KOMPA! MAGAZINE

[Inconnu]

In a book entitled "The Haiti Files: Decoding The Crisis", published in 1994 and edited by Village Voice political collumnist James Ridgeway, a memo dated March 3, 1989 from Congressman Walter E. Fauntroy to President George H. W. Bush was used to depict "Haiti's Economic Barons".

The memo by Congressman Fauntroy was meant to urge the U.S. government to push for positive change in Haiti by "denouncing the powerful families [in Haiti] and their allies within the U.S. apparatus".

Here is an excerpt from that memo as presented in the book:


To: President George [H. W.] Bush

From: Congressman Walter E. Fauntroy
Chairman, Congressional Task Force on Haiti

Date: March 3, 1989

Subject: Haiti: What Must Be Done

I. The most important action that the U.S. and other nations with influence in Haiti must take, if they are serious in their belief that democratization and economic reform are in their interest, is to send a clear and unambiguous, indeed, aggressive message to those blocking democracy that their actions will not be countenanced.

A. Identification has been made of a number of powerful businessmen who control the commanding heights of the Haitian economy. These powerful forces have benefited from monopolies, corruption, and in at least one case, it is alleged, from the traffic in illicit drugs. These personalities and their associates have been identified as being in the forefront of those financing thuggery and terror to intimidate the people and the democratic sector. These economic barons have made it clear that they wish at all costs to maintain a strangled economy based on government concessions, franchises, and monopoly. They fear that a freely elected accountable to the Haitian people would intrude on their privileges and force them to compete in a world economy. Such a change would threaten their short-term interests and for this they have and continue to finance an apparatus of terror to block change. One major fear is that Haitians from the diaspora would provide both capital and technology to a developing Haiti and that such an intrusion would put an end to this elite group's domination in a closed economy.

C. Specifically there are five key families which have been identified as major players in blocking change in Haiti. In the recent past these families have thrown their financial support to Namphy and Clovis Desinor. The five families are as follows:

-- The Brants with interests in edible oil, poultry financed with a $15 million loan from the World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC), banking through the Bank L'Union Haitienne, agriculture plantations in the south of Haiti, and, it is alleged by some, connections with drug traffickers.

-- The Mevs family with monopoly sugar production, the manufacture of shoes, plastics, import of sugar giving it almost total control over the sugar industry in Haiti.

-- The Accra family with the monopoly on the production of internally sold textile products for the 500,000 plus uniforms for school children, large contracts for the supply fo uniforms and food for the army and various agribusiness activities.

-- The Bigios (one of Haiti's few Jewish families) with the monopoly on steel and construction material, a share in the edible oil market and jewelry. The steel plant controlled by this family when operated at full capacity would consume 50% of all the electrical power available in Port-au-Prince [what the f*@k!!!. Most likely they don't even pay for EDH for it).

-- The behrmann family with concessions to import automobiles and trucks.


Note that this is not the complete memo. Also, much more is said about these families in the book, covering in part their extented network in Haiti and Washington. Other powerful names in Haiti are also mentioned in the book, including the Apaids, the Madsens, and others.

[zipgenel]

depi'm piti mwen konnen 5 fanmi sa yo...

sa vre pa gen manti nan sa.. neg sa yo se yo k'ap dirije peyi a..
_________________
P.P.P= PIYAY POU PIPO
PIPO= PI HIGH PI WO

[Neg Thiotte]

Sa se yon liste yout ayitien sipoze konnen. Depi mwen leve Ayiti, mwen tande granmoun ap di: Mevs, Brant, Madsen, Acra. They're Haiti's version of a good old boys network.
_________________
Kabrit fin manje jaden'w, lè sa ou rele bare volè

---Ti Mitou---

[Jolie bwa]

Congressman Walter E. Fauntroy sa-a fou... ...

***Bon Bush ce minm bagay la lap fe o' zetazini...au contraire...ce support Bush ta pi vitt bay asosye boujwa parey liyo... ...bagay moun sott nett congressman sa-a ap di la-a... ...
_________________
Vive Compas Direct!!!

[LadyKreyol]

I have also known about the so called RULING families of Haiti but I won't be so quick to lay all of Haiti's troubles on their feet because I think it's a cope out and just ANOTHER way of laying the blame on others while turning a blind eyes to those individuals who have allowed certain people of means to get their way over the years. Maybe if people who claim to be for a better Haiti would for a change stand up to certain people in those families Haiti wouldn't be in such a state right now. I'm not saying it's easy, HELL some people who are sometimes vocal and what to fight for the people, either don't live long or are quickly tempted by the lifestyle of the rich and quickly become that which they most hated at one time in their lives.

Interesting post Inconnu
_________________
Music is love in search of a word.
Sidney Lanier

[ReineDiana]

LadyKreyol wrote:

Maybe if people who claim to be for a better Haiti would for a change stand up to certain people in those families Haiti wouldn't be in such a state right now. I'm not saying it's easy, HELL some people who are sometimes vocal and what to fight for the people, either don't live long or are quickly tempted by the lifestyle of the rich and quickly become that which they most hated at one time in their lives.

That's the magic word right there...don't just preach it, but also live it! pa chita nan big palace ou ap di li leu pou sa changer...leu bagay pap macher pou wou ou peyer de trois ti malere pou creye insecurite...ou pa melanger ak tout moune fet makak...epi wap di wou rinmin ayiti...si se vre montre sa avek power of your money...BACK IT UP!!!
As far as I am concerned, Haiti's problems can be easilly resolved...and the people that can take care of that little problem once and for all know who they are... In this day of reckon, how long did we expect that things would continue to be business as usual...fok nou pran conscience finalement...DANM!!!
_________________
Haiti needs every part of its society involved, in order to start healing as a nation.
~~~There is nothing wrong with Haiti~~~
~~~There is something wrong with us~~~
-------------------------------------------------------
WYCLEF JEAN!

Last edited by ReineDiana on Sun Aug 12, 2007 10:51 pm; edited 1 time in total

[Inconnu]

I doubt tackling these powerful people is so easy as some of you make it seem to be.

These people have long arms. They have lawyers/lobbyist in Washington informing them on new developments regarding Haiti. And most importantly, they can spark sh*t up in Haiti at will. If they want unrest just to topple an administration that's not working in their favor, they will create unrest. They know where and who to go to.

It's a shame. What we have in Haiti is "une saloperie de bourgeoisie". They are living in big and fancy mansions while trash is piling up on the side of their road to work every morning. Salope is what they are.

Hopefully, these recent arrests will bring some positive change.

[zipgenel]

Inconnu wrote:

It's a shame. What we have in Haiti is "une saloperie de bourgeoisie". They are living in big and fancy mansions while trash is piling up on the side of their road to work every morning. Salope is what they are.

trop bien dit inconnu...

j'espere k'1 jour viendra, et k'on va enfin gagner la lutte contre ces maudits d'salaup... franchement, j'en ai marre d'tout ca... ces types derivés d'autres continents, ont tous debarques sur notre ile, s'enrichissent en engloutissant l'pays en entier... C vraiment du cauchemard.. Merde alors.
_________________
P.P.P= PIYAY POU PIPO
PIPO= PI HIGH PI WO

[Haitianone]

Inconnu wrote:

I doubt tackling these powerful people is so easy as some of you make it seem to be. These people have long arms. They have lawyers/lobbyist in Washington informing them on new developments regarding Haiti. And most importantly, they can spark sh*t up in Haiti at will. If they want unrest just to topple an administration that's not working in their favor, they will create unrest. They know where and who to go to. It's a shame. What we have in Haiti is "une saloperie de bourgeoisie". They are living in big and fancy mansions while trash is piling up on the side of their road to work every morning. Salope is what they are. Hopefully, these recent arrests will bring some positive change.

They have that here brother, put you vote for them Clinton, Obama, etc.. What do you call these people the middle class!!!!

Castro, Chavez, your heroes, do you believe they are poor boys as well but look in Venezuela the slums are bigger and more vast then the slums of Haiti. Chavez is a loaded like twenty Haitian presidents, shout he bought out this one.

You had the right idea early on then you let you leftist side come out.

I do agree with the bourgeoise class is an element of trouble. There approach is to protect their way of life using all obstructive mechanisms they can. But all elite do that, that is why you have laws which in the case of Haiti the elite just pay bribes or use of extortion to protect their businesses. When you got corrupt politicians and braindead idealogues as president things never get done.

Well, putting them in jail is not going to do it either. You use them people and find ways to bring new blood in the system. Haitian people I notice are fill with hate and some of them bring their hate to the presidency and mess the country up even more because hate always blind people. Politics is a dance you do and got to make the dance happen.

When Preval send of them elite to jail, it is because he got them and now the deals will be cut, meaning getting tax revenues and actually getting them to fund projects if not open new avenues for new blood into the country. The elite knows they are in a situation where Washington will not help them because Washington maybe behind all this. Why? To develop Haiti the elite got to pay their share and a lot of them as well need to get involved in the development of the country because they got the resources. The mentality right now is we do nothing and game is changing if you do nothing then pay up. But sometimes you got to make examples out of people to get the message across.
_________________
Statehood or Bust

[Inconnu]

H1, I am not against the rich.

Ideally, the elite has a moral and ethical responsibility towards the society in which they live to create opportunities for all and enable a fair distribution of wealth. Again, ideally.

Although the problem of inequitbable distribution of wealth is not special to the third world (look at the U.S.), but it is usually accepted as the norm, a fait accompli to which there is no remedy.

Haiti's elite is particularly notorious for its overt exploitation of Haiti and its people.

If indeed an elite is necessary in society, Haiti's elite must be replaced.