From friends in CHAN:

After many months of planning, promotion, and building support, the Canada-Haiti Labour and Women's Solidarity Tour was launched tonight (Wed. May 23) in Ottawa with an open public meeting at the main hall at PSAC national office.

Some 45 audience members, including a number of newcomers to the subject, heard direct reports from Paul "Loulou" Chéry (CTH trade union) and women's rights organizer Euvonie Georges Auguste. Loulou Chéry began with an overview of the difficult economic and social situation currently facing Haitian workers. He pointed out first and foremost that the terrible economic situation - particularly the mass unemployment in the Haitian economy - was worsened significantly by the turmoil and upheaval unleashed by the coup d'etat of February 29, 2004.

He pointed out, for example, that he himself had to go into hiding for a period of time after the coup, recognizing that as an independent trade union leader openly opposed to the coup, he was unpopular with the forces (both Haitian and international) that were running the country at the time. He also underlined the fact that the few sources of international support enjoyed by the CTH prior to the coup were suspended afterward.

After providing those gathered with a description of the many efforts of the CTH and its leaders to re-organize and solidify themselves organizationally, he finished with some reflections on the new reality of the country following the election of President René Préval in early 2006. He pointed out that while the experience of the new government has been in part disappointing, there is no question that there is a certain degree of security and stability that simply did not exist under the de facto coup regime. But, despite a number of meetings with trade union leaders, and a stated desire to achieve social "inclusion" from all sectors in major decisions, the conclusion reached by the CTH is that President Préval has - too often - been "listening to the bosses" rather than the workers.

He concluded with an invitation to all assembled, and particularly the trade unionists, to work toward establishing a partnership of solidarity (not "aid" or "help"). He envisioned that this might be established through the formation of a trade union grouping (from one or more trade unions) which might offer some ongoing cooperative relationships. In particular, he extended an invitation to all interested to form delegations that might travel to Haiti - on the invitation of the CTH - to see directly the operations of his union, and the terrifically difficult circumstances within which they must operate.

The next presentation, from Euvonie Georges Auguste, focused on the very difficult situation of Haitian women. In particular, Euvonie introduced herself as a member of the clergy with the religion of Vaudou, with a particular emphasis on the empowerment and education of rural women. She pointed out that the vast majority of rural women are not only very poor and marginalized but also practitioners of a religion that has been systematically repressed by the various political powers that have ruled Haiti since the Haitian revolution of 1804. Nonetheless, the practitioners of Vaudou have survived and continued to struggle, despite their isolation and fundamental exclusion from the larger Haitian society.

Euvonie talked about her work with the BRAV women's network, a group that has been particularly devoted to the provision of basic women's literacy and health information programs. She was the national coordinator of a significant project which aimed at extending a successful program that provided training and literacy centres across the country. The objectives for these centres was to establish safe spaces within which to wage the campaign against HIV/AIDS, and provide young women with basic education and supports. According to Euvonie, young women who become pregnant are among the most excluded and oppressed sectors of Haiti's population. "They are tossed aside," she says.

It was while working on the expansion of these basic women's education centres that Euvonie experienced the 2004 coup d'état that not only sent President Aristide into exile, it forced her into exile as well, effectively destroying the program that she and her organization had been building for almost two years. Since her return to Haiti from her exile in St. Lucia in 2006 (after the inauguration of President Préval), she has been organizing to re-establish the networks and organization that had been in place. However, she and her organization do not have a financial base from which to operate, and she indicated a serious interest in finding partner organizations in Canada with whom she might work to consolidate the re-establishment of her organization.

The question period that followed demonstrated that the audience - including a number of active members of the Haitian community from the region - was interested in the presentations, and very serious about wanting to see ongoing relationships established. A number of copies of the special issue of Press for Conversion on Canada in Haiti were sold, and several dozen email addresses were collected. Finally, the presentations were also digitally recorded - our objective will be to make the recording available online (at canadahaitiaction.ca) as soon as possible. We hope that organizers of the Tour in other cities will also consider making digital recordings of presentations or interviews given by our Tour delegates, for sharing and compiling once the Tour is complete.

All in all, a very successful kick-off for what we in Ottawa and Gatineau hope will be a terrific two-week tour. Tomorrow night our delegates will speak to a major public meeting - our first - held in Gatineau. One thing that tonight's event certainly made clear: there is simply no substitute for hearing voices of real, grassroots movement leaders - directly, without the mediation of journalists, politicians, or others who tend to interfere with the truth!