By MARTY GOODMAN “We have a little minority (of) rich people in this country, running this country, earning everything, and we have the mass of the population dying, hunger, and misery like this. It’s impossible,” said a Haitian protester, Valckensy Dessin, last month. Feb. 7, 2019, marked 33 years since nationwide protests forced the 1986 … Continue reading Haitians say president must go
By MARTY GOODMAN Beginning Nov. 18 and for some six days, rebellion gripped Haiti. The Haitian masses jammed the streets, shutting down schools, transportation and businesses, some lighting bonfires of rubber tires at street corners or torching symbols of authority and corruption. At least 11 were killed, mostly by police, and 34 were injured. One … Continue reading Haiti seethes with anger!
By MARTY GOODMAN Haitian immigrants face a double-barreled wall of racism, from Donald Trump as well as from the historic racism of the ruling class of the Dominican Republic, which shares its border with Haiti. After decades of racist bipartisan immigration policy toward Haitians, in November 2017 Donald Trump revoked the Temporary Protective Status (TPS) … Continue reading Haitians face expulsion from the U.S. and the Dominican Republic
By MARTY GOODMAN On Nov. 20, the Trump administration, after an election campaign based on anti-immigrant hate, ordered the expulsion of 60,000 Haitians living in the U.S. who arrived after the devastation of Haiti’s 2010 earthquake, which killed over 200,000. Haitians who arrived by Jan. 2011 received Temporary Protective Status (TPS) under a 1990 law … Continue reading Donald Trump to 60,000 Haitians: ‘Get out!’
By MARTY GOODMAN Beginning on May 19, thousands of textile sweatshop workers in Haiti walked off the job or laid down inside their textile assembly plants to protest their starvation wages. The workers are demanding a raise from $4.67 per day to $12.47 per day, a raise not tied to increased production quotas for workers. … Continue reading Haiti erupts in strikes and protests
By MARTY GOODMAN Weeks of massive protests against election fraud in Haiti and calling for the ouster of the pro-U.S. Haitian President Michel Martelly forced the dictator to finally step down on Feb. 7. The Haitian constitution prohibits a succeeding five-year term, and Feb. 7 was the date for his term to end. Feb. 7, … Continue reading Haiti’s dictator resigns as election trap set
By MARTY GOODMAN Enraged Haitians took to the streets in the thousands in the wake of the rigged Oct. 25 elections in Haiti. Protests took place throughout November in Port au Prince in support of the candidates, but were sometimes met with right-wingers armed with machetes, clubs, hammers, and guns, as cops looked on. One … Continue reading Pro-U.S. dictator steals Haitian election
By MARTY GOODMAN In a clear attempt at ethnic cleansing, hundreds of thousands of Dominicans of Haitian descent have been rendered stateless under Dominican law. A series of racist court rulings on immigration in 2004, 2010, and 2013 paved the way for a dragnet based on race that might result in mass expulsions. A 2013 … Continue reading Dominican gov’t expels Haitians
By MARTY GOODMAN There has been a new wave of racist attacks on Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent inside the Dominican Republic (DR). The latest was the racist expulsion of 300 Haitians and Haitians of Dominican origin in the Ortega community in Moca. All Haitians in Moca were blamed for the April 8 death … Continue reading Racist attacks in Dominican Republic
By MARTY GOODMAN The following presentation was given in the labor workshop at the April 20 conference at Barnard College in New York City sponsored by the Eco-Socialist Contingent. The conference was endorsed by 29 organizations, including Socialist Action, and brought together 240 participants in lively debate and discussion concerning an effective strategy to combat … Continue reading Labor must mobilize for the environment
By MARTY GOODMAN PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti—Oct. 22 was a romantic rendezvous for Bill and Hillary Clinton in Haiti, their one-time honeymoon destination. Hollywood celebs were there too—Sean Penn, Ben Stiller and sweatshop magnate Donna Karan, along with members of the Haitian elite, led by President Michael Martelly, a Washington-backed military coup supporter. “Haiti is … Continue reading The Hell that is Haiti
