Haiti - Culture: The Haitian artist Black Alex passed away
The Haitian artist Jamecy Alex Pierre, better known under the name of "Black Alex", died last Friday, November 13th, 2015. This announcement was made on the airwaves of Radio Caraïbes during the show Matin Caraïbes.
More than once, rumors spread about the death of Black Alex. Personalities from the Haitian cultural world began to pay tribute to the one who was considered for a long time as the unruly child of the Haitian rap.
It was the group "King Posse" which propelled him center stage in the 90’s. Since then, he never left the heart of the many Haitians who followed the evolution of his career, as well as his setbacks.
At the beginning of this year, the star singer of the group King Posse, Black Alex, who lived for several years with HIV, converted to Protestantism in the church Shalom Tabernacle de Gloire. Thousands of television viewers watched the event. Black Alex suffered for several years of diverse health problems, including pneumonia.
Cocaine: Venezuelians arrested in Haiti
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> 11/11/15, 6:08:24 PM: BOGOTA, Colombia — Two nephews of Venezuelan first lady Cilia Flores have been arrested in Haiti on charges of trying to smuggle 800 kilograms of cocaine into the U.S., two people familiar with the case said Wednesday.
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> The incident is likely to heighten tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela and cast a new look at U.S. accusations of drug trafficking by top-level officials in the socialist South American nation.
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> The two arrested men, identified as Efrain Campos and Francisco Flores, were detained Tuesday night when they arrived on a private plane in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, said Michael Vigil, the former head of international operations at the Drug Enforcement Administration, who was briefed by U.S. authorities about the undercover operation.
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> Vigil said Campos claimed to law enforcement that he is the son of Flores and stepson of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Both Campos and Flores were traveling on diplomatic passports but don't have diplomatic immunity, Vigil said.
Haiti Elections: Thousands protest
Port-au-Prince (AFP) - Thousands of people aligned with the political opposition demonstrated in the Haitian capital on Wednesday against President Michel Martelly, accusing him of orchestrating an "electoral coup d'etat."
The protest comes after seven presidential candidates called Monday for an independent investigation of initial vote results that determined Jovenel Moise, backed by Martelly, drew 32 percent of the ballots on October 25.
Moise will go into a runoff on December 27 against Jude Celestin, of the Lapeh party, who garnered 25 percent of the vote.
The election is the latest attempt in the Americas' poorest country to shed chronic political instability and work toward development.
But Assad Volcy, spokesman for the Pitit Dessalines party, hit out at what he called an "electoral coup d'etat," as the opposition rallied through Port-au-Prince.
"We do not trust the electoral courts and the CEP," Volcy said, referring to the provisional electoral council.
"Our only recourse is the streets."
The demonstration was attended by Maryse Narcisse, who is legally challenging the results of the poll.
"I'm here to accompany the Haitian people, who demand respect for their vote," said Narcisse, who came fourth in the vote.
More protests by the opposition are expected to take place in the capital on Thursday and Friday.
The CEP is expected to announce final results of the first-round vote "in the next week," a spokesman said.
Three former Haitian prime ministers and the sitting prime minister participated in a meeting last week for the National Alliance for the Advancement of Haitian Professionals
In attendance were former Prime Ministers Gary Conille, Laurent Lamothe and Jean Max Bellerive. Current Prime Minister Evans Paul also made the trip to participate in the event. The conference was held at the North Miami campus of Florida International University and Miami Herald journalist Jacqueline Charles was in attendance.
This is a summary of her report about the event:
Taking place over three days, and co-hosted by Miami-Dade Commission Chairman Jean Monestime and North Miami Mayor Smith Joseph, the conference opened Thursday and ended Saturday. Its 400 attendees included a who’s who in the Haitian diaspora and Haiti politics, with keynote addresses by three Haitian former prime ministers — Garry Conille, Jean-Max Bellerive, and Laurent Lamothe — as well as current Prime Minister Evans Paul.
At the foundation of all of the addresses: leveraging the power of Haitians living abroad beyond their annual $2 billion in remittances to elevate Haiti and its diaspora.
“If we empower this Haitian diaspora, we can do good work in Haiti,” said Dr. Jean-Philippe Austin, a radiation oncologist who serves as Florida finance chair for the Democratic National Committee and a founder of Haitian-Americans for Progress. “We don’t need to do one more [non-governmental organization].”
Welcoming the focus, Haiti Central Bank Governor Charles Castel told the group that “We are really open to benefit from your expertise.” But the case of Haiti, he warned, is not simple.
“It’s a very complex and complicated situation,” he added. “Sometimes, we criticize the players of today, forgetting what we are facing, the reality of Haiti.”
That reality includes a country that’s struggling financially and facing a deepening political crisis over its recent elections. Weeks after the Oct. 25 presidential and legislative elections, opposition protests continue to grow in the country, raising questions about the fate of the Dec. 27 runoffs.
Jean Max Bellerive
What Haiti needs, he said, is “a vision; not slogans or non-realistic promises of changing everything overnight just because you think you are better men or women than the previous team.
“We need real programs that people can understand and support. To do that, we have to build teams beyond public-relations and marketing staffs,” Bellerive said. “All Haitians need to be in agreement that it’s time to change the way we do business.”
Evans Paul
Haiti’s prime minister tells S. Fla diaspora he supports vote verification. Haitian Prime Minister Evans Paul says he is open to a request by a group of presidential candidates and local observers for an independent verification of the count in the controversial Oct. 25 first round presidential elections.
But Paul, in an interview with the Miami Herald, said he also wonders if the appointment of an independent five-member commission will be enough to place trust in the country’s ongoing electoral process. “I don’t have a problem to do an independent commission,” Paul said prior to his address Saturday at the National Alliance for the Advancement of Haitian Professionals conference at Florida International University in North Miami. “The question is who will make up this commission because the trust crisis in Haiti doesn’t exclude anyone.
“The members of the [Provisional Electoral Council] come from institutions that the country trusts the most,” Paul added. “If you don’t trust these people, then the others who you would appoint, on what planet will you find them?”
Laurent Lamothe
Former Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe, who also addressed the conference Saturday, supported Paul’s call for a solution to the electoral crisis.
One of the first persons to criticize the CEP after it rejected his presidential candidacy to run for president, Lamothe said the current crisis is predictable. But the destiny of the country, he said, is hanging in the balance and something has to give.
“There needs to be a talk between all of the stakeholders,” Lamothe said, noting that he supports “every request that it would take to make the process trustworthy and transparent, and every request that would make the legitimacy of the next president to be clear and clean cut.”
Plea for the unification of Haiti with its Diaspora
The Ambassador of Canada in Haiti, Paula Caldwell St, Onge, addressed the 4th conference of the National Association of the Haitian Professionals (NAHP) in Miami last Friday. The event’s theme was “The plea and the unification of Haiti with its Diaspora ".
For the Ambassador, this subject is of major importance, because she is, like all of us, witness to the relationship of the Haitian Diaspora in Canada with its country of origin, Haiti, which Dany Laferrière, Michaëlle Jean, Fabienne Colas etc… illustrate marvelously. "The latter are perfect examples of the links which exist between Haiti and Canada."
According to her, the members of the Diaspora play a key role in the Haitian economy, especially through the numerous money transfers which they make daily.
"We can also notice that Canada’s actions are now focused on promoting economic activity at the local level, its growth, and the implementation of an environment that encourages investments whether Haitian or foreign.
To do it, Canada supported the Haitian government in the adoption of laws which guarantee this environment; it helped to build the road of Cayes-Jérémie with the aim of facilitating trade; it set up programs for financial assistance in agriculture from 2011 till 2014 with international and local partners and supplied 12.3 million dollars of credit to 9,600 agricultural entrepreneurs with the aim of stimulating national production.
The Canada’s action also allowed more than 440,000 Haitian to obtain credits for small and medium-sized enterprises. Furthermore, in association with the Haitian-Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Canada works to strengthen the links between the Haitian and Canadian private sectors through trade activities."
Ambassador Paula Caldwell St-Onge announced that from now on Canada is going to place sustainable economic growth at the center of its decision to contribute to the economic development of Haiti.
This will have the following objective:
·To improve the access to credit and other financial services;
·To support the improvement of the business climate and to free land titles.
·To support the development of key sectors such as agriculture, mining, tourism and the production of goods.
·To contribute to the capacity, the independence and the responsibility of the economic entities, including municipalities.
Dweynie Esther Paul became, last Tuesday, the first Haitian-American to be elected judge of a civil court in New York State.
Born of Haitian parents in Queens, Dweynie Esther Paul represents from now on the 2nd municipal district which includes Bedford Stuyvesant, Clinton Hill, Crown Heights and Ocean Hill around of Brooklyn (New York).
"For those who have been given a lot, much is expected! I am so much blessed and honored to be able to serve the whole community of Kings County. Today, we made history together. I share this moment with the Haitian community and our big Pan-African black community.
This victory is the result of the meeting of our communities, our talents and our resources. It also comes from a strong desire to see a fair and just judicial system. I wish to live according to the values and the aspiration of this community while I perform my duties. I am anxious to thank all those who supported me, my family, my parents and God! ", declared Judge Dweynie Paul in the Kinanm Lounge.
Dweynie Esther Paul studied at SUNY Stony Brook University where she obtained a double degree in political sciences and in social sciences, with a minor in children and family studies.
She also studied in London (England) at Middlesex University within the heart of their legal system and had an internship with the Labor Political Party (the equivalent of the Democratic Party in the United States).
Upon her return from England, she had an internship with the Honorable
Daniel Lewis of the New York Supreme Court in the county of Queens.
She continued her studies within the graduate program at Stony Brook and obtained a master's degree in public policy. Afterward, she went on to George Washington University Law School in Washington D.C., where she received her jurist's Doctorate degree.