Tampa, FL – On September 13, about eight activists with Tampa Immigrants Rights Committee held a sign-waving and tabling event outside a local Salvadoran restaurant in response to Trump’s threats to not renew Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Salvadorans. It came in response to the call from Legalization for All, a network of grassroots groups across the country organized for immigrants’ rights.

The event included a barrio walk in response to ICE presence a few days ago in the neighborhood around Fletcher and Nebraska Avenues. The patrons at Nuestra Tienda, where the lunch rush was underway, were appreciative of Tampa IRC tabling outside, informing them of their rights, and keeping them updated on TPS’s status.

Also appreciative were the community members in the nearby neighborhood near where ICE was spotted, as folks enthusiastically took the know your rights material to defend themselves from ICE attacks, both for themselves and to distribute to their neighbors.

Attacks on and revocation of TPS is not new for the Trump administration. Since returning to power, Trump has revoked TPS for 13 countries, affecting over a million people in the U.S, including for Venezuela, Syria and Haiti.

TPS for Salvadorans remains in effect, as the deadline came and went without the Department of Homeland Security taking any action one way or the other. TPS for Salvadorans was the first TPS designation in 1990, coming after years of grassroots organizing after a civil war in El Salvador. It was renewed in 2001 after two devastating earthquakes made it impossible for people to return there.

The event reached dozens of people, some spoke about local police forces helping in immigration enforcement through the 287(g) agreement, which deputizes local police forces to act as immigration police, and which both Hillsborough Sheriff’s Department and Tampa Police Department have signed on to.

This event comes on the heels of a rally Tampa IRC held in response to the revocation of TPS for Haitians on July 27. Tampa is home to about 14,000 Haitians, and Tampa IRC will continue to educate the community of their rights in light of Trump’s threats to local immigrant communities through barrio walks and tabling.

#TampaFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #TPS #ElSalvador #Haiti #OppressedNationalities

Tampa, FL – On Sunday, August 8,about 20 people came out to downtown Tampa to demand that Trump and ICE stop their attacks on Haitian immigrants, after the revocation of Temporary Protected Status.

Since the end of TPS, Haitians have been subject to cruel and inhumane treatment, such as being told to report for self-deportation or face humiliating measures like ankle-monitors. They have been targeted in large scale immigration raids in places like Immokalee, a rural mostly farmworker community in southwest Florida. The activists rallied under the slogans of legalization for all, stop the deportations, and protect TPS.

One in ten Haitians have had to flee Haiti due to the violence brought about by U.S.-led interventions that have destabilized the country, resulting in over 8100 killings last year.

5.7 million people face starvation, as cholera runs rampant due to a non-existent health system. To say that Haitians here do not deserve protected status is as absurd as it is racist. Tampa Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (TAARPR) and Tampa Immigrants’ Rights Committee (Tampa IRC) organized this action, as part of a call to action by the Legalization for All network.

Emma Rice, an organizer with TAARPR stated, “Haiti has also suffered massive ecological disasters. Its original TPS designation came after the 2010 earthquake, when DHS granted temporary protections for Haitians already in the U.S. Yet UN camp conditions sparked a cholera outbreak that killed over 10,000 people. While the U.S. and its allies claim they want to ‘stabilize’ Haiti, their interference has fueled the gang violence, political chaos, and economic collapse we see today.”

Joe Nohava, of the Tampa IRC, spoke about Tampa Police Department officers participating in these deportations through its 287(g) agreement with ICE, asking, “Do we want our local police force to be part of this atrocity? Our city council and mayor could put an end to this- by passing an ordinance to end 287(g), and banning cooperation with ICE and immigration police, they could make this city a safer place for Haitian and all immigrants. They could do this tomorrow.”

All speakers and organizations present agreed to come out the next time Trump attacks the people. As emcee Yunqing Zheng put it, “Donald Trump has pissed a lot of people off, and so he creates his own enemies. It’s up to us to organize everyone he’s pissed off.”

#TampaFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #Haitians #Haiti #TAARPR #TIRC #TPS

New Orleans, LA – On August 8, a crowd of about 40 people gathered to protest the Trump regime’s recent attacks on Haitian immigrants. The protest demanded an end to mass deportations and for legalization for all immigrants. Nationwide protests broke out in response to a call to action from the Legalization for All Network.

The Department of Homeland Security officially revoked TPS (Temporary Protected Status) for over 300,000 Haitian and Syrian immigrants, immediately putting them in danger of deportation. TPS includes work authorizations, and this revocation triggered immediate layoffs for all workers impacted.

Protesters chanted, “No human is illegal, all power to the people!” and held picket signs that read “Stop the mass deportation of Haitians!” and “Down with ICE terror!” Many attendees were already involved in some form of anti-ICE activism, from know-your-rights trainers to court watch organizers.

“It is important that we recognize that this administration is targeting Haitian immigrants particularly because [this administration] are racists, and we know this because they say it proudly! We must fight against these deportations not just in words, but with our hands and fists, raised against these tyrants,” affirmed Toni Jones, a member of the New Orleans Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.

Rosalina Framboise, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization spoke about Haiti’s revolutionary history, “The Haitian people were daring to struggle and daring to win when the United States barely had recognition. The powers that be are terrified of Haiti and its people because they know that if Haiti can kick their French oppressors out of power, so can every oppressed people – so can the workers and nationally oppressed of this country.”

The organizations who sponsored the protest included the Ben Gordon Freedom Caravan, Louisiana for Collective Liberation, New Orleans Nurses United New Orleans Alliance Against Racist And Political Repression, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and New Orleans Stop Helping Israel’s Ports, and more.

#NewOrleansLA #LA #ImmigrantRights #Haiti #TPS

St. Paul, MN – Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) and the MN Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) responded to the Legalization for All Network’s call to protest against Trump’s racist attacks on Haitian immigrants. Dozens of protesters gathered on the Marshall Avenue/Lake Street bridge at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, August 5 to stand with the Haitian community against Trump’s latest racist anti- immigrant attack.

In Ohio, Hattian immigrants are being summoned by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and are being forced to wear ankle monitors until their deportation hearing – or be deported immediately.

On June 25, the Trump administration terminated Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which provides work authorization, travel permission and protection from deportation for Haitian and Syrian immigrants. This came after a far-right ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court (Mullin v. Doe), where six of the nine judges voted to allow Trump to terminate this status for the two immigrant communities.

Within a day, 300,000 Haitian and Syrian immigrants became undocumented and at risk for deportation.

Protesters held signs that read “We say no to Trump’s mass deportation of Haitian immigrants! End U.S. intervention in Haiti!” and waved as passing drivers honked, bikers rang their bells, and a runner clapped on her run in support.

The rally ended with a brief program where the crowd heard from Mira Altobell-Resendez, an organizer with MIRAC, told the crowd, “This most recent rug-pull, taking TPS away from workers and families who have been in the U.S. for years, has already resulted in thousands of Haitians in Ohio being put into deportation proceedings and forced to wear inhumane ankle monitors.”

Altobell-Resendez continued, “There is not a single person who benefits from mass deportations like these, or what took place in the Twin Cities during Metro Surge, except for the same people who always make money from human suffering: the white supremacist ruling class!” They ended with calling on Governor Tim Walz to “spend his last months in office fighting tooth and nail to create ICE-free zones and ban collaboration between local law enforcement and federal immigration enforcement.”

WAMM holds a vigil on the Marshall/Lake bridge every Wednesday and this week’s action was co-hosted with the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC).

#StPaulMN #MN #ImmigrantRights #Haiti #TPS #ICE

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Legalization for All Network (L4A).

The Legalization for All Network (L4A) condemns Trump’s racist attacks against Haitian immigrants in Ohio who are being summoned by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to wear ankle monitors until their deportation hearing or be deported immediately. We call on member organizations and allies of the immigrant community to rally in defense of Haitian immigrants.

On June 25, the Trump administration terminated Temporary Protected Status (TPS)—provides protection from deportation, work authorization, and travel permission—for Haitian and Syrian immigrants following a far-right ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court (Mullin v. Doe) where 6 of the 9 judges voted to allow Trump to terminate this status for the two immigrant communities

Within a day, 300,000 Haitian and Syrian immigrants became undocumented and at risk for deportation.

We call on allies in the immigrants’ rights movement to stand in solidarity with Haitian and Syrian immigrants to hit the streets, no deportations and defend TPS against Trump's racist attacks.

Stop Trump’s mass deportation of Haitian immigrants!

Defend TPS!

No deportations!

Legalization for all now!

#ImmigrantRights #Haiti #TPS #ICE #L4A

San Jose, CA – Dozens of San Jose community members attended San Jose Against War’s educational mini-series for Black August, honoring Black resistance and liberation struggles around the world. The series consisted of two educational programs, one focusing on Haiti and the other focusing on the Confederation of Sahel States.

The educational event about Haiti was on August 24. Guest speakers from Haiti Action Committee gave a presentation covering an extensive history of Haiti from its colonial exploitation by Spain and France, to the current role that the U.S. has played in toppling progressive governments.

“[Haiti] is poor, but like many countries, it’s been made poor,” said Judith Mirkinson from Haiti Action Committee. “At the time when they overthrew the French, it was France’s richest colony in itself. It generated more wealth than all the other colonies. It’s estimated that like 20% of the French economy came from Haiti.”

“When we look at the situation in Haiti today, it has its genesis in the long history of colonialism, but specifically it has its genesis in the 2004 coup,” said Mirkinson, referring to the coup against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

“This was the most progressive government that Haiti ever had,” Mirkinson stated about Aristide’s time in office. “More schools were built in Haiti than in its entire history. He did literacy campaigns; he introduced hospitals and clinics.”

“Aristide was overthrown and a U.S.-UN occupation came in,” said Mirkinson. “The U.S., Britain, France, and Canada have bankrolled paramilitary death squads. This is a strategy to destroy society. They want the gold, they want minerals. They just want people to leave or die or whatever.”

On August 27, over two dozen community members gathered for the educational event about the Confederation of Sahel States, an anti-imperialist alliance between Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. The event featured guest speakers Inem Richardson of the All-African Women’s Revolutionary Union and the Thomas Sankara Center, and Akubundu Amazu Lott of the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party.

“The first coup that led to the Alliance of Sahel States happened in Mali in 2021,” said Richardson. “For several years before the coup happened there was this emerging budding anti-imperialist movement that kept growing. The people first called for the alliance. In July of last year, the three countries became the Confederation of the Alliance of Sahel States.”

“For the first time in a long time Burkina Faso is nationalizing its gold reserves,” stated Richardson. “Niger is nationalizing its uranium deposits. Africa’s largest solar power field is being built right now in Mali. It’s this massive transformation.”

“These countries ended a lot of different forms of collaboration with countries in the NATO bloc and started to move towards collaborating more with countries like Russia, Iran, China, Venezuela and Cuba,” Richardson continued. “Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger share a lot in common with these countries in terms of how they’ve been targeted by imperialists.”

“There are U.S. sanctions on Mali right now. The European Union is sanctioning Mali and Niger,” Richardson said. “The propaganda war is enormous, adding that Western media “has come down really hard against these three countries.”

“There’s been reports stating that AFRICOM, the U.S. military, now that it’s been chased out of Niger, is working to create a drone base in the Ivory Coast. The U.S. is trying to move to the border of the Alliance of Sahel States,” stated Richardson. “In this moment, we really need to focus on protecting and defending these revolutions.”

#SanJoseCA #CA #International #Haiti #Sahel #Africa #OppressedNationalities #HAC #AAWRU #AAPRP

Los Angeles, CA – On Friday, October 18, Centro Community Service Organization (CSO) members and community gathered at local bookstore ReArte in Boyle Heights for a film screening and discussion. The film was on the history of Haiti and was shown in light of recent racist remarks by Donald Trump in Ohio. Haitian American and CSO member Chris Bernadel and the CSO immigration rapid response team chair Jordan Peña co-facilitated the event.

Bernadel and Peña opened the event expressing solidarity with Haitian immigrants and condemning the racist remarks made by Trump. They introduced the film Bitter Cane, an award-winning documentary that was filmed clandestinely in 1983, during the U.S. imposed-dictatorship of Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier.

The film captures the shifts in the modes of production that Haiti experienced and the impacts they had on the majority of the people. Haiti’s economy was characterized as semi-feudal, in which landless peasants worked in coffee fields for large landowners in order to earn a small living. Haiti’s economy transitioned to a capitalist one in which U.S.-owned businesses opened many clothing and electronic factories in Haiti, due to its very cheap labor supply. Peasants migrated into cities in search of wage labor opportunities.

Chris Bernadel said, “The Haitian people in the city slums have tried to rise up against the dictatorships but the U.S. has squashed rebellion with heavy repression.” Bernadel shared that Haiti has only had one democratically-elected president elected by the people, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. In 2004 a U.S.-backed coup d'etat removed him from power.

A discussion continued among participants after the film. In the discussion, Jordan Peña made a connection between the root cause of refugees fleeing Haiti to the immigration crisis that we see today, stating, “People south of the U.S. border are coming to the U.S. but you never hear people question why they are fleeing their home country in the first place. It is because the U.S. has invested in destabilizing these countries.”

After discussion, participants enjoyed Haitian food cooked by a local family owned-restaurant named Island Flavors Caribbean Cuisine. Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) member Sol Marquez closed the event expressing solidarity with immigrants and inviting members to join the Legalization for All Network.

An upcoming event for the CSO immigration rapid response team is a know your rights training, which will take place on the 9th of November and will be in Boyle Heights. That event is being coordinated by CSO members Amanda Diaz and Peña. Please message CSO at (323) 484-8630 or on social media to attend and help.

#LosAngelesCA #CA #International #Haiti #ImmigrantRights #CentroCSO

Minneapolis, MN – On Monday, October 14 over 50 protesters gathered together on Indigenous People’s Day to tell Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance that he is not welcome in Minneapolis. Vance attended a private fundraiser in Minneapolis the same day, and held a press conference at the burned down Minneapolis former 3rd Precinct police station.

The protest was organized by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) as part of a national week of action called by the Legalization for All Network to stand with Haitian immigrants in the fight for legalization for all, in the face of the intensely racist anti-immigrant rhetoric spewed by right-wing politicians at every turn.

Vance and the Trump administration continuously dehumanize immigrants to fuel their campaign that champions racist inequality above all else. Vance has been a major player in spreading disgusting lies about Haitian immigrants consuming pets in Springfield, Ohio. Since these lies have been popularized, threats and vandalism targeting Springfield immigrants have forced families to shelter at home, many too afraid to send their children to school.

The protest began with chants of “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here!” as the crowd prepared to listen to speeches and hold banners and signs to the honks of supportive cars driving by.

A speaker from the Haiti Justice Committee of Minnesota called out the anti-immigrant lie Vance has been spewing that Haitian immigrants eat dogs and cats. “It was like watching a horror show because we know that it’s a lie.”

She continued: “The empty rhetoric that Trump and JD Vance are pushing regarding Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio is false propaganda due to a lack of sound plans to address serious and difficult issues such as global warming, homelessness, inflation, health care costs, and so forth. Without migrants the economy would be in a dire situation. The hospitality industry, the construction industry, and the agricultural industry rely heavily on the labor of immigrants.”

Alfreda Daniels, a Liberian immigrant and co-founder of the Black Immigrant Collective also spoke to the despicable use of immigrants as scapegoats to the country’s issues and how immigrants must be welcome regardless of how they came here, stating, “When I hear people like Vance and Trump say that people need to come in the right way, tell me, what is the right way? There is no ‘right way.’”

Protesters also heard from Noah Schumacher with Twin Cities Coalition for Justice (TCC4J) about the connections between struggles against oppression around the world and the fight for community control of the police, as, little did the crowd know, JD Vance was telling racist lies in his meeting with the Minneapolis Police Department outside of the former 3rd Precinct around the same time.

Schumacher stated, “Many of us here in the U.S. are so indoctrinated with the myths of how great the American Revolution is, we are never taught about the revolution that was a real leap forward for humanity: the Haitian Revolution. In Twin Cities Coalition for Justice, we see how the struggles for Haiti, Palestine, and across the globe are connected to our struggles here to get community control of the police.”

The protest concluded with a passionate speech from Mari Mansfield with MIRAC in support of legalization for all: “We have to stand up and fight back. We have to fight for immigrants, for the people who walked across the earth to be here, for the people who carried their children on their backs to be here. And to do that, we need legalization for all!”

The protest was led by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) and featured speakers from the Black Immigrant Collective, Haiti Justice Committee of Minnesota, Black Lives Matter, the Minnesota Abortion Action Committee and the MN Anti-War Committee.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #ImmigrantRights #Haiti #MIRAC #HJCMN #BLM #MNAAC #MNAWC #TCC4J #Vance #Trump #Feature

St. Paul, MN – The MN Peace Action Coalition and Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) co-sponsored a vigil on the Marshal/Lake Street bridge over the Mississippi River on June 12 to draw attention to the role of the U.S, in Haiti. 30 people attended and they received many positive honks from rush hour drivers.

Sarah Martin, a member of the MN Peace Action Coalition and WAMM explained, “The U.S. is financing and orchestrating a multinational military occupation of Haiti which will be led by 1000 special forces from Kenya, with additional forces from numerous countries in Africa and the Caribbean. Foreign occupations and coups against progressive governments, like those against former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, deny self-determination to the people of Haiti, and have led to the violent chaos in Haiti today. It is important to support the right of the Haitian people to self-determination.”

Marcy Shapiro, a member of WAMM’s Solidarity Committee on the Americas, concurred, stating “ongoing U.S.policies and actions toward Haiti have brought the terrible devastation to the people of Haiti.”

#StPaulMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #International #Haiti #WAMM #SCOTA #MNPeaceAction

Milwaukee, WI – This past Saturday, October 28, over 300 people attended a joint solidarity march linking the struggle against U.S. imperialism in both Haiti and Palestine. The event called for an end to U.S. support for the UN intervention in Haiti, and an end to continued U.S. funding of genocide in Palestine.

The march showed support for the “Zone of Peace” campaign led by the Black Alliance for Peace in response to the UN vote on October 3 which approved a foreign-led intervention in the sovereign affairs of Haiti, whose people recently ousted the illegitimate Prime Minister Ariel Henry from office. However, due to the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestine by the Israeli government, the event served a dual purpose in order to draw people of both struggles together and to show how they are linked within the broader fight against war and imperialism.

The Milwaukee Anti-War Committee (MAC) organized the event, which was co-hosted with Black Youth Project 100 – Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racism and Political Repression (MAARPR), the Milwaukee Chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), the Pan-African Revolutionary Socialist Party, the UW-Milwaukee chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization Wisconsin (FRSO-WI).

A crowd of protesters composed of many in both the Muslim and Black communities and their allies gathered at Red Arrow Park in downtown Milwaukee, known as the location where Dontre Hamilton was extrajudicially executed by Milwaukee police in 2014. They enthusiastically took to the streets, marching to the U.S. Courthouse and Federal Office Building on Wisconsin Avenue. Dozens of Palestinian flags and the sounds of pro-Palestine and pro-Haiti slogans filled the streets, including, “From Haiti to Falastin, end the U.S. war machine!”

Once at the Federal Building, groups’ representatives spoke. Though their organizations had different focuses, the speakers were united in calling for an end to foreign intervention in sovereign countries like Haiti, an end to U.S. support for Israel’s genocidal campaign, and in linking the struggle felt all around the world against U.S.-led efforts to maintain power and control for its billionaire class.

Kareem Sarsour of AMP said, “United, that’s our strength, when we stand together!”

“This is a crucial moment to not look away. We must connect these struggles because we are not alone in this fight!” said Sara Onitsuka of MAC, “There is no bomb more powerful than the collective will of the people!”

The speakers also encouraged everyone to keep fighting and to join an organization committed to the long haul.

“Malcolm X put it simply: 'Freedom by any means necessary, justice by any means necessary, equality by any means necessary!'” said Ryan Hamann from FRSO-WI. “We have a duty to the people of the world who suffer under the boot of U.S. imperialism to fight, and we have a duty to win!”

“The same thing that is happening to us in Milwaukee is the same thing happening to others all over the world!” exclaimed Aurelia Ceja of MAARPR. “Please get involved and take action!”

This protest was the third this month coordinated by MAC, the previous two working alongside AMP as part of the newly formed Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine, which includes over 34 organizations in the Wisconsin area.

#MilwaukeeWI #Palestine #Haiti #AntiWar #MAC #AMP

Orlando, FL – On Saturday, September 16, around 45 community members gathered at Knowledge for Living in the Parramore district for an educational forum on U.S. and Western intervention in Haiti and West Africa. The event was hosted by the Revolutionary Education and Action League (REAL) and the Florida chapter of the All-African People's Revolutionary Party (A-APRP).

The presentation began by highlighting the connection between imperialism abroad and political repression and police violence domestically. For example, the Department of Defense’s 1033 Program allows state and local police forces to acquire surplus military equipment including weapons, tanks, drones, and more for next to no cost. These highly militarized police agencies then serve as occupying forces in working-class and oppressed nationality communities. The police also utilize that same military-grade equipment to suppress popular movements, as seen most recently with the George Floyd uprisings in 2020 and in the current efforts to build Cop City in Atlanta.

On the other hand, the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) operates 46 military bases across the African continent, with tens of thousands of troops currently stationed on African soil. In many cases, the police and militaries in these African countries receive training from U.S. and NATO military forces, and are taught the same tactics of oppression used here in the U.S.

“We cannot understand our struggle for justice, our struggle against police brutality as isolated from what's happening in Nigeria, what’s happening in Burkina Faso, what’s happening in Haiti or what’s happening in any part of the world resisting imperialism. We have to understand that we have more in common with the poor and working-class masses, with those youth fighting back against police violence than we do with the people in power here,” said Onyesonwu Chatoyer of the A-APRP. 

Chatoyer then laid out the historical and political context through which imperialism and neocolonialism arose. This gave the audience the background necessary to understand the recent anti-colonial military take overs springing up throughout West Africa and the Western imperialist meddling in Haiti. 

The main goal of these military takeovers, spearheaded by military leaders like Ibrahim Traoré in Burkina Faso and Abdourahamane Tchiani in Niger, is to secure their country’s natural resources and sever the extractive and exploitative relationship with Western imperial powers, namely France and the U.S. For example, one in three lightbulbs in France are powered using electricity generated by nuclear power using uranium ore extracted from Niger. At the same time however, 80% of Nigeriens do not have access to electricity in their own homes. Shutting down foreign military bases and kicking out foreign – namely French and U.S. – troops occupying the land is part and parcel with this goal.

One of the main ways we can support revolutionary movements – not just in Africa but around the world – is to staunchly oppose U.S. economic sanctions against these progressive governments, sanctions which only serve to crush and starve the everyday people of these countries. Chatoyer added, “The same that we show up for Cuba, that we show up for Nicaragua, that we show up for Venezuela, we have to show up for Niger, for Zimbabwe, for Azania, for Algeria.”

REAL and A-APRP hope to host more educational forums for the community, especially in the Pine Hills and Parramore district, one of Orlando’s historically Black neighborhoods. Their next event will be on Saturday, September 30 at the Hiawassee Branch Library. See @aaprpflorida on Instagram for more information.

#OrlandoFL #Africa #Haiti #Imperialism

Chicago, IL – On Monday, October 24 more than a dozen activists from Students for a Democratic Society (SDS); Anakbayan, a patriotic Filipino youth organization, and Young Democratic Socialists of America joined together for a demonstration. Students marched on the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) ROTC building to denounce the Biden administration’s intervention in Haiti and demand an end to the 12-year long UN occupation of the island. The protest was planned in connection with the United National Anti-War Coalition’s week of action.

Marchers gathered in front of the student center and read several short, prepared statements explaining the action. Students passing by stopped to listen to the speeches given by members of SDS and Anakbayan.

SDSers gave speeches condemning the 200-year history of U.S. intervention in Haiti, from the first invasions in the 1800s to the past decade of UN occupation. They also called out the corporate interests backing the Haitian intervention and the “forever wars” that had spanned many of the protesters' entire lives.

An activist from Anakbayan spoke about the importance of international solidarity in the face of American aggression. They called on students in the U.S. to fight against the intervention in Haiti and the 100 million in U.S. military aid going to the Marcos-Duterte regime

After the speakers wrapped up, SDSers led students in chants of “From Haiti to the Philippines, stop the U.S. war machine!” Protesters marched to the ROTC center, circling it before returning to the student center.

SDSer Natalie Praneis summed up the event afterwards, “The U.S. has no place defending a corrupt government over the will of the Haitian people. We must stand in solidarity with Haiti against U.S. acts of aggression.”

#ChicagoIL #AntiwarMovement #StudentMovement #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #Haiti #PeoplesStruggles

Minneapolis, MN – On October 25, 35 Haiti solidarity activists held a rally in front of the office of Senator Amy Klobuchar under the slogan “No U.S./UN Military Intervention in Haiti.”

This new military intervention in Haiti continues years of foreign interference in the affairs of that country. Peace and security will not come from turning to the UN Security Council, the Organization of American States (OAS), and especially not the U.S. government, which has poured money into the repressive Haitian National Police, which has collaborated with death squads. Turning to the UN, the U.S. and the OAS to “stabilize” the crisis in Haiti today is akin to pleading with the arsonists to quell the fire they have unleashed.

Activists began the bannering with chants including “No to occupation – yes to liberation!” “No to occupation – yes to reparations” and “No to occupation – yes to self-determination,” to the honks of rush hour traffic.

Speakers included Andrew Josefchak of the Anti-War Committee, who recounted the history of U.S. intervention and the resistance of the heroic Haitian people. “U.S. forces are preparing to deploy to Haiti in order to crush the popular movements of the Haitian people, who have led the way forward in the Americas in the struggle against colonialism, imperialism and slavery going back some 200 years.”

Josefchak continued, “But this isn’t the first time the U.S. has tried to turn back the clock on the Haitian Revolution. Ever since the revolution ended slavery in 1804, Haiti has faced U.S. financial bullying as well as outright invasions. France and the U.S. forced Haitians to pay $30 billion in reparations for their own freedom from their former slave masters! We’re never taught in our schools that a long U.S. invasion and occupation from 1915 to 1934 reinstated slavery on the island. Years later, the U.S.-backed Duvalier family dictatorships ruled from 1957 to 1986. Another U.S. invasion happened as recently as 1994. These invasions and economic coercion have kept the Haitian people from the full self-determination that all people are entitled to by right, and another invasion will only make things worse.”

For the past four years, Haitians have courageously taken to the streets and faced police and paramilitary attacks as they demand their human rights, a fair election, an end to the U.S. domination which has kept them the poorest country in the hemisphere, basic economic rights including a living wage, and an end to corruption and plundering of their public resources. Thousands of unarmed Haitians have been killed but still they struggle for justice.

Bruce Nestor, member of the Haiti Justice Committee and a member of the National Lawyers Guild, who was in Haiti in 2004 shortly after the U.S. coup which ousted the popularly elected President Jean-Aristide, spoke of what U.S./Canadian intervention under the UN auspices really means and looks like. “It means intervention on behalf of political elites who are partners of the international corporations and investment banks in exploitation of Haitian people.” He went on to say, “These elites will get contracts to provide all the services to the troops, the food, cleaning of places they stay, etc., and with this money fund the gangs they hire to oppress the Haitian people and to gain their own political power. This will not bring security, will not bring a stable environment for an election, but will support powerful people who are the source of all that is wrong in Haiti today.”

Other speakers were April Knutson of the Haiti Justice Committee, Marcy Shapiro of the Haiti Justice Committee and WAMM's Solidarity Committee of the Americas, and Christine Harb from the Party of Liberation and Socialism. The Minnesota Peace Action Committee and Women Against Military Madness also played leading roles in organizing the protest.

#MinneapolisMN #Haiti #antiwar #AntiWarCommitteeAWC #Americas