#FreeHaiti Movement - There is no Fear in Love

From Adventures of SonSon - Part 2

I’ve been planning to write more about the idea of #FreeHaiti for months. My last post was in May. Around that time I started caring for a baby during the nights, started a new remote job, and in September, school went back to normal. That ended my blogging spree. But it’s time to post this. 

So much has happened in Haiti since I last posted. The president was assassinated in July, there was an earthquake in August which we felt all the way here, there was a heartbreaking immigration crisis with Haitians at the U.S.-Mexico border, and now the kidnapping crisis in Haiti has been brought to the world’s attention as 16 Americans and one Canadian are being held hostage after being kidnapped weeks ago. (Update: I have had this in draft for a bit and two hostages have now been released.)

I want to address the current state of Haiti while touching on the remaining topics discussed in the #FreeHaiti group, which are believed to be holding Haiti down. I mentioned before that I appreciate many of the group members’ thoughts, but there does seem to be a pro-voodoo, anti-Christianity sentiment that I definitely don’t agree with. However, it has brought some things to my attention and I have entered into some good dialogue about it. 

The remaining topics from what I outlined in the original post include foreign interference in Haitian government, US/UN occupation, and corruption. Again, religion is also a topic that I have since observed mentioned a lot in the group. Let me start with religion. 

The basic sentiment regarding religion that I’ve heard from the Free Haiti Movement Facebook group is that Christianity is the religion of Haiti’s oppressors. Ezili Danto is the person who coined the #FreeHaiti Movement and I think she’s actually a mambo, which is a voodoo priestess. I asked my friend and one of our employees about her thoughts on the notion that Christianity is the religion of Haiti’s oppressors, or their God is the God of their oppressors, and here is what she said:

When I first moved here, I thought it would be cool to interview a voodoo priest. I was interested in learning more about it. The youth in our program warned strongly against that. They expressed unanimous fear and made it clear that they had a history of knowledge about the harm these people could inflict. I shared this in another post, but Willy’s interview provides a strong example. 

I’ve had lots of experiences throughout my 15 years here and have many stories I could share. But my thoughts were even more solidified when I recently read a book about the infamous dictator of Haiti, Francois Duvalier. From what the book says, he seemed to start out as a smart young man and doctor who grew up witnessing rapid changes in government leadership, a U.S. occupation, and was a patriot who truly wanted the best for his country. 

However, voodoo was peppered throughout the story. Duvalier was committed to it. When he entered the presidential election, the book says that he sacrificed his good friend and driver in a voodoo ceremony in an attempt to secure the presidency!!! 

Before Duvalier was a candidate in a presidential election, he was highly involved in politics. He spent time in hiding as he was hunted by Magloire, the president before him in the 1950s. A neighboring family helped him while he was hiding. The man was a fellow politician named Clement Jumelle. After Duvalier became president, Jumelle went into hiding because Duvalier became suspicious of him, despite all Jumelle had done for Duvalier, believing that all other politicians would try to take him out. Jumelle eventually came out of hiding to seek medical treatment as he was very sick. He died shortly after. The book describes the funeral preceding and how it was interrupted by Duvalier’s men. As they led the casket down the street, his men intervened, took the body, and apparently went on to take Jumelle's heart for a voodoo ceremony!

Let it be known that the author seemed quite objective and was a Haitian resident, originally from New Zealand. He was the great uncle of one of my Creole students, whom I read the book with in Creole. Reading the book reminded me of the Star Wars movie where you painfully watch young Annikan Skywalker, with all the potential in the world, make decisions out of fear and follow evil influences until he turns into the horrible Darth Vader. Observing the transformation is difficult. You just want to take the young man aside and put him on the right track. It's truly a tragic transformation.

It was understandable that Duvalier was paranoid. He grew up in Port-au-Prince watching president after president overthrown. I even know some Haitians who think he was a good leader. There was much more order when he was president. But on the other hand, I have a friend whose father was an educated man and involved in politics. He was forced to flee Haiti during Duvalier’s regime. Unfortunately, rather than being able to work together with fellow leaders as he seemed to intend early on, he saw them all as enemies, which depleted the country of leadership.  The key word is fear. The result is extreme self preservation and upliftment at the expense of others without any disregard.

Another part of the book I found disturbing was the fact that the U.S. supported Duvalier with huge sums of money even after they knew of the atrocities he was committing. I shared a few atrocities above, but the book became hard to stomach with all of the horrible stories. The U.S. supported him because he agreed to be their ally against Cuba and communism. I believe a key word here as well is fear. 

True Christianity, the teachings of Jesus Christ, replaces fear with love, even when it means sacrificing one’s self. The Bible commands us not to fear hundreds of times throughout it. 

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” - 1 John 4:18

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters." -1 John 3:16

I now arrive at a current situation some have been talking about, regarding how Christians in Port-au-Prince should react to the kidnappings that have plagued the capital of Haiti more than ever before, from what I understand. I wrote about some experiences I’ve had this past year with the matter here. If you aren’t aware, churches and church leaders have been targeted by kidnappers. Kidnappings have taken place during church services, on camera, etc. This has gotten to the point that some churches have decided not to open. Others have told their congregation to bring weapons to church and to prepare to fight, should they be attacked. 

I recently had a conversation with a Haitian Christian friend about the news that some churches in Port-au-Prince were instructing their church members to come to church with machetes, teaching them to not fear death, but to be ready to fight, and have faith in eternal life that is promised to them in the Bible. She seemed to think that that mindset was one of outliers and radicals. They were not her denomination of Christianity. 

I felt strongly that in this situation, that is exactly how a Christian should behave. She shied away from the conversation when I started getting zealous so I let it go. But when I heard that some churches were preparing in this way, my first thoughts were, “Amen! Men and women of God stand up!” 

In my last post, I wrote about the recent U.S. court decision about Kyle Rittenhouse, the now 18-year-old who shot and killed two protestors a year ago, who was just found not guilty on November 19th. I also mention the death of Ahmaud Arbery who was killed by neighborhood men who decided to take the law into their own hands. Both are examples of arrogant vigilantism mingled with racism, where the killers were highly out of line and should be held accountable. I’m about to suggest the opposite in Haiti. 

In Haiti, unlike the United States which is an extremely organized and controlled country in comparison, the government has been getting its butt kicked by criminals, some from within. At this point, the elected president has been assassinated and who knows when a fair election will be held. Kidnappings are all the norm and families of kidnapping victims scramble to find funds to pay ransoms, thus encouraging the business even more. 

But I know that there are many, many Haitians living in Haiti who are committed to doing the right thing. There are many families that raise their children with a necessary strictness that may be considered abusive in the U.S. but keeps children from falling into the wrong path in Haiti. Whenever we have stayed with my husband’s family in Grisongade, Haiti, I have been amazed by the church bell ringing at 5am in an area with no electricity. As it’s pitch black, people get up out of their beds to go to the church and pray. It’s a dedication that is hard to find in places of more comfort...which is everywhere else I’ve ever been. 

In the same community, the practice of voodoo is near and widespread. It's true that voodoo is not all negative, as many will object, wanting to stay religiously neutral. It does involve healings, but also involves a very large amount of killings, stealing, and trickery. It's hard to celebrate the small percentage of positives when the same person believed to be in charge of the healings is also in charge of inflicting sicknesses.

Some, or perhaps many Haitians, have their feet in both doors. If there’s one thing I have come away with from those visits to Haiti is a tangible feeling of spiritual warfare with very committed warriors on both sides.  

I can’t help but to think that when a kidnapping occurs, others know where the person is being held hostage. Men and women of God stay crippled in fear, wanting to keep themselves and their families out of the line of fire. But by doing so, they've allowed the fire to linger and grow. Or they take their families and flee to the Dominican Republic which is not to blame either. 

I’m certainly a fan of stricter gun control laws in the U.S. I am a fan of the Civil Rights Movement and non-violence. However, I do believe there are times to fight. I do believe there are times to put your life on the line, take a stance against people destroying the lives of others, and the only practical way to do that is to be armed and organized in some way. 

Over and over I’ve seen things done in upside down ways because of fear amongst Haitians. Someone gets fired from their job for very good reasons, yet no one else wants to take the job, although they greatly need the opportunity, because they fear that the person who lost their job will inflict harm on them via voodoo out of jealousy. Grown men throw fits like children, only their fits are much more dangerous than those of children, and everyone decides that the best course of action is to give this man what he wants so that he calms down. These are just a few examples that often shape things in the wrong direction. 

Some people hope and pray that the U.S. sends troops to Haiti. The #FreeHaitiMovement takes the stance that that would not be a good thing, and that Haitians can do this on their own. With that, I completely agree. Although it might not look like it right now, I know they can do it. This country has a history of heroism and victims overthrowing their abusers. Its story of independence dignifies humans of color and ancestors of slaves like no other true story that I know of. I strongly believe that if the infrastructure is put in place and the right people are empowered in the right way, the country will thrive. It will thrive and it will astound the world in the same way it has astounded those of us foreigners who have been captivated by it. 

With that being said, I think the only way for this to happen is for those warriors that have been on the battlefield for so long to practice a fearless love, based on faith, and stand up against criminals in whatever way necessary. I don’t know exactly what that looks like and it’s something that is led by the Holy Spirit, but preparing to fight back when under attack certainly makes sense to me! 

I pray that the spirit of fear is driven away from the country. I pray that a fearless love embeds itself deep in the minds and hearts of righteous men and women. I pray that when the time comes to act out of a fearless love, that there is no hesitation, but it’s automatic. May the Holy Spirit go before them. I know that deep down inside, those practicing evil through such things as kidnappings have an underlying need for a good whooping. They need someone to be stronger and more fearless than they are and to show them the way. They are fatherless and completely lost. 

I don’t pray this as someone on the sidelines. I have practiced it. I have physically stepped into dangerous situations and stood my ground and fought on many occasions. I’ll admit I have no proximity with guns, nor have I had to, thankfully, but have experienced fists flying, rocks flying, machetes flying, etc. I do have such experience and a scar on my head to prove it. I don’t come across this mayhem often anymore, but it was quite the norm when things got started with a group of youth straight off the streets, young leadership trying to do what we can, and a pecking order not yet well established. I touch on this a bit here in this post from 11 years ago. 

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. May your kingdom come.