Reality in Writing : Caribbean Political Economy

In January 2012, Mark Schuller and Pablo Morales will be putting out Tectonic Shifts: Haiti Since the Earthquake - a critical and important review of what happened in Haiti outside of the mainstream media coverage. I was lucky enough to contribute on two chapters to the book. Here is the description: The 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Haiti’s capital on January 12, 2010 will be remembered as one of the world’s deadliest disasters. The earthquake was a tragedy that gripped the nation – and the world. But as a disaster it also magnified the social ills that have beset this island nation which sits squarely in the U.S.’s diplomatic and geopolitical shadow. Particularly, the quake exposed centuries of underdevelopment and recent economic policies and the rampant inequality and exclusion within Haiti. Tectonic Shifts offers a diverse on-the-ground set of perspectives about Haiti’s cataclysmic earthquake and the aftermath that left more than 1.5 million individuals homeless. Following a c

UHR Human Rights 500 Poster[1](1) On December 3rd I will be presenting on MINUSTAH's role in engaging in human rights in Haiti with Dr. Rishi Rattan @ George Mason University.

Public Forum Coups, free trade and human rights The changing face of Canadian foreign policy in Latin America and the Caribbean Guest speakers: BETTY MATAMOROS: A Honduran based social activist and representative of the Central American coordination of the Hemispheric Social Alliance, specifically as part of their campaign "Foreign Military Bases out of Latin America - We are a Region of Peace." She has been organizing with social movements regionally on trade and militarization issues for decades and has been key in building international solidarity with the non-violent resistance movement in Honduras that emerged following the coup d'état in June of 2009. She is the former international relations coordinator of the Honduras National Resistance Front, FNRP. She has traveled throughout the Americas and Europe speaking about the situation in Honduras since the coup with respect to human rights, political developments, trade, and militarization. KEVIN EDMONDS: Is a U of

The Crimes of Canada’s and the World’s 1% Against the People of Haiti Where: St. James Park (Adelaide and Jarvis) Toronto Haiti Action Committee thanks OccupyTO for the invitation to present a supportive message as part of OccupyTO Community Outreach Day this Sunday Nov. 6, between 2:00 and 5:00 pm. Today I had the chance to briefly address the great people down at the OccupyTO site and discuss Canada's role in Haiti. I really enjoyed the conversation afterwards, and really thank the organizers, especially Linda for asking me to come down. I look forward to building a stronger relationship with OccupyTO and highlight what terrible things are being done in Haiti in the name of the Canadian people.

The October MINUSTAH report is now translated into Kreyol. Many thanks to Other Worlds for the translation. MINUSTAH: Èske se yon fòs k ap mentni lapè, Oubyen k ap conspire kont li? is attached below: MINUSTAH Study Oct 2011 Kreyol

Today, I was lucky enough to be invited to briefly speak on the MINUSTAH report and the role of NGO's in Haiti at this event. It was great to meet Dr. Balsiero, hear about his extremely important and inspiring work - in addition to meeting lots of people who are already doing their own work to help Haiti. Attached are my prepared remarks, but I had to freestyle it because time was cut short: Good evening, my name is Kevin Edmonds and I am a representative of the Toronto Haiti Action Committee, and wanted to thank Elizabeth Hill and the Canadian Cuban Friendship Association for the invitation, in addition to Dr. Balsiero for coming all the way up here to inform us of what great work Cuba is doing in Haiti. Thank you very much. So very quickly, the reason that I am here is because I and several other doctors and human rights advocates recently finished a report on a group which has made the Cuban medical doctors work much, much harder in Haiti. That group is the United Nations. The r

Stabroek News, October 17th, 2011 Available at: http://www.stabroeknews.com/2011/features/10/17/%E2%80%9Cwho-protects-us-from-you%E2%80%9D-%E2%80%93-minustah-and-haiti/ Almost two years after the devastating January 12th earthquake, the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH by its French acronym) was given increased funding, personnel and an extended mandate to provide security and stability for the Haitian people. On October 4th, a Harvard based research group comprised of Canadian and US human rights advocates, doctors, journalists and public health experts released an extensively researched report which highlighted that the United Nations force has in fact been a continuous source of human rights abuses, helping to perpetuate the insecurity and instability they had been entrusted to fight. Prior to the earthquake, MINUSTAH’s record was far from clean, as they had been involved in numerous scandals, related to sexual assault, political repression and the murders of

Conference info here: http://www.acp-cpa.ca/en/ConProgram2011.html On Saturday October 15th, Roger Annis and I will be at the Canadian Peace Alliance Conference @ Ryerson University presenting a workshop on "Canada in Haiti: The military face of the neoliberal agenda" which is essentially a discussion about Canada’s ongoing military/police presence in Haiti, and how it supports Canadian corporate interests in the Caribbean and Latin America. Time: 10am - 11:15am Room: TBA - but will be finalized and posted @ event

Today I had a chance to talk with Kabir of Radio Basics about the role of MINUSTAH in Haiti, and the recently released report on this involvement in human rights abuses. As always, Kabir was on point and brought up the importance of understanding the failure of MINUSTAH to prevent such "peacekeeping" episodes in Libya or Syria. Audio will be posted here: http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/search/

Haiti Beyond the Headlines Thursday, October 13th · Eyewitness reports on weak and inadequate post-earthquake reconstruction · Paralysis of the presidency of Michel Martelly · Wikileaks documents exposing role of U.S. government and its allies in subverting Haiti’s sovereignty and development · Crimes of UN intervention and Haitian resistance to UN military occupation · Roger Annis, coordinator of the Canada Haiti Action Network in Vancouver and director of a ten-day fact-finding and solidarity mission to Haiti in June, 2011 · Rosena Joseph, learning coach in Toronto, member of CUPE Local 3393 and member of the fact-finding mission · Kim Ives, editor of Haiti Liberté, a news weekly based in Brooklyn and Port au Prince · Kevin Edmonds,THAC member and co-author of "Stabilizing Haiti: Mission Accomplished?" - Forthcoming report on the UN role in Haiti Date: Thursday, October 13, 7 pm Location: Sidney Smith Hall, room 2135, University of Toronto For more information: www.thac.ca

Minustah White Paper(1)

This major research paper will present a case study of the experience of the small Eastern Caribbean island of St. Lucia which highlights that free trade does not benefit all parties; that this example is a very bold, but unfortunately common case of the most powerful interests reaping all of the benefits while the smaller nation and its vulnerable farmers are left in a state of virtual economic collapse. The first section of this paper, St. Lucia the Historical Context will provide a background of the banana industry from colonialism until the shift away from protected trade in 1993. The second section of the paper, Power and Free Trade, will examine the problematic theoretical arguments underpinning the movement towards free trade, and how the hegemonic economic model proposed through neoliberal policy cannot apply to St. Lucia. The final section of the paper, St. Lucia Today: Worries, Problems and Possibilities, will examine the socio-economic impact of free trade on St. Lucia, and

Podcast: Progressive Voices "Haiti and Canadian Imperialism" Interview with Riaz Sayani Mulji on July 21st. Discussing Canada's role in Haiti, the reality on the ground and the way forward. Haiti and Canadian imperialism | rabble.ca

by Kevin Edmonds and Roger Annis, Haiti Liberte, June 22, 2011 The inauguration of Haiti?s President Michel Martelly on May 14 should sound an alarm for those concerned with human rights, justice, and the rule of law in the country. In a pre-inaugural interview with the Montreal daily La Presse on Apr. 18, Martelly put forward a plan of national reconciliation which would include granting amnesty to former Haitian ruler Jean-Claude Duvalier. Martelly later backed away from this idea on advice from his counsel. But his connections to the former dictator present potential obstacles to ongoing efforts to prosecute him. In the La Presse interview, reporter Vincent Marissal asked about the return to Haiti this year of Mr. Duvalier and of former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Martelly stated: "I say to them welcome, and we favor reconciliation and inclusion..." On amnesty, he said: "Before thinking about this, we must work on awareness and compassion to understand the victi

Haiti's foreign-orchestrated election hands power to neo-Duvalierist Michel Martelly Rabble.ca By Roger Annis and Kevin Edmonds April 14, 2011 Original Link: http://rabble.ca/news/2011/04/haiti%E2%80%99s-foreign-orchestrated-election-hands-power-neo-duvalierist-michel-martelly Michel Martelly is closely associated with the extreme right in Haiti that twice overthrew elected government ( in 1991 and 2004 ). He has vowed to reconstitute the notorious Armed Forces of Haiti, disbanded in 1995 due to its record of massive human rights violations (elements of which are in training and waiting for the call ). He says that Haiti's economic and social development depends on convincing more foreign investors to set up shop. He told CBC Radio's The Current on April 7 that Haiti has been "going in the wrong direction for the last 25 years," a ref

The Rejection of Dependency: Popular Mobilization in Haiti Basicsnews.ca original link: http://basicsnews.ca/?p=2931 April 4, 2011 By: Kevin Edmonds The people of Haiti continue to struggle against rigged elections, systemic human rights abuses, foreign occupation and an NGO led development model which has fallen flat in regards to reconstruction and relief efforts. At the same time there has been many signs of popular mobilization articulating that the Haitian people are fed up and will not stand idly by with the international community’s attempt to install a puppet government and continue a deeply flawed and self serving reconstruction program. The March 20th presidential elections were an attempt by the international community to give some legitimacy to an electoral process that had been widely discredited and tarnished by massive fraud and the exclusion of 15 political parties. The election, popularly referred to as a selection, had been between two right wing candidates attempting

HAITI’S RENEWAL OF MINUSTAH’S MANDATE IN VIOLATION OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF THE HAITIAN PEOPLE HAITI’S RENEWAL OF MINUSTAH’S MANDATE IN VIOLATION OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF THE HAITIAN PEOPLE I was lucky enough to work on this report with the Unity Ayiti team. The report highlights the role of MINUSTAH in human rights abuses in Haiti. The document provides a legal argument against the force, bringing forth evidence about their failure to protect the Haitian people, complicity in abuses, and an overall ineffectiveness of their mandate. Over $850 million has been spent on MINUSTAH for their 2010-2011 budget, yet the same "peacekeeping" force has been documented in engaging in rape, extrajudicial killings, and the introduction cholera to the country. We hope that this will spark some debate about the legitimacy of the UN in Haiti. Haiti needs doctors, nurses, engineers, agronomists - not soldiers. Make sure to check out www.ijdh.org and see the tons of work they have been doing on hum

Today was the first event of the newly formed Hamilton Haiti Action Committee. Riaz and myself attended the Build a Change Development Symposium at McMaster University in order to spread the word of our new advocacy group. The participants in the symposium were interested in what we had to say, and we had numerous half hour conversations. People couldn't believe what was happening in Haiti. Once we discussed the failure of the development model in Haiti, they began to question their own ideas of development. It's more than just simply showing up and throwing money at a people. There has to be recognition of the structural factors which undermine REAL development in countries like Haiti. As a local branch of the Canada Haiti Action Network, the main goals of the Hamilton Haiti Action Committe is to advocate for the right of the Haitian people to enjoy meaningful, inclusive democracy, freedom from human rights abuses, and engage in opportunities for sustainable grassroots develop

Killing Democracy' in Haiti, Canadian-Style Mar 24 2011 Kevin Edmonds Originally Published: NACLA.org https://nacla.org/node/6926 “I make a distinction between the Canadian government, which I accuse of killing democracy in Haiti, and the people of Canada and Quebec. We need partners, friends. We need the kind of aid which will permit Haitians to lead their country.” L’Aut Journal (Montreal), January 27, 2011 The words of Mario Joseph, Haiti’s most prominent human rights attorney may have come as a complete surprise to many—a misunderstanding, perhaps, built upon anger and misinformation. How could Canada, after all, one of the world’s most peaceful and charitable countries, be killing democracy? But Joseph’s angry words contain a great deal of truth. Canada has played a significant role in the political and economic undermining of Haiti’s democratic institutions. This role, however, is purposefully glossed over in the media coverage more focused on promoting stories of Canadian “p

Radio Basics Election Interview Today I had the opportunity to quickly talk about the Haitian elections with Steve D'Souza of Radio Basics on CHRY 105.5fm. Steve is a really informed man, we got into the exclusionary nature of the election, the widespread boycott, and the need for the international community to stage elections in order to give legitimacy to their reconstruction plans. Oh yeah, we also talked about the return of this Aristide character, and what this means for both Lavalas and progressive civil society in Haii. I'll post up the audio as soon as it's available.

Today, I and Riaz Sayani Mulji presented on Haiti at the McMaster University Global Citizenship Conference. Despite technical difficulties we managed to make it through, highlighting Canada's infamous role in Haiti - in addition to why the current development model for Haiti is failing. There was a decent turnout on a rainy Saturday morning. People asked questions, and were both engaged and disturbed why what they learned. Hopefully it will spread. I will post the powerpoint presentation on here as soon as I can figure out how to. The website can be accessed here: http://gcc.furi.ca/

Today I met with the McMaster Global Health Department and the organization Hamilton Nurses for Haiti. They have started an initiative to help the Haitian nursing school which collapsed during the Jan. 12th earthquake. I met two of the amazing students, Barbara and Nicole. They are looking for assistance in organzing the students at the school. Hopefully this initiative lasts, as Barbara and Nicole both had a great and inspiring vision for helping Haiti rebuild. As things develop I will post updates on this blog. http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/main/news/news_2011/haitian_nursing_students.html

The Man-made Aftershocks of A Natural Disaster: Haiti One Year Later Originally posted on: NACLA.org Link: https://nacla.org/node/6868 Jan 26 2011 Kevin Edmonds More than a year has passed since Haiti’s 2010 earthquake, along with one of the largest international relief efforts in modern history. Yet, for many people in Haiti today, little has changed, and for many others life has become worse. While the uncontrollable forces of nature can be blamed for the death and destruction of the earthquake (in which an estimated 300,000 Haitians perished), the extreme vulnerability of the nation both before and after the disaster was entirely man-made. One year after the quake, 1.3 million people still are living in unsanitary and makeshift tent camps despite $10 billion dollars of aid pledged by the international community. Many Haitians think that instead of an international aid effort, they are witnessing the continuation of a lengthy h

Today was my first apperance on television. It was on TVO's The Agenda with Steve Paikin. Niraj at the Toronto Haiti Action Committee forwarded my name to the producer who invited me on. It was both a unique and stressful experience - always second guessing my answers as I was speaking. Thankful for the opporunity to speak about Haiti. Hopefully next time they will include Haitians in their discussion about the lack of reconstruction about their own country.

Today I had the opportunity to go on the Radio Basics show on CHRY 105.5fm in Toronto. The hosts were great, giving me the time and space to express the questions in depth. They really knew their stuff. Looking foward to doing it again. http://kevinedmonds1.podomatic.com/entry/2011-02-19T13_32_32-08_00

Originally Posted on: Rabble.ca Posted on: January 6th, 2011 Link to Original: http://www.rabble.ca/news/2011/01/another-well-placed-critic-western-policy-haiti-removed A Critic of Western Policy in Haiti Loses his OAS Job By: Kevin Edmonds Rabble.ca January 6, 2011 On December 25, the Organization of American States removed their special representative, Ricardo Seitenfus, from Haiti. The reason was very simple. He told the truth. In an interview four days earlier with the Swiss newspaper Le Temps, Seitenfus bluntly expressed the popular discontent which the Haitian people have been saying since the arrival of MINUSTAH (United Nations Stabilization Force in Haiti) on June 1, 2004 -- simply put, that their presence " solves nothing, it makes things worse. [They] want to turn Haiti into a capitalist country, an export platform for U.S. market, it's absurd." The French language article can be read