By Alexis Erkert
January 19, 2012
Remember, you are marching today for those who couldn’t be here,
To say to them, “We haven’t forgotten. We’ll never forget.”
And to say to those that are still here,
We will take a stand for the rebuilding of Haiti.
- Right to Housing Collective, January 12, 2012
On the morning of January 12, 2012, a group of women, children and men wound their way through the city wearing white, the Haitian color for mourning. Part memorial, they deposited wreaths of flowers on sites that had become mass graves during the 2010 earthquake, and part protest, they carried a banner that read: Two years later: Enough is enough." They alternated between singing a funeral dirge and chanting, "We need houses to live in!"
Haitian social movements have reclaimed douze janvye, January 12, as a symbol of moving forward. Two years later, 520,000 [i] continue to live in appalling conditions in displacement camps. And so, on January 11 and 12, thousands of Haitians - peasant farmers, activists, and displacement camp residents - took to the streets to denounce the situation in tent camps and the forced evictions of residents, and to call on the Haitian government to undertake land reform, provide public housing, and protect women's rights.
Although political and social divisions have long fissured Haitian movements, organizations from across historic divides are demanding many of the same things. One clear, common emphasis is the immediate need for land and housing for the displaced.
Excerpts from declarations and speeches on or around January 12, all with a focus on the right to housing, follow.
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