FEBRUARY 19, 2010
PSC HOLDS HAITI SOLIDARITY EVENT
The union raised nearly $5,000 for Haitian universities and Doctors without Borders on Friday, February 19th.. Over 150 members, students and others attended. The PSC reached into the CUNY community to help make the event a success—the musician, panelists, moderator and "Radical Reference" librarians (who live-blogged the event here) all boast CUNY connections. The money raised comes after the PSC made an initial donation of $1,000 to Haitian relief efforts, split between Doctors without Borders and Partners in Health. It’s not too late to contribute – send your check, made out to the PSC with “Haitian Earthquake Relief” on the memo line, to PSC, Attention: Faye Alladin, 61 Broadway, 15th Floor, NY, NY 10006.
ALL PICTURE CREDITS AND PHOTO ESSAY: JOHN TARLETON, CLARION STAFF
The night's festivities started with a sharing of a traditional Haitian meal
The crowd also had a chance to listen to Haitian music by classical guitarist Pierre-Henri Barthelemy.
PSC President Barbara Bowen welcomed attendees. She emphasized that Haiti's tragedy should be cause "not for pity,
but for solidarity."
Baruch Assistant Professor of Sociology & Black and Hispanic Studies Ted Henken was the panel’s moderator.
The featured speakers for the night were (left) Carolle Charles, an associate professor of sociology at Baruch and (right) Francois Pierre-Louis, an associate professor of political science at Queens College. Both panelists are Haitian.
Charles spoke first, providing a rich lesson in Haiti’s history over the past two centuries and how the past has created a deeply unjust and unequal society. In recent decades, the population of Port-au-Prince swelled to more than 2 million as Haiti’s small farmers were driven off their land by free trade polices. “The earthquake was a poverty disaster that was caused by a failed state,” Charles said.
Pierre-Louis, who was in Haiti when the earthquake struck, discussed Haiti’s current situation and warned that Haiti’s reconstruction was being rapidly drawn up by the U.S. and other countries without any input from the Haitian people. He urged people not to forget about Haiti. “I don’t know of any country that rebuilds itself without international solidarity,” Pierre-Louis said.
The event was live blogged by “Radical Reference” librarians who are also members of the PSC.
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