Day 3: Why I'm Here

Today the organization that I am working for, the APF (Association of Peasants of Fondwa) held its bi-weekly Executive Committee meeting today, which I attended as the newest member of the Committee. It was very inspiring. More on that below.

Here are some photos of the setting of the meeting:



This is the Solidarite Guest House where we had our meeting. On the steps is Sampeur, known by everyone as "Agronom", in recognition of and respect for his training as an agronomist. I learned today that he and I will be roommates in Fondwa.


The room where we met.



From the wall of the room where we met.

It's a symbolic commemoration of the date and place where the Haitian flag was created by removing the white (middle) third of the French tri-color flag. The flag is an important symbol for Haitians, who are generally proud of their country's status as the first successful slave revolt in the world, the second country in the Western Hemispere to become independent of a European colonial power, and the world's first republic founded by African-heritage people.

Removing the white stripe was obviously symbolic of Haitians achieving their liberation by removing the white people from their land. Though white people are a bit of a novelty here, Haitians are generally welcoming of people of all skin colors. African-heritage people didn't invent modern racism. White (European-heritage) people did.

OK, that's it for today's history lesson. :-)

I'm way behind on my email due to last night's cloud cover, so I'll keep this short (for me).

Today's meeting was very inspiring. I was warmly welcomed by my APF colleagues. My Creole is coming along piti piti (little by little). The meeting was conducted entirely in Creole, but my new friend and colleague, Josue, translated for me.

Here is a short video clip from the meeting:




Below is a document I created during the meeting that I think captures why I am here, working for this particular project. I think the only information you need to understand what I've written below is that the APF is a local association of peasants that for the last 21 years has been striving to create a model of democratic and sustainable development "from below"--by and for poor people.

Hopefully the rest below will explain itself, but feel free to ask questions.

Oh, one more thing. My big achievement for yesterday was getting a Haitian cell phone. In case you've always wanted to call Haiti but never knew who to call, this is your lucky day! My number in Haiti from the US is 1-509-3-842-1889. Skype is a cheap way to call.

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The work of the APF (including UNIF and SEKONAPA):

Creating an international model for the world

From my point of view, the work of the APF is of great importance, for Haiti but also for the whole world, for several reasons:

1. Sustainable development is an issue for the whole world.

The work of sustainable development must be taken up by people all over the world, because the way of life in most places in the world—especially in “developed countries”—is not sustainable. The APF represents a model of ordinary people taking their problems into their own hands and creating their own solutions to those problems. This is a model the whole world needs to see. If Haiti can become sustainable, peaceful and democratic, no other country will have any excuse for not doing the same.

2. The problems of poor people must be solved because the issues of the majority of the world’s people.

The APF brings democracy, dignity, empowerment and prosperity to poor people. The majority of the world’s people are poor, so this is a critical issue for the whole world.

3. Haiti is already a model of liberation for the world. It can become a model again as a peaceful, democratic, sustainable society.

Haiti represents liberation to the whole world. Its very existence is a statement to the world that people can liberate themselves, that liberation is possible. For this reason, it is critical that Haiti succeed as a nation. Every person who embraces liberation must embrace Haiti. And every person who embraces the economic liberation of Haiti must embrace the cause of the Haitian peasants, which the APF represents very powerfully and very well. Just as Haiti lead the world by creating itself from a successful slave uprising, Haiti can lead the world again by creating a model of international cooperation and sustainable development.

For all these reasons, the APF is a model of democratic sustainable development for the whole world, and deserves to be known and supported throughout the world.

I think this is my work for the APF: to help it be known all over the world as a model of peaceful, democratic and sustainable development, and to invite support from all over the world.

My ideas for advancing the work of the APF

Step 1: Present the work of the APF to world as a model of sustainable grassroots development through world-class web site. We need to create an integrated and elegant web presence for Fondwa that very elegantly showcases the accomplishments and vision of the APF in at least four languages: Kreyol, English, French and Spanish. Eventually, we could have more languages.

Many, many people around the world would like to know about the work of the APF. We have to make that information much more easily accessible to people everywhere. The website will also be a place where we can present our needs very clearly, and make it easier for those who want to help to do so.

Step 2: Create a step-by-step manual for creating “Communities of Support” for our work (including APF, UNIF and SEKONAPA). The manual can be made available for download from the website, and can be used by people all over the world to create support groups for our work. These groups will be woven together into an international network of solidarity and support for our work.

Step 3: Promote our website and build our network of support communities. We will find ways to integrate with these communities, either by inviting them to come here or by visiting them. Each person here could be a valuable speaker and presenter about our work. We can find many allies in building international communities of support (CIW, SFA, El Salvador, EZLN, etc.).

Step 4: Reach out to major funders, with the ability to present ourselves as an model for international cooperative sustainable development.