For November 18th, HLLN FreeHaitiMovemnt brings you, "Haiti the Rebel", by Michel Sanon to recall the Battle of Vertières, the defining battle of the Haitian revolution. ******** Haiti the Rebel By Michel Sanon ******** Who is to tell me when To celebrate my history? Who is to tell me When to dress my wounds And to reminisce My trials, my sorrow When to shed tears Over my brave children And to glorify their names? They suffered and died Every bloody month Of the bloody year. I was born Of abject inhumanity With the noble destiny Of carrying the sword Of precious humanity In a New World Cursed by the West Storm And raped by the powers Of greed, wickedness, and death. I am the mother of martyrs Of survivors and overcomers. Alone, I faced the wrath Of this world's powers In March of 1802. Their mighty venom Could not cripple me. I stepped on the snakes head In May of 1803 And created for ever The symbol of my pride. How many now really know My history? How many care? Alone, with my hurting hands I broke the first link Of the mighty chain Of human curse Called slavery. Alone on the traitorous hill Of the New World I carried the cross of a race Into this century Of furious revolution And industrialization Refusing to get crucified. I've been chained I've been robbed I've been raped and stabbed And I have fought back Fearlessly, continuously. Alone I have paid and paid. I have paid the senseless price I have paid the endless price For my vital exploits. Humanity at large Enjoys the benefits Gratelessly, pompously. Every bloody month Of every bloody year I have fought constantly With a burning spear Stuck in my chest. Sometimes it weakens me But I always rise High above the pain And the wickedness Of powerful forces From near and far To claim my dignity. I have friends Who suck up my blood When tired I fall asleep. They set my house ablaze To scare my children away From my wounded heart. Though today I choose to stand And stand in pride and love With my dear family To celebrate in harmony Our common history In the month of February I was alone when in Vertières I rose to face the Devil When hell broke loose Unleashing its fire storm With waves of flame rushing To engulf me whole... Alone in the vast universe I froze hell over And walked on its ashes To create my own history. Nobody stood by my side. I alone remember. It was the eighteenth day Of a month called November. ******************* On this November 18, 2010 Haitians, currently under Euro-US-led UN occupation, remember the heroes of the Haitian revolution. Remember Kapwa Lamò, Jean Jacques Dessalines, all the Maroons, Mari Jann at Crete-a-Pierrot, Sanit Belè, Gran Toya, and how the Haitian identity and indomitable courage was forged out of the fiery crucible of war against white terror, tyranny and enslavement. |
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