Rasanblaj: The Podcast (Formerly Nèg Mawon. All new episodes at rasanblaj.org exclusively.)

Within the context of Haiti, the word crisis has very specific meaning for Dr. Greg Beckett. As you'll him articulate, this is not just another book about crisis in Haiti. This book is about what it feels like to live and die with a crisis that never seems to end. It is about the experience of living amid the ruins of ecological devastation, economic collapse, political upheaval, violence, and humanitarian disaster.  It is about how catastrophic events and political and economic forces shape the most intimate aspects of everyday life. In this gripping episode, anthropologist Greg Beckett offers a stunning ethnographic portrait of ordinary people struggling to survive in Port-au-Prince in the twenty-first century. Drawing on over a decade of research, There Is No More Haiti builds on stories of death and rebirth to powerfully reframe the narrative of a country in crisis. It is essential episode for anyone interested in Haiti today.

This is the story of freedom, of choices black women made to anchor their humanity,to retain control over their bodies, selves, loved ones, and their futures. The story of freedom is ambiguous, but often begins with intimate acts steeped in power. Listen as Dr Johnson discusses the peculiar oppressions faced by African women and women of African descent. And it pivots on the self-conscious choices black women made to retain control over their bodies and selves, their loved ones, and their futures. Slavery's rise in the Americas was institutional, carnal, and reproductive.  The intimacy of bondage whet the appetites of slaveowners, traders, and colonial officials with fantasies of domination that trickled into every social relationship—husband and wife, sovereign and subject, master and laborer. Intimacy—corporeal, carnal, quotidian—tied slaves to slaveowners, women of African descent and their children to European and African men. In Wicked Flesh, Jessica Marie Johnson explores the nature of these complicated intimate and kinship ties and how they were used by black women to construct freedom in the Atlantic world. Johnson draws on archival documents scattered in institutions across three continents, written in multiple languages and largely from the perspective of colonial officials and slave-owning men, to recreate black women's experiences from coastal Senegal to French Saint-Domingue to Spanish Cuba to the swampy outposts of the Gulf Coast.  Centering New Orleans as the quintessential site for investigating black women's practices of freedom in the Atlantic world, Wicked Flesh argues that African women and women of African descent endowed free status with meaning through active, aggressive, and sometimes unsuccessful intimate and kinship practices.  Their stories, in both their successes and their failures, outline a practice of freedom that laid the groundwork for the emancipation struggles of the nineteenth century and reshaped the New World. Her profile page on our site. https://neg.fm/dr-jessica-marie-johnson/

A PDF version of this book is available for free in open access via the OAPEN Library platform (www. oapen. org). Historically and contemporarily, politically and literarily, Haiti has long been relegated to the margins of the so-called 'New World.' Marked by exceptionalism, the voices of some of its most important writers have consequently been muted by the geopolitical realities of the nation's fraught history. In Haiti Unbound, Kaiama L. Glover offers a close look at the works of three such writers: the Haitian Spiralists Frankétienne, Jean-Claude Fignolé, and René Philoctète. While Spiralism has been acknowledged by scholars and regional writer-intellectuals alike as a crucial contribution to the French-speaking Caribbean literary tradition, the Spiralist ethic-aesthetic not yet been given the sustained attention of a full-length study. Glover's book represents the first effort in any language to consider the works of the three Spiralist authors both individually and collectively, and so fills an astonishingly empty place in the assessment of postcolonial Caribbean aesthetics. Touching on the role and destiny of Haiti in the Americas, Haiti Unbound engages with long-standing issues of imperialism and resistance culture in the transatlantic world. Glover's timely project emphatically articulates Haiti's regional and global centrality, combining vital 'big picture' reflections on the field of postcolonial studies with elegant close-reading-based analyses of the philosophical perspective and creative practice of a distinctively Haitian literary phenomenon. Most importantly perhaps, the book advocates for the inclusion of three largely unrecognized voices in the disturbingly fixed roster of writer-intellectuals that have thus far interested theorists of postcolonial (Francophone) literature. Providing insightful and sophisticated blueprints for the reading and teaching of the Spiralists' prose fiction, Haiti Unbound will serve as a point of reference for the works of these authors and for the singular socio-political space out of and within which they write. Visit her guest page https://neg.fm/dr-kaiama-glover/

DESCRIPTION In this 3 part chat with Dr. Fatton, you won't hear me asking questions. Fatton is the kind of guest that you just hand him the mic and let him do his thang. It's a master class in polisci 101. Grab pen & pencil. Fatton drops some key terms we all should know and internalize. The collapse of the Duvalier dictatorship in 1986 gave rise to optimism among Haitians in all walks of life—to hopes for a democratic journey leading to economic development, political renewal, and social peace. The reality of the subsequent years, however, has not been so sanguine. Robert Fatton analyzes the vicissitudes of politics in Haiti from the demise of Duvalier through the events of 2001. Despite a relatively stable period since Jean Bertrand-Aristide assumed the Haitian presidency for the second time, in 1994, Fatton reveals a country in which the imperfect trappings of liberal democracy coexist with violent struggles to monopolize the few sites of public power with any access to wealth and privilege. Haiti's Predatory Republic, while recognizing the possibilities of a happier future, tells a somber story of an apparently endless transition to democracy. Terms /Concepts Discussed --Peaks & Valleys --La Politique de Doublure --Tout Moun se Moun --Dechoukaj --La Politique du Ventre --Duvalierism BOOK CONTENTS Introduction. Class, State, and Civil Society in Haiti. The Fall of Duvalier and the Contradictions of Democratization. The Rise, Fall, and Second Coming of Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The Vicissitudes of Lavalasian Power. The Antagonistic Present and Future Alternatives. Toward a Compromise? Conclusion. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Robert Fatton Jr. is professor in the Department of Government and Foreign Affairs at the University of Virginia. His numerous publications include Predatory Rule: State and Civil Society in Africa and The Making of a Liberal Democracy: Senegal's Passive Revolution. Visit his guest page https://neg.fm/dr-robert-fatton-jr/

Sandra Wisner is a senior staff lawyer with the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH), a U.S. human rights organization, working in partnership with the Haiti-based public interest law firm the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI) [Garment Industry] At first glance, the garment workers’ protests sweeping Haiti appear to be the result of a grossly inadequate minimum wage. But listen closely to the organizers and you will see they are rooted in decades of rights violations perpetrated by foreign states’ approach to investment in Haiti. Foreign actors must be held accountable to their legal obligations both for the harm they have caused and to ensure that future investment in Haiti is fair and sustainable. [Food Insecurities] A series of international economic assistance programs in Haiti has led to a protracted and worsening food crisis in the country, amplifying the country’s vulnerability to starvation and malnutrition, as well as natural disasters, like earthquakes and pandemics. These economic programs, which dealt a crushing blow to the country’s domestic agriculture and left the erstwhile self-sustaining nation vulnerable to chronic food insecurity, have ultimately impeded the ability of Haitian people, and their future generations, to enjoy their right to food, health, education, work, and other fundamental human rights. The lack of responsibility taken by those who imposed these policies—among them, international financial institutions like the World Bank—reveals the need for foreign actor compliance with human rights obligations and remediation. This paper proposes that the food insecurity Haitians face today constitutes a violation of the right to food—a territorial and extraterritorial obligation that foreign actors have pledged themselves, both under the United Nations Charter and other human rights instruments, to promote and respect. As such, this paper outlines the emerging recognition of extraterritorial obligations (“ETOs”) around the globe; suggests available mechanisms at the domestic, regional, and international level for adjudication of cases arising from ETOs; and proposes ETOs’ application to traditional policies and remedies meant to protect individuals from harm and compensate them for harm caused. [Peacekeeper Exploitation & Abuse] In Haiti, UN peacekeeping troops have been tied to sexual exploitation and abuse towards local communities. In pursuit of justice and accountability, BAI has been supporting claims for child support on behalf of children fathered by UN peacekeepers. Our teams at BAI and IJDH are leading the litigation in Haiti and both local and international advocacy to fight for justice and defend the rights of women and children. Visit her guest page https://neg.fm/sandra-wisner-jd/

*Manoumba Records label granted permission to include excerpt of "Dèpi tanbou frape" track by Boulo Valcourt I love foundational work like this! A richly ethnographic and compelling read, After the Dance, the Drums Are Heavy is a study of carnival, politics, and the musical engagement of ordinary citizens and celebrity musicians in contemporary Haiti. The book explores how the self-declared president of konpa Sweet Micky (Michel Martelly) rose to the nation's highest office while methodically crafting a political product inherently entangled with his musical product.  It offers a deep historical perspective on the characteristics of carnivalesque verbal play and the performative skillset of the artist (Sweet Micky) who dominated carnival for more than decade-including vulgarities and polemics. Yet there has been profound resistance to this brand of politics led by many other high-profile artists, including Matyas and Jòj, Brothers Posse, Boukman Eksperyans, and RAM.  These groups have each released popular carnival songs that have contributed to the public's discussions on what civic participation and citizenship in Haiti can and should be. Drawing on more than a decade and a half of ethnographic research, Rebecca Dirksen presents an in-depth consideration of politically and socially engaged music and what these expressions mean for the Haitian population in the face of challenging political and economic circumstances.  After the Dance, the Drums Are Heavy centers the voices of Haitian musicians and regular citizens by extensively sharing interviews and detailed analyses of musical performance in the context of contemporary events well beyond the musical realm.

In this second episode of the series (2/2), Dr. Vincent Joos explores the failed international reconstruction of Port-au-Prince after the devastating 2010 earthquake. He describes the failures of international aid in Haiti while ihe analyzes examples of Haitian-based reconstruction and economic practices. By interrogating the relationship between indigenous uses of the cityscape and the urbanization of the countryside within a framework that centers on the violence of urban planning, Dr. Joos shows that the forms of economic development promoted by international agencies institutionalize impermanence and instability. Conversely, he shows how everyday Haitians use and transform the city to create spaces of belonging and forms of citizenship anchored in a long history of resistance to extractive economies. Taking our listeners into the remnants of failed industrial projects in Haitian provinces and into the streets, rubble, and homes of Port-au-Prince, Dr. Joos reflects on the possibilities and meanings of dwelling in post-disaster urban landscapes.

In this series of episodes (1/2), Dr. Vincent Joos explores the failed international reconstruction of Port-au-Prince after the devastating 2010 earthquake. He describes the failures of international aid in Haiti while he analyzes examples of Haitian-based reconstruction and economic practices.  By interrogating the relationship between indigenous uses of the cityscape and the urbanization of the countryside within a framework that centers on the violence of urban planning, Dr. Joos shows that the forms of economic development promoted by international agencies institutionalize impermanence and instability.  Conversely, he shows how everyday Haitians use and transform the city to create spaces of belonging and forms of citizenship anchored in a long history of resistance to extractive economies. Taking our listeners into the remnants of failed industrial projects in Haitian provinces and into the streets, rubble, and homes of Port-au-Prince, Dr. Joos reflects on the possibilities and meanings of dwelling in post-disaster urban landscapes.

In Island Futures Mimi Sheller delves into the ecological crises and reconstruction challenges affecting the entire Caribbean region during a time of climate catastrophe. Drawing on fieldwork on postearthquake reconstruction in Haiti, flooding on the Haitian-Dominican border, and recent hurricanes, Sheller shows how ecological vulnerability and the quest for a "just recovery" in the Caribbean emerge from specific transnational political, economic, and cultural dynamics. Because foreigners are largely ignorant of Haiti's political, cultural, and economic contexts, especially the historical role of the United States, their efforts to help often exacerbate inequities. Caribbean survival under ever-worsening environmental and political conditions, Sheller contends, demands radical alternatives to the pervasive neocolonialism, racial capitalism, and US military domination that have perpetuated what she calls the "coloniality of climate." Sheller insists that alternative projects for Haitian reconstruction, social justice, and climate resilience—and the sustainability of the entire region—must be grounded in radical Caribbean intellectual traditions that call for deeper transformations of transnational economies, ecologies, and human relations writ large.

In Island Futures Mimi Sheller delves into the ecological crises and reconstruction challenges affecting the entire Caribbean region during a time of climate catastrophe. Drawing on fieldwork on postearthquake reconstruction in Haiti, flooding on the Haitian-Dominican border, and recent hurricanes, Sheller shows how ecological vulnerability and the quest for a "just recovery" in the Caribbean emerge from specific transnational political, economic, and cultural dynamics. Because foreigners are largely ignorant of Haiti's political, cultural, and economic contexts, especially the historical role of the United States, their efforts to help often exacerbate inequities. Caribbean survival under ever-worsening environmental and political conditions, Sheller contends, demands radical alternatives to the pervasive neocolonialism, racial capitalism, and US military domination that have perpetuated what she calls the "coloniality of climate." Sheller insists that alternative projects for Haitian reconstruction, social justice, and climate resilience—and the sustainability of the entire region—must be grounded in radical Caribbean intellectual traditions that call for deeper transformations of transnational economies, ecologies, and human relations writ large.