Jovenel Moïse travels to submit his priorities to Taiwan
The president of the Republic flew to Taiwan last Saturday. The national palace has communicated too much or too little about what is taking Jovenel Moïse to Taiwan. However, a close advisor to the Head of State confided to the Nouvelliste that Jovenel Moïse is going to discuss the government’s seven priorities with the Taiwanese authorities.
Building infrastructures for energy, road and ports; increasing agricultural production and improving the environment; strengthening the hydraulic and sanitation infrastructures; reforming the state and maintaining political and social stability; transforming Haiti into a destination for investments; improving the infrastructure and quality of the education and promoting stability through social projects. These are the 7 priority axes of the government, which the Head of State was to address with the Taiwanese authorities.
The municipal order forbidding the casting of garbage on public roads or in public spaces takes effect
The municipal order forbidding people or businesses from piling waste on public roads or public places took effect last Thursday. The mayor of Port-au-Prince, Ralph Youri Chevry, accompanied with a representative of the government commissioner and Berson Soljour de la DDO, made the announcement.
To address the lack of sanitation problem in the Haitian capital, Youri Chevry informed that his municipality has the capacity to collect garbage which sprinkle in the various streets of the capital. The mayor informed that he has a fleet of 18 garbage trucks ready to clean up the capital and improve its image.
Agricultural plantations of the Artibonite, invaded by a colony of rats
Agricultural plantations in the Artibonite have been invaded by a colony of rats, indicated the president of the national Network of the agronomists (Réna), Pierre Michel Clercidor, to the media.
Réna, which is very concerned, pressed the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development (MARNDR) to undertake a pest control campaign in the Artibonite Valley.
The organization is asking authorities to carry out an investigation on this case.
When reached by telephone by AlterPresse, the Mayor of the municipality of Desdunes, Ernst Saint Phard, criticized government authorities for not having done anything yet to help the growers and the farmers facing this situation.
The population is also awaiting an intervention by the Organization of Development of the Valley of Artibonite (ODVA), informed the Mayor. He added that there is already a deficiency of rice in the zone where several rice fields of rice are under water.
Brazil rescues African and Guyanese migrants drifting at sea
SUNDAY MAY 20 2018
AFP - Brazilian fishermen rescued two dozen migrants from Africa and Guyana found drifting near the northeast coast of Brazil after 35 days at sea, officials and local media said Sunday.
The migrants came from the small South American country of Guyana and from Nigeria and Senegal on the other side of the Atlantic, the human rights department for Brazil's state of Maranhao said in a statement.
There were 25 migrants — all men — on the boat and two Brazilians, the navy said in a statement.
The Brazilian pair were suspected of being people traffickers, O Imparcial and G1 news sites reported. They had reportedly spent 35 days afloat but there was no immediate indication of what route they had taken.
A Haitian flag
The boat, a catamaran, was carrying a Haitian flag, the navy said.
On Saturday, local fishermen found the vessel drifting off the Brazilian coastal town of Sao Jose de Ribamar, south of the Amazon river, the navy said.
An attempt by the authorities to locate the migrant boat from the air failed, so the fishermen towed it to port, while also feeding the stranded voyagers, the navy said.
By the time they got in, the fishing captain reported he had "no more food and water to give, because provisions were ending," the navy said.
Legal situation
Once ashore, they were "given medical attention and food," before being taken for processing by the Brazilian federal police, the Maranhao human rights department said.
"The group will be put into temporary housing provided by the state," it said.
"The federal police will investigate the possible committing of crimes against the foreigners in relation to their arrival in Brazil and evaluate their legal situation in Brazil."
A Haitian Student Wins an Inter-Scholar Chess Championship in San Antonio, Chile
His name is Evenson Olitus and he is 13-year-old. He was the winner in the Basic Education category within the framework of the inter-scholar chess championship organized by the Puerto Institute of San Antonio, Chile, where five schools participated.
Evenson Olitus who attends eighth grade in the municipal school of Villa Las Dunas, brought pride to his school by taking it to the top. “It is a big success, because he demonstrates our work of integration. We also see how he has huge potential,” declared of his teachers.
Haiti-politics: organizations demand the departure of the Head of State, during a sit-in against the rise in prices of the fuel
Popular and labor-union organizations held a sit-in, on Friday, May 25th, 2018, in front of several of the country’s public institution to protest against the increase in prices of the fuel the pump, announced, by the government, for the next month, observes the on-line agency AlterPresse.
Gathered in front of Ministries of the Economy and Finance, Social Affairs and Labor as well as Justice and Law and Order, protesters asked for the departure of President Jovenel Moïse, who refuses to back down.
This battle consists not only in putting obstacle against the price increase of petroleum products, but also to force the Head of State to step down underlined the General Secretary of the Movement of Freedom, Equality of Haitians for the brotherhood (Moleghaf), Oxygenate David.
The demonstrators were very critical of the president and of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
This rise in fuel prices follows upon the approval, in February, 2018, by the Haitian government of the new program ("Staff-monitored Program") of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
This new program plans the elimination of the subsidy of petroleum products and electricity.
During the sit-in, messages on signs demanded a 1,000-gourd minimum wage (Editor's note: US 1.00 = 68.00 gourds, 1 euro = 85.00 gourds; 1 Dominican Republic peso = 1.60 gourd today), the non-privatization of the public institutions and the arrest of those who squandered the PetroCaribe funds.
Inoccupation of the country, the justice and the reparation for the victims of cholera, the social support and social housing for the most disadvantaged, are also among social demands of the protesters.
The Queen of Spain is going to build a hospital in DR for Haitians
The Queen of Spain, Laeticia Ortiz, who was on visit to the island at the beginning of last week promised to build a dermatological hospital in Jimani to receive mainly Haitian patients.
It is the Director of the Dermatological Institute of Barahona, Huberto Bogaert and that of skin surgery of the skin, Polybio Batista Matos who communicated the news in a radio program.
The queen made the decision to build this hospital during a meeting with nine organizations financed by the Spanish Agency of international cooperation for the development ( AECID) to discuss diverse projects.
After her visit, the queen praised the virtues of the Spanish cooperation in Haiti and in Dominican Republic.
According to her, her fellow countrymen can be "proud of their professionalism ".
Laetizia Ortiz was on visit on the island with the aim of getting acquainted with the projects developed in both countries by the Spanish cooperation in domains such as the gender equality, democratic governance and rural development.
Commentary: The queen should be informed, that the hospital will be for the Dominican Republic and the Dominicans.
In Miami's Little Haiti, one of the largest waves of evictions is currently underway
PRI's The World
May 23, 2018 · 3:30 PM EDT
By Nadege Green
Rollin Virgile walks through his store amid dozens of weddings dresses, white floral crowns, men’s tuxedo vests and baptism gowns. He greets customers in Creole: "Bonswa, koman nou ye?" (Good afternoon, how are you all?) Virgile has been in the same location, at Northeast 82nd street and Second Avenue — the heart of Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood — for 32 years. His store, Virgile's Tuxedo & Formal Wear, is a go-to for Miami's Haitian community, where customers can rent a tuxedo, robe bridesmaids or find first communion accoutrements.
But now the store must move. The commercial building and another across the street were recently sold to developer Thomas Conway, who also owns a nearby food hall and a co-working space. Conway has asked most of the businesses, nearly a dozen, to move so that he can transform the two strip malls. The business owners said Conway has given them about 30 days to leave.
On a recent afternoon, Virgile shared the news with customer Daniella Eugene, who drove up from Key West to show here.
“There’s a new owner,” he said. “And they want us out. It’s a shock to us all.”
Little Haiti, a once predominantly Haitian enclave, has seen a burst of new development and interest from real estate investors and developers because of its central location in Miami. New projects are underway in the neighborhood, rent prices are soaring and Haitian business owners, such as those in the two buildings Conway plans to rehab, said that they are being pushed out. Some residents also believe that the threat of climate change is a factor as well.
Conway did not respond to several requests for comment.
Many of the businesses were operating with month-to-month leases and, in Florida, a landlord is allowed to give a 15-day notice to terminate a lease.
Pierre-Richard Maximilien, who runs a travel agency in one of the complexes, said he wrote Conway a rent check, only to have it returned a few days later with no explanation. Then he got court papers saying he was facing eviction for not paying rent. “He’s just killing the Haitian businesses and what we’re doing for the community because we’re serving the community,” said Maximilien, who has been renting his space for nine years.
Maximilien said he asked Conway about returning after the mall rehab is complete and was told his rent would increase significantly. "I said, 'How much higher?' He couldn't tell me exactly."
Jorge Isaac, an attorney representing Conway, said his client denies claims that he did not accept rent payments from the tenants.
Several other business owners at the complex raised the same issue at a press conference in April, where they denounced one of the largest evictions of Haitian-owned businesses in Little Haiti.
One of the signs in Creole read: "We want to pay. Thomas Conway doesn't want to collect."
“To me, this is gentrification at its worst right now,” said Cartine Vilson, a community organizer with Family Action Network Movement, a nonprofit that works with Haitian businesses and homeowners in the area.
Vilson said Miami must decide how to save small businesses from commercial gentrification to preserve neighborhood identity and the financial livelihood of business owners who invested in communities before they became trendy. “Do we count or do we not count?” she asked at the press conference. “We count and we need to be heard. We matter.”
Some of the business owners said that they are struggling to find new commercial space to relocate.
Marie-Janine Desir owns a variety store that sells clothes, lotion, pots and produce. "I can't find anything in this area," said Desir, who lives in Little Haiti and doesn't have a car. She said that she walks to work; at lunch she leaves to check on her disabled daughter, who is in the care of an in-home nurse. She said if she doesn't find a place to rent she'll have to put her inventory in storage. "That will kill my business," she said. "I won't be making any money. How am I supposed to live?"
Virgile, the tuxedo and formal wear store owner, said it is heartbreaking to leave Little Haiti, the only place he has worked for 32 years. The most affordable space he could find was in North Miami, about 15 minutes away. He expects to lose some of his customer base in the move, he said.
“It’s a lot to deal with as a business owner, but I have to pack up and go,” said Virgile. “I won’t be in Little Haiti anymore.”
This piece originally appeared on WLRN.
FANM AYISYEN NAN MIAMI
As we commemorate the second year of the official recognition of Little Haiti, we invite local governments to work with community based organizations and concerned citizens to empower Little Haiti to become a sustainable and thriving community. Thus, @FANMORG recommends the following:
- • Award no new SAPs (Special Area Plan) until there is a comprehensive plan against displacement in Little Haiti.
- • Identify and secure commercial spaces for Little Haiti businesses that are being displaced.
- • Craft an Economic Development Plan for Little Haiti.
- • Develop a robust program to help low income and elderly home owners to get their homes up to code and reduce the risk of foreclosures.
- • Allocate resources from the Miami $100 million fund to develop and built affordable housing.
- • Insure that Little Haiti is designated as a Qualified Opportunity Zone and be included in any empowerment and enterprise initiatives.
- • Support FANM’s efforts to make Little Haiti 100 percent resilient.
#LittleHaitiisnotforsale #LittleHaiti