Continued......For example, this photo was taken on 28 July 2022, when the Haiti Action Committee led a protest in front of Citibank in San Francisco, California, with a clear message: France must pay reparations to Haiti!
France forced Haiti to pay 112 million francs (now valued at around $560 million or €525 million) for 'lost property.' But what did France lose? The enslaved Africans who ousted their former masters and established the first Black republic in history!
Haiti spent roughly 70 years to pay 'reparations.'
You may wonder why Haitian activists organised this protest at Citibank. Beginning in 1915, the US Marines invaded and occupied Haiti for 19 years at Citibank's request, as part of its expansion overseas.
In 2003, Haiti's socialist president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, demanded France reimburse Haiti €525 million it had been forced to pay. That, and social reforms to redistribute funds toward education and healthcare, forced Aristide onto a US jet, abandoning him in the Central African Republic while a US-backed coup unfolded in Haiti.
A few years later, in April 2024, a group of 20 NGOs went to Geneva, Switzerland, to address the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent about France's debt to Haiti.
From Port-au-Prince to the streets of Paris, the Haitian people's struggle continues!
SOURCES:
https://www.cadtm.org/spip.php?page=imprimer&id_article=20811
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2022/07/29/18851316.php
https://www.workers.org/2022/08/65860
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/haitian-groups-seek-billions-reparations-france-2024-04-18/
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/angry-us-dismisses-aristides-kidnapping-claim/article994723/
https://www.blackagendareport.com/content/citigroup%E2%80%99s-role-rape-haiti
France forced Haiti to pay 112 million francs (now valued at around $560 million or €525 million) for 'lost property.' But what did France lose? The enslaved Africans who ousted their former masters and established the first Black republic in history!
Haiti spent roughly 70 years to pay 'reparations.'
You may wonder why Haitian activists organised this protest at Citibank. Beginning in 1915, the US Marines invaded and occupied Haiti for 19 years at Citibank's request, as part of its expansion overseas.
In 2003, Haiti's socialist president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, demanded France reimburse Haiti €525 million it had been forced to pay. That, and social reforms to redistribute funds toward education and healthcare, forced Aristide onto a US jet, abandoning him in the Central African Republic while a US-backed coup unfolded in Haiti.
A few years later, in April 2024, a group of 20 NGOs went to Geneva, Switzerland, to address the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent about France's debt to Haiti.
From Port-au-Prince to the streets of Paris, the Haitian people's struggle continues!
SOURCES:
https://www.cadtm.org/spip.php?page=imprimer&id_article=20811
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2022/07/29/18851316.php
https://www.workers.org/2022/08/65860
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/haitian-groups-seek-billions-reparations-france-2024-04-18/
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/angry-us-dismisses-aristides-kidnapping-claim/article994723/
https://www.blackagendareport.com/content/citigroup%E2%80%99s-role-rape-haiti
CADTM
525 millions d’euros, le prix payé par Haïti à la France pour sa liberté
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Media is too big
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
IRAN-CONTRA: HOW THE CIA BIRTHED THE CRACK EPIDEMIC
WARNING: This video contains violent scenes of the US' war on drugs.'
On this day in 1975, Sandinista guerilla fighters in Nicaragua uncovered a covert US operation to arm Contra (US-funded anti-communist) guerillas after they shot down former US Marine Eugene Hasenfus' plane while he was on a CIA-funded arms supply drop. Documents found on the men k*lled in the 5 October 1975 plane crash indicated the US government used proceeds from the illegal sale of weapons to Iran to support the rebel groups.
WARNING: This video contains violent scenes of the US' war on drugs.'
On this day in 1975, Sandinista guerilla fighters in Nicaragua uncovered a covert US operation to arm Contra (US-funded anti-communist) guerillas after they shot down former US Marine Eugene Hasenfus' plane while he was on a CIA-funded arms supply drop. Documents found on the men k*lled in the 5 October 1975 plane crash indicated the US government used proceeds from the illegal sale of weapons to Iran to support the rebel groups.
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Continued........Join African Stream as we unravel the real-life drama of the Iran-Contra scandal and its devastating impact on African communities in the United States. We explore how the webs of covert US operations in Nicaragua and Iran, as well as cocaine smuggling, pummelled Black communities in the United States. Africans have yet to recover from the resulting drug addictions and incarcerations of the 1980s and 1990s.
Let us know what you think in the comments.
SOURCES:
The capture of Eugene
https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/iran-contra-hasenfus/
Let us know what you think in the comments.
SOURCES:
The capture of Eugene
https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/iran-contra-hasenfus/
Zinn Education Project
Oct. 5, 1986: Eugene Hasenfus Captured During Iran-Contra Scandal
The cover-up of the Iran-Contra scandal began to unravel when Eugene Hasenfus was captured by Nicaraguan troops.
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6 OCTOBER 1841: MAINE'S FIRST COLOURED CONVENTION
The city of Portland in the US state of Maine held its first Colored Convention on 6 October 1841.
Between 1830 and the 1890s, over 200 state and national Colored Conventions were held throughout the United States. The Colored Conventions Project defines these events as ‘political gatherings [that] offered opportunities for free-born and formerly enslaved African Americans to organize and strategize for racial justice.’ The first Colored Convention was held in 1830 following Ohio’s 1829 exclusionary laws and a wave of anti-Black mob violence that had forced 2,000 Black residents to flee the state.
The 1841 Maine convention discussed civil rights, education and economic opportunities for Black people.
The city of Portland in the US state of Maine held its first Colored Convention on 6 October 1841.
Between 1830 and the 1890s, over 200 state and national Colored Conventions were held throughout the United States. The Colored Conventions Project defines these events as ‘political gatherings [that] offered opportunities for free-born and formerly enslaved African Americans to organize and strategize for racial justice.’ The first Colored Convention was held in 1830 following Ohio’s 1829 exclusionary laws and a wave of anti-Black mob violence that had forced 2,000 Black residents to flee the state.
The 1841 Maine convention discussed civil rights, education and economic opportunities for Black people.
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Continued……Participants also emphasised establishing schools and better access to education to uplift Black people. In addition to this, the convention called for ways to develop Black economic independence through trade and vocational skills.
These conventions, held decades before Marcus Garvey built the Universal Negro Improvement Association that tied together Africans across the world and over a century before the Civil Rights Movement, helped develop the collective Black consciousness in the direction of sovereignty and self-determination.
Nearly two centuries later, and despite the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act, Black people in the US remain disenfranchised and continue holding the same conversations on how to obtain social justice and economic empowerment.
NOTE: Although Theo R Davis’ sketch depicts the 1869 National Colored Convention in Washington, the Zinn Education Project considers it illustrative of the state conventions.
SOURCES:
https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/first-maine-colored-convention
https://omeka.coloredconventions.org/items/show/1178
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/oasam/civil-rights-center/statutes/civil-rights-act-of-1964
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/voting-rights-act
These conventions, held decades before Marcus Garvey built the Universal Negro Improvement Association that tied together Africans across the world and over a century before the Civil Rights Movement, helped develop the collective Black consciousness in the direction of sovereignty and self-determination.
Nearly two centuries later, and despite the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act, Black people in the US remain disenfranchised and continue holding the same conversations on how to obtain social justice and economic empowerment.
NOTE: Although Theo R Davis’ sketch depicts the 1869 National Colored Convention in Washington, the Zinn Education Project considers it illustrative of the state conventions.
SOURCES:
https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/first-maine-colored-convention
https://omeka.coloredconventions.org/items/show/1178
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/oasam/civil-rights-center/statutes/civil-rights-act-of-1964
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/voting-rights-act
Zinn Education Project
Oct. 6, 1841: Maine’s First Colored Convention
The first Colored Convention in Maine was an opportunity for northern Black abolitionists to organize and strategize for racial justice and the freedom of those still enslaved throughout the South.
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Media is too big
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
WAS S. AFRICA’S TRUTH COMMISSION
A LIE?
In 1995, the Nelson Mandela-led African National Congress (ANC) government set up the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), a court-like body tasked with investigating crimes committed by the apartheid regime between 1960 and 1994. Proponents of the Commission marketed it as a silver bullet that would deliver justice for the victims of the regime and help the country move forward. However, not everyone was convinced. Many argued that the TRC was simply a get-out-of-jail-free card for apartheid criminals, as it allowed them to avoid prosecution. Among those who were not in support of the TRC was Letlapa Mphahlele, a long-time member of the Pan-Africanist Congress of Azania. He argued that the Commission was biased towards the oppressors and threw victims under the bus. He lays down his argument in this video from 1997.
A LIE?
In 1995, the Nelson Mandela-led African National Congress (ANC) government set up the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), a court-like body tasked with investigating crimes committed by the apartheid regime between 1960 and 1994. Proponents of the Commission marketed it as a silver bullet that would deliver justice for the victims of the regime and help the country move forward. However, not everyone was convinced. Many argued that the TRC was simply a get-out-of-jail-free card for apartheid criminals, as it allowed them to avoid prosecution. Among those who were not in support of the TRC was Letlapa Mphahlele, a long-time member of the Pan-Africanist Congress of Azania. He argued that the Commission was biased towards the oppressors and threw victims under the bus. He lays down his argument in this video from 1997.
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Continued......Considering that, some thirty years after the end of the oppressive system, very few apartheid-era politicians and security operatives ever went to jail for their crimes against Black South Africans, it seems that Mphahlele's prediction that the TRC would be an exercise in futility was spot on.
Credit: SABC/TRC
SOURCES:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/11/chris-hani-apartheid-killers-cant-force-victims-to-forgive
https://www.collegesoflaw.edu/blog/2019/01/08/trc-south-africa-study-abroad/#:~:text=Some%20South%20Africans%20felt%20a,apartheid%2C%20testified%20of%20his%20ignorance.
https://humanities.uct.ac.za/apc/trc-and-codesa-failed-south-africa-its-time-we-reflected
Credit: SABC/TRC
SOURCES:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/11/chris-hani-apartheid-killers-cant-force-victims-to-forgive
https://www.collegesoflaw.edu/blog/2019/01/08/trc-south-africa-study-abroad/#:~:text=Some%20South%20Africans%20felt%20a,apartheid%2C%20testified%20of%20his%20ignorance.
https://humanities.uct.ac.za/apc/trc-and-codesa-failed-south-africa-its-time-we-reflected
the Guardian
You may free apartheid killers but you can't force victims to forgive
Wife of slain South African leader Chris Hani lashes out as judge orders the release of his murderer and tells his family to ‘move on’
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The smearing of African media as disinformation tools is an old imperialist tactic, designed to maintain control of the narrative about our continent. We’re accused of disseminating propaganda when our perspectives challenge imperialist geopolitical interests. While these accusations serve to delegitimise and silence African voices, they also conceal deeper fears. Independent African journalism shines a light on neo-colonial exploitation and practices on the continent.
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Continued............ This week’s Facts of the Week highlight African media outlets that became a headache to global powers - leading, in some cases, to censorship… cloaked as a crackdown on disinformation.
SOURCES:
https://theappendix.net/posts/2013/12/radio-freedom-underground-radio-in-south-africa
https://www.news24.com/news24/radio-freedom-comes-home-20190516
https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/the-mozambican-civil-war-1977-1992/
https://www.blackagendareport.com/us-shooting-itself-foot-info-warfare-africa
https://africanstream.media/the-real-reason-we-got-banned/
SOURCES:
https://theappendix.net/posts/2013/12/radio-freedom-underground-radio-in-south-africa
https://www.news24.com/news24/radio-freedom-comes-home-20190516
https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/the-mozambican-civil-war-1977-1992/
https://www.blackagendareport.com/us-shooting-itself-foot-info-warfare-africa
https://africanstream.media/the-real-reason-we-got-banned/
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7 OCTOBER 2001: US 'WAR ON TERROR' COMMENCES
Following the horrific 9/11 attack that killed nearly 3,000 people in the United States, US President George W Bush declared a global 'War on T*rror,' which began with the first bombardments on this day, 7 October 2001, in Afghanistan.
Consequently, African countries that had no issues with t*rrorism in 2001, saw a surge in armed violence over the past 24 years, that can be traced back to decades of US and NATO intervention, exacerbated in 2007 when the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) was formed.
For example, t*rrorist activities ravaged Africa's arid Sahel region since NATO's 2011 invasion of Libya, spurning violent rebels to k*ll former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Then, Sahel-region t*rrorists accessed the fallen Libyan government's weapons stash and distributed them in Mali, seizing control of large swaths of land in the country's north, spilling into its neighboring countries, Burkina Faso and Niger.
Following the horrific 9/11 attack that killed nearly 3,000 people in the United States, US President George W Bush declared a global 'War on T*rror,' which began with the first bombardments on this day, 7 October 2001, in Afghanistan.
Consequently, African countries that had no issues with t*rrorism in 2001, saw a surge in armed violence over the past 24 years, that can be traced back to decades of US and NATO intervention, exacerbated in 2007 when the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) was formed.
For example, t*rrorist activities ravaged Africa's arid Sahel region since NATO's 2011 invasion of Libya, spurning violent rebels to k*ll former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Then, Sahel-region t*rrorists accessed the fallen Libyan government's weapons stash and distributed them in Mali, seizing control of large swaths of land in the country's north, spilling into its neighboring countries, Burkina Faso and Niger.
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Continued......Not to mention Somalia, where through a US-backed Ethiopian invasion in 2006, the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) was crushed, leading to the rise of the violent t*rrorist group, Al-Shabaab. The ICU consisted of various clan-based courts that governed the East African country following the 1991 civil war, became a federation in 2004 and had no Al-Qaeda affiliations.
Nonetheless, after years of a well documented history of fabricating narratives for political and economic interests to make way for invasion, the US appears to be losing the strong foot-hold it once had. Many are now seeing the nation for what it truly is; an imperialist state that neither cares for human rights nor to combat terrorism.
The formation of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) between Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger on 16 March 2023, for instance, offers a glimmer of possibility towards African sovereignty.
Nonetheless, after years of a well documented history of fabricating narratives for political and economic interests to make way for invasion, the US appears to be losing the strong foot-hold it once had. Many are now seeing the nation for what it truly is; an imperialist state that neither cares for human rights nor to combat terrorism.
The formation of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) between Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger on 16 March 2023, for instance, offers a glimmer of possibility towards African sovereignty.
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Continued.....Upon formation, the AES broke ties with AFRICOM, choosing to instead form a confederation for shared defense, economic and foreign policy. Over a year later, the three Sahelian states in West Africa continue to advance the work of decolonisation by breaking ties with neo-colonial institutions and reclaiming bit by bit, their sovereignty over their lands.
Are we currently witnessing the crumbling of an empire?
SOURCES:
https://emro.libraries.psu.edu/record/index.php?id=1720
https://www.newamerica.org/future-security/reports/americas-counterterrorism-wars/the-war-in-somalia
https://africainterest.org/confederation-of-alliance-of-sahel-states-aes-birthpangs-of-african-political-union
https://www.georgewbushlibrary.gov/research/topic-guides/global-war-terror
Are we currently witnessing the crumbling of an empire?
SOURCES:
https://emro.libraries.psu.edu/record/index.php?id=1720
https://www.newamerica.org/future-security/reports/americas-counterterrorism-wars/the-war-in-somalia
https://africainterest.org/confederation-of-alliance-of-sahel-states-aes-birthpangs-of-african-political-union
https://www.georgewbushlibrary.gov/research/topic-guides/global-war-terror
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UAE WEAPONS TO SUDAN DISGUISED AS AID!
An alarming New York Times investigation has exposed how the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is sneaking weapons into Sudan through Chad under the guise of humanitarian aid to support the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in a 17-month war that has k*lled from 20,000 Sudanese to as many as 150,000, according to the US envoy.
The New York Times reported the UAE is using the red crescent, the famous symbol of humanitarian aid, for its covert operations, essentially blurring the lines between aid and military support.
An alarming New York Times investigation has exposed how the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is sneaking weapons into Sudan through Chad under the guise of humanitarian aid to support the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in a 17-month war that has k*lled from 20,000 Sudanese to as many as 150,000, according to the US envoy.
The New York Times reported the UAE is using the red crescent, the famous symbol of humanitarian aid, for its covert operations, essentially blurring the lines between aid and military support.
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