Haiti News

UPDATE: On October 3-4, Hurricane Matthew killed hundreds of people in Haiti, causing untold damage. The elections will not be held as scheduled, after already having been postponed repeatedly throughout this year. A new date has not been announced yet by the electoral council.

September 30 marked the 25th anniversary of the coup that overthrew Haiti’s first democratically-elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. U.S. Central Intelligence Agency agents were present with the Haitian military during the coup. Protesters marked the day with rallies in the Bay Area cities of Palo Alto, Oakland, and San José. The U.S. government financed fraudulent elections in 2015 and new elections will be held on October 9 of this year. At the Bay Area rallies, demonstrators standing in solidarity with the people of Haiti demanded free and fair elections in Haiti without U.S. interference.

On January 12th, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Haiti. The earthquake was centered ten miles southwest of Haiti's capital Port-Au-Prince and was the largest earthquake to strike the Caribbean nation in more than two centuries. Buildings have collapsed and more than 100,000 people are feared dead. Among the buildings that collapsed were the Presidential Palace, the UN headquarters and at least one hospital in the capital.

Friday, February 29th was the 3rd International Day in Solidarity with the Haitian People. On that day, there were "coordinated protests on 4 continents on the 4th anniversary of the ongoing US/UN invasion, coup, and occupation against democracy in Haiti." Haiti Action Committee was at the Marine Recruiting Station in Berkeley (64 Shattuck Square, 1/2 block south of University Ave. in Berkeley), starting at 7:30am, for a day of civil resistance and protest four years after the latest invasion of Haiti, which was led by US Marines.

On Tuesday, September 18, the Bay Area-based Haiti Action Committee (HAC) held a rally in downtown San Francisco to call attention to the unresolved kidnapping of veteran Haitian human rights activist Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine.

Haitian singer and grassroots organizer Annette Auguste ("So An") was seized from her home by US Marines as part of the 2004 coup d'etat in Haiti, and was held as a political prisoner for over 2 years. Oakland welcomed So An on Saturday, March 10th, for a musical performance and celebration at The Uptown.

"Haiti: We Must Kill the Bandits," the new 90-minute film by Kevin Pina, introduced by So An, will be screened on Wednesday, March 14th, at 7PM at the Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Ave. in Oakland.

February 7th was an International Day in Solidarity with the People of Haiti. The day was part of a campaign against the US/UN Occupation by the popular movement in Haiti, leading up to February 15th, when the UN Security Council is due to renew its Haiti mandate.

In San Francisco, people gathered at 4:30pm for a rally at Powell and Market Street, followed by a march to the Brazilian Consulate. Brazil commands the UN military force in Haiti. Photos | Audio
In San Jose, people gathered from 5pm to 6pm at the South end of Cesar Chavez Plaza.