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12/14/2005:

"Aristide the Film"

Review: Aristide and the Endless Revolution. 2005. Baraka Productions. 83 min. Movie site:aristidethefilm.com Available from firstunfeatures.com

Each fact is disputed. Haiti’s President, Jean Bertrand Aristide, was overthrown in a coup and kidnapped by the United States on February 29, 2004, says Aristide himself. Aristide left voluntarily, say US officials Colin Powell and Roger Noriega.

Despite the cliché that journalists seek ‘balance’, to get ‘both sides of the story’, the voices of Aristide and his Lavalas political party and movement, whose leaders have been exiled or jailed or massacred since his ouster, have been left out of most coverage of Haiti since that 2004 coup.

The world is expected to understand the events unfolding in Haiti since 2004 without hearing from the victims. Aside from skewing global opinion, the disinformation campaign in Haiti has prevented supporters of Lavalas inside Haiti from being able to talk openly about the issues. Outside of the country, supporters of democracy are left to talk on listerves and Web sites, where their words can be ignored.

For these reason, Nicolas Rossier’s film, ‘Aristide and the Endless Revolution’, is a real journalistic service to the community.
zmag.org