Haitian Unity - Haiti Observer Blog

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, popularly referred to as Nelson Mandela was born on 18th July 1918 in South Africa's Transkei. He was the son of Tembu Tribe's chief Henry Mandela. He studied in College of Fort Hare and University of Witwatersrand. In 1942, he attained his law degree. In 1944 he joined the African National Congress and joined in a resistance in 1948 against apartheid policies of the then ruling National Party. During 1956-1961, he was held on trial for treason but in 1961 he was acquitted.

Newsmaker Interview: Nelson Mandela, 1990

In 1960 when ANC was banned, Mandela proposed a military wing in ANC. In 1961 however, this proposal was considered to be a violent tactic and yet allowed the willing members of ANC to join Neslon Mandela's proposal without any fear. As a result, Umkhonto we Sizwe was formed. Mandela was arrested and sentenced to imprisonment with hard labor for a period of 5 years. In 1963 several Umkhonto we Sizwe and ANC fellow members were arrested and Mandela was once again charged for plotting the overthrow of the ruling party/government by using violence. In 1964, Mandela along with 7 others was sent for life imprisonment.

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Kita Nago is a cedarwood stanchion, lifted onto the shoulders of participants, and carried on a 700-kilometer journey from the southwest to the northeast corner of Haiti. Harry Nicolas first thought of a procession that would travel through 45 cities and 7 departments, wending from Les Irois in the south to Ouanaminthe in the north, more than 3 decades ago. He wanted to create an event that would unite Haitians across all cultural and class divides. He had envisioned the project when barely out of his teens, but postponed it after being counseled he lacked sufficient maturity to undertake it. He agreed to wait.

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Who would have thought that Haitians could decide to start a pilgrimage or parade by taking a piece of wood from one end of Haiti to the other end, on food and no compensation?

Harry Nicolas, nicknamed Mèt Fèy Vèt did. Harry Nicholas the person who came up with the idea of Kita Nago is a true Haitian believer. He is the one who came up with the idea of organizing a movement were Haitians would carry for not less than 700 kilometers from Les Irois to Ouanaminthe. They will be walking across Haiti, from the western tip southern peninsula, all the way to the northeast corner of Haiti.

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Kita Nago, a weighty piece of oiled cedarwood timber with a cedar flagstaff drilled into its center, flies the Haitian national flag. The symbolic art piece represents the hopes of Haitians for a unified Haiti in its reconstruction efforts after 2010's earthquake. Haitian Harry Nicholas began the annual event, in which Kita Nago, hoisted on the shoulders of young men, makes the journey from its resting place in Port-au-Prince to Ouanaminthe in the far north. It is then shown for all to see.

When the journey of Kita Nago begins, it lies before Nèg Mawon in Port-au-Prince. Lifted and born along on a 700-kilometer marathon walk, it begins in southwest Les Irois and ends in northeast Ouanaminthe. The official start of the event kicks off in Port-au-Prince with a ceremony in which President Martelly, First Lady Sophia, and Prime Minister Lamothe participate. Afterwards, the huge polished timber lies at rest before Nèg Mawon, for residents and pilgrims from elsewhere in Haiti to pay homage.

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