Eyes of the Heart:
Seeking a path for the poor in the age of globalization
by Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Common Courage Press, 2000; ISBN 1-56751-187-2
From leftbooks.com:
A passionate letter on behalf of the poor written by Haiti’s first democratically elected president.
In this age of unprecedented economic growth, more than 1.3 billion people live on less than one dollar a day. Three billion people, or half the population of the world, live on less than two dollars a day. Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who became president of Haiti in an historic vote by the poor, shows that behind this crisis of dollars there is a human crisis:
“Among the poor, immeasurable human suffering, among the others, the powerful, the policy makers, a poverty of spirit which has made a religion of the market and its invisible hand. A crisis of imagination so profound that the only measure of value is profit, the only measure of human progress is economic growth.”
Eyes of the Heart gives readers a graphic representation of what happens when so-called “free trade” overruns local markets, eradicates local economies, and creates dependence on foreign charity.
It is also a spiritually uplifting book written by a religious leader who speaks out for the world’s hungry and who recognizes that there is also a great human hunger for spirituality, for morality in politics, for a recognition of the humanity and dignity of every living being.
Reviews
“Read this book and you will see what you have never seen before.”
— Bishop Thomas J. Gumbleton
“A beautiful book — a Third World manifesto written in the spirit of the gospels — by one of the morally transcendent leaders of our times. This book, written with wrath and sorrow, modesty and love, will take its place among the classics of social justice in our times.”
— Jonathan Kozol
“Every U.S. citizen who reads this book should cringe at the merciless betrayal of Haiti by our country. Aristide takes his place with the great religious statesmen of our day: the Dalai Lama, Oscar Romero, Desmond Tutu and Carlos Ximenes Belo. In this small book, we are privileged to look into his soul.”
— The Right Reverend Paul Moore, Jr.
“...[a] beautifully written, deeply moving and ultimately hopeful account of the Haitian people’s struggle to survive with peace and simple dignity amidst the violence and devastation wrought on them by a two-hundred-year-plus encounter with the predatory forces of a global economy. A must read for all who believe in economic and social justice.”
— David C. Korten
Related sites
Eyes of the Heart
http://www.eyesoftheheart.org/
This site has a brief biography of Aristide, a rare leader who, like Fidel Castro, is a bona fide hero in this world of cruelty, exploitation and selfishness. There is also a history timeline of Haiti, as well as lists of related books and links.
Aristide Foundation for Democracy
http://www.fonaristide.org/
“Since 1986 the Haitian people have traveled a long and difficult road from dictatorship to democracy. Overcoming devastating setbacks, such as the coup d’etat of 1991, they have achieved a degree of freedom and peace unprecedented in Haiti’s history. But today, a fundamental question remains. Will electoral democracy translate into concrete changes in the lives of ordinary Haitians?
“Former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide created the Aristide Foundation for Democracy with a simple principle in mind: the promise of democracy can only be fulfilled if all sectors of Haitian society are able to actively participate in the democratic life of the nation. To bring real change, democracy in Haiti must go beyond the polling place. It must become a daily practice. Democracy must include those at the margins of society: street children, market women, landless peasants, restaveks (children living in Haitian households as unpaid domestic laborers), the urban poor. And it must address the uses of primary importance to the majority of Haiti’s seven million citizens: food, jobs, health care, education, justice, and peace.
“The Aristide Foundation for Democracy is dedicated to opening avenues of democratic participation for those who traditionally have had no voice in national affairs. It seeks to echo and amplify the voices of the Haitian people on a national and international level, and it strives to foster dialogue across class and social lines.”
Haiti Progres
www.haitiprogres.com/
(Most of it is in French, but there are a few articles in English.)
Haiti Progres: This week in Haiti (in English)
http://www.haitiprogres.com/xeng0530.htm
WSWS: News & Analysis: Central America & the Caribbean
http://www.wsws.org/sections/category/news/am-cent.shtml
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