Haitians among Dorian’s victims in the Bahamas
Among the missing persons, there are many Haitians. The two islands of the Bahamas most affected are “mostly [populated by] fishermen, manual workers and many Haitian immigrants”, writes Loophaïti. This media outlet based in Port-au-Prince tells that in «Saint-Louis du Nord, one of the communes (located in the northwest of Haiti) with the most immigrants in the Bahamas, families are desperate». Many Haitian nationals lived in the slum of Marsh Harbour, on the Abaco Islands. This neighborhood, commonly known as The Mud, was completely devastated.
The Miami Herald published on the front page of its website a photo of a Haitian woman with her arms crossed in front of what remains of her home. The reporter described “wet mattresses, gutted buildings, torn clothing, broken toilets, dead dogs… and miles and miles of mud”. This area of Marsh Harbour, this pocket of poverty, has not yet been visited by the rescue teams. Residents report seeing bodies, which have not yet been removed. “Haitians here,” says the Miami Herald, “have long complained about discrimination and lack of opportunity. Now they fear they will be the last to get help”.
The water in this area is now probably contaminated. This is certainly the working hypothesis of the Minister of Health of the Bahamas, who is quoted by The Nassau Guardian. “We assume,” he says, “that all the aquifers, all the water in the community, are contaminated. Contaminated with open latrines, decomposing animals, anything that may have entered the supply system”.
According to Loophaiti, videos are circulating on social networks. They show angry Haitians. They “say they are on their own.” The outgoing Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs had however communicated emergency numbers for residents in the Bahamas. But «despite the many attempts of Loophaïti none of its numbers was reachable», at least not from Haiti. A delegation from the Haitian embassy in the Bahamas is scheduled to travel to Grand Abaco this Friday.
HAITI SENDING AID TO BAHAMAS
The first plane load of aid out of #haiti🇭🇹 to the #bahamas🇧🇸 is ready to fly. Onboard, there are water purification machines that have the ability to provide safe drinking water to thousands of people daily, thanks to Joe of Air Mobile Ministries. Also flying to the disaster zone are MRE food rations, blankets, hygiene kits, shoes, cases of medications and hospital/clinic/EMS supplies, and more urgently needed survival provisions. Very special thanks to @hopitalbernardmevs for a generous donation to this mission, and to everyone else in Haiti who sent over supplies and plane fuel funds.
URGENT DISASTER UPDATE: After being pummeled by Hurricane Dorian for 48 hours, approximately 60% of Grand Bahama Island may be submerged in water and 76,000 people are in need of lifesaving assistance. Our emergency response team is on the ground to aid survivors, but they can’t do it without supporters like you.
Our goal is to raise $25,000 in humanitarian aid by midnight, but we’ve got a long way to go: Will you rush a donation to help Mercy Corps deliver critical humanitarian relief in the Bahamas and around the world?
Send emergency aid to families in need
Mercy Corps is responding in the Bahamas following Hurricane Dorian's landfall as one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes on record.
Our team has reached the Bahamas and is rushing to help survivors and meet the needs of families and communities affected by this devastating storm. Reports are starting to come in about the scale of damage, and we are hearing that thousands of homes have been destroyed and entire communities may be under water.
As we determine the most pressing needs, we need your support. Please make an emergency gift to our Humanitarian Response Fund today. Every $1 we receive from generous people like you helps provide more lifesaving aid for people facing disasters like this around the world.
Prime Minister Hubert Minnis Urged to put a Moratorium to all deportations and an Easing the Rule for Refugees and Immigrants to Access Services
Family Action Network Movement (FANM) and a growing list of immigrants, faith, and social justice organizations urge Prime Minister Hubert Minnis to put a moratorium on all deportations and to waive any and all requirements to prove immigration status in order to access assistance for all immigrants and refugees in this time of grave crisis.
In a letter to Prime Minister Hubert Minnis, released this morning, FANM reports receiving SOS from Haitian immigrants who fear seeking assistance because they were reportedly asked for immigration papers.
Marleine Bastien, Executive Director of Family Action Network Movement (FANM) stated:” Access to hurricane relief efforts after a natural disaster is a fundamental human right, seeking these services should never lead to intimidation, detention or deportation.” Consequently, We, the undersigned organizations urge the Prime Minister to put a moratorium on all deportations in addition to waving the legal documents’ requirement for life-saving and other pertinent services. This is the humane, compassionate, and sensible thing to do under these grave circumstances.
Haitians in the US, including some FANM employees, have been having a hard time locating families in the Bahamas. They fear the worst, especially since there seems to be a blackout on their very existence and the troubling news of being asked for immigration papers to access vital services.
Family Action Network Movement (FANM) formerly known as Fanm Ayisyen Nan Miyami, Inc)/ Haitian Women of Miami is a private not-for-profit organization dedicated to the social, economic, financial and political empowerment of low to moderate-income families to give them the tools to transform their communities.
Rhenie Dalger, 786-280-9062,
Supporting Organizations
Ira Kurzban, Immigration Attorney
Kurzban Immigration Sourcebook
Alana Greer, Community Justice Project
Leonie Hermantin, Sant La Neighborhood Center
Isabel Vinent, Florida Immigrant Coalition
Marcia Olivo, Miami Workers Center
Andrea Mercado, New Florida Majority
David McDougal, Miami Climate Alliance
Jonatan Fried, We Count
Resilience Force/ National Guestworkers Alliance
Thomas Kennedy, FLIC Votes
Tessa Painson, Haitian American Community Development Corporation
Archdeacon Jean Fritz Bazin, Episcopal Diocese of S Florida
Bud Conlin, Friends of Miami-Dade Detainees
Stephanie Phadael, Families Rights Network
Rosie Appolon, Bethel Church
Jimy Mertune and Tina Lorquet, Vwa Ayiti
Brax Tinkler, Power U
Lourdes Villanueva, Redland Christian Migrant Association
Jonathan Alingu, Central Florida Job with Justice
Trenise Bryant, Miami Workers Center
Jack Lieberman, 350 South Florida
Progressive Jewish Action
South Florida Labor Community Alliance
71-year-old man tells 8-year-old he’d ‘kill her’ if she told anyone he raped her, cops say
Sexual violence is a social and public health problem in the U.S. The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey says nearly 1 in 2 women and 1 in 5 men experienced sexual violence victimization other than rape at some point in their lives. BY CDC
Joseph Cherima, 71, took an 8-year-old girl into a dark bedroom, forced her onto the bed and raped her, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
When someone in the home came looking for her, the girl screamed for help, but he held the door closed for about 10 minutes before letting her out, deputies said.
When the unnamed person asked what was going on, the girl replied, according to a police report: “He put his thing in my thing and this is not the first time it happened.”
The girl then told deputies the Aug. 31 incident was the fourth time the man had raped her, according to the sheriff’s office.
Cherima was arrested Monday on four counts of sexual battery on a child under 12 years old. He was being held Friday with no bond.
According to the report, the inappropriate encounters happened in a West Palm Beach home. The girl didn’t remember exact days and times, but told investigators that the first time he raped her, her grandmother was at church, a detective wrote in the report. Another time, she was playing with her baby sister and one time she was outside hanging up laundry, detectives said.
In one case, the girl told investigators he took her into the bathroom and “put her on the floor,” according to the report.
THE FORMER PEARL OF THE ANTILLES RANKS AMONG THE TOP 10 COUNTRIES TO AVOID OUT OF 140 COUNTRIES.
According to the latest report of the World Economic Forum on the Competitiveness of Travel and Tourism (The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2019), published in early September, Haiti, the former “Pearl of The Antilles” is ranked in the TOP 10 of the worst countries to visit (just ahead of Angola and behind Burkina Faso) out of 140 countries analyzed by in the study.
The study analyzes all the factors and policies that allow the sustainable development of the travel and tourism sector in each country, Haiti ranks among others (on more than 17 segments analyzed) 108th for its Travel and Tourism Policy; 133rd in terms of the competitiveness of travel and tourism; 120th for the prioritization of travel and tourism; 109th in terms of security; 126th in terms of transport infrastructure and 115th in terms of tourism infrastructure….
TOP 10 countries to visit:
1 - Spain
2 - France
3 - Germany
4 - Japan
5 - USA
6 - England
7 - Australia
8 - Italy
9 - Canada
10 – Switzerland
TOP 10 countries to avoid:
131 - Sierra Leone
132 - Burkina Faso
133 - Haiti
134 - Angola
135 - Mauritania
136 - Dem. Rep. of Congo
137 - Burundi
138 - Liberia
139 - Chad
140 – Yemen
MILES DAVIS ON KASSAV AND AFRO-CARIBBEAN MUSIC, among other topics.
Click: View the entire interview here. 👉🏽 https://youtu.be/KllwtKMtYTA
Post By Jean Jean-Pierre
The American icon speaks of a colleague he sent to Haiti (1987-1988) who came back with the music of Kassav. As he discovered the Zouk, it is worth mentioning this music comes partially from Nemours Jean-Baptiste’s Compas Direct, without the congas. A fact confirmed by the cadence, the pulses of the rhythm and the format of the style and by musicians such as the pianist/accordionist from Martinique, Serge Alexandre, who eloquently wrote about the genesis of the implantation of Haitian musicians in Martinique and Guadeloupe in the early/mid 60’s.
THE SALE OF GASOLINE: A SCANDAL!
Motorcycle taxi drivers denounced last Friday (September 6), on the radio Preference of Petit-Goâve, the way fuel is sold at the service stations. They said that intentional favoritism was found in the sale of gasoline at the city’s gas stations. " Petit-Goâve may experience another rarity of petroleum products in the coming days, if nothing is done to improve the sale of fuel", warned one of the motorcycle taxi drivers who added that as soon as the oil products arrived, the stock is depleted.