Lavalas: 'The Flood'
Yesterday, in the capital, thousands of Lavalas supporters rallied in support of the deposed Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Haiti's former president, demanding his return from exile in South Africa. Aristide was ousted on February 29th, 2004, in a coup d'etat, that many Aristide supporters believe was orchestrated by the US, France and Canada.
Many had grown disenchanted with Aristide, but for many others, especially in Port-au-Prince's poor neighborhoods, like Cite Soleil, Salino, and Belair, Aristide, or Titid, as he is called by his followers, was their only voice.
The demonstration began at Jean-Bertrand Aristide's old church, Saint Jean Bosco, on Boulevard Jean Jacques Dessalines and made its way to Cite Soleil and eventually to the Belair neighborhood.
The emotion expressed by the demonstrators was incredible. The energy never let up.
The rally began and ended peacefully. Here, a man blows a conch shell while leading the demonstration out of Cite Soleil. The Haitian Revolution that kicked out the French in 1804, began in earnest in 1791. To Haitians, the conch shell is synonymous with that struggle for freedom as the mawons, escaped slaves who lived in the mountains, came down from the hills blowing conch shells to declare war on the French plantation owners.
Comments
Excellent reportage Nick. I appreciate you framing things in relation to the past...namely St. Jean Bosco church and the nod to the conch shell and all it represents. A highly complex situation to understand...thanks for pointing us along. All the best.
Posted by: William B. Plowman | October 1, 2006 07:39 PM
Nick, the blowing of the conch shell and its significance to Haitians and their freedom is very interesting. Mrs. Peterson
Posted by: gini peterson | October 3, 2006 07:58 AM
Nick,
I am struck by the juxtaposition of the two methods of communication - one 21st century and one much, much older - that is reflected in this series of photos. The play between the cell phone with Aristide's picture on it and the conch shell being used to lead the rally was quite striking. The cell phone has been part of the process of shrinking our globe and connecting the populations of the world, but the traditional conch still has a role.
Liz and I continue to hold you in the light . . . be well, friend.
Cliff
Posted by: Les Clifford | October 3, 2006 11:20 PM
Nick, our family visited Haiti once. We adopted from Haiti - from BRESMA. (We were in Haiti twice, but the second one doesn't really count because we just made it to the airport to pick up our children.)
One question; Do you need to ask permission to take photos when you're photographing people? Or do you just snap away?
I'm looking forward to following along on your current stay. Be well.
Posted by: Anonymous | October 5, 2006 07:53 AM
Toussaint Louverture blew the conch shell to start the Haitian revolution? That's news to me. The conch shell was used by the marrons in the hills of Haiti who really started the revolution before Toussaint Louverture even became heavily involved. There was no single moment of a conch shell being blown to signify liberty a la the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia...
Posted by: Anonymous | October 6, 2006 06:40 PM
To the person who adopted from BRESMA: My girlfriend works for BRESMA. Send me an email with some more info.
Thanks for the info about the conch and the marrons, I will do some more research and adjust my post accordinly.
Posted by: Nick Whalen | October 7, 2006 03:18 PM
Also to the person who adopted from BRESMA: It depends on the situation. I usually can pick up the vibes of the people I am photographing and I do ask permission to take photos when appropriate. For example, at the pro-Aristide demonstration, I didn't ask for permission to photograph. If people don't want to be photographed, I respect their wishes.
Thanks for all the support everyone.
Posted by: Nick Whalen | October 7, 2006 03:21 PM
You are more brave than me, my good friend. I was getting harrassed and cussed out during a pro-Aristide demonstration prior to the 2000 election just for standing along the road that they were demonstrating on.
Posted by: Anonymous | October 8, 2006 03:15 PM
Hi Nick,
Glad to hear that Haiti, particularly PAP, is calm.
It's been that way for quite awhile in most of the
country. Good things are
happening there but no one
reports them because only the negative and sensational make the news.
I trust you will always
remember your first trip and the challenge to be
the "voice of the poor"
Never loose sight of truth.
Keep up the good work. I
continue to keep you in
thoughts and prayer.
ET
Posted by: ET | October 9, 2006 05:52 PM
Nice post and photos. Glad to see you are covering this.
Posted by: J Sprague | October 24, 2006 07:12 PM
haiti pour nou .nou pour haiti
merci
Posted by: alextus | February 23, 2007 02:01 PM
haiti pour nou .nou pour haiti
merci la fanmi lavalas
Posted by: alextus | February 23, 2007 02:04 PM