February 15, 2005
HAITI: RAPE AND GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
This short report was prepared in Haiti by John Tynnela, on a fact-finding
and project-visiting trip for Rights Action. As we approach the 1st anniversary
(February 29) of the most recent military coup against the elected government
of President Aristide (the first one being in 1991), Rights Action will circulate
various articles and urgent actions related to Haiti.
If you would like to host an educational event related to the dire situation
of human rights in Haiti - including an analysis of the negative and complicit
role of the governments of the U.S., France and Canada, as well as the Inter-American
Development Bank and other global actors -, contact: info@rightsaction.org,
416-654-2074. If you would like to contribute tax-charitable funds to
the work of the women's organization mentioned in the article, see below.
If you want on-off this elist: info@rightsaction.org.
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A Plea for Support from the Commission on Women Victims of Rape, by
John Tynnela (Haiti, February 2005)
Asked how it is that she* found the courage to speak out about the violence
against women, she quotes a Haitian proverb: "Medicine cannot be found for a
sickness that is hidden".
She was 37 when the three uniformed men wearing black masks forced their way
into her home. She remembers that they slapped her first. A front
tooth went flying.
The struggles have been ongoing in the 12 years since that day. She struggles
with the loss of her husband, who was disappeared. She struggles to raise
her four children, in addition to a girl born of the rape. She struggles
with poverty, familiar enough before the rape, but even more devastating for
a single mother. And she struggles with the shame that rape victims feel
in this society, as in many countries, more painful still because this violence
is unacknowledged and rarely reported in the Haitian and international media.
She was lucky to find herself among other women with the same immeasurable courage
that it has taken to speak the truth. They hold their heads up high with
an inspiring and hard-fought dignity as we chat this afternoon in Port-au-Prince.
Inherent dignity. It is what human rights talk is all about, and it is
the objective of the Haitian Commission for Women Victims of Rape. I discussed
the Commission with a half dozen of its members, all victims of rape, listening
to their stories as someone new to Haiti, although familiar with some of the
widespread causes of its violence.
The Commission was formed because - in spite of being almost entirely hidden
to the outside world - there is a new surge in violence against women.
They are victims of another peak in the chronic violence that flows from centuries
of national and international prejudice and exclusion, sparked by yet another
armed coup against an elected government. A United Nations stabilization
mission is in place to support the 'transition' to an election later this year,
but these past victims report that the rapes continue even as the UN tanks stand
guard at the gates to the many urban slums of Haiti.
Scores are being settled as a new regime is installed. Contrary voices
are being silenced. Rival gangs are at war. Illegal and irregular
armed groups battle to occupy people's minds and neighborhoods. Journalists
with minority voices are under attack, in exile, in hiding, dead. Haitian
police enter with UN backup to apparently deal with armed "bandits", but innocent
Haitians are often paying the price. The new wave of violence includes
a resurgence in violence against women, whose voices are rarely given recognition
in Haiti. But the members of the Commission recount hearing screams of
victims in the night, and they are desperate to help those suffering a pain
that they know too well.
You can help.
Opinions may differ on the political events in Haiti during the last year, and
on the global causes of poverty and violence. But none of these
differences change the fact that the women of Haiti's poorest slums need help
to deal with the consequences of rape and other violence. The victims
are arriving every day at the doors of the Commission on Women Victims of Rape.
For every victim willing to speak out, there are many more living in isolation,
fear, and shame, often moving up the mountainsides or into the countryside because
they can no longer live in their own former neighborhoods.
But the members of the Commission are as poor as the victims. They collect what
they can for medicines, for HIV and other STD tests, for temporary shelter,
for legal proceedings. But the need far outweighs the available resources.
The Commission also established a transitional school for the children (100
to date) of these women, who could not afford to send them to school.
They would like to continue the school and its food program for kids who often
arrive with empty bellies. They need funds to do this.
Your assistance will flow directly to the Commission.
* Name has been omitted to minimize any risks.
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To support community-based organizations in Haiti providing emergency relief
and working for democracy and the rule of law, make TAX-CHARITABLE DONATIONS
payable to "Rights Action" (writing "Haiti Emergency Fund" on the memo-line)
and mail to:
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Donate on line: www.rightsaction.org
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info@rightsaction.org, 416-654-2074.
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