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<span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><b>The Lasalin
Massacre: Is it an accidental event, a fight between rival gangs
to control an area, or a calculated and planned political act? <br>
</b></span>
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<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><b><br>
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<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><b>by
Vladimir Durace - </b><font size="-2"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://haitisolidarity.net/the-lasalin-massacre/">https://haitisolidarity.net/the-lasalin-massacre/</a></font><br>
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<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">This
article, originally written in Haitian <i>Kreyol</i> for
<b><a
href="https://haitisolidarity.net/the-lasalin-massacre/"
moz-do-not-send="true">Haiti Solidarity</a></b> in
February 2019, was translated by Haiti Action Committee.<br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Lasalin, a
shantytown in the capital of Haiti, is crossed by two main
thoroughfares, which make it a strategic area coveted by
several economic and political groups for many reasons. On
one side is Jean-Jacques Dessalines Boulevard, with
Lasalin Boulevard on the other. Facing Lasalin are truck
terminals and private ports that receive goods and
merchandise from abroad. The center of the shantytown is
situated directly across the terminals and ports. For one
of the powerful ruling social groups, whose origin and
methods of operations will be discussed later, Lasalin is
considered to be a menace. This is a view that is
generally shared in the oligarchy, which is determined at
all costs to force out the residents of the community and
take over the land to enlarge its economic empire. Edouard
Baussan, the owner of Unibank, now controls these
terminals after buying out the other shareholders. For
this group to achieve its dream, it must remove the people
who live in the shantytown of Lasalin. The majority of the
residents are active members of <i>Fanmi Lavalas
Political Organization</i> who always publicly declare
their great appreciation and loyalty to former President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who implemented many projects in
the area for the residents of Lasalin to live in dignity.<br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">It is no
secret that these economic groups are connected with
wealthy businessmen in the international community,
particularly in the US, who supported and helped them
install PHTK (Haitian <i>Tèt Kale</i> Party) to power;
they continue to provide support in order to defend their
interests. It is easy to understand why major
international media provide very little coverage of the
political crimes—massacres committed against the Haitian
people; it is similar in the case of the local Haitian
media that they control. If it were not for the network of
social media - Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp - the world
would not know what had occurred in Haiti on November 13,
2018, when hundreds were killed, scores of houses were
burned, young women raped, and children and elderly
mutilated with machetes.<br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Let us take
a little time to examine the origin of the disadvantaged
class in Haiti.<br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">The struggle
of the popular masses - the black descendants of enslaved
Africans - throughout the history of Haiti, to claim their
rightful place in the nation, goes way back to the time of
slavery. The war for physical, economic, political, and
cultural independence had forced all social classes in the
colony of <i>Saint Domingue</i> to unite their forces so
that the struggle could be easier for them, as each social
class had interests that differed from the others.<br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">The massacre
on November 13, 2018 is not the first to have taken place
in the community of Lasalin. In 1957, in order for General
Antonio Thrasybule Kebreau to stage elections to install
dictator Francois Duvalier as president, he massacred many
supporters of President Eustache Daniel Fignole, who lived
in working class neighborhoods such as Lasalin, Bele, and
Site Soley. They did not want to obey and accept the <i>coup
d’état</i> that the Haitian Army had committed against
President Fignole which sent him into exile. On September
11, 1988, the Haitian Army in the service of the Haitian
oligarchy enabled paramilitary affiliates to massacre
parishioners during a mass officiated by Father
Jean-Bertrand Aristide at St. Jean Bosco Church in
Lasalin. And during the first <i>coup d’état</i> against
President Aristide that started on September 29, 1991, the
Haitian Army, together with paramilitary affiliates,
massacred many activists in working class neighborhoods,
particularly in Lasalin, over the course of several years.
On February 29, 2004—the date of the second <i>coup
d’état</i> against President Aristide—the working class
neighborhoods were once again victims of the enemies of
democracy. The Haitian people and the neighborhood of
Lasalin were not spared; many activists were killed.<br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Can we
consider the enslaved population as a social class in the
colony of <i>St.</i> <i>Domingue</i>? Social classes
have traditionally been defined as:<br>
1. Bourgeoisie – The whites who possess a lot of
money, wealth, plantations, and land.<br>
2. Middle class – The small landowners, “mulattos,”
and freedmen who do not possess a lot of money, wealth,
plantations, or land, but who are living comfortably.<br>
3. Working class – Among which are blacksmiths,
shoemakers, tailors, teachers, shopkeepers, etc<br>
4. Enslaved population – In which class belongs the
enslaved who owned no plantations and riches, those who
were not workers because they were not paid for the work
that they did? For these reasons we speak of social group
instead of social class. In his book <i>Haïti-Haitii:
Philosophical Reflections for Mental Decolonization</i>,
Dr. Jean-Bertrand Aristide references “Article 22 of the
Black Code” which explains how the enslaved were treated.<br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Why do we
speak of “physical” independence? The behavior and actions
of a number of officials in Haitian society shows plainly
that, to this day, they still have in their mind that they
are dependent on the countries of the former colonizers.
Moreover, they believe that any action they take has to be
blessed by the colonizer. These officials act as governors
who are at the beck and call of the metropole. This means
that to this day, “mentally,” they think and act as
slaves. This behavior is favorable for the Haitian
oligarchy in the “mulatto class/group,” in organizing a
system of corruption and repression that assassinates and
massacres people—the working class—any time they take a
stand to demand their fundamental rights, such as the
right to food, education, health care, housing, and work.<br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">If the
struggle for physical independence forced a unity, for the
moment, between the various social classes, group
interests and personal interests led to division after the
victorious War for Independence. Each group fought to
maintain and defend their interests and to enlarge the
economic empire of their particular group.<br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">In all of
these social groups, <i>only the enslaved group</i> spoke
words such as "creating a nation," "equitable distribution
for all the people of the land," and "live free and
independent or die." However, the other social groups saw
it differently. Black people coming out of slavery were
not considered human beings; they had no rights in the new
nation. They were not part of the societal project.
Alexandre Pétion was a leader from the mulatto group,
which started behaving as the new masters. They built no
schools or hospitals. In short, what was needed for a
state apparatus to function in the service of the
population was not in their interest. If the descendants
of the enslaved learned to read, they would have a lot
more clarity on what is happening in the world. <i>They
would become a threat to the system</i>. For these
reasons, the Black Code continued to be implemented under
a different guise to maintain the people in misery.<br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">The
“mulattos” considered the colony as a place to conduct
business and make money. They considered themselves French
citizens or subjects. It was the black officers, the
formerly enslaved in the indigenous army who, raising the
problem of exclusion, demanded inclusion for all, in
particular for the formerly enslaved. We can cite the
following examples: Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Henri
Christophe, Francois Capois—those who spoke for total,
unconditional independence, economic independence,
political, cultural, and physical independence.<br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">It is this
same group, the formerly enslaved, who throughout the
history of Haiti have been fighting a continuous struggle
to claim their rights in this brand-new nation, to live
with honor and dignity and the right to work; the right to
healthcare; the right to food, education, justice, and
good housing. From this standpoint, Jean-Jacques
Dessalines stated, “What about the blacks whose fathers
are in Africa? There will be nothing for them?” This
declaration is one of the causes for the killing of
Jean-Jacques Dessalines. “<i>All for them, nothing for the
masses of the people</i>.” From this time on, this class
of assassins has always come together to crush the
majority population—the formerly enslaved, the
marginalized, those kept on the margins of society.<br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">The ruling
elite which not only controls the economy but also the
local media, engages in lobbying foreign governments and
international media, in order to tarnish the image of the
struggle of the majority population. Local and
international lobbyists have concocted a variety of names
throughout the history of the majority population’s
struggles to free themselves from unparalleled misery and
from the label of the poorest and most corrupt nation.
Lobbyists have labeled them with derogatory names: <i>kamoken</i>,
<i>chime</i>, <i>bandi</i>, <i>dechouke</i>, <i>rat pa
kaka</i>, <i>kidnape</i>, <i>ravet</i>….This is part
and parcel of a psychological war to work on public
opinion, so that when they commit a politically-motivated
massacre, the rest of society will conclude that the
police are killing bandits and criminals.<br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">No nation
can develop if it is not politically independent; it will
find it impossible to choose the leadership that the
people want to govern. When other people are choosing, it
is not in the best interest of the population. The
enslaved understood this. Jean-Jacques Dessalines and
Christophe understood it, too. The disadvantaged group
understands it, and this is the motivative force for the
struggle for independence - political, cultural, etc -
that is being carried out today. One of the better ways to
wage this struggle is to <i>mentally decolonize</i> all
the groups and classes of Haitian society who are still
colonized.<br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">In these
modern times, there is a different approach to slavery,
but the results remain the same. This is why it is
referred to as modern-day slavery. Working class
neighborhoods like Site Soley, Lasalin, Solino, Raboto,
Sentelen, and Jalouzi are considered by colonialist
countries as “warehouses for modern slaves.” If one reads
the Black Code that states how to manage slaves in the
colony of St. Domingue, if one reads the book by Dr.
Jean-Bertrand Aristide, <i>Haïti-Haitii: Philosophical
Reflections for Mental Decolonization</i>, it becomes
understandable and easy to observe that while it is the
same politics, the methods have changed - they have been
modernized.[1] We see the silence of the big media and the
international community as massacres are taking place in
Haiti, particularly in working class neighborhoods that
they consider to be slave warehouses. And yet, it is not
only the working class neighborhoods that are viewed as
slave warehouses, but the entire country of Haiti. If not,
can anyone explain why a Haitian worker is expected to
live on a minimum wage that is less than only five dollars
a day for a full day of work?<br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">The
bourgeois class in Haiti includes descendants of mulattos
and freedmen, with nationals from the US and countries of
the Middle East and Europe such as Reginald Boulos, Sherif
Abdallah, Reynold Deeb of the Deka Group, Andy Apaid,
Dimitri Craan, Gilbert Bigio, and Handal.<br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Members of
the bourgeois class invest a lot of money in the campaigns
of candidates for parliament deputy, senator, and
president, favoring people involved in criminal acts and
corruption. Thus, they can participate in contraband,
corruption, illegal weapons trafficking, crime, drug
dealing, and kidnapping. The political connections of
members of the bourgeois class are strengthened by
investments in the campaign of selected candidates, making
possible their great influence in the state apparatus to
impose ministers, directors-general, and members of the
electoral council. They also benefit by receiving
duty-free status, paying no taxes on their imported
merchandise that is later sold to the population at
inflated prices.<br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">For all
these reasons each group that is part of the Haitian
oligarchy has its own clique within the Haitian National
Police—for example, Jimmy “<i>Barbecue</i>” Cherizier and
Gregory “<i>Ti Greg</i>” Antoine - that works with armed
civilians such as Serge “<i>Ti Junior</i>” Alectis to
eliminate adversaries. Whether political, economic or
social, the December 21, 2018 assassination of Alain
Douge, who was working on a new labor code for Haiti,
stands as an example. With the complicity of the police,
government officials, senators, and deputies in the
parliament, using their private customs office right
across from Lasalin, these groups from the oligarchy can
easily bring any type of weaponry into the country. How
can anyone explain that a poor person living in Lasalin or
Granravin - who cannot even afford to eat and receiving a
wage as little as $3 for a full day’s work - can buy a
weapon that costs several thousands of dollars, not to
mention cost of the bullets?<br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">The politics
to maintain monopolistic control lead to these economic
groups becoming very violent, stopping at nothing to
defend their interests. Presently in everyday language,
one hears of <i>Groupe Bigio</i>, <i>Groupe de Bourdon</i>,
<i>Groupe Acra</i>, <i>Groupe Unibank</i>, and <i>Core
Groupe</i>.<br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Thus various
groups seek to have at their disposal an armed militia
under the cover of a security service. They make alliances
with a few outlaws in some of the working class
neighborhoods, provide them with money and weapons,
creating groundless rivalries that conveniently allow for
the elimination of political adversaries. The
assassination of Paul “<i>Ti Koton</i>” Ambroise allegedly
by Gregory “<i>Ti</i> <i>Greg</i>” Antoine is a clear
example. Ambroise was a potential candidate for mayor of
Port-au-Prince under the banner of <i>Fanmi Lavalas</i>;
he was assassinated in plain view of the police after
attending a soccer game at the Silvyo Cator stadium.<br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">In
conclusion, gang warfare does not exist and has never
existed in Haitian society, especially in Lasalin,
Granravin, and similar working class neighborhoods. If
working class neighborhoods are viewed as warehouses for
modern day slavery, we have to conclude that it is all the
people of the country of Haiti who are viewed as a slave
warehouse by a particular sector of the international
community. It is not surprising that there is no coverage
of the massacres that are occurring in various areas of
Haiti, in order to maintain a system that is built on a
new Black Code that is no different from the old one.
Two-hundred-eighty-three people were killed in Lasalin
during the month of November 2018 alone, according to
community residents and various human rights observers.
What gang would have the capacity to carry out such a
massacre without the complicity of the government and the
police? What gang would have enough money to buy all of
these weapons of war. The Lasalin massacre amounts to <i>slaves
killing other slaves</i>, as <i>colonialists</i> white
and black are implementing the theory of William Lynch.[2]<br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">What do
Barbecue, Ti Junior, Ti Greg, Vlaw, Ti Je, and Arnel
Belizvaire represent in the struggle? Without a doubt they
are the “weapons” placed in the midst of the enslaved that
the bourgeoisie can use whenever needed. What do Boulos,
Edouard Baussan, Andy Apaid, Baker Charles, Dimitri Craan,
Sherif Abdallah and Bigio represent? The oligarchy. If
Lasalin, Vilaj de Dye, Matisan, or Granravin become a
political obstacle, it follows naturally that the
oligarchy will try to eliminate all of their political
adversaries, in order for the field to be wide open in
advance of the next elections. Since the majority of
community residents in these neighborhoods is <i>Lavalas</i>,
it is repression against <i>Lavalas</i> itself. The
Lasalin massacre was neither an accidental occurrence nor
an intergang turf war. It was a political act, calculated
and planned.</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br>
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><b>Endnotes</b><br>
1. "Article 22 [of the Black Code]: ‘…Every week, the
slave master must give every slave that is 10 years old or
more 2 and a half pots of manioc flour, according to
measures used in Paris, or else 3 cassavas that each weigh
at least 2 and a half pounds…and 2 pounds of salted beef
or else 3 pounds of fish….As for infants, once they are
weaned and until the age of 10, they will be given half of
the quantity of food indicated in article 22, every
week.’” Aristide, Jean-Bertrand. Haïti-Haitii:
Philosophical Reflections for Mental Decolonization.
Paradigm Publishers. 2011.<br>
2. <a
href="https://pasadenajournal.com/the-making-of-a-slave-the-infamous-willie-lynch-letter"
target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true">https://pasadenajournal.com/the-making-of-a-slave-the-infamous-willie-lynch-letter</a></span><br>
</div>
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-- <br>
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<div>sent by Haiti Action Committee<br>
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<a href="http://www.haitisolidarity.net"
target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true">www.haitisolidarity.net</a><br>
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