Black Star News Show: “Crisis in the periphery—Haiti and South Africa”

Prof. Pierre

Prof. Jemima Pierre. Photo: UCLA

Tune in to today’s Black Star News Show as host Milton Allimadi is joined by two guests to discuss first the crisis in Haiti, and then the ongoing uprisings and turmoil in South Africa.

Join us today July 20, 2021 on WBAI New York 99.5 FM Radio and streaming on www.wbai.org. 

During the first half-hour UCLA Professor Jemima Pierre, who’s also the Haiti/Americas coordinator of the Black Alliance for Peace joins Allimadi in conversation on the turmoil in Haiti. Prof. Pierre discusses the July 7 assassination of President Jovenel Moise and the wounding of his wife Martine by an apparent hit-squad. Pierre makes it clear that the murder could have only been carried out by deep-pocketed individuals. Who could be behind the hit? Who stands to gain? What about the U.S.’s imperial role in Haiti? Which way forward for Haiti? These are some of the questions Prof. Pierre addresses today.

In the second half-hour Zimbabwe-based Black Star News columnist Sifelani Tsiko joins Allimadi to discuss the tumult in South Africa since July 7 when former president Jacob Zuma was arrested and jailed after he defied an order to appear before a court in connection to corruption charges against him. Protests in parts of South Africa, particularly in Zuma’s Kwazulu-Natal ancestral home, have degenerated into massive looting and violence. Reportedly more than 200 people have been killed by security forces and by white vigilantes. Tsiko places the upheaval in historical context. He points out that income and wealth inequality in South Africa has reached explosive levels and the dream of a “rainbow nation” with opportunities for all has not materialized. 

The World Bank rates South Africa as the most unequal country in the world. Less than 20% of households control more than 70% of the income. The unemployment rate is 33%, with Black unemployment at 37% while unemployment for European South Africans was only 8.8%. Tsiko argues that the violence in South Africa isn’t just about the arrest of Zuma but manifestation of abject conditions of most Black South Africans who struggle against exploitative European monopoly capital. He also discusses attacks by white armed vigilantes against Black South Africans.

Listen to today’s show

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