[Ppnews] The Haiti connection: An open letter to Black people everywhere

[Political Prisoner News]

The Haiti connection: An open letter to Black people everywhere

Posted By mary On March 13, 2009 @ 9:46 pm In Haiti and Latin America
http://www.sfbayview.com/2009/the-haiti-connection-an-open-letter-to-black-people-everywhere/

by Abdul Olugbala Shakur

My beloved people, my name is Abdul Olugbala 
Shakur, and I am a New Afrikan Freedom Fighter. 
Though I am only 47 years old, I have been active 
in the service of our people since the early 1970s.
Marching with blaring trumpets and chanting 
crowds on Jan. 26, 2008, Haitians say No to the 
U.N. massacres in the Site Soley neighborhood of 
Port au Prince. Ever since enslaved Haitians 
defeated Napoleon’s armies in 1804 to become the 
world’s first independent Black nation, world 
powers have tried to kill the bodies and spirits 
of their descendants. But, defiant and resilient, 
Haitians march on. – Photo: Jean Ristil, HaitiAnalysis.com
I grew up in the struggle. The struggle is my 
life; it’s all I know. I came to prison at the 
age of 18 for allegedly participating in an armed 
attack on two white sailors in retaliation for a 
violent sexual assault on a young sista from the community.

As a realist, I understand I may never step foot 
beyond this concrete hell again, but I refuse to 
allow this concrete hell to define who I am or 
restrain my revolutionary spirit. Though I have 
spent the past 25 and a half years in solitary 
confinement - an attempt by my keepers no doubt 
designed to destroy my spirit - my spirit is 
free, for I have transcended the concrete hell 
which contains my physical being.

One of the most pervasive misconceptions 
pertaining to our imprisoned community is that we 
lack a sense of humanity or the capacity to 
empathize, or that we are selfish and always 
seeking to take advantage of others. This is one 
of many reasons why society at large tends to 
allow the prison industrial slave complex to 
treat us with brutality, as if we are deserving of such inhumane treatment.

I, as a New Afrikan political prisoner of war, 
know this is not an accurate description of who 
we are, especially as it relates to New Afrikan 
political prisoners of war, political prisoners, 
and politically conscious prisoners and 
activists. Our good deeds and activist work is 
often overshadowed by government-sponsored anti-prisoner propaganda.

I believe it is time for us as a collective to 
display our sense of humanity and come together 
to save our communities. To exhibit a greater 
expression of our humanity, let’s reach out our 
hands to help our people in Haiti, to rebuild our 
international symbol of resistance to global white supremacy and slavery.

Approximately three months ago I received a 
letter from a young sista inquiring about why I 
show so much concern for the people of Haiti, 
especially being that I am not Haitian? I told 
her I am a New Afrikan and as a New Afrikan I 
represent the totality of all that is Afrikan - 
and Afrikan descended - so I embody all that is Black and beautiful.

I am Haitian, I am Jamaican, I am Afro-Cuban, I 
am Kenyan, I am Afro-Puerto Rican. All that is 
Afrikan, from Afrika to the rest of the world, 
their blood also runs through my - our - veins. 
During the slave trade, the racist slave traders 
intentionally tried to destroy the Afrikan family 
- which they believed would facilitate the psychological breaking process.

The slave traders sold family members to 
different genocidal slave plantations. For 
example, a mother went to Haiti, her husband to 
Cuba, her mother to AmeriKKKa, her sista to 
Brazil, her daughter to the Dominican Republic, 
and her son to Jamaica. We as a people are 
descendants of this attempt to execute this 
global Afrikan genocide, and I refuse to 
contribute to that genocide by denying my global 
Afrikan family. As a New Afrikan, I am also 
Haitian, and I am compelled by this innate 
affinity to stand up for the rights of our people in Haiti.

I realize that we as a people in this country are 
faced with our own crises, from the violent 
deaths of our young people due to gang and 
drug-related violence and to HIV/AIDS. Our 
communities are just as unstable as many of the Afrikan-run countries.

Though we can all concede that these unstable 
conditions have been orchestrated by the forces 
of white global supremacy, we can’t blame racism 
for our own failure to act in our own best 
interest. I am not neglecting the problems that 
we face here in this country. Being part of an 
imprisoned think tank, the New Afrikan Prisoners 
Writers’ Union, we are equally committed to 
resolving many of the problems we face as a people.

We have developed a number of proposals designed 
to address many of the problems we face daily, 
like gang violence, criminal behavior and the 
protection of our young women in particular, but 
the key to our success is coming together as a 
people and not depending on the government or 
working with the cops. They don’t give a damn 
about us or our children. We must take the 
initiative to do for ourselves, and this includes 
helping our global Afrikan community.

The world became spectators as genocide scourged 
the sacred Black land of Rwanda. In contrast, 
when genocide was visited upon the former 
European nation of Yugoslavia, European nations 
around the world - AmeriKKKa in particular - 
mobilized their forces to stop and prevent the 
genocide of other white people. But they allowed 
genocide in Afrikan countries to go undeterred. 
Here we are again being spectators, as genocide 
ravishes our people in Congo, in Darfur and in Haiti. Yes, Haiti.

What’s going on in Haiti is often associated with 
countries in Afrika, but right here in the 
Western Hemisphere, a new form of genocide is 
taking place. Our people in Haiti are faced with 
conditions that are equal in results to those 
that exist in Darfur and other places in Afrika, 
but yet very few people or governments are 
responding, except to mandate an occupation by 
United Nations troops, whose main goal is to 
suppress the Lavalas movement of President 
Aristide in the name of “maintaining order.”

My beloved people, it is obvious that we as a 
people can no longer depend on others to value 
Black lives. It is quite clear that Black lives 
do not hold the same human value as white lives 
in the eyes of European people, which includes 
white AmeriKKKa. So it is incumbent upon us to 
move on behalf of protecting, preserving and 
valuing Black lives, both here and globally.

This task will require direct participation on 
all our parts, including those of us behind enemy 
lines. I am particularly appealing to the Black 
church. In my opinion, the Black church can play 
one of the most effective roles in intervening in 
the U.S. government-orchestrated genocide in 
Haiti. The Black church already possesses the 
internal infrastructure and capacity to mobilize 
a grassroots campaign designed to end the 
genocide in Haiti, restore the democratically 
elected government of Aristide and remove the 
U.S. puppet regime who had gained power via an illegal and unjust coup.


It is obvious that we as a people can no longer 
depend on others to value Black lives.

Many have suggested that the Black church is no 
longer relevant, and an appeal to them would be 
an act of futility. It is inconceivable to think 
that the Black church would ignore the plight of 
our people in Haiti. I refuse to believe this.

The suffering and pain of our people in Haiti 
have only been exacerbated 10-fold due to the 
multiple and rapid back to back hurricanes that 
have hit Haiti. Many people, including children, 
have died as a direct result of these hurricanes. 
I, as a New Afrikan freedom fighter, don’t expect 
the forces of global white supremacy to come to 
the aid of our people in Haiti - no different 
than the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina.

We as activists knew that our communities were 
not prepared for a natural disaster. We are now 
three years removed from Hurricane Katrina, and 
not one of our communities is prepared for a 
natural disaster. As soon as another disaster 
hits, we will be blaming racism again but, I ask, 
what is stopping us from acting in our own best interest?

When I see the tragedy in Haiti, it is symbolic 
of our own failure as well. White supremacy 
nationally or globally is not stronger than the 
global Black Diaspora, but our strength depends 
on our ability to come together and ACT IN OUR OWN BEST INTEREST.

We have the means and resources at our disposal 
to improve our living conditions and communities, 
but our people in Haiti don’t have the means, 
resources or infrastructure to resist global 
white supremacy and their orchestrated genocide. 
This is why it is imperative for the global Black 
Diaspora to respond to their needs and call for help.


White supremacy nationally or globally is not 
stronger than the global Black Diaspora.

We are in a position to serve as an advocate on 
their behalf. We are in the center of the 
imperialist monster that is contributing to this 
genocidal process. We can apply the necessary 
pressure on this government and their stepchild, 
the United Nations, to compel them to act in the 
best interests of the people of Haiti. Though I 
don’t recognize the legitimacy of this fascist 
government, I believe we have no choice but to 
attempt to reach them with the hope that they 
will intervene and end their support for a 
non-democratic government and demand the 
immediate release of the Lavalas political prisoners, POWs and activists.

We as New Afrikan prisoners can help to raise 
awareness, using the various media, to inform 
ourselves and educate our communities about the 
genocidal crisis that has engulfed our beloved 
Haiti. The more we learn, discuss and write about 
the crisis in Haiti, the more people will be aware of it.

I encourage the Black church, grassroots 
activists and Black student unions to contact the 
Haiti Action Committee at 
<http://www.haitisolidarity.net>www.haitisolidarity.net, 
<mailto:action.haiti at gmail.com>action.haiti at gmail.com 
, or P.O Box 2218, Berkeley, CA 94702. You can 
also contact me if you want to discuss what you 
can do to contribute to Haitian resistance and reconstruction.

My beloved people, we hear the cries of suffering 
that reverberate from the depths of Darfur, 
Liberia, Congo and all across our Motherland, but 
we have not heard the cries of suffering and pain 
from our people in Haiti. I ask: WHAT HAVE YOUR 
EARS HEARD TO WISH TO HEAR NO MORE? AND WHAT HAVE 
YOUR EYES SEEN TO WISH TO SEE NO MORE? Can 
deafness and blindness be a desired escape from 
our own reality, with the hope that our problems 
will go away on their own? Unfortunately, this is 
not the reality of our situation. It will take a 
conscious and collective effort to resolve our daily problems.

We are committed to resolving the gang violence 
in our communities, and we invite you to join our 
efforts. But we are equally committed to 
restoring our beloved Haiti. It is important for 
us to get involved. The lives of many children 
are at stake and Haiti is not in the position to save their - our - children.

I have spent almost 26 years in solitary 
confinement - isolation - but I refuse to allow 
my isolation to serve as an excuse for doing 
nothing. I am committed to serving ALL OUR 
PEOPLE, especially our babies and children. 
Seeing the resilience of our beloved Haiti has 
strengthened my commitment to our global 
revolutionary liberation struggle - until the 
last drop of my Black royal blood.

My beloved people, believe me, I understand the 
reality of the harsh conditions we find ourselves 
in, and we of the New Afrikan Prisoners Writers’ 
Union are committed to solving the problems we 
face daily, but we are asking each one of you to 
make a contribution towards rebuilding our 
beloved Haiti in the spirit of our beloved 
generals and liberators Jean-Jacques Dessalines 
and Toussaint L’Ouverture. We each can contribute 
something to this worthy cause.


Seeing the resilience of our beloved Haiti has 
strengthened my commitment to our global 
revolutionary liberation struggle - until the 
last drop of my Black royal blood.

Though the genocide in Darfur embodies the 
typical elements that define genocide, Haiti is 
experiencing another form of genocide where the 
global powers of white supremacy orchestrate 
conditions that are similar to that of the 
typical genocide, but make no mistake about it: 
It is still genocide, and many of our children, 
women and elders are dying daily.

We can make a difference. Join our struggle to 
save our beloved Haiti. We must do it for the 
children. We can no longer turn a deaf ear to 
their cries of pain. I will now bid you all my 
love and solidarity! Long live our New Afrikan independence movement!

Abdul Olugbala Shakur (s/n J. Harvey) works with 
the New Afrikan Prisoners Writers’ Union. Send 
our brother some love and light; write to Abdul 
Olugbala Shakur (s/n J. Harvey), C-48884, SHU 
D-4-112, P.O. Box 7500, Crescent City, CA 95532.




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