America threatens money transfers to Haiti
Last Friday, following the decision of American authorities to slow down any transfer of money beginning in November, 2016 if corrective actions are not taken concerning money laundering, the Ministry of Justice together with the Bank of the Republic of Haiti (BRH, central bank) organized a meeting and debate on the "economic and financial stakes against the laundering of assets and the financing of terrorism," to estimate the risks that Haiti might incur.
Camille Junior Edouard, Minister of Justice, tried to reassure the population and called upon the players by asserting, "We shall do everything in our power so that the nation does not have to pay this heavy burden and we call upon the responsibility of all the players of the economic and judicial system in this battle against the plague of laundering assets."
To respond to the threats which are hovering over the future of the Haitian banking sector, Minister Edouard is doing his utmost to prevent the execution of such a decision through which Haitian banks could no longer transfer money with their corresponding American banks.
Secretary Edouard also announced the publication of the law of 2013 on the laundering of assets as soon as possible and the implementation of a unit of the Ministry of Justice and Law and order in Port-au-Prince that will work on this file.
This initiative aims at avoiding a wave of panic from bankers and at reassuring the economic forum of the private sector. The Minister of Justice is confident that the publication of the law on laundering will translate the will of the Haitian government to fight against tax evasion and money laundering.
HL / HaïtiLibre
Disappointment of a Haitian immigrant in Brazil
The disastrous sociopolitical situation in Haiti forced Atilia and her three daughters to immigrate in Brazil in February, 2016. After six months, her illusions of a new life in Brazil, faced with unemployment and an economic crisis, were transformed slowly into nightmare. Disappointed, she is hoping to return to her native country. She implores upon Haitian authorities to offer opportunities to young people in order for Haitian citizens like her and her daughters, who are victims of the Brazilian crisis, feel compelled to leave the country.
U.S. Representative Alcee L. Hastings advises President Obama to visit Haiti before October 9th
Washington, Friday, August 26th, 2016 – A member of the House of Representatives, Alcee L. Hastings, addressed a letter to president Barack Hussein Obama, asking him to go to Haiti before the first round of the presidential elections planned for October 9th. The congressman indicated that it would be in the interest of both countries, and for Haiti to emerge from the current difficulties with a strong, legitimate democracy. The political strength of the US president would help encourage the Haitian people to continue to believe in the virtues of democracy.
Several events have been planned at the UNESCO in Paris from August 28th till September 30th, 2016 for the 18th "International remembrance of the slave trade and its abolition ".
In the night of 22 to 23 August 1791, men and women, torn from Africa and sold into slavery, revolted against the slave system to obtain freedom and independence for Haiti, gained in 1804. The uprising was a turning point in human history, greatly impacting the establishment of universal human rights, for which we are all indebted.
Haiti honored by the United Nations for its role in the eradication of slavery
“The courage of these men and women has created obligations for us. UNESCO is marking International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition to pay tribute to all those who fought for freedom, and, in their name, to continue teaching about their story and the values therein. The success of this rebellion, led by the slaves themselves, is a deep source of inspiration today for the fight against all forms of servitude, racism, prejudice, racial discrimination and social injustice that are a legacy of slavery.”
The history of the slave trade and slavery created a storm of rage, cruelty and bitterness that has not yet abated. It is also a story of courage, freedom and pride in newfound freedom. All of humanity is part of this story, in its transgressions and good deeds. It would be a mistake and a crime to cover it up and forget. Through its project The Slave Route, UNESCO intends to find in this collective memory the strength to build a better world and to show the historical and moral connections that unite different peoples.
In this same frame of mind, the United Nations proclaimed the International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024). UNESCO is contributing to it through its educational, cultural and scientific programs so as to promote the contribution of people of African descent to building modern societies and ensuring dignity and equality for all human beings, without distinction.
More than 2,000 cases of Zika have already been reported in Haiti
The Zika virus is gaining ground in Haiti; the Ministry of Public Health (MSPP) has listed 2,984 cases in the country during the period between February to August 13th.
According to Dr. Jean Frantz Lemoine, Coordinator of the Malaria, Zika and Filariose programs for the MSPP, the Western department (with city capital, Port-au-Prince) is the most affected with 1,045 cases, followed by the North with 583 cases.
"The virus reached its peak at the beginning of 2016 with 305 cases during the 7th week," declared Dr. Lemoine.
Today the trend is showing a decline, with only 15 cases for the 32nd week, he indicated.
Pregnant women remain the most vulnerable to the Zika virus because of the consequences which the infection can have on their baby. Still today, the ministry has confirmed only one case of microcéphalie due to the Zika virus. However other suspected case are listed, according to Dr. Lemoine.
Meanwhile, the MSPP is pursuing its fumigation campaign, but also encourages citizens to take measures to prevent the multiplication of mosquitoes responsible for the transmission of the Zika virus in particular.
Puerto Rico officials struggle to translate Zika virus fears into action
A quarter of the population may have the disease by the end of mosquito season, but efforts to control it have been thwarted by apathy and misinformation
Jessica Glenza in San Juan, Puerto Rico
@JessicaGlenza
Tuesday 23 August 2016
Every time it rains in San Juan, Dr Brenda Rivera-García walks around her home emptying containers of standing water, probably wearing long sleeves, and almost certainly wearing mosquito repellent. Rivera-García is the state epidemiologist in Puerto Rico, a woman tasked with tracking every single Zika-infected pregnant woman in the US territory.
Less than two weeks after the US health and human services administration declared the spread of Zika on the island an epidemic, Rivera-García said it’s not frustration or anger that overtakes her when she adds a new woman’s name to a list of roughly 700 confirmed to be infected with the disease.
It’s sadness.
“Every time I have to add a pregnant woman to that list, I just think of what’s going to be of this pregnancy,” she said, her eyes visibly wet. “What’s going to be of this child later on, and, it’s, it’s – it breaks my heart.”
As much as 25% of the island’s population could have the disease by the end of mosquito season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates, and up to 50 pregnant women each day are infected on the island.
A recent study projected as many as 270 babies could be born with the debilitating birth defect microcephaly, between now and mid-2017. In a normal year, doctors expect 16.
The defect causes infants of mothers infected with the virus to be born with abnormally small heads, and suffer lifelong developmental disorders. Some will have trouble walking. Others may have hearing or vision loss, trouble swallowing or seizures. Many are likely to have shortened life expectancy.
But health officials have had difficulty translating those projections into urgency among many Puerto Rico residents, who have been dogged in the past by tropical diseases with more apparent symptoms, such as dengue and chikungunya. Indeed, the government’s efforts to control the virus seem hampered at every turn, thwarted by apathy, lack of trust, misinformation, insecticide resistance and even architecture.
“The system doesn’t work so of course people are going to be skeptical,” said Joe Torra, 40, a professional driver in San Juan.
Referencing colonialism, Torra said: “The best way to control minds is to control bodies.”
Denisse Velázquez, 36, stood under the shade of a tree in Old San Juan, one of the hardest-hit municipalities, as she said that the government “created false alarms”.
Juan Martínez, 43, said that with “all these diseases we have seen, it’s something normal”, referring to periodic outbreaks of dengue the island has struggled with since the 1980s, and the recent chikungunya outbreak. “In the Caribbean there has always been mosquitoes.”
Even tourism officials have reinforced the view that the Zika risk has been overblown.
“From the very beginning the numbers that were given were based on projections. The reality is that as of today, less than half of 1% of the population has the virus,” Clarisa Jiménez, CEO of the Puerto Rico Hotel and Tourism Association, told CNBC’s Squawkbox. “The only issue here is if you’re pregnant.”
Jiménez focused on the roughly 10,600 Puerto Ricans who had, at the time, been diagnosed with Zika by the CDC. The figure is an underestimate, because four out five infected people have no symptoms and probably do not know they have the virus.
Now, near the end of August, the health department of Puerto Rico and the CDC have diagnosed 12,800 Zika infections, including more than 670 in pregnant women, believed to represent only a fraction of actual cases.
So far, only one child has been born with microcephaly. But experts expect that number to increase dramatically in coming months, particularly from September to December.
Health professionals believe the most dangerous time for a pregnant woman to be infected is in her first trimester, though more research is needed. Those pregnancies are expected to begin coming to term this fall.
“Right now, most of the births we have seen are among second and third trimester infections,” said Rivera-García. “For us, it’s not just a number. There’s a family behind that number.” Doctors suspect that even these cases, which are less dramatic in appearance, could result in problems that won’t manifest until much later.
The island’s timetable of epidemic infection is about one year behind Brazil’s. In December 2015, as cases of microcephaly began to surge in Brazil, cases of locally acquired infections were just beginning to show up in Puerto Rico.