Socialists respond to Haiti relief

While other student groups planned dinners or donation drives for charities to help with Haiti earthquake relief, one group began plotting something a little different.

Members of the IU chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists said they want to find a certain type of group within Haiti to support.

Their goal is to find a group that will stay and help “teach the people to fish,” instead of just throwing money at a situation, said Amber Frost, a recent IU graduate and a member of the Young Democratic Socialists national coordinating committee.

A suitable group would support what the group stands for. The chapter started its search by looking at worker unions.

One organization they looked at was Batay Ouvriye, but the group deemed it unacceptable because they reportedly called for the overthrow of former Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide and then had financial support from a U.S. funded pro-democracy program. 

The socialists said it’s wrong because Aristide was elected democratically.
This Friday to Saturday, the group is going to a national conference in New York.

But when they are in Bloomington, the Young Democratic Socialists meet 5:30 p.m. Thursdays in Ballantine Hall. Or, if they can’t get a room there, they huddle around a table in the back of Soma Coffee House or Laughing Planet Cafe.

Frost said that usually six or seven people show up to meetings.

The group discusses international events, wars, conflicts, labor unions and the status of the socialist movement around the world.

“As far as we’re concerned, as socialists, all human suffering is connected,” Frost said.

She also said if there’s talk about war, then there must be talk about other issues such as jobs.

The group members are also planning a war protest and a campaign to take on Nike and Coca-Cola on campus, who they say sometimes have unfair labor practices.

Frost said the Young Democratic Socialists had 64 percent growth nationally between 2008 and 2009. 

In the past, growth was a lot slower, she said, maybe because people are scared of the word socialists. But, that fear could also help people realize what the group and socialism is really about.

“I think just because it’s being thrown around as an insult so much, people want to look it up to see the real definition,” Frost said.