Get up, Stand Up! Take action!

"Why do you do theater?," I ask  Bazelais, the leader of FAVILEK.  She tells me: "Pour nous faire passer notre sensations de ce que nous avons subi."  That is, to have an outlet for our feelings of what we have endured.

In our first meeting together, the women speak to us about their experiences and about their expectations and dreams for the future and for our work together.   

"What we have experienced is very difficult.  We want to show others in other countries.  We want to go there in person and present our experience to them [not by video, not by disconnected reports, but live in the flesh, human to human] -- ourselves, our bodies, our faces, our emotions.  People cry when they see our performance."

They want people to know, to feel, and to take action and help change the situation.

FAVILEK has tried to reach out to the authorities, national and international, through regular avenues of communication to bring attention to the situation of women in Haiti, but to not avail.  There is a great disconnect between the talking heads of the government and the UN, and the people.  A lot of lofty talk and little action.  Who is really listening to what the Haitian people have to say? And especially Haitian women.  They do not feel their voices are heard.  And this is why FAVILEK is doing theater.  As a way to have a voice, to express themselves, to reach out and be heard. 

And so at the end of the 1990’s, they created a theater piece to speak out about their suffering as victims of political sexual violence called “Ochan pou tout fanm yo bliye” or “Tribute to all forgotten women, which they toured all over Haiti. 

Now the women of FAVILEK want to create a new theater piece about the earthquake and its aftermath. 

FAVILEK would like us to help them come to the United States and present their show. We would love to!  And we can do it!  But first we are here in Haiti and let’s see what we can do together here to start off.  We propose to do workshops in which we will share tools and techniques, different theatrical exercises that can empower their work.  Does this interest you?  Yes!  We will share what we know, and you can share with us your experience.  You can teach us your songs.  At this there is great excitement and clapping.  This is what we propose, but what is important is that you tell us what you need, what you would like from us, we are here for you, to help facilitate your work. 

So it is agreed we will begin with workshops and then continue on to work on their new show. 

 Our collaboration with FAVILEK is faciliated by Bureaux des Avocats Internationaux.  BAI is the Haiti-based affiliate of the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti, which fights for the human rights of Haiti’s poor.  BAI is working to empower womens’ organizations such as FAVILEK to advocate for victims’ rights, to help report cases and pursue justice.  For more information, go to: http://ijdh.org/about/bai. 

KOFAVIV is another women’s group helping victims, with whom we are hoping to collaborate.  KOFAVIV stands for Komisyon Fanm Viktim Pou Viktim: Women’s Commission of Victims for Victims.  Both FAVILEK and KOFAVIV were started by women who were victims of rape and assault in the political unrest that followed the 1991 coup.  These women are determined to make a change and are fighting tirelessly. 

The two organizations reach out to the women in the camps and help them get medical assistance, offer counseling for psychological support, help victims report their cases to the authorities and fight to get the perpetrators prosecuted.

When we first connected with FAVILEK, we expressed interest in going into the camps directly to work with the women there.  But as Annie Gell, our partner at BAI, tells us: "With the current volatile situation and general resource-poor conditions in the camps, KOFAVIV and FAVILEK will not be able to commit to accompanying your group into camps at this time.  FAVILEK in particular has expressed concern that bringing a troupe into certain camps would put FAVILEK members at risk because they will then be seen as having access to resources, making them greater targets for violence or theft."

Most support meetings take place outside of the camps because of the sensitive nature of the work and the risk of retaliation.

We are doing our workshops in the courtyard of Heartland Alliance, an NGO providing resources and support to several local grassroots groups, such as FAVILEK.