a people with resistance.
Chorus:
Resistance o resistance o we are a people who have resistance. (4x)
II. We have learned to walk underground. Hold our breath under the
sea. Defend ourselves against evil spirits. We are a people who have
resistance. They have stepped on us but can't squash us. They have
moistened us [in their mouth] but can't swallow us. We are hard as a
rock. We are a people with resistance.
III. They have made us know the way to jail. Shut us in concentration
camps. But we have not lost our objective. We are a people who have
resistance. Slavery or occupation, nothing has eliminated us. We have
escaped under all maneuvers. We are a people who have resistance.
IV. We went to hell even though we are not dead. We came and butted
our heads with Lucifer. We told him we believe in paradise. We are a
people who have resistance.
We have endured 30 seasons of pain. We have been taken by a tornado
of danger. We are bent but have not broken. We are a people who have
resistance.
Chorus:
Resistance o resistance o we are a people who have resistance.
(4x) Copyright 2003 Annette Auguste; Lyrics by Serge Madhere
ANNETTE AUGUSTE (So' Anne) is a FANMI LAVALAS organizer and musician
who was arrested by US Marines after the Feb 29, 2004 coup d'etat and
kidnapping of President Aristide. US Marines, in Haiti as an
occupation force, attacked her home with guns and grenades in the
middle of the night, killing and beheading her dogs and putting a
plastic bag over the head of her small grandchild and her husband,
who were also arrested with So' Anne. She was illegally imprisoned in
Haiti, from 17 May 2004, until her release 14 August 2006 after an
international campaign.
For copies of her CD "Rezistans" send a donation of $15 to Haiti
Action Committee, P.O. Box 2218, Berkeley, CA 94702 [all proceeds
directly benefit the popular movement in Haiti].
"I send you all my blessings as a free Haitian woman fighting for the
rights of the impoverished majority in my homeland. They may imprison
my body but they will never imprison the truth I know in my soul. I
will continue to fight for justice and truth in Haiti until I draw my
last breath." - Annette Auguste, Petionville Penitentiary,
Port-au-Prince, Haiti, May 23, 2004
Six months ago, grassroots activist and singer Annette Auguste, known
as So An, won her release from a Haitian jail over two years after
her violent arrest by US Marines on Mother's Day, 2004 during Haiti's
US-backed coup d'etat.
Weekly grassroots mobilizations in Haiti called for her freedom and
her courageous resistance won widespread international support. Her
consistent message was, "I am in jail for no other reason than I am
perceived as a leader and member of Fanmi Lavalas. I am in jail
because I was defending the vote the people of Haiti gave to
Jean-Bertrand Aristide in the elections of November 26, 2000."
Since her release, So An has fought tirelessly to advocate for the
release of hundreds of Haiti's political prisoners, to denounce
ongoing UN military ssaults on Haitian popular neighborhoods and to
sustain her community under the US/UN occupation.
Join Haiti Action Committee in welcoming this courageous Haitian
leader to the Bay Area!
DONATION: $5-50 no one turned away for lack of funds. For more
information, phone (510) 483-7481
**********
Wednesday, March 14th, 7PM
"Haiti: We Must Kill the Bandits"
powerful new film by Kevin Pina
Introduced by Annette Auguste "So An"
Grand Lake Theatre, 7:00 3200 Grand Avenue, Oakland
Blood literally runs in the streets through the chronicle of Feb.
2004's forced ouster of Haiti's elected President Jean Bertrand
Aristide and the terror of its citizens that followed.
Aristide and his Lavalas political party were democratically elected
in 2000 by Haiti's poor majority. The film shows thousands of
Aristide supporters gathered to celebrate his inauguration; he stood
for political and social change, better education, food, and
healthcare for the masses.
But not everyone was in favor of change. Haiti's business community
and intelligentsia worked against Aristide from the very beginning.
And they wouldn't accept, it seems, that a poor man's vote is worth
as much as a rich man's.
Internationally, most mainstream media reported only negatively on
Aristide. At his ouster, they gave the impression that Aristide fled
to South Africa out of concern for his safety.
A transitional government was put in place as tens of thousands of
pro-Aristide people took to the streets to demand his return. Over
and over again the film shows marches and rallies of hope-filled
people uniting in peaceful protest. Their voices fell on deaf ears.
Calling the demonstrators bandits, the Haitian police commit
well-documented shootings, arrests and killings. Ironically, members
of the UN are filmed telling people to listen to and respect the police.
Although this documentary is a chronicle of oppression, the courage
and hope of the poor masses of the Haitian people is by far the most
unforgettable element of the story.
The Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 863-9977
www.freedomarchives.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20070305/b9f65e9a/attachment.htm>
More information about the News
mailing list