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Haiti Confessions : I Get Paid to Burn Tires and Protest in Haiti

Read this... A Haitian street protestor confesses: "I used to be a technician at TELECO, but today I am a technician of the streets (teknisyen beton)... I participate in protests for money... Barricading the streets and burning tires.... This is what the country has to offer someone like me, and I embrace it so that I can live."

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Participating in protests is my job. I lost my job in 2005 after the Haitian government privatized TELECO (the national telephone company.) Since then, I have not been able to find a job.

In poor neighborhoods all over Haiti, we are tired of politicians treating us like we are imbeciles. That is why I decided that unless I am getting paid, I will not join anyone's political movement.

I will not steal, I will not kill anyone, but anything outside of that, I am willing to do, mainly barricading the streets and burning tires. As long as there is something in it for me, I am there.

Read the full confession at WoyMagazine.com

...Sometimes, I go days without food. These are the conditions the majority of young people in the ghetto in Haiti are living in. The political and social realities of my countries condemn us to a life void of progress.

Inside the ghettos, people use us as tools for their political agendas, and because of my economic situation, I participate in protests for money.

Any Haitian you ask knows what I'm talking about: not every movement that takes to the streets in Haiti is comprised of volunteers, many of them are made up of paid participants.

Read the full confession at WoyMagazine.com

...Times like these, during this election season, are times where a lot of money can be made. All of the candidates want to organize marches and rallies to prove that they have a lot of people backing them.

During election seasons, I know without a doubt that I will finally get my hands on some money. I wish there could be multiple elections every year, that would be great for me because it would be great for business.

Many of the people who need our services never step foot in the ghetto, but they have their contacts to assemble people like me and the other soldiers.

...The process of burning tires isn't rocket science, but you have to know what you're doing. Not everyone can do it...

...As for barricading the streets, it is very easy...

... barricading the streets and burning tires aren't good things, but I have to survive. I have a wife and children to take care of...

Read the full confession at WoyMagazine.com

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