"Given just a little chance, and given a little help, this is going to be a great country."
Posted on | January 13, 2006 | 8 Comments
–Angelina Jolie, on Haiti, and in Haiti, above.
Don’t even get me started.
Check out http://www.haitiaction.net/ instead.
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8 Responses to “"Given just a little chance, and given a little help, this is going to be a great country."”
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January 13th, 2006 @ 7:07 pm
While I applaud her humanitarian efforts around the world, this statement strikes me as patronizing. It’s as if she’s patting the country and its citizens on the head and promising that “the great white hope” is on the way.
Maybe I’m overreacting, but it has an imperialistic ring to me.
January 14th, 2006 @ 12:29 am
No, you are not overreacting, Kelly! It’s totally offensive! And ignorant. Given just a little chance and help, maybe she can figure out that Haiti was a great country before we screwed it up, or maybe the people up here responsible for the abduction of a democratically elected president (who was seeking reparations, by the way) will just appoint her to be a figurehead for some kind of feel-good front organization that deflects attention away from brutal policies.
urgh!!
January 14th, 2006 @ 7:12 am
Thanks, Adrienne. I knew the comments rubbed me the wrong way but I wasn’t sure if my reaction was truly valid or just due to being overly-sensitive after a couple of tough days at work.
My knowledge of Haiti is severely lacking aside from bits and pieces, but the notion that their “greatness” as a country is only a future possibilty and not a past reality just sounded wrong.
Her comment just shows that if you’re going to speak out about something, it sure helps to know some history and get your facts correct.
January 14th, 2006 @ 2:36 pm
It’s completely offensive. They were apparently there in support of Wyclef Jean’s Yéle Haiti Foundation. Jean is anti-Aristide; check out this article from the Haiti Action Committee (http://www.haitiaction.net/News/HIP/11_2_4.html):
Wyclef’s uncle is Raymond Joseph, the highest-ranking official abroad representing the U.S.-installed government in Haiti. He is the un-elected government’s representative in Washington. Wyclef’s uncle, who he has often praised, is responsible for fomenting outrageous lies about Aristide and members the Lavalas political party that has contributed to the current climate of witch-hunts, arbitrary arrests and murders in Haiti today. Wyclef’s uncle is also the co-publisher of Haiti Observateur, a right-wing rag that has been an apologist for the killers in the Haitian military going back as far as the brutal coup against Aristide in 1991.
January 14th, 2006 @ 6:56 pm
Hey, Carla, thanks for all the great info. I wasn’t aware of what organization she was associated with or what their agenda was. I appreciate the enlightenment.
You and Adrienne are such great resources for my ever-enquiring mind!
January 14th, 2006 @ 7:38 pm
You know I love my celebrity gossip, but it sickens me to see her and Pitt put a glossy, public face on the tragedy that is Haiti right now. Americans have such a simplistic view of the rest of the world and frankly, this kind of shit does more damage than good, and her patronizing statement is just galling.
January 15th, 2006 @ 11:11 am
For the most part, Americans don’t know or don’t care about the rest of the world. I certainly admit that I’m not as educated about world politics as I should be. That’s why I appreciate people like you and Adrienne so much. You bring issues to the table and don’t make the unenlightened feel like idiots or bad people because of lack of knowledge. Thanks for that.
I think there are those who don’t know and would like to know and those who don’t know and don’t care. If it doesn’t affect them in a really tangible way, they have other things about which to concern themselves. Maybe they feel overwhelmed by their own lives or maybe they’re just too wrapped up in who will win a football game.
BTW, it’s great to see you blogging again.
January 15th, 2006 @ 11:18 am
And how! And fuck Wyclef! Even at the time of the coup, he was on MTV saying crazy stuff about Aristide. I didn’t know his uncle was involved with the Observateur.
I really think the critiques that people like Andrea Smith and groups ike INCITE! are making about NPO/NGP organizations are on-target. They maintain systems of oppression by creating a false story of aid and compassion that doesn’t even address the root problems. When Angelina steps out as some kind of loving, white fairy godmother of all the poor, starving asian and black kids, she is playing a very old and very oppressive role. We need to focus on the conditions that produce poverty and suffering if we want them to change. Angelina can’t adopt everyone, and jeebus help the kids she already has.