The Harsh Reality

For millions of Haitians, the voice of Jean Dominique continues to shout in the microphone “Yo arete konpè Philo! Yo arete konpè Philo”! (They arrested Konpe Filo!). The year was 1980, and the Duvalier regime had decided to put a halt to the growing media contestation that had heightened the conscience of the all social classes to unprecedented levels in Haiti. Intellectuals, artists, street vendors found their voices in the team assembled by Jeando and his wife Michele Montas. Whether it was the then soft spoken voices of Manno and Marco, or maybe it was the commanding and pointed analyses of Jeando, or the mocking tone of Konpè Filo, the regime had reasons to worry about their pervasive impact on the status quo. I do not know much about Haiti, but from the film I can tell that its struggles are somewhat similar to those in other authoritarian countries. Radio Haiti represents something crucial to a real democracy - the freedom of speech and expression. None of the three governments shown in the film were real democracy and the Haitians continued to suffer through repression and poverty. Two thoughts popped up in my head while I was watching the film: the looming presence of the military and the authorities' fear of free media. Throughout the transition from dictatorship to "democracy", the military played a very important role and had a strong influence on both the government and the society. Military officials held key positions in the government and soldiers/police used brutal force to silence the demonstrations. All of the three leaders shown on the film - Baby Doc, General Namphy, and President Aristide - are angry at Radio Haiti and wish to silence it for good. Why? They were not a true believer of the democracy. Even for President Aristide, democracy carried a different meaning than our definition. He regarded bribery and corruptions as means of reconciliation and his speech revealed his innermost ambitions to hold absolute power. Ratio Haiti voiced the opinions of the poor and repressed. Its popularity demonstrated the yearning for democracy among the Haitian people. However, the society itself lacked the necessary tools to facilitate democracy. There was an apparent absence of civil society in Haiti. The Haitians could not push as a united force for favorable policies in such a repressive environment. The uncurbed power of the military made it difficult for the social movements to succeed as too much blood was spilled before any changes could happen. Democratic apparatuses such as elections were tampered with and therefore lost their functions. One Radio Haiti could not bring about real changes, and the voices of the peasants can only reach the government when hundreds of Radio Haiti’s spring up. Jean's assassination was a timely reminder to the Haitian people that real democracy is not as simple as having elections - as long as the government fails to tolerate free media and free speech, there is no real democracy. And that is the harsh reality. The Agronomist truly illustrates the impact that media can have on revolution and its importance in the creation of democracy. Jean Dominique was a fascinating human being and his charisma and passion for his people and his country was/continues to be an inspiration. Although I have heard of the various coup d’états and military regimes that have controlled Haiti, I never knew the details, so it was interesting to observe Haiti’s ever changing political format as portrayed by the film. The tragedy is that although the “peasant” majority