RARA: The Haitian Rara: a social-cultural and mystical manifestation
In Haiti, after the carnival period is over, it is the time of festivities called Rara.
Whether in Léogane, Paillant or other cities, residents overwhelmingly participate in the activities surrounding this popular event
To identify the roots of Haitian Rara, vaudou priest Lionel Dupont and sociologist Jean Marie Désire provided updates on the topic.
Rara festivities are celebrated during the Easter period. Thousands of Haitians attach great importance to this ritual. Jean Marie Désiré, public relations manager of the “Prix Flower,” a rara band in Léogane, explains that the phenomenon of the Haitian Rara originated in pre-Columbian times, but it developed more during the period of slavery, particularly in the context of the maroons.
At the time, it was a Rara without drums and bamboo but had a revolutionary impact, he said. This band consisted of maroon, then known as Chanpwèl, he said.
AMERICAS
U.N. Votes Unanimously to End Peacekeeping Mission in Haiti
UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously on Thursday to end its 13-year-long peacekeeping mission inHaiti, and replace its blue-helmeted soldiers with police officers.
The mission, often a source of embarrassment to the world body, landed inHaiti in 2004, after a rebellion led to the removal of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. It became arguably best known for introducing a deadly cholera strain to the country — and then refusing for years to take responsibility for it.
The cholera outbreak, which began in 2010, has killed at least 9,500 people so far and infected hundreds of thousands of Haitians. The United Nationsapologized last year and proposed to compensate affected Haitians, but hasyet to raise money for the effort. Of the $400 million that the United Nations says it needs, it has received $2.66 million, from only six countries — Britain, Chile, France, India, Liechtenstein and South Korea, according todata posted on its website.
The mission has also recently been troubled by allegations of sexual abuse. A sex ring, operated by Sri Lankan soldiers who were posted there from 2004 to 2007, exploited at least nine children, according to an internal United Nations report, The Associated Press reported this week.
The American ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki R. Haley, referred to the sexual abuse allegations in her brief remarks in the council chambers on Thursday. “The United States has made it clear to the U.N. and all troop-contributing countries that these abuses must stop,” she said.
She did not address the cholera outbreak, nor how the United Nations can compensate survivors.
The Haiti drawdown, which was recommended by the secretary general, António Guterres, comes amid pressure by President Trump’s administration to review each of the organization’s 16 peacekeeping missions. The United States is the United Nations’ largest financial contributor; it funds about 28 percent of the world body’s $7.87 billion budget, and Trump administration officials have said they want to bring that down to a maximum of 25 percent. The American contributionamounts to less than 0.1 percent of the federal budget.
In Haiti, the roughly 2,300 soldiers are scheduled to leave gradually by October. Seven United Nations police units will remain for an initial period of six months to train Haitian police officers.
The decision to close the Haiti mission represented a rare moment of unity on the Security Council, with the world powers agreeing that the country had reached a new level of stability.
Ms. Haley called the drawdown “a success story.”
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FIVE NOBEL PEACE PRIZES WINNERS LAUNCH AN URGENT CALL TO THE UNITED NATIONS, ASKING IT TO PAY ITS DEBT TO HAITI
On the eve of a meeting of the Security Council where the decision to end the MINUSTAH took place- a very criticized mission which has been in Haiti since 2004 - the five Nobel Peace prizes winners have appealed to the United Nations asking it to repair the wrongs caused in Haiti, which consist mainly of human rights violations committed by its troops.
Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Jody William, Rigoberta Manchu Tum, Shirin Ebadi and Betty William thus wrote to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to express their profound concern about the total lack of justice and the merits of the requests of the Haitian people demanding repair for the wrong caused to the victims of the MINUSTAH in some of its actions.
"Thousands of women and children were raped or exploited sexually, and several of them abandoned with children”, recalled those who signed the letter.
They also pointed to a report of the UN which recognized that CHOLERA was introduced into the country by MINUSTAH troops from Bangladesh. This caused the death of thousands of victims, perhaps even three times more than the official count of 9,483.
"It is urgent and essential that United Nations does everything to repair the damage it caused to the people of Haiti”, stated the Nobel prize-winners... The attitude of the MINUSTAH is inadmissible and does not correspond to the objectives set up by the Security Council.
They proposed that the situation be addressed and that certain rich countries participate in the creation of peace missions by granting financing which would be used to repair the wrongs caused and which would be paid to the country according to a quota corresponding to the damage caused in the country.
Even the General Secretary had denounced the absence of funds for programs proposed by the United Nations to compensate the victims, for the eradication of the cholera and for the completion of programs to install drinking water throughout the country. 80 % of the population of Haiti is deprived of drinking water. The costs could be covered by what was paid for operations of the MINUSTAH during the past 13 years.
The 5 Nobel Prize winners expressed their total agreement in the ending of the MINUSTAH’s mission, which in reality was only an extension of the hundred years of American occupation. Such is the opinion of organizations in Haiti, Latin America, the Caribbean and throughout the world
A final petition was handed to hundreds of entities of the United Nations and to South American governments such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay, who had sent the troops which constitute the MINUSTAH.
The letters also ask for reparations for the damages caused.
What Haiti needs is cooperation, not a guardian, and even less an occupation, concluded the Nobel Prize winners.
"The People of Haiti have the right for respect and support… in its struggle to assure its safety, its determination to enforce its rights, which also includes controlling its essential resources for its survival and welfare.
The credibility of United Nations is at stake, said those who signed the letter. First, for causing the disaster, then secondly,for denying any responsibility for it for six long years while the cholera epidemic raged throughout the country.
U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Visits PEPFAR Partner GHESKIO
on World Health Day
Port-au-Prince, April 7, 2017 – In recognition of World Health Day 2017, American Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Brian Shukan and members of the U.S. Government health team visited the GHESKIO National Institute of Laboratory and Research (INLR) in Port-au-Prince. GHESKIO (Groupe Haïtien d’Étude du Sarcome de Kaposi et des Infections Opportunistes/Haitian Group for the Study of Kaposi’s Sarcoma and Opportunistic Infections) has been a U.S. Government partner since 1983 and is one of the largest providers of TB/HIV diagnosis and treatment in the Americas. GHESKIO has received U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) funding since the beginning of the initiative in 2004, and is implemented by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Chargé Shukan was greeted by GHESKIO Deputy Director Dr. Marie Marcelle Deschamps who briefed the Chargé on GHESKIO’s history, the vast set of health and support services the organization provides, and the state of healthcare in Haiti. Chargé Shukan had the opportunity to tour several of GHESKIO’s PEPFAR-funded clinics to observe the innovative work the organization is undertaking.
With PEPFAR funding, GHESKIO provides life-saving antiretroviral treatment (ART) free of charge to more than 25,000 patients annually. During the site visit, Chargé Shukan toured GHESKIO’s ART clinic and learned about new approaches to improve patient care – such as multi-month scripting of ART and a “rapid pathway” intervention aimed at reducing patient wait times. At GHESKIO’s pediatric unit, the largest pediatric AIDS clinic in Haiti, Chargé Shukan met with Dr. Vanessa Rouzier to discuss how PEPFAR is supporting HIV exposed infants to receive HIV treatment and care for TB.
PEPFAR also works with GHESKIO to provide integrated services to victims of gender-based violence (GBV) and to identify and refer victims of GBV through a network of community health workers. Chargé Shukan met with representatives of the program to learn about the prevalence of GBV in Haiti and how PEPFAR is supporting GHESKIO to care for victims of violence. Chargé Shukan toured GHESKIO’s vocational school – a training workshop for victims of GBV designed to promote resiliency and economic independence – and spoke with participants in the program.
GHESKIO remains one of PEPFAR-Haiti’s longest-standing and highest-performing partners. Chargé Shukan commended the GHESKIO staff on their tireless efforts to deliver quality services to the people of Haiti noting that “GHESKIO has shown its profound dedication by providing outstanding health services for over 35 years. It is impressive to see such a comprehensive program that responds to the service delivery needs of the community.”
Approximately 58,000 Haitian migrants in the US who have been protected by the Temporary Protection Status (TPS) are now under the threat of deportation, according to GARR.
Tens of thousands of Haitians living in the United States are afraid that the Temporary Protection Status (TPS) from which they had benefited under the Obama administration may not be renewed. This status allowed them to become established in the US following the earthquake of January 12th, 2010. It expires on July 22nd, 2017.