On April 22, 1994, three years after a military coup overthrew democratically elected President Jean Bertrand Aristide, members of the Haitian Army and of the paramilitary group FRAPH (National Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haiti) surrounded the coastal community of Raboteau. The community had a long history of resistance to state repression, and residents continued to support Aristide and organize for his return from exile, even after the illegal coup government had brutally subdued most of the rest of the country.

During the course of what became known as “the Massacre at Raboteau,” soldiers and FRAPH members looted houses and fired on fleeing residents. They beat and tortured over 200 and pursued victims who sought medical assistance in hospitals as far away as Port-au-Prince. Although eight deaths were documented, estimates of the number killed during the Massacre range up to 50, but cannot be firmly established. The military prohibited families from recovering victims' corpses, which were hastily burned or buried by the military, eaten by dogs and pigs, or washed out to sea.

Pote Mak Sonje (Whoever Bears the Scar Remembers) : The Raboteau Trial explores how a community mobilized against formidable obstacles-a long history of impunity, corruption, lack of infrastructure, extreme poverty, and illiteracy-to bring about the best criminal prosecution ever in Haiti, and one of the most significant human rights trials in the Western hemisphere in the last 20 years. Weaving emotional interviews and extraordinary trial footage with more abstract lyrical images, the documentary shows the significance of the trial for Haiti and for the victims of a massacre who finally confront their attackers.

Film credits:

February 2003

Languages: Haitian Creole, French, English (with English or French subtitles)

Genre: documentary

Format: Beta SP, mini-dv, VHS

Color: color/black and white

Director: Harriet Hirshorn

Producer: Christine Cynn

Editor: Harriet Hirshorn, Mary Patierno

Camera: Harriet Hirshorn