[Bloquez l'empire!] Sò Ann in Montreal

[aaron at resist.ca]

Haiti Action Montreal presents:

Sò Ann (with musical guests Kalmunity)
7pm Monday, January 29
Bar Toc Toc
6091 du Parc (corner, Van Horne)
$5-25 suggested donation
(*All proceeds go to Sò Ann-s educational projects in Haiti)

“Even though they released me, I still am not free. There are other Sò
Anns  still in jail."

So Ann, the legendary Haitian folksinger, activist, grandmother, and 
recently released political prisoner, is touring Canada to talk about her 
[recent] ordeal and Haiti’s present political struggles.

Annette Auguste, 62, affectionately known as So Ann, was arrested by US 
Marines on May 10, 2004 (Mothers Day), who stormed her home in
Port-au-Prince, destroying her property, killing her dogs, and arresting, 
hand-cuffing and head-bagging her entire household, including her
5-year-old  grandson and 68-year-old sister.

Sò Ann spent the next two years and three months in a Petionville prison, 
becoming a symbol of the arbitrary and repressive fate that awaited
Lavalas  organizers. In January 2006, Amnesty International declared So
Ann a  political prisoner.

Her liberation last August--after a short trial where the judge dismissed 
the concocted charges against her--was greeted with jubilation in Haiti
and  the diaspora. Thousands turned out to parade in the streets of Cité
Soleil  when she visited the seaside slum, the capital’s largest, on
September 4.

During the 29-year Duvalier dictatorship and succeeding military juntas,
Sò  Ann lived in New York, where she was a democracy activist and protest 
singer. She was usually called upon to lead the singing of the national 
anthem that traditionally opened the rallies and demonstrations at which
she  was a fixture.

Upon returning to Haiti in 1994, Sò Ann quickly became a prominent
organizer  and leader in the Lavalas Family party of President Jean-
Bertrand Aristide,  whom she helped get re-elected in November 2000.

US soldiers kidnapped Aristide and his wife from their home on February
29,  2004 and flew them into exile in Africa. US, French and Canadian
troops  occupied Haiti and installed a murderous coup regime, which drove
many  Lavalas Family leaders into exile. Sò Ann, however,  remained. She
was  recovering from recent surgery and finishing a new  album with her
all-woman  chorale.

The event will include a presentation by So Ann, a performance by the 
Kalmunity collective, as well as a short film and slideshow.

For more information, see recent interview:
http://www.haitianalysis.com/2007/1/16/“i-still-am-not-free”-sò-Àn-meets-with-new-york’s-haitian-community

7pm Monday, January 29
Bar Toc Toc
6091 du Parc (corner, Van Horne)

For more information:
haitiactionmontreal at gmail.com
or (514) 618-2253