Haiti: WTF?

voodoo's basically a syncretic mashup of catholicism and various african traditions anyway isn't it?

also lol @ the idea that "life is capricious and planning futile" is somehow unique to voodoo and not present, in some form, in fairly major schools of all of the world's religions

btw kenan, not to be pedantic, but many haitians actually DO practice some kind of syncretic version of christianity and voodoo. my bro spent a lot of time down there (and in benin, where voodoo is thought to have originated, as well as in queens, where many recent immigrants live) the boundaries are blurrier than you might think

beside the point, however

― everybody's into weirdness right now (gbx), Wednesday, January 13, 2010 7:12 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

basically: yes.

smdh @ david brooks
boring conservative with no curiosity about, or respect for, any culture beyond whatever is middle class, tasteful, and found in bethesda md. yet he writes about religion and culture in haiti like he knows what he's talking about. i don't understand this.

his column on french hip hop back when those riots were happening was also insightful + relevant

So I have reviewed for DC newspapers various Haitian bands over the years-Djakout Mizik, Boukman Experyans, Beethova Obas, T-Vice, Top Vice, and others. I am trying to find out more info on how they are doing. Not that their fate is any more important than any others, but I am curious if anyone sees or hears anything. Sadly some have lost their lives and others are missing. I've been posting on ilm here:

Rolling Global Sublime Whirled "World" Music Thread 2010(with an emphasis on African likely)

I wonder if the big Haitian compas concert that was supposed to happen in Miami, Florida happened today?

things are looking pretty dire :(

Seeing those two imperialist criminals tapped by Bam as figureheads for Haitian relief in the Rose Garden yesterday really warmed the cockles of my heart. I'd love to send the pair of em into Port-au-Prince w/out Secret Service.

Jesus Christ dude you think you could set that shit aside for even this?

things are looking pretty dire :(

― I can't turn my face into a shart (dyao), Sunday, January 17, 2010 1:17 AM (10 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

yeah :(

xp rage, resentment, spleen

jon, THEY are not "setting it aside."

THEY and their predecessors made Haiti what it is and kept it that way.

Okay, I think I misread your intentions with that post. Apologies.

np.

So Drs w/out Borders says make all donations 'unrestricted' cuz they met their Haiti cash quota? What difference can new donations make now, then? (I'm srsly asking.)

yeah, i was wondering the same thing, morbs---i still think that giving to Partners In Health is worthwhile: they've got a nearly 30 year investment in ~long-term~ Haitian healthcare, and will be there after everyone else forgets about Haiti, again.

yo i'm goin back upthread but gbx thanks for taking apart brooks so thoroughly--that guy is a fuckin retard

i was *just* about to say that

:)

saying that Brooks is a retard is something that can't be said enough

I wish someone could challenge Brooks on one of the tv or radios shows he always manages to get on.

and thing is, what rankles most, is that I think his sentiments actually resonate with a lot of ppl. not in a malicious way, but in a lazy way; if someone says Haiti hasn't prospered because of cultural reistance, I honestly think that there are loads of otherwise kind and decent people that will nod and go hmm yeah that sounds plausible. if you gave them the facts they'd probably believe you, but generally it's just easier to go "well they ~do~ believe in zombies I mean srsly" than it is to square up with reality

wish I could dig up that nabisco otm post on Brooks. it is...otm

yeah it doesn't really stand out from other coverage of this whole thing, sadly

my friend was able to talk to his grandma, thank god

oh good!

I am worried about my friends partner. he is alive but he was in Haiti to renew his visa. his documents were lost in the quake and, while this not an immediate concern, it seems unlikely that he will be able to return easily, or soon.

i remember seeing a documentary on cbc that was criticizing the relief efforts for the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. it had some interesting points (but i forgot most of it), like the need for the orgs to get images to keep the money coming, to the detriment of ppl living in less photogenic sinistered places, sub-optimal distribution of and other miscommunications . it featured a heroic doctor that was doing many surgeries in the country without proper equipment. anyone have seen it?

no but I would like to!

seb yr French right? curious: do you have any idea of how hard it is to learn kreyol if you already speak (poorly in my case) French?

french is a good part of it but i find it hard to figure out what is being said. like, i just tried to read something "Manman m al lavil, li kite pitit la nan men papa m, mwen menm avèk lòt timoun yo." : figured the mom left the kid to the father, but i had no way to know there were other kids in there, too. it's weird but i feel the ongoing developments of texting in french could be of help, here.

yeah see I pulled "mother" and "petite" from that. dang.

re:txtng: like, kite and avèk reads cool.

also, general q: my friend is planning on putting on the white coat and knocking on doors for PIH.

he's thinking about collecting cash, I think he should just hand out cards with links to PIH's donation page. If you, ilxor, had two "medical students" (who knows where they got those coats!) knocked on your door, what would make you more likely to give money or, at least, give a shit?

re:txtng: like, kite and avèk reads cool.

???

god bday hangover makes me not write so good

xp i would probably be more likely to donate online. the white coat is kinda weird. and if they had no credentials or anything....

happy bday btw!

well the white coat has the name of the university on it and telegraphs that the canvassers are real live medical students who Give A Shit. as opposed to you know normals or whatever. I am not participating fwiw, but I've been asked to give feedback.

I agree, I think that encouraging online giving is more legit, and that legitimacy will get results. I mean I love being charitable or whatever but I actually kinda hate it when ppl knock on my door.

also: thx!

yeah i don't like knocks on the door either. but in a case where i did answer the door i would expect credentials from the charity tbh, not just the school, before i gave any cash.

xpost just saying that knowing some texting stuff in french helped me figure out some words and i i find that aesthetically pleasing .
some examples in plain french: chu = je suis. ché = je sais. po =pas ki =qui. etc
http://french.about.com/library/writing/bl-texting.htm

ditto. xp

whoa that is kinda next level seb.

so yr saying that text-speak in French actually maps somewhat to kreyol? cool!

text-speak is more phonetic spelling for efficiency & prob also affected by it being used by young people, who use slang words that have origins in arabic and/or african languages, those also tend to be spelled more phonetically. that's been my observation. also the "chu" didn't make sense to me until i thought about how it'd actually be pronounced in everyday speech esp by younger people, kinda run together "je suis au ___" = "chui au"

"li kite pitit la nan men papa m,"

what does this mean? "left the little kid there with his/her father"?

also the "chu" didn't make sense to me until i thought about how it'd actually be pronounced in everyday speech esp by younger people, kinda run together "je suis au ___" = "chui au"

ahhhh. yeah, i was baffled by that

Sorry to butt in here, but I just want to mention this thread inspired me to make a donation to the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund linked to above. Honestly, up to this point I have been experiencing a bit of global suffering burnout and have my reservations about giving to groups like the Red Cross, but you all have made it clear these folks desperately need help and I'm glad to give to an established progressive relief group in my area. Thanks for lighting a small fire under my ass.

Happy birthday gbx! Will buy you pretty purple fenders now.

What's the status w/ bottlenecking, not having enough people to unload supplies, etc.? Also, is there a current death count? Last I heard donations/resources were plentiful but it was v difficult to actually get them there.

50k is what i've heard, but who knows really

http://msf.org/msfinternational/invoke.cfm?objectid=3E14BA8A-15C5-F00A-25CBB3FB8EEC07AB&component=toolkit.article&method=full_html

far as i know that's the situation re bottlenecks at the airport, they're doing the best they can.. military has been able to clear some areas in p-au-p for landing helicopters..

good on you for donating some money. it's going to be a years-long project in any case so it'll be needed. also afaik it's better to make unrestricted donations to groups like red cross, doctors without borders - i heard that red cross still has millions left from tsunami relief donations that they would prefer to spend in other disaster areas but cannot, as it was earmarked by donors for that effort only.

yeah that was the word from that (irresponsibly headlined) article upthread.

I will continue to stan for pih.