Mining Free Haiti
Haitian people and communities are not only resisting mining. They are collectively dreaming of futures free of exploitation and foreign-imposed "solutions." One by one, nations in Central America are banning mining. Haitians communities are calling for the same.
A mining-free Haiti is the way forward. Not only would we avoid the devastating risks of mining, but we would create space and resources for Haitian communities and civil society to build a sustainable future for themselves and their families.
To explore what a mining-free future means to Haitians, the Global Justice Clinic interviewed Haitian activists, advocates, and scholars about what they envision for a mining-free Haiti. Drawing inspiration from their visions, artist Olrich Exantus painted this mural featuring a day in the life of a community in a mining-free future.
Haitian Leaders Share Their Vision of a Mining Free Haiti
Self-determination
“We have dared to be free–let us continue free by ourselves, and for ourselves.”
– Jean-Jacques Dessalines
This statue shows Dessalines, a leader of the Haitian Revolution and the first ruler of independent Haiti. Haitian people today continue to take inspiration from–and struggle for self-determination in the spirit of–the freedom fighters who created Haiti, the first country in the world to permanently abolish slavery.
We are living in a world that is all about exploitation of resources, land, people–can we not imagine another world? Can we imagine a world where people live in harmony and have good relationships with their neighbors, where we offer solidarity with one another, where we place care at the center of our relationships with one another and with the land?
– Sabine Lamour, Sociologist and coordinator of feminist organization, Solidarite Fanm Ayisyèn (SOFA)
In Haiti, the life of the farmer is tied to the land, it is a force in the person’s life and the connection they have with their land is irreplaceable. For Haiti to regain its sovereignty, it needs to develop in several economic areas, including in agriculture and tourism.
– Samuel Nesner, founding member of Kolektif Jistis Min
Environmental Justice
Haitian people dream of living in sustainable harmony with their natural environment. The Caribbean nation is named Ayiti–mountainous land. It is a beautiful land of steep hills and expansive coastline.
The spirits are in the water, in the trees, and in the land. To extract is to destroy our spirit. The tree has a spirit and the tree spirit is not for us to cut. When we recognize that we have a religious relationship with the water, we will not want to poison the water.
– Sabine Lamour, Sociologist and coordinator of feminist organization, Solidarite Fanm Ayisyèn (SOFA)
A Haiti free of mining would have a strong sustainable economic sector that respects the environment and its fragility.
– Nixon Boumba, founding member of Kolektif Jistis Min (KJM)
There will be a law that prohibits mining and protects the environment. It should protect trees and encourage us to plant more trees, protect water, and practice sustainable family agriculture. The community will benefit when we have nurseries for trees for reforestation.
– Anghie Lee Gardy Petit, Legal Assistance Officer at Groupe d'Appui au Rapatriés et Refugiés (GARR)