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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 18, 1986)
Page 6, Portland Observer, June 18, 1986 Haiti — The People Walnut Park Lock & Key 533 NE Klllingswortb 503-288-6338 h\ Huh hiihian M om of (he base halls used in (he Un ited Stales are inadc in Haiti under con ditions of extreme exploitation, accord ing to Or Monica Gordon The average wage for a worker who sews up the basehalls is about SI 50 a day, said Gordon, a native o f Jamaica and professor of sociology at the U ni versity of Oregon Such conditions made Haiti one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, and led to the insurrection last tall which ended the dictatorship of "Baby D o c" Duvalier. Gordon said Gordon spoke at a public forum on "H a iti, the People Rise U p " at the King Neighborhood Facility last Thursday She was joined by Jean Phillipe Charles, a Haitian student at the University of Oregon An audience of 60 listened as Gordon and Charles described the poverty and oppression lhal characteri/ed Haiti under the rule of the Duvalier family They also spoke of the new hope that has come with the overthrow of the infamous "Baby Doc Haiti, according to (Jordon, is "a country that when it is described stalls tically. is at the very bottom of every thing " Haiti has the highest illiteracy and infant mortality rates in the region , "and all this after an attempt has been made to bnng Haiti up to modem stan dards." she said Under the Mf-year reign of the Duvalier family, power and privilege were concentrated, and the majority of the population, mainly poor peasants, were kept intimidated by the extensive police apparatus, Gordon said She described life under Francois "Papa D oc" Duvalier and his son, fi-.in ( 'l.iu.fc I Baby Dos I. as " M) years ol constant torture, oppression, political murders, and economic exploitation " The majority of the people were left out of the power structure," Gordon said In spite of such conditions, she said, an underground nationalist movement grew until it broke out into insurrection last tall Under pressure from the U n ited States and France, Baby Doc step ped down "A lte r Ml years of systematic op pression people finally had the courage to say 'N o ',' " Gordon said Removing the dictator was a minimum condition for democracy in Haiti, but the repressive structure of fhe Baby Doc government remains largely intact, according to Gordon. I he new leader, Henri Namphry, was the head ol the army under Duvalier, for exam ple, site said " Duvalier'» spirit is still down there, (here's no doubt about that," said Charles " The rich are getting richer lernblc exploitation is still going on down there " Charles said that Haiti is poised on the brink of revolution. “ It's looming all the time " But the popular move men! is confused about how best to bung democracy and freedom from exploitation to the country, he said " I he question is, what arc we going Youth Volunteer Rally Approaches Do you know a teen whose summer vacation will most likely mean daily consumption of T V game shows or reading a book? Why not tell them about Red Cross volunteering' I he American Red Cross is sponsor ing a Summer Youth Volunteer Rally on Ihursday. June 2b, from 1 30 to 4 (XI p m al Red Cross Headquarters, 3111 N Vancouver Ave This annual event oilers young adults (minimum age of 14) die chance Io find out what summer volunteer opportunities are av ailable through Red Cross, and an op portunity to sign up for activities Red Cross summer volunteer oppor tunities offer job experience, confi dence building, reference for future jobs, and new friends. Red Cross has something for everyone For more information con tact Red Cross Youth Services, 2H4- 1234. ext 17b 3rd Annual Community Team Challenge Rose City Connection. Inc will 1 again fx* hosting the third annual Com munity I earn Challenge on Saturday . June 28, at O it a Park Teams of 12, b males and b females can enter into the competition in events such as the egg toss, softball toss, relay race, football, obstacles course and tug of war The entry tee is $1 20 jv r team $10 per team member), and the proceeds go to sup port Rose City Connection's scholar ship fund Since I9K4, Community Teiim Chal lenge has become an annual tradition m the community Once again, C TC will be taped and televised on Rogers Cab les* stem Channel 23 Application forms for teams can be picked up at fhe Portland Observer newspaper 1463 N F Killmgvworth, The Sk.mner newspaper 2337 N W il liam*. The Urban League. IO N W il liam* or by calling 285-2065 Ihedead line for entry is June 13, 1986 V X. to do with the church, the conMitution. and what are we going to do with (he government?," said Charles " I really can't provide you with answers," said Gordon "H a iti is in transition I do not agree that hccausc Duvalier has departed, there is freedom to say and d o ." But a man from Haiti in the audience disagreed "Freedom does not exist?," he said "H o w do you know?" " I l 's beautiful to sit and talk about H a iti," but better than talk would be to go and help build the country, he said " I intend Io go and try ." he said 24 hr. Emergency Service ph: 288-53303 D r . Monica ( .ordon I R i and Jean-Phillipe ( harles 11.1 discuss the poverty and oppression in H aiti under the Duvalier fam ily. Photo bv Richard J. 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