0:01

Whether it's audio books or all-time

0:03

greatest hits, long live listening to

0:05

your favorites. Learn more about Kaskali

0:07

Ribocyclib 200 milligrams at kisqali.com and

0:09

talk to your doctor to see

0:11

if Kaskali is right for you.

0:17

Hey y'all, I want to let y'all know

0:19

that you can get more small doses. Yes,

0:21

I am now doing weekly small doses bonus

0:23

episodes and they are for my people at

0:25

the SEAL Squad. So if you ain't getting

0:27

enough of this, baby, there is more for

0:29

you. This is a little taste of what

0:31

you're getting. In this current landscape, I've been

0:33

really trying to be a lot

0:36

more mindful about who's around me. And

0:38

I've been really, really blessed to

0:40

have come into contact with a

0:43

lot of individuals that I just

0:45

was kind of sequestered from by

0:47

nature of the position I was

0:49

in career-wise and

0:51

just the direction I was in

0:53

career-wise. And now

0:55

I find myself actively making

0:59

different connections with people and different

1:01

types of people. And

1:03

it's really been a beautiful thing to

1:05

be able to have these very

1:08

real conversations about doing

1:10

the work of existing

1:13

against the status quo. A

1:16

spoonful of sugar makes all that go down. And let

1:18

me tell you something. I'm having a great time getting

1:20

to be more connected with y'all because when we do

1:23

the small doses bonus episodes, we

1:25

do them live. So you get to be

1:27

in the chat, interacting with yours truly. So

1:30

if you've been thinking about, hmm, do I

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want to join Patreon? Now is the time.

1:34

Become a member of the SEAL Squad and

1:37

expand your love of the small doses. Get

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you more doses, small doses bonus episodes at

1:41

patreon.com. Before

1:44

we get into this episode of small

1:47

doses, side effects of Haiti, remember that

1:49

this month is Haitian Heritage Month and

1:51

May 18th was Haitian Flag Day. Suck

1:53

my sake. Really excited to

1:55

be able to get y'all informed on Haiti

1:58

with this dope episode. get

2:00

there, I want to remind you all that I am still

2:02

on the road with the unlikable tour. I am

2:04

bringing my brand of intellectual comedy to a

2:06

city near you. This weekend I'll be in

2:08

Raleigh, North Carolina. Also in June I will

2:10

be in Toronto on June 19th. We have

2:12

one sold out show but a second show

2:15

still has tickets available and then I'll be

2:17

in Detroit on the 21st and 22nd. We

2:19

are also doing

2:21

a ticket pool. So the way this works

2:23

is we have donations from folks and we

2:25

use those donations to buy free tickets that

2:27

we then give to folks in these cities who can't afford

2:29

to come to the show but still deserve to come to

2:32

the show. So if you want to support in

2:34

that way make sure you go to amandaseal.com. While

2:36

you're there sign up for the newsletter. While you're there

2:38

maybe buy tickets to a city that you can go

2:40

and of course make sure that you donate to the

2:43

ticket fund if you can. Also I'll remind

2:45

you that if you haven't checked out the Amanda Seals show it's

2:47

my radio show that is also available as a

2:49

podcast. You can check us out wherever you

2:51

get your podcast. Last but not least if

2:53

you have not subscribed to Patreon you are

2:55

missing out on many a content, many

2:57

a bonus, but also we have small those

2:59

bonus episodes that I record live every week

3:02

where you can join in as part of

3:04

the chat. So that's Haitian Flag

3:06

Day, Haitian Heritage Month, that is

3:08

the ticket pool and the unlikable tour

3:11

and that is you supporting the Amanda

3:13

Seals show and becoming a

3:15

member of the Seals Squad. Alright

3:17

we got all of that for you

3:19

and now we have a new episode. Side effects of

3:21

Haiti. Keep it locked right here. Welcome

3:47

to another episode of Small Doses

3:49

Podcast and

3:51

man. So like the

3:53

last several months I think have been really

3:56

globally awakening for a lot of people.

3:58

A lot of people that that have

4:01

absolutely been amongst the rest of us

4:03

in America, where you kind of

4:05

don't even realize that you have a myopic point

4:07

of view. You don't even realize that you have

4:09

blinders on because that's really just the way it's

4:11

always been. But then there's a lot of folks

4:13

who have really opened their minds and their eyes.

4:16

And then there's a lot of folks who have

4:18

always had their eyes and minds open, namely people

4:20

who are from these places or

4:22

who have family from these places and have

4:24

made it their business to

4:27

try to eradicate

4:29

the elements that

4:32

are harming these spaces, namely

4:34

imperialism. Now today,

4:36

we are joined by Dr. Burchard Albert,

4:38

who is an activist on the ground

4:41

in Haiti, fighting for

4:44

the liberation of Haiti,

4:46

which has been a

4:49

long fight, even

4:51

though they were the first to actually

4:54

achieve liberation from these Western

4:56

colonization nations in their case

4:58

fans. And as someone

5:01

who has been to Haiti, I think

5:03

one of the biggest frustrations I have

5:05

is that like so

5:08

many places in Africa, Haiti is

5:10

presented as this completely destitute, just

5:14

war-torn, forlorn, always

5:17

on the bottom land. And

5:19

that's where we get this third world

5:22

situation. When in actuality, Haiti is a

5:24

beautiful, rich country

5:26

that is filled with so

5:28

much culture, that is filled

5:30

with so much diverse ecology,

5:33

and that like everywhere else in

5:36

the diaspora has so

5:38

much history and

5:40

pride. And to see that continuously,

5:43

just not shown, and

5:46

this idea that like, oh, the Haitians are always in

5:48

something. There's always something going on. Why is something always

5:50

going on in Haiti? Well, I love that we have

5:52

Dr. Burchard with us today because I want her to

5:54

be able to just give you all some context. I

5:57

want her to be able to give you all some

5:59

understanding of how... Haiti got here and

6:01

also what are the real things that can

6:03

be done to continue to help Haiti and

6:05

so many other Countries in the

6:08

global south get out from under the boot

6:10

of imperialism that continues to be Impactful

6:13

in a seemingly unending way, but it's

6:15

not unending Because we're

6:17

seeing a movement and a shift

6:19

towards ending this we are now

6:21

normally we would have a gem drop-in But I actually

6:24

want dr. Burchard to have more time

6:27

Because there really is no two sides to

6:29

this conversation There's Haiti

6:31

and there is the version that people think

6:33

Haiti is and I don't know why I've all

6:35

of a sudden like I see But

6:38

when you hear it's not what

6:40

that is Haiti and I want

6:42

people after this episode to really

6:45

have an expanded mind on Not

6:48

just the history of Haiti but the country

6:51

and the people of Haiti because

6:53

America has done a really great job as

6:55

it always does of Minimalizing people

6:57

down to what America wants to

6:59

think of it and that is

7:01

not enough We need to have

7:03

people speaking in their own Vision

7:06

of themselves and so we have dr. Burchard

7:09

Albert here to talk to us from that

7:11

vision on the ground in Haiti Let's

7:14

get into it. I am so happy

7:16

to Welcome to the

7:18

podcast dr. Burchard Albert who is

7:20

on the ground in Haiti

7:23

dr. Burchard I feel

7:26

like so many

7:28

people Really have only

7:31

heard the name Haiti and

7:33

don't really know about Haiti particularly

7:35

Americans now We have a global audience,

7:37

right? But I feel like particularly Americans

7:39

because Haiti is so close to us

7:42

in terms of proximity It's like Haiti

7:45

for so many people has always just been

7:47

contextualized as Just

7:49

kind of this black country That's

7:52

always got some shit going on and

7:54

can't never get right and it

7:57

hurts me when I see that because I

8:00

feel like that's the American narrative for a lot

8:02

of countries where they have obviously committed so much

8:04

effort to not allowing these countries to get right.

8:06

That's right. But I would love for you

8:09

to just contextualize for us, just off-ramp, what

8:11

Haiti is

8:13

for you. Hmm.

8:17

First and foremost, Amanda, thank you for having

8:19

me here. I'm so excited to

8:21

have this raw conversation because you're so right.

8:25

I see my country since

8:27

the birth of our nation in 1804. We

8:30

have been demonized. We have been

8:32

villainized. We have been seen as

8:34

this black nation that can't govern

8:36

itself, that can't rule itself. And

8:38

this narrative hasn't shifted. But for

8:40

me, as a woman who was

8:43

born in Haiti, cap Haitian, I

8:45

see my nation as a symbol of

8:47

liberation. I see my nation as a

8:49

beacon of hope. In 1804,

8:52

Haiti became the first free

8:54

black republic in the world,

8:56

the first nation to permanently

8:58

abolish slavery and the transatlantic

9:00

slave trade, the first nation

9:02

established in the Caribbean and

9:04

in Latin America, the second

9:06

nation established in the Western

9:08

Hemisphere. Haiti was a beacon

9:10

of light, a beacon of hope for

9:12

the rest of the region. In fact,

9:14

when Haiti gained its independence in 1804,

9:16

Haiti then began to

9:18

fight the fight for liberation and freedom

9:21

for Asians throughout the region. That's why

9:23

Haiti geopolitically established the region. You look

9:25

at the Haitian flag. I've got it

9:27

everywhere I go. You see that red

9:30

and that blue. It's so

9:32

powerful and so meaningful, but so

9:34

interesting because you look at the

9:36

Columbian flag, the flag from Venezuela,

9:39

so many other flags throughout Latin

9:41

America. They carry our blue and

9:43

our red, a bi-color. And why

9:45

is that? It's because Simon Bolivar,

9:48

the liberator of Latin America, he,

9:50

in order to fight for the

9:52

freedom of so many countries in

9:54

Latin America, he had to come

9:56

to Haiti two different times in

9:58

order to get ammunition. guns,

10:00

soldiers, a printing press, so many

10:03

resources to fight against the Spanish

10:05

and liberate Latin America. And that's

10:07

why even Simon Bolivar's letter to

10:10

Haitian President Picción, he writes that

10:12

Haiti is the true liberator of

10:14

Latin America. When I think about

10:17

Haiti, I think about freedom, black

10:19

freedom. I think about liberation, black

10:21

sovereignty, how we are able to

10:23

accomplish far more than what the

10:26

world thinks that we can accomplish. And Haiti

10:28

symbolizes hope for me. I would just be remiss if I

10:30

didn't mention that Henri Christophe, who is one of Haiti's freedom

10:32

fighters, was born in La Renade, AKA, BRIANADE! So

10:46

that's right! I'm going

10:48

to point that out because when I

10:50

went to Capation and we went to

10:52

the fort and we were all there

10:54

and they're like, yes, Henri Christophe is

10:56

from, and everyone's like, Haiti, he's like,

10:58

no, Grenada. Everyone looks at me like,

11:00

ahhhh! Connections,

11:03

connections, connections. Deep

11:05

connections. I love that you bring that

11:07

up, Amanda, because so many of our

11:09

Haitian heroes, you look at Bupma, who

11:12

technically, he came to Saint-Domingue from

11:14

what is now Jamaica. We

11:17

are so interconnected. We are the

11:19

African diaspora. Black people in the

11:22

United States, black people throughout the

11:24

Caribbean, Latin America, we are the

11:26

African diaspora. We are one and

11:29

so connected. And so freedom

11:31

in Haiti is freedom for

11:34

black people across the region. Why do

11:36

you feel like Haiti

11:38

has been unable

11:40

to ever really truly

11:42

find its footing as an independent nation? Oh,

11:47

we're going there. We

11:49

could take our time or we could just dive in. Let's go, Amanda. U.S.

11:53

imperialism, period. that.

12:00

Well, can you even go, can you

12:02

define imperialism for people? Because I think

12:05

this is a word that people are

12:07

hearing a lot now, particularly

12:09

around Palestine and Israel, but

12:12

they don't necessarily really know what imperialism

12:14

means. Yes. Imperialism

12:16

is the control,

12:18

the influence of the

12:21

United States, as we're talking

12:23

about US imperialism, is control the

12:25

influence of the United States in

12:27

different countries throughout the region, throughout

12:29

the world. And so when we're

12:31

looking at Haiti and the

12:33

development of Haiti and the sovereignty

12:35

of Haiti as a nation, we

12:38

haven't truly been able to grab

12:40

our standing, to really stand on

12:42

our two feet because of US

12:44

impact, US control, US influence since

12:46

the birth of our nation in

12:49

1804. And what do I mean

12:51

about that specifically? Can I

12:53

go? You never

12:55

listen. I'm a guest. This

12:59

is your show. This is your show. I said,

13:01

that's why we bring experts on because then I

13:03

can shut up and let you

13:05

ride. Peace to people. Oh, Dr. Burchard. We

13:07

are at your 30. Yes. Whether

13:14

it's audio books or all time greatest

13:17

hits, long live listening to your

13:19

favorites. Learn more about Kaskali

13:21

Ribocyclib 200 milligrams at kisqali.com

13:23

and talk to your doctor

13:25

to see if Kaskali is

13:27

right for you. There's a

13:29

spoon to grandma who always took

13:31

all the hungry cousins to McDonald's for McNuggets

13:33

and the play play fly. Have something sweet

13:35

in her honor. Come to McDonald's and treat

13:38

yourself to the grandma McFlurry

13:40

today. I participate in McDonald's

13:42

for a limited time. You

13:46

know, let me prepare myself

13:48

because I'm carrying my country

13:51

on my shoulders right now.

13:53

In 1804, when Haiti gained independence,

13:55

Haiti did the impossible,

13:57

truly the only nation. to be formed

14:00

because of a successful slave revolt in

14:02

the history of humanity. So

14:04

A.D. becomes this beacon of light for enslaved

14:07

people across the world, but then

14:09

he becomes also a

14:11

public enemy, a threat to the

14:13

existing world order because nations like

14:16

the United States, like France, their

14:18

economy was fueled off the backs

14:20

of Black people. It was fueled

14:23

by slavery. And so you've got

14:25

this Black nation that really undermines

14:28

white supremacy, which is a

14:30

pillar of slavery. And so

14:32

the only appropriate response for

14:34

Haiti at that time was

14:37

destabilization. Oh, you think you're going

14:39

to exist as a Black nation with

14:41

us, the United States just miles

14:43

away from you. Oh, that is

14:45

not possible. And so from the

14:48

get-go, the United States refused to

14:51

recognize Haiti as a sovereign

14:53

nation. So Haiti becomes free

14:55

1804. It's not until 1862 that the United States extends

15:00

diplomatic relations to Haiti and recognizes Haiti

15:03

as a free, independent, sovereign nation. And

15:05

that's really important for us to look

15:07

at because when we're looking at U.S.

15:09

imperialism, it's really this

15:12

act of failing to recognize

15:14

the autonomy of a nation,

15:16

failing to recognize the independence,

15:18

the freedom that our ancestors, they

15:20

fought, they bled, they died for. And

15:22

so the United States failing to extend

15:25

diplomatic relations, it wasn't really too big

15:27

of a surprise. It actually made sense

15:29

because it was the disposition of the

15:31

heart of the American people. And

15:34

what's really interesting is we spoke

15:36

about Simon Bolivar and how Haiti,

15:39

when we gained independence, Alexand Pétyol,

15:41

which is our president of the

15:43

Republic of Haiti in the South,

15:45

he gave ammunition, gun support to

15:48

Simon Bolivar to fight and gain

15:50

independence for several nations throughout Latin

15:52

America. But after Haiti did this,

15:55

Simon Bolivar organized the Congress

15:57

of Panama in 1825. And

16:01

when Simon Bolivar organized this

16:03

congress of Panama, he invited

16:05

the new nations of Latin America

16:07

to come strategize, to come plan,

16:09

and he should have invited Haiti.

16:11

But the United States threatened

16:13

Simon Bolivar and said, you invite Haiti, the

16:16

same nation that helped you. Yeah.

16:19

We're not coming. We're not engaging. And so

16:21

already you see that, by the way, Haiti

16:23

wasn't invited, even though Haiti, Wow. established

16:25

these other nations throughout Latin

16:27

America. You see Haiti over

16:30

and over and over get

16:32

excluded from really important regional

16:34

developments, regional meetings, trade, and

16:36

these other really important aspects that

16:38

helped to build up a nation.

16:41

Haiti is excluded. The history of

16:43

Haiti is silenced as Michel Rolf

16:46

Puyo, he was a brilliant Haitian

16:48

historian. He wrote this book, Silencing

16:50

Our Path. Our path

16:52

has been silenced, and that

16:54

was a strategy to destabilize

16:56

this free black nation. Any

16:59

thoughts before I continue? I am literally riveted. I'm

17:01

just, my only thought is that at some point

17:03

I need you to tell people about Toussaint L'Ovatil

17:05

because that's the only name they know. And

17:07

so I'm going to need you to talk about that at

17:09

some point. But otherwise, keep on talking, keep on talking. Let

17:12

me go ahead and get to Papa Toussaint. Toussaint

17:16

is the most

17:18

brilliant general in,

17:21

I would argue, world history. A lot

17:23

of people don't know. You

17:25

probably didn't see this in the Napoleon movie. You

17:27

probably didn't see this in your history book. Haiti

17:30

defeated France. And

17:33

this is a big deal because

17:35

France was a world power. France

17:37

had the greatest military under Napoleon,

17:39

the greatest military in the world

17:41

before the 1800s. Haiti

17:44

defeated France. Haiti defeated Spain.

17:46

Haiti defeated Britain. These

17:48

three were all the powers. Our

17:51

ancestors defeated them. In

17:53

order to create the first free black

17:55

republic, and the leader of this revolution

17:58

was Toussaint L'Ovatil, the great general. And

18:00

that's why we say that Toussaint

18:02

truly is one of the best,

18:04

if not the best general in

18:06

world history. That's why you'll

18:09

see a statue of him in

18:11

France, in the United States, in

18:13

Canada, in Bolivia. Throughout the world,

18:15

you'll see a statue of this

18:17

great black general because of his

18:19

excellence. I will also say that

18:21

you had Toussaint, but you also have Jean-Jacques

18:23

Dessalines, the father of Haiti. This

18:27

was the man that secured and declared

18:29

Haiti to be free in 1804. You

18:32

see, Toussaint was, one could argue that

18:35

he was the brilliance, the military genius,

18:38

but then Dessalines, he

18:40

was the art. He had a saying, coupette boulet

18:42

kais, like cut off the heads and burn down

18:44

the houses. He was, he

18:47

was cuss real. I

18:49

have a feeling that. Yeah,

18:51

coupette boulet kais. It's

18:54

like, alright. Let's do it.

18:56

He's like, there is no mercy because

18:58

we are in face of

19:01

evil, of a demon slavery. And so

19:03

we need to react accordingly to what

19:05

we're in face of. Some people say,

19:07

oh, he was brutal. He

19:09

was this. If Dessalines was brutal, what

19:12

do you think about slavery? Like, is

19:14

this the sweet institution? But there's

19:16

always this conversation, right? There's always

19:18

this conversation of how the oppressed

19:20

need to, how they should respond to their

19:22

oppressor. Everyone is acceptable in

19:24

their response to the oppressor. There's always

19:26

this thing about like, well, there's always

19:29

a conversation about the reaction versus about

19:31

what has been the catalyst to this,

19:33

right? And then you add to that

19:36

black people. So now it becomes this conversation around, well,

19:38

you know, they're savages, you know, they don't know how

19:40

to act their thugs, et cetera. And it's like, this

19:43

is the narrative that I think you're

19:46

so beautifully changing with your work,

19:48

not just like on the internet, but just your work on

19:50

the ground. Because I think so often, and I would love

19:52

to hear you speak to this. I

19:55

feel like so often that narrative gets spoken

19:57

to people and then it's spoken into people.

20:00

And then the people themselves start to believe a narrative

20:02

that was created about them by people that don't care

20:04

about them. That's right. Do

20:06

you feel like that has happened

20:08

in Haiti at all? Certainly

20:11

and I'll even take it a step further and say me

20:14

part of the Haitian diaspora, I grew up

20:16

in South Florida. I was

20:18

listening to this narrative, this narrative of

20:20

Haiti being this black, dark nation filled

20:23

with people that can't run govern themselves.

20:25

All that there is this destruction. And

20:27

so growing up as part of the

20:30

Haitian diaspora, I became scared and ashamed

20:32

to even say I was Haitian. It

20:34

wasn't until I grew up, I went

20:37

to the University of Florida. Go Gators.

20:40

Come on Gators. Get up

20:42

and go. What did she

20:44

know about the Gators, Amanda?

20:46

I am from Florida. I

20:49

didn't know that. I'm from Orlando, Florida. I mean,

20:51

I was born here in LA, but I'm from

20:53

Orlando, Florida. I went to Dr. Phillips High School.

20:55

Yes. I have so

20:58

many friends that were Gators,

21:00

that were Rattlers, that were

21:02

Seminoles. And I have

21:04

a former gymnast and the Gator gymnastics team

21:06

is top notch. So excellent. Shout out to

21:09

Trudy, Tanya and the girls over there. Yeah.

21:11

Yeah. I'm waiting.

21:14

Go Gators. Come on. I'm waiting.

21:16

I'm waiting. I love it. So

21:19

it wasn't until I went to college and I started to

21:21

study the history of Haiti. And when

21:23

I started to study, I said, what they

21:25

have been teaching me, is it

21:27

true? What they have been

21:29

teaching me, it's been created in order

21:31

for me to hate myself, in order

21:33

for me to not see the power

21:35

of my people. And when I say

21:37

my people, I'm not just talking about

21:39

Haitians. I'm talking about black people. I'm

21:41

talking about us as a race being

21:43

able to stand up and destroy slavery,

21:45

white supremacy, which we still see in

21:47

the United States. Well, I mean, you

21:49

see the governor, Ron DeSantis, is trying

21:51

to shut down these types of classes

21:53

at the University of Florida and other

21:56

institutions because it creates people like you. That's

21:59

exactly right. That's exactly right.

22:01

It's a threat. We've become a threat. Yeah.

22:04

And so yeah, I think that that's why

22:06

it's so important to really change the narrative.

22:08

And even me, as you mentioned, I work

22:10

full time on the ground in Haiti. But

22:13

as I come back to the United States,

22:15

I know that my calling in life is

22:17

to see my country rise. But it's not

22:19

just working in Haiti. It's also working with

22:21

the diaspora. That's why two years ago, I

22:24

started a TikTok account that just tells the

22:26

story of my people, the true story of

22:28

my people. I mean, and it blew up.

22:30

It has like 250,000 people

22:32

in like two years. I'm like, nobody knew my

22:35

name. It just blew up. And I

22:37

think it's less because of me and

22:39

more because so many Haitian diaspora are

22:41

looking at that and saying, I

22:44

knew that was more to the story. I

22:46

knew it wasn't just darkness. Because when

22:48

you say Haiti is dark, you're saying I'm

22:50

dark. When you're saying my people are able,

22:52

you're saying I'm unable. When you're saying my

22:55

country is disastrous, you're saying I'm disastrous. It's

22:57

part of our identity. So many people looked

22:59

at the stories and they said, I

23:01

knew there was more B. They knew there was

23:03

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McNuggets and the play play slide. Have something

23:31

sweet in her honor. Come to McDonald's and

23:33

treat yourself to the grandma McFlurry today. And

23:37

participating in McDonald's for a limited time. I

23:40

think it's incredible to see someone go

23:43

through that process of the

23:45

learning, the evolving, the application, right?

23:48

So what brought you back to Haiti to

23:50

be on the ground? Yeah,

23:52

it was the earthquake of 2010 that brought me

23:54

to Haiti. When I went to the

23:57

University of Florida, I studied

23:59

Haiti. just slightly but

24:02

when the earthquake hit something in my heart

24:04

was like you've got to go see your

24:06

country for yourself everybody's saying don't go you're

24:08

gonna get kidnapped you're gonna get I mean

24:10

this is 2010 people were still saying this

24:13

and I knew in my heart I had to go when

24:15

I went and man the minute

24:17

I saw those majestic mountains I

24:19

said I'm home the minute that

24:22

girl touched my mouth touched

24:24

my lips I said oh I am

24:26

home the minute I heard my people

24:28

speak the language I grew up on

24:30

and it just sounded so powerful majestic

24:33

this is a language of a

24:35

revolution this is the language that my

24:37

ancestors used in order to defeat their

24:39

colonial powers it was created in order

24:41

for my ancestors to connect with each

24:43

other in order for them to overthrow

24:46

slavery this is the language I'm hearing

24:48

on the ground in Haiti and I

24:50

said I am home the history is

24:52

just starting to come to life and

24:54

I knew from my first trip in

24:57

Haiti the rest of my

24:59

life I don't know when my life is going to

25:01

be over but for the rest of my

25:03

life until my dying breath I will

25:05

be fighting for my country in

25:07

my country to see the liberation

25:09

of my people period it

25:11

was that first trip when you went did you plan to

25:14

stay I didn't I was

25:16

still a student at the University of Florida so I

25:18

went and I knew I'd be coming back but

25:20

I had to return to those spring break I

25:23

gotta go back to study real one you went to

25:25

Haiti during a post earthquake for your spring

25:27

break most people are like how do I

25:29

go to Miami how can I go to

25:31

Mexico you said no I gotta go to

25:33

my people so you went back to school

25:35

and then you packed up and went back

25:37

to Haiti no I ended up

25:40

staying in school until I finished my

25:42

PhD so I was in my undergrads and I

25:44

did my masters and then I did my PhD

25:46

the reason why I stayed in school but I

25:48

just kept on going back to Haiti every spring

25:50

break every summer break I kept on going back

25:52

is because I know I'm

25:54

a young black woman from Haiti

25:56

born in Haiti like US citizen

25:58

but like naturalized Everything

26:00

is working against me. The one thing

26:02

that I must do is to get

26:04

the highest level of education so that

26:06

when I walk into a room and

26:09

I speak about my country, they don't

26:11

think I'm just this angry black woman.

26:13

They don't just think I'm this young,

26:15

maybe even passionate black woman, but I know

26:18

what I'm talking about. So I permitted to

26:20

staying in school until I got a terminal

26:22

degree. And then the minute I

26:24

finished with my terminal degree in

26:27

2016, I had already started my

26:29

nonprofit, co-founded a nonprofit, and I was

26:31

already traveling to Haiti every chance I

26:33

got. But when I graduated, I said,

26:35

okay, full time. And it was crazy because at

26:38

that time I had a PhD and

26:40

I was starting full time and my salary was

26:42

like, like $30,000 and

26:45

my parents were like, a year? Yeah,

26:47

a year. A year. Yeah. And

26:50

my parents said, so we

26:52

sacrificed. We left Haiti. We

26:55

immigrated here. You went through all that schooling for $30,000

26:57

a year. And

26:59

I'm like, oh, yeah, I'm sorry. Oh,

27:01

I said, I mean, it's a calling. I

27:07

have to do it. I have to do it, guys. I

27:10

will not be satisfied with my life. And sure

27:12

enough, I did it. And it was the best

27:14

decision. Granted, I had to go move in with

27:16

some friends and my co-founder's sister, she took us

27:18

in because I couldn't afford rent in South Florida.

27:21

There's some things I had to do, but

27:23

at the same time I knew this was the

27:25

best decision I could make. That's really

27:27

inspiring because I think a lot of people, a

27:30

friend of mine said the other day, he said, the

27:32

only way you get the W is to address every

27:34

excuse. And yeah, he'd

27:37

be having them lines. And I've mentioned

27:39

Mac and his Macisms on this podcast before,

27:42

he'd be having them lines. And so I

27:44

feel like what you did was you

27:46

addressed all the excuses. Well, I can't go because I

27:48

don't have the money. Well, I'm gonna go move in

27:50

with this person, right? I can't go

27:53

because it's dangerous. Well, I'm just gonna go

27:55

and be safe. And I

27:57

think we talk ourselves out of all

27:59

these things. but ultimately the

28:01

goal has to be achieved and there's always

28:03

gonna be obstacles. And when you look at

28:06

even just the forming of Haiti, the goal had

28:08

to be achieved and there were obstacles to continue

28:10

to be, but that doesn't mean the fight stops.

28:13

That's exactly right. Can you talk to

28:15

us about the current Haiti

28:18

that is in existence right now and also about

28:20

your canal project? Certainly. So,

28:23

which I donated to for the record. I

28:25

know, I was about to give you a

28:27

set of the biggest shout out in the

28:29

world because our administrative director,

28:32

she emails and she's like, Amanda

28:35

Seals? I said, what

28:37

about ours? Like she donated like

28:39

one of our biggest donations to the canal

28:42

and we're so thankful for you.

28:44

We are incredibly thankful. But we'll

28:46

get to the canal in a second. Okay,

28:48

when you look at Haiti, certainly

28:51

we're facing our challenges. I mean, Haiti

28:53

has made global headlines. You turn on

28:55

TV, radio, podcasts, social

28:57

media and all you see

28:59

are these images of gang

29:01

members holding guns. You see

29:03

images of burning tires, empty

29:06

schools, empty hospitals, empty prisons.

29:08

I mean, the challenge is

29:10

real. I do want

29:12

to clarify though, that the challenges

29:14

that we're facing with insecurity specifically,

29:16

it's happening in our capital. Although

29:19

the news like to portray that it's

29:21

the entire nation that is facing this

29:23

challenge. I mean, you're in Capetion, yeah?

29:26

I'm in the North, I'm in Capetion.

29:29

I'm in Capetion, I'm in Capetion. Amanda, you know

29:31

a lot about our country. I've been to Haiti.

29:33

How many times have you been? I mean, I

29:36

only went once, but when I went, my friend

29:38

who I went with, her uncle was the president

29:40

at the time. Whoa. Wait, Mickey.

29:43

So. No way. So we were important

29:45

friends and then we went to Capetion and so we

29:47

went to La Badie. And I'm also

29:49

like. The Citadel. Yes, and so when

29:51

I go places, I mean like I'm in

29:53

the place, you know? Like I'm learning the

29:55

things, I'm not just there. And Haiti is

29:57

the kind of place like you can't be

29:59

past. about Haiti. It's so rich.

30:02

It's so robust, you know? So when

30:04

you're there, you can't be tourist because

30:06

you're immersed. You know, it's not like

30:08

when you go to places, like you

30:10

can go to Barbados and not even

30:12

touch Barbados. Like, and what's annoying me

30:14

about Belize is that it's starting to

30:16

be like that where like you can

30:18

go to certain parts of Belize and

30:20

it's so white that

30:22

you don't even really touch Belize.

30:24

There's no version of going to

30:27

Haiti without being immersed. Which is

30:29

also what I love about Grenada. Same thing.

30:31

Haiti is for Haitians, Grenada is for Grenadians. Unless you

30:34

go to Sandals and even then you still

30:36

get to know Grenadians and you're still going to be asked

30:38

if you want Sowasap juice. Oh, I

30:40

need to visit Grenada. I certainly do.

30:43

Because me being from the north, like

30:45

my number one Haitian hero is underneath

30:47

Christophe, like the king of the north.

30:49

The great king of the north. The

30:52

north remembers, yes. Oh, yes. Certainly.

30:54

Always a forever. So

30:57

we see that all over the news.

31:00

But number one, it's important to note

31:02

that it's not the entire nation that is

31:04

struggling with insecurity, even though media likes to

31:06

portray it because it feeds into this narrative

31:08

of Haiti being on fire. Since 1804, Haiti

31:10

is on fire. They're unable

31:13

to govern themselves. I will

31:15

say the entire nation feels the impact

31:17

economically. And so gas prices have quadrupled

31:19

because Port-au-Prince are capital, they control a

31:21

lot of the economy. Yeah. And so

31:24

we're feeling it economically. We're feeling it

31:26

emotionally. There's a lot of trauma with

31:28

me and my team. I've got a

31:30

team of 50 full-time staff members in

31:32

the north. And one of the

31:34

biggest things that I'm struggling right now is emotionally

31:37

how to be there for them as a leader,

31:39

how to say, you know what, we're taking a

31:41

day and we're just talking through emotions, even though

31:44

we've got a lot of work to do. So

31:46

emotionally, it's really hard and traumatic.

31:49

But the insecurity in capital is

31:51

not in no cap. It's not in Jacques-Mélle. It's

31:53

not in JME. It's not in Anch. It's not

31:56

in Port-au-Prince. It's not throughout the nation. The second

31:58

thing that's so important, Amanda. for

32:00

us to look at is, okay,

32:02

there are men with guns in the

32:05

capital. Where are these

32:07

guns coming from? Because Haiti

32:09

doesn't manufacture guns. Haiti doesn't

32:11

manufacture bullets. Where are

32:14

these guns coming from? And who

32:16

stands to benefit the most at

32:18

a destabilized Haiti? Probably must ask

32:20

these questions. And I mean, the

32:22

first question, everybody already knows there

32:24

are UN reports that show that

32:26

the guns come from the United

32:28

States. Specifically, they come from

32:30

Miami, from Florida. And

32:33

who stands to benefit? Of course, we

32:36

have the oligarchs, we have the elite

32:38

family that control the nation, they control

32:40

the wealth of the nation. But there

32:42

is a master puppeteer. And we

32:45

have seen since the beginning of the

32:47

birth of our nation, the master puppeteer

32:50

has been the United States. And one

32:52

might ask, well, what does the US?

32:54

Yes, that's my question. Like, where do

32:57

they benefit from? What is the reason?

32:59

Who? There are several

33:01

reasons. The big, impeding

33:04

reason right now is control

33:06

of Haiti is a

33:09

strategic geopolitical move. In

33:11

what sense, right now we see already there's

33:14

this impeding threat of China,

33:16

Russia, yeah, humming into the Western

33:18

Hemisphere, coming into the Caribbean, and

33:21

having control in the Caribbean. And

33:23

so if China and Russia have

33:25

these connections, which, side note, during

33:28

a lot of demonstrations, we see

33:30

the Russian flag being waved across

33:33

Haiti, a major demonstration. Yeah, Haitians

33:35

are like, be

33:37

Russia, let's go in Russia, forget this US imperialism.

33:39

Like, let's vote it, which for me, I'm like,

33:41

what you want to trade one master for another

33:44

thing. Yeah, yeah. What are we doing? What are

33:46

we talking about? Yeah, forget

33:48

about that. Ribocycloid

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all the hungry cousins to McDonald's for McNuggets

34:13

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34:15

in her honor. Come to McDonald's

34:17

and treat yourself to the Grandma McFlurry

34:19

today. Ba da ba ba ba and

34:21

participate in McDonald's for a limited time. But

34:25

at the same time that is still

34:27

a threat and so if the United

34:29

States is able to come into Haiti

34:31

and have a military presence we don't

34:33

have to worry about Russia, we don't

34:36

have to worry about China because the

34:38

U.S. has control but throughout history I

34:40

like to say that there are five

34:42

major reasons why the United States has

34:44

really shown a lot of impact. Number

34:46

one is fear, fear of a black

34:49

republic. When Haiti becomes free in

34:51

order to control Haiti we have to destabilize

34:53

Haiti and we have to really control

34:55

the narrative and so there's a big

34:57

fear of Haiti even today some might

34:59

say like well slavery is abolished

35:02

why would the United States fear Haiti?

35:05

A lot of people don't know

35:07

in 2004 Haitian President Ali Steele,

35:09

the first democratically elected president Ali

35:12

Steele, he was overthrown and the

35:14

two players that orchestrated

35:16

this coup d'etat was the United States

35:18

and France. Check out the New York

35:20

Times they did an excellent article about

35:22

the overthrow of Ali Steele, the United

35:25

States and France they were behind it

35:27

and a former French ambassador he admits

35:29

to all of this and there's so

35:31

much that shows that these two nations

35:33

did it but why did they do

35:35

that? It's because Ali Steele he

35:38

stood before the UN, he

35:40

stood before the world and said Haiti

35:42

had to pay an indemnity. We paid

35:44

the equivalent of 21 billion dollars for

35:46

our freedom, France forced us to pay

35:48

this money and now the calculations are

35:50

it's between 21 billion to 30 billion

35:52

dollars. France must pay Haiti back and

35:54

so there's this big fear

35:56

now if France pays Haiti back what

35:58

about the other Yeah. What

36:01

about Black people in the United States

36:04

in the preparation that they're owed for

36:06

slavery? And so if you destabilize Haiti,

36:08

if you take Alistair out of power,

36:10

that discussion ends and essentially it did

36:12

end. So there's fear of Haiti. Number

36:15

two, we need to look at the money in

36:17

Haiti. Haiti,

36:20

in 1915 to 1934, Haiti was

36:22

invaded by the United States and

36:24

the United States took control of

36:26

Haiti. The first actions that the

36:29

United States did is that they

36:31

went into Haiti's national bank and

36:33

they completely emptied Haiti's gold

36:35

reserves. They took that gold, the US

36:37

Marines, they brought it to New York, a lot

36:39

of people don't know, and that

36:41

gold, they said that they're going to keep it

36:43

in New York for safekeeping. New York Times does

36:45

an excellent article about it. That

36:48

gold never returned back to Haiti. In fact,

36:50

that gold was used to help establish Citibank,

36:52

which is one of the most... Yeah,

36:56

it's true. You could Google Citibank, the beginning

36:58

of the Citibank, Google the New York Times

37:00

article. They did an excellent piece

37:02

tracing the foundation, the establishment of Citibank to

37:05

the money that was stolen from Haiti in

37:07

1914, right before the US

37:09

occupation. So there's money in that sense.

37:11

Not only that, so one might say,

37:13

well, that was back then. Well,

37:15

even to this day, the United

37:18

States takes US rice and

37:20

they flood Haiti with US rice.

37:24

They pay US farmers, mostly from

37:26

Arkansas, over $400 million a year

37:28

in order for US farmers to

37:30

give their surplus rice to Haiti.

37:33

One might say, well, Haiti needs it. Haiti

37:35

didn't need it before 1980s. In

37:38

the 1980s, Haiti was producing 90% of

37:40

the rice that we were consuming. We were

37:42

producing a surplus of rice. In fact, we

37:45

were shipping out our rice to different nations,

37:47

but then Bill Clinton comes in and he

37:49

creates a policy that makes Haiti

37:52

drop our tariffs. From 50%

37:54

to 3%, the

37:56

lowest in the Caribbean. And when we drop

37:58

our tariffs, Bill Clinton says... You know what,

38:01

this is good for Haiti because now you don't have

38:03

to worry about farming. And this is good for my

38:05

Arkansas farmers because we get our surplus and we just

38:07

dump it in Haiti. Bill

38:09

Clinton goes in front of the world.

38:12

You all can Google it. Please make

38:14

sure you Google this. Bill Clinton apology

38:16

to Haiti. He apologizes for destroying Haiti's

38:18

rice industry. And he said, this was

38:21

a benefit to my farmers in Arkansas,

38:23

but it destroyed Haiti's rice

38:25

industry. How are we ignoring

38:27

the fact that the United States

38:29

destroyed Haiti's rice industry? And to this day,

38:32

our tariff is still the lowest in the

38:34

Caribbean. The United States is making so much

38:36

money off of Haiti by

38:38

taking their surplus rice, dumping it

38:40

in Haiti. So it never stops even though

38:42

he apologized? It never stops. This apology shit is a

38:44

waste of goddamn time. Who cares? Come on,

38:47

Amanda. Apology is not going to do

38:49

it. We need restorative justice practices. That's

38:51

it, Amanda. That's what Haitians are saying. Haitians

38:53

are like, you're a hypocrite. How are you

38:55

apologizing? And don't they own land in the

38:57

body? Sis, don't get me started.

38:59

I think they own land with the bushes.

39:02

They own land across Haiti. La Batee,

39:04

it's least out to Royal Caribbean. Yes,

39:06

it's that water park, right? There's

39:08

like a water park right there. And that's

39:11

right. That's exactly right. And Haitians can't go

39:13

to that park. You

39:15

know it. Haitians can't enter. Haitians

39:17

can't enter into La Batee. In

39:19

the beginning, they would tell people on the ship

39:22

that it's the Caribbean, but they wouldn't say that

39:24

it was Haiti. Now, because Haitians

39:26

rise up and they're like, this is Haiti. How

39:28

are you bringing people to say that? It's a

39:30

paradise of the Caribbean, a piece of the paradise

39:33

of the Caribbean, not saying Haiti. They've changed their

39:35

rhetoric, but for a long time,

39:37

Haiti wasn't credited for owning La Batee. So

39:40

I'll try to go a little bit faster. We talked about fear.

39:42

We talked about money. There's also

39:44

land and natural resources. A lot of people

39:46

don't know that there's an estimated $20 billion

39:49

worth of gold in Haiti, $120 billion

39:51

worth of oil. Some

39:55

estimates say that this could be larger. The

39:57

oil in Haiti could be more than Venezuela

39:59

because Haiti on tectonic plates, which

40:01

causes earthquakes, but then it treats a

40:03

lot of oil. Yeah. And a lot

40:05

of natural resources. There's $8 billion worth

40:08

of copper and iridium, which is three

40:10

times more expensive than gold. Haiti has

40:12

the second largest deposit of iridium in

40:14

the world after South Africa. So there's

40:17

a lot of natural resources in Haiti.

40:19

You ask any Haitian in Haiti, they're

40:21

like, oh yeah, the US

40:23

is mining. Like they've been mining

40:25

for years. So control of Haiti

40:28

means control of our natural resources.

40:30

Not only natural resources, do some

40:32

research on there's a place in

40:34

Haiti, Northwest Haiti called St. Moles

40:36

Nicolas. And when you look up

40:38

the mole, you'll see that the United States tried

40:41

to control, tried to take a piece of land

40:43

from Haiti and those big, the United States even

40:45

sent gunboats to Haiti in order to try to

40:47

control that piece of land. Haitians stood up and

40:50

they said no. So the United States could not

40:52

take control of that land. However, they did

40:54

take control of an island called La Nevada

40:56

Island. A lot of people don't know this

40:58

island is still in big disputes because Haiti

41:01

says this is our island, but the United

41:03

States took control of Nevada

41:05

Island. So land and natural resources is

41:07

a big reason why power is

41:09

another reason why the United States tries to

41:11

control Haiti. Right now we see China. The

41:14

threat is China and Russia. But in 1915,

41:16

the threat was actually

41:19

Germany because in 1950, Germans

41:21

owned 80% of the

41:24

commerce in Haiti, but the wealthy people

41:26

in Haiti were German diaspora.

41:28

And the United States

41:30

saw Germany as their chief rival

41:32

in the Caribbean. And so in

41:34

order to kick Germans out, the

41:36

United States invaded and they put

41:38

in power the all of

41:40

our families that we see today, they put

41:42

in power different people from different backgrounds. I'm

41:45

not going to name drop right now, but

41:47

they were able to take control of the

41:49

land by invading in 1950 and really throwing

41:51

out the Germans. And then the final piece

41:54

I'll say is investments. So we looked at

41:56

fear, we looked at money, we looked at

41:58

land and natural resources. resources, power,

42:01

final piece, investments. A lot of

42:03

people don't know that Haiti has

42:06

the second largest number of

42:08

nonprofits per capita in the

42:11

world. Like there are so many

42:13

nonprofits in Haiti. A lot of

42:15

American run nonprofits that have their

42:17

bases in the United States but

42:19

Americans are working in Haiti and

42:21

these investments are very precious

42:23

for the United States. Not only

42:25

NGOs but we see sweatshops, Gildan

42:27

made in Haiti, a cheap labor.

42:29

A lot of cheap labor

42:32

is in Haiti and that's why Haitians

42:34

try to fight for a higher wage

42:37

and the United States tries to suppress

42:39

that. There are so many investments. Haiti

42:41

has the fourth or fifth largest embassy

42:43

in the world and some might ask

42:45

like Haiti this geographically small nation but

42:48

you have such a large embassy. Why

42:50

it's the investments Amanda? So I could

42:52

speak for hours about it but

42:54

there's so much. There's so much

42:56

at stake for the United States

42:58

and so controlling Haiti, having that

43:00

influence, imperialism is a way

43:02

to ensure that the US interests

43:05

are protected. Hence imperialism.

43:07

Hence imperialism. Well there is so

43:09

much and so it's no surprise

43:11

that our audience has questions

43:14

and so yes so

43:16

we are gonna head over

43:18

to Patreon for my SEAL

43:20

squad to get in their

43:22

questions for Dr. Bertrude Albert

43:24

about side effects of Haiti. Whether

43:31

it's audiobooks or all-time greatest hits,

43:33

long live listening to your favorites. Learn

43:36

more about Kaskali ribocyclic 200 milligrams at kisqali.com

43:39

and talk to your doctor to see

43:41

if Kaskali is right for you. Raise

43:45

a spoon to grandma who always

43:47

took all the hungry cousins to McDonald's for

43:50

McNuggets and the play-play slide. Have

43:52

something sweet in her honor. Come to

43:54

McDonald's and treat yourself to the grandma

43:56

McFlurry today. At

43:58

participating McDonald's for a limited time. Well,

44:09

before we go, I just have one very light,

44:13

easy question. Yes. In

44:16

your honest opinion, what do you see as the future

44:18

of Haiti? Freedom.

44:23

The future of Haiti is freedom. And

44:25

I don't just say this, just be

44:27

optimistic. Too many

44:29

Haitians care about the future of

44:31

our country. Too many of us

44:34

are ready and willing to give

44:36

our lives to the cause. And

44:38

so just like our ancestors were

44:40

free, just like our ancestors were

44:42

victorious in 1804, we're going to

44:45

be victorious now in 2024 and 2034 and 2054. In

44:49

2054, we will be

44:51

free, just like our ancestors.

44:57

These

45:00

ancestors that fought for freedom, we're

45:03

going to start the same way, but our freedom's

45:05

going to be even greater because we're going to

45:07

build off of what they began in 1804. Freedom

45:10

is our future. What does freedom look like?

45:13

When would you look around and say, we did it? Like

45:16

what would have to have been accomplished for you to feel

45:18

like we did it. We're here. We're

45:21

on a new path and it's a liberated one.

45:24

Some might say freedom will look like big

45:26

buildings, like every road

45:28

paved, like development in that

45:30

sense. That's a byproduct. That could be a

45:32

byproduct of true freedom. True freedom is

45:35

going to happen when Haitians are able to

45:37

reach their fullest potential. What do you mean by that? I

45:40

mean, look at our educational system. Right

45:43

now in Haiti, 60% of students in

45:45

Haiti drop out before they finish elementary

45:47

school. Six out of ten. Drop

45:50

out before they finish elementary school. Freedom

45:52

is going to look like that statistic

45:54

of being obsolete. Our children are able

45:56

to go to the highest

45:58

level of education. able to receive

46:01

formal, informal, non-formal education, reach their fullest potential,

46:03

and then create the Haiti that they want

46:05

to create. It's not going to look like

46:07

the United States, maybe not with skyscrapers, maybe

46:10

not with roads like the United States, but

46:12

it's going to look like the Haiti that

46:14

we want to create. True freedom is going

46:16

to be like US imperialism

46:20

listening and Haitian autonomy, freedom,

46:22

developing our people and able

46:24

to experience autonomy and liberation

46:27

without the control, the puppeteering

46:29

of the United States, without

46:31

students dropping out of school.

46:34

That's what true freedom is going to look

46:37

like. And that's why even all around my

46:39

office, all around my house, I've got pictures

46:41

of students. I actually took this picture and

46:43

my nonprofit training teachers. I've got

46:45

these pictures all over my office, all

46:48

over my home to remind me that

46:50

true freedom is her

46:52

being able to reach her fullest potential. We

46:55

love a queen that understands and loves

46:57

education. That's my whole thing. I'm like,

46:59

if we can't get educated, then we

47:01

can't get free. That's why they try

47:04

so hard and work so hard to

47:06

prevent us from doing so. Well, thank

47:08

you so much, Dr. Bertrude Albert, for

47:11

educating us. Where can people

47:13

get more of your content so they can

47:15

continue their education on Haiti? Yes.

47:18

Join me on

47:20

TikTok, tiktok.com/Bertrude. And

47:23

also Instagram. Every day I

47:25

post something. If it's a reflection or

47:27

a quote, I post something or history

47:30

about our country. Check me out. All

47:33

right, y'all. Don't say we never told you nothing. Whether

47:42

it's audio books or all-time greatest

47:44

hits, long live listening to your

47:46

favorites. Learn more about Kaskali Ribocyclib

47:48

200 milligrams at kisqali.com and talk

47:50

to your doctor to see if

47:52

Kaskali is right for you.