When we say “Never Forget” -Let’s Actually Mean It! Haiti is no longer in the global headlines but Haitians are still waiting for a hand up & to rise up from devastation! Let’s Continue to Build For Haiti!

Join 54 Kingdoms and Addicted To African And Caribbean (ATAC) Magazine, in a campaign effort to provide both a physical and mental support system for our neighboring brothers and sisters in Haiti. Let’s not just build Haiti. Let’s rebuild a BETTER and STRONGER Haiti.

Billions have been raised so far in charitable donations for Haiti, but more & more Haitians are dying every day after surviving being buried alive in years of poverty & the rubble of the earthquake, having only their sheer will to live to hold onto. International bureaucracy & power struggles of people with invested interest more in economy than humanity is becoming the continued cause of many Haitians being handed their final death certificates.

We need to be diligent & aware about keeping up with who is controlling the purse strings of all the humanitarian aid & the future sovereignty of Haiti. We can raise all the money we want to help Haiti, but Haiti will still be in the same condition & possibly worse, with an achieved loss of sovereignty if Haitians & Pan-Africanists at large do not come to the aid of their brothers & sisters in attaining & retaining economic empowerment & sovereignty. We have seen throughout the history of the world that a nation’s power & health rests upon its economic power & health; however for many African nations & Diasporans, genuinely fighting to attain this reality has been less & less of a priority because it has been easier & less work to collect foreign aid in return for resources, to leave the health & upliftment from poverty of their citizens to NGO’s & to just silently exist without much fight nor change within broken systems of governance, as long as the few in power continue to hold their titles as beneficiaries.

“Something in the nature of an economic revolution is required. Our development has been held back for too long by the colonial-type economy. We need to reorganize entirely, so that each country can specialize in producing the goods and crops for which it is best suited…..We have the blessing of the wealth of our vast resources, the power of our talents and the potentialities of our people. Let us grasp now the opportunities before us and meet the challenge to our survival. ” Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s First President

We need to be diligent about not turning a blind eye to where all the Haitian relief funds are going when there are so many still begging & waiting for relief. Where is all that money being allocated to? Who is watching over the money & making the decisions on how it is spent? These are the questions we should never stop asking as we give of ourselves in charity because what is the point of charity when the situation of the people is never helped, but rather seems to get worse than better? This is the question we should be asking the Red Cross & the 10,000 + NGO/charities that were in Haiti prior to the quake & the numerous more that are in Haiti now.

“We shall measure our progress by the improvement in the health of our people; by the number of children in school, and by the quality of their education; by the availability of water and electricity in our towns and villages, and by the happiness which our people take in being able to manage their own affairs. The welfare of our people is our chief pride, and it is by this that my Government will ask to be judged.” Dr. Kwame Nkrumah

February honors Black History month in America- we should not & can not allow the history of Black people throughout Africa & her Diaspora to be written in the same way in the next decade as it has been written in the past because that only will show the lack of forward movement & the acceptance of stagnation amongst Black people globally. If this decade is going to be diffrent than the last decade for Haiti & Black people globally, then we must recognize our common struggle, the same struggle that became the catalyst for the movement of Pan-Africanism.

We need this new decade to be a revival of Pan-Africanism with new, young, intelligent, concerned, enlightened, awake, aware, unabashed,unbought, unbossed, pride filled Black people in the likeness of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, W.E.B Dubois, Jomo Kenyatta, Marcus Garvey,Patrice Lumumba, Edward Wilmot Blyden, Ahmed Sékou Touré ,Gamal Abd El Nasser,Haile Selassie,Bob Marley, Fela Anikulapo Kuti etc. -everyday people turned leaders who knew,understood & accepted that although they have been spread all over the world, their legacy empowerment & economic freedom is intertwined in the legacy, empowerment & economic freedom of Africa-the spiritual birthplace of home. The type of feeling of home where one always comes back to pay homage while seeking the guidance & comfort of mama Africa’s bosom -the only true mother of our blood & roots regardless of our adopted mother nations.

There are the Kimmie Weeks of Africa & the Wyclef Jean’s of the Diaspora, who need to join forces with the likes of people like Samia Yaba Christina Nkrumah, daughter of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, who has decided to take on the mantle of her father by starting a new intelligent revolution toward real resolution. There needs to be a new era/new decade of Pan-Africanism with a Pan-African summit based on the original teachings & goals of empowerment & health through our collective economic freedom at the forefront.

“She is emerging as the new face of the current crop of selfless continental African leaders who think more about the development and prosperity of sub-Saharan Africa, first and foremost than looting from the continent.” Ghanaweb.com.

Sami Nkrumah & the growing crop of new thinkers & leaders are the only way to make this new decade, a decade where Africa & the Diaspora truly gets our house in order in efforts to write our own history in the manner that we would like to be recognized & heralded. We can’t rest on touting the legacy & greatness of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah or Toussaint L’Ouverture when there has been little to no forward movement created by the generations after them, in terms of the level of global respect & conditions of Africans & her Diasporans.

“Achieving political and economic liberation, social justice and national and continental unity including the African Diaspora are yet to be realized.” Samia Nkrumah

Pan-African movement
“Movement dedicated to establishing independence for African nations and cultivating unity among black people throughout the world. It originated in conferences held in London (1900, 1919, 1921, 1923) and other cities. W.E.B. Du Bois was a principal early leader. The important sixth Pan-African conference (Manchester, 1945) included Jomo Kenyatta and Kwame Nkrumah. The first truly intergovernmental conference was held in Accra, Ghana, in 1958, where Patrice Lumumba was a key speaker. The Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC) was founded by Robert M. Sobukwe and others in South Africa in 1959 as a political alternative to the African National Congress, which was seen as contaminated by non-African influences. The founding of the Organization of African Unity (OAU; now the African Union) by Julius Nyerere and others in 1963 was a milestone, and the OAU soon became the most important Pan-Africanist organization.”

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60U0IV20100131

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/haiti/story/1455459.html

http://mashable.com/2010/01/13/haiti-red-cross-donations/

http://open.salon.com/blog/ezili_danto/2009/10/13/oil_in_haiti_-_economic_reasons_for_the_unus_occupation

“When the Missionaries arrived, the Africans had the land and the Missionaries had the Bible. They taught how to pray with our eyes closed. When we opened them, they had the land and we had the Bible.” — Jomo Kenyatta, Pan-Africanist & first president of Kenya

“It is said, of course that we have no capital, no industrial skill, no communications, no internal markets, and that we cannot even agree among ourselves how best to utilize our resources for our own social needs…Yet all the stock exchanges in the world are pre-occupied with Africa’s gold, diamonds, uranium, platinum, copper and iron ores. Our CAPITAL flows out in streams to irrigate the whole system of Western economy. Fifty-two per cent of the gold in Fort Knox at this moment, where the USA stores its bullion, is believed to have originated from OUR shores. Africa provides more than 60 per cent of the world’s gold. A great deal of the uranium for nuclear power, of copper for electronics, of titanium for supersonic projectiles, of iron and steel for heavy industries, of other minerals and raw materials for lighter industries – the basic economic might of the foreign Powers – comes from OUR continent.” Dr. Kwame Nkrumah

http://ghanaianoracle.wordpress.com/the-history-of-ghana/

The Achievements and Failures of President Kwame Nkrumah
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/history/cia_nkrumah.php

Richard Helms (CIA) file on Nkrumah
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/history/cia_nkrumah.php

“Countrymen, the task ahead is great indeed, and heavy is the responsibility; and yet it is a noble and glorious challenge – a challenge which calls for the courage to dream, the courage to believe, the courage to dare, the courage to do, the courage to envision, the courage to fight, the courage to work, the courage to achieve – to achieve the highest excellencies and the fullest greatness of man. Dare we ask for more in life? ”
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah -Address to the National Assembly. 12 June 1965

“Is either you stand for something or you stand for nothing. Haiti is the way it is by design. It can get better if we want, internationally. We can come in & help. It’s time we give Haiti a pass because Haiti deserves that pass” Wyclef Jean

I hate to bring in cynicism & pessimism during a time of tragedy, but the incessant hypocrisy & charitable profiteering that often comes during times of tragedy must be carefully monitored & called out, so we do not continuously see history repeated. Haiti needed the world’s recognition, love, concern & aid long before the earthquake. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, but this was not always the case. Haiti was once one of the richest nations in the western hemisphere, built & profiteered off of the blood, sweat & tears of African slaves, who regained their freedom thru their struggle, fight, blood, determination, power & uprising in demand for their freedom!

Everyone is standing up for Haiti now, but where have they been all this time as the conditions & deaths of Haitians were mounting. Where was the clean water, food and charitable donations all this time, while Haitians were dying for years from malnutrition & forced to eat clay just to survive. The USA & many other nations of the world have blood on their hands & a role in the disastrous conditions which Haitians have had to endure for so many years because of political & economical motivation & greed. All these nations who have been complaint in turning a blind eye or aiding in the continued suffering of the Haitian people have an opportunity now to right their wrongs. Haitians have their own self to blame in their nation’s condition & demise as well, as their own brothers & sisters keep them from their freedom & civil rights- lacking the fight, unity, pride & leadership of L’Ouverture & allowing the separatist rule of their former colonizers to define their newly found freedom & goverance.

“The Haitian Revolution (1791–1804) is the period of violent conflict in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, leading to the elimination of slavery and the establishment of Haiti as the first republic ruled by blacks. Although hundreds of rebellions occurred during the slave era, only the revolt on Saint-Domingue, beginning in 1791, was successful in permanently abolishing slavery. The Haitian Revolution is the only successful slave revolt in human history, and, as such, is regarded as a defining moment in the history of Africans in the new world.
Although an independent government was created in Haiti, its society continued to be deeply affected by the pattern established by the French under colonial rule. The French established a model of minority rule over the illiterate poor using violence and threats. Colonialism and slavery were outlived by the racial prejudice that they had contributed to; the new post-rebellion racial elite (referred to as mulattoes) had African ancestry, but many were also of European ancestry as descendants of white planters. Some had received educations, served in the military, and accumulated land and wealth. Lighter-skinned than most Haitians, who were descendants mostly of former enslaved Africans, these mulattoes dominated politics and economics.”( Wikipedia)

We learned all too well from hurricane Katrina about profiteering thru tragedy & the horrors of continued racism & colorism. Millions if not billions in charitable donations were given by pulling at the heart strings & the basic goodness of human beings, yet years later many parts of New Orleans whose descendants are the same African slaves from Saint-Domingue/ Haiti, who later became American commodity thru the Louisiana Purchase, have been left in the same horrible conditions -some never to be able to return home because not much has changed in their condition. Who is really being held accountable for all the charitable donations that were given -money that is more than the net worth of some nations, yet thousands are still without basic homes & streets still have not been cleaned or returned to even just their old condition since 2005. I can not see myself ever donating to the Red Cross or even UNICEF because many of these huge global charitable corporations are just that corporations under the guise of charity-giving high paid salaries, spending ridiculous amounts on abundant bureaucracy & holding unprecedented power & access in governments, while giving a small amount of their charitable donations to the people who they are there to serve. I am not suggesting that anyone not donate to them -it’s up to each individual to do their own research & to go with their heart & gut. I am also not saying that these organizations have not or do not do good works, but I am just questioning “at what cost” & if the ends always justify the means.

There are plenty of grass roots charities that have always been there for the people, giving 100% or close to 100% of their donations in service of the people who they are there to serve. It goes beyond just the funding spent, but also the way the services are administered & the abuse of power wielded upon many places suffering from tragedy & a state of vulnerability. I question the charitable places & times where peace keepers become terrorizers & where charity comes at a high cost of freedom, civility & civil rights. This needs to be a new awakening for Haiti, a new decade of redefinition & taking back the dignity & triumphant freedom fought for, won & declared in 1804.

Big up & much praises to Wyclef Jean for being a proud good son of Haiti. Clef was there for his Island when the rest of the world turned a blind eye & governments could care less about the people of Haiti. Yele Wyclef! If you are going to donate to an organization donate to the grassroots organizations that are not motivated to move by government charter & power. Check out a few below.

http://www.yele.org

http://www.airlineamb.org/

http://www.fokal-usa.org/

http://doctorswithoutborders.org/

http://pih.org

“Not all aid organizations are created equal. If there are 10,00 aid organizations (pre-earthquake) in Haiti & Haiti is still 1 of the poorest countries in the world, then something’s wrong with the way aid is being administered”

Where was the aid at this time? Even today in The US if a Haitian flees their waters to reach Miami-around the same proximity as a Cuban-who has a way better life of basic civil services than a Haitian -they are sent back while Cubans are welcomed in with political asylum because the USA has no political or economic interests in Haiti -well at this time anyway! If we want to spread Democracy we have to live & practice democracy in pure & true sense

Aristide Claims U.S. Ousted Him
http://wap.cbsnews.com/site?sid=cbsnews&pid=sections.detail&catId=TOP&index=1&storyId=603498&viewFull=yes

Haitian Earthquake: Made in the USA
Why the Blood Is on Our Hands
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/01/14-13

Haiti’s poor resort to eating mud as prices rise
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22902512/

Haiti Food Crisis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSWJmq4XC2s

Ira Kurzban 2-way – Haiti
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNCLaQUL7gk

The truth about the Red Cross
http://socialistworker.org/2005-2/562/562_04_RedCross.shtml

Charity Fails To Get A Grip On Criminal Scandals At Local Chapters
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/07/29/eveningnews/main516700.shtml

GERARD JEAN-JUSTE, 62-Priest Devoted Life To Haitian Refugees
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/28/AR2009052803839.html

Why We Are Partly Responsible for the Mess that is Haiti
http://www.hnn.us/articles/3694.html

The Haitian Revolution and the Forging of America
http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ht/34.1/thomson.html