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<div><i>Surrounded by thousands of supporters, including many
who had walked miles to be there, former President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide spoke outside his home on September
30th to mark the 24th anniversary of the bloody coup d’etat
in 1991. It was his first public speech since his return
from exile in March 2011. Dr. Maryse Narcisse, the Fanmi
Lavalas candidate for president, stood side by side with him
as he spoke. <br>
<br>
President Aristide’s remarks take place in the context of
mass demonstrations calling for the annulment of the August
9th elections, which were characterized by intimidation,
violence and fraud carried out by the government of
President Michel Martelly and his allies. <br>
<br>
President Aristide called for an end to the suppression of
voting rights in Haiti, and for full support for Dr.
Narcisse in the upcoming presidential elections.<br>
<br>
We are honored to present his speech, both in Kreyol and in
an unofficial English translation by Haiti Action Committee.
We would point out to our readers that the English version
does not, in any way, do justice to the nuance, humor and
beautiful imagery of President Aristide’s speech in Kreyol,
the language of Haiti’s people.</i><br>
<br>
<br>
<b>A Speech By Former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide<br>
Delivered on September 30, 2015</b><br>
<br>
Sisters and Brothers,<br>
You who live here or live abroad, I am happy to greet you in
the spirit of One Love. In the shadow of our Ancestors, allow
me to give each of you a big fraternal accolade and an embrace
for the children and the youth of the country who hold a
special place in my heart.<br>
<br>
With much respect, I bow in remembrance of all the victims of
the September 30, 1991 <i>coup</i> <i>d'etat</i>. Their
bodies have fallen but they will remain alive in our spirit.
The sweat and blood of our heroes should not be shed in vain.<br>
<br>
In memory of all Haitians who sacrificed their lives for the
liberation of Haiti, let us look at the root of the word
Haiti. <i>Hai</i> means no, do not. <i>Tii</i> means obey in
the Swahili language. Haiti or Haitii means do not obey.<br>
<br>
Long ago, slaves were always saying “Do not obey the
colonists.” Today we say “Do not obey people who have no
respect for human rights. Haitii! Do not obey the mentally
enslaved involved in electoral <i>coup d'etat</i>. Do not
obey the mentally enslaved who refuse to accept the vote of
the people. Every person is a human being. The vote of each
person must be counted. Period.”<br>
<br>
My Sisters and My Brothers,<br>
During these three years of silence, I always listened to your
voices. When hard times made you feverish, my body ached also.
When you thirsted to hear a clear position from me, I felt
that too.<br>
<br>
Even though since May 19, 2015, <i>Minouche</i> [Mildred
Aristide] had already told you the candidate I will choose for
the post of President of the Country; even though you have
walked the streets with her, arm in arm, to demand the
annulment of the electoral <i>coup d'etat</i> of August 9, I
feel that you would like to hear me say it in my own voice.<br>
<br>
Thank you for the trust that you have in me; this is exactly
why I prayed, I thought a lot before reaching this decision.
This decision is not steeped in naïveté because even small
minds that have not undergone mental decolonization, already
see that officials have chosen to conduct a selection, and not
an election. <br>
<br>
In the hope that this truth will not hurt or offend these
officials who are our brothers and sisters too, this is what I
continue to observe: Analysis of the electoral <i>coup d'etat</i>
of August 9, 2015 shows symptoms of an illness called
unilateral spatial neglect. This means that patients with this
illness see only one side of reality.<br>
<br>
For example, when these patients dress themselves, they dress
one side of their body without seeing that the other side has
no clothes. When they eat from a plate, they eat only half the
food that is there, without realizing that have not eaten the
other half of the meal. This illness appears strange but that
is the way that it manifests itself because the problem is in
a part of the brain called the parietal lobe.<br>
<br>
Those responsible for the electoral<i> coup d'etat</i> of
August 9, 2015 act the same way as those patients who see only
one side of reality. On one side they see the ballots that
assault weapons want to impose, but do not see that on the
other side is the majority of the Haitian people demanding
that their right to vote in free elections be respected. Every
person is a human being. So the vote of each and every one
must be counted. Period. <br>
<br>
Analysis of the electoral <i>coup d'etat</i> of August 9,
2015 shows a second symptom; it shows a symptom exhibited by
patients who are anosognosic. This means patients who refuse
to accept that they are ill. In this case, the solution is
first mobilization. Mobilization, all of us who do not want
the country to fall into an unparalleled political tornado and
earthquake. <br>
<br>
You who for the past 11 years have been walking an arduous
rocky road, victims of insecurity, abuse, hunger,
unemployment, forced to find a way in a blackout of misery. We
who suffer with all Haitians who are the victims of
repatriation, citizens coming from the Dominican Republic, let
us come together to prevent a bad situation from getting
worse.<br>
<br>
Professionals in all fields lawyers, engineers, agronomists,
nurses, doctors, business people, peasants, officials,
teachers who have been struggling in the fog of despair for
the past 11 years to make ends meet, let us come together to
prevent a bad situation from getting worse.<br>
<br>
Young people everywhere in the provinces and cities, in the
universities as well as in community organizations and working
class neighborhoods, let us mobilize to stop exclusion. We are
the majority. Conditions must be good for all of us.<br>
<br>
As I told you on May 9, 2013, remember! One jaw by itself
cannot chew food. Each one needs the other. Respect to all of
you, scholars as well as the illiterate. Illiterate does not
mean unintelligent. Rich as well as poor, we need to come to
an understanding. After 11 years, we must re-stitch the flag
of unity.<br>
<br>
Hand in hand with all Haitians who live abroad and thirst to
come back home, let us create the conditions for the
participation of all people of honesty, people of principle,
all people who are not involved in politics but who understand
that if we do not safeguard our dignity, we will lose our
dignity.<br>
<br>
My Sisters, My Brothers,<br>
Our country is gravely ill and to prevent a worsening sad
fate, we must mobilize against a <i>coup</i> <i>d'etat</i>
until we enter the National Palace, democratically, with Dr.
Maryse Narcisse as President of the country.<br>
<br>
Voting for Dr. Maryse and all the Fanmi Lavalas candidates, Bò
Tab la, number 54, is to take up a huge challenge because
there is conspiracy that is entwined with a vast amount of
money.<br>
<br>
However! Yes, however! By word of mouth one telling the other
“Conspiracy entwined with the power of money can be undone
with the power of our dignity.”<br>
<br>
By word of mouth, one telling the other “It is not money, it
is dignity. If we do not safeguard our dignity, we will lose
our dignity”.<br>
Thank you.<br>
<br>
Dr. Jean-Bertrand Aristide<br>
30 Septanm 2015, Taba <br>
<br>
<<a moz-do-not-send="true"
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<br>
<<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.facebook.com/narcisse.maryse/videos/vb.848402941871749/1043666202345421/?type=2&theater">https://www.facebook.com/narcisse.maryse/videos/vb.848402941871749/1043666202345421/?type=2&theater</a>>
<br>
<br>
<br>
The above is an unofficial translation by the Haiti Action
Committee of a speech by former President Aristide on the
occasion of the 24th anniversary of the bloody coup d'etat of
September 30th, 1991.<br>
<br>
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href="http://www.haitisolidarity.net">www.haitisolidarity.net</a>
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