US allocates millions to boost security in Haiti
United States’ Under-Secretary of State, Wendy Sherman. Photo: CMC
PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, CMC – United States’ Under-Secretary of State, Wendy Sherman, says the Biden administration has allocated US$48 million in additional security assistance through the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Narcotics and Law Enforcement to bolster security across the country.
Wendy Sherman made the announcement in a message on Friday, on the one-year anniversary of the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise.
She also assured the French-speaking Caribbean Community (Caricom) member state that Washington is committed to supporting a democratic and prosperous future for the Haitian people.
She recalled that Haiti has not yet recovered from the devastating 2021 earthquake of magnitude 7.2 which devastated the southern peninsula while rising food prices and fuel makes the situation particularly difficult for citizens and based on this, millions of Haitians will need humanitarian aid this year.
Sherman added that the assassination of President Moise has affected Haiti’s political system and reaffirmed the need for worldwide intervention in the midst of the crisis.
Statement on the Anniversary of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse’s Assassination
Today marks one year since the assassination of Haiti’s President, Jovenel Moïse. The United States continues to staunchly support the pursuit of justice and accountability for those who planned, financed, and perpetrated this terrible crime.
We remain concerned about the limited progress of Haiti’s investigation into the assassination. Although the fifth investigating judge was recently appointed, Haitian authorities have not adequately addressed the judiciary’s calls for stronger security measures to protect judicial workers assigned to the case and to preserve the chain of custody of key evidence. Unfortunately, the same can be said for many other cases, including that of the assassination of Port-au-Prince Bar Association President Monferrier Dorval in 2020.
We urge the Haitian authorities to move forward with an independent and thorough investigation into the assassination of President Moïse, consistent with Haitian law and international rule of law standards, to ensure those responsible for this crime are brought to justice. We remain a committed partner to supporting this aim, as shown by the extraditions of individuals alleged to have conspired in the perpetration of this offense through acts committed within U.S. jurisdiction. We hope the joint efforts of the Haitian government and relevant international partners soon shed light on the crime, so that justice may be served, and the Haitian people can confidently say President Moïse’s murder was not met with impunity.
Haitian Heritage Month Heroes: Raymond Cassagnol (1920 – present)
Raymond Cassagnol, born September 20, 1920, is a former Haitian Air Force officer/flight instructor, one of the first Haitian Tuskegee Airmen, and Haiti's first-ever World War II-trained combat fighter pilot. Now a centenarian, Cassagnol is the last surviving Haitian Tuskegee Airmen. He is also the author of the 2004 autobiography "Mémoires d’un Révolutionaire" (Revolutionary Memoirs).
In 1942, the United States military bequeathed to Haiti six armed Douglas O-38E observation planes to patrol the Caribbean Sea for Nazi German submarines regularly surfacing around Haiti. Soon after, Haiti built the Bowen Field airstrip in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Though Haiti commissioned officers to fly these observation planes, all lacked formal flight training, leading to unnecessary aircraft accidents and wreckage.
As a result, the Haitian government published a newspaper ad in July 1942 seeking 40 airmen recruits for the Haitian Army. The ad caused pandemonium in Port-Au-Prince on official selection day, attracting 800 frenzied airmen candidates and their families. The recruiters selected 42 candidates, including Cassagnol. One reason for his selection was that he spoke four languages: French, Spanish, Creole, and English.
By 1943, Cassagnol became a sergeant and an aircraft mechanic within the maintenance department of the newly formed Haitian Air Force or Corps d’Aviation, created by then-Haitian President Elie Lescot in 1942. He regularly worked on Haiti's aircraft even after duty hours. Considered a high performer, Cassagnol attracted the attention of pilot Dean Eshelman, provisional chief of Haiti's air squadron. One evening, Eshelman visited Bowen Airfield and noticed Cassagnol working overtime. When they asked him why he was working overtime, Cassagnol responded: "There is nothing else to do."
Intrigued, Eshelman asked Cassagnol if he would be interested in becoming a pilot. The following week, the U.S. Embassy selected three Haitians for combat flight training at the Tuskegee Army Airfield in Tuskegee, Alabama: Cassagnol, Philippe Celestin, and Alix Pasquet. In February 1943, the Haitian government sent the men aboard a DC-3 Skytrain aircraft to the U.S., traveling through Puerto Rico, Miami, and Jacksonville, Florida. They collectively became the first Haitians in history to train as combat fighter pilots.
Unaccustomed to Jim Crow segregation as a privileged Haitian citizen, Cassagnol made every effort to avoid leaving the Tuskegee Army Training Field campus, to avoid the humiliation of racial segregation and white southern hostilities. Nonetheless, Cassagnol became fast friends and roommates with fellow aviation classmate Daniel James Jr., who would become the U.S.'s first African American four-star general.
On July 28, 1943, Cassagnol graduated as a member of the Single Engine Section Cadet Class SE-43-G, earning his silver wings and subsequent promotion as a second lieutenant in the Haitian Air Force. A Tuskegee newspaper published an article describing Cassagnol and his two fellow Haitian pilots as a "Triple threat to the Axis.”
After graduation, Cassagnol returned to Haiti to serve in the newly formed Haitian Air Force, becoming its primary flight instructor for Haiti's wartime pilot training program. Flying North American AT-6 Texans, Cassagnol logged over 100 hours of flight time patrolling the island of Hispanola, defending against Nazi Germany's frequent, at-will submarine incursions in the area. Without the use of radar, Cassagnol and his team successfully nullified the Nazi German submarines, forcing the Germans to discontinue their incursion.
After a military overthrow of President Lescot in 1946, Cassagnol resigned from the Haitian military in April 1946. However, General Franck Lavaud denied Cassagnol's resignation on the grounds that the Haitian public and Haiti's enemies could perceive Cassagnol's resignation as evidence of a rift in the Haitian armed forces. Nonetheless, in July 1946, Cassagnol submitted his resignation again and the military accepted it.
During Haiti President Paul Magloire's administration (1950 - 1956), Cassagnol objected to Magloire and his political favoritism. When Haiti held its presidential election in 1957, a non-partisan Cassagnol objected to presidential candidate Clement Jumelle, viewing him as a continuation of Paul Magloire’s corrupt politics. Cassagnol also became a fierce opponent of François Duvalier after he won the Haitian presidency and began to systematically target and kill his political enemies.
In 1961, Cassagnol met with Dominican General Rafael Leónidas Trujillo to devise plans to overthrow Duvalier. Cassagnol later discovered that General Trujillo unfortunately had informed Duvalier three years earlier that Trujillo had given armaments to Cassagnol and former Haitian senator Louis Dejoie, another Duvalier opponent. Fearing for his life, Cassagnol and his family fled Haiti in 1962, entering the Dominican Republic as political asylees. After his arrival in the Dominican Republic, he continued to engage in anti-Duvalier efforts.
In May 1969, Cassagnol flew a B-25 over Duvalier's National palace and bombed it, but Duvalier survived. Duvalier later died of heart disease and diabetes in 1971 and was succeeded by his 19-year-old son Jean-Claude as president. Cassagnol and his family later emigrated to the U.S. In 1986 after Jean-Claude Duvalier was deposed from power, Cassagnol returned to Haiti after 17 years away from his native land. In 1999, Cassagnol deeded 200 acres of land he owned in Haiti to a charitable organization. In November 2000, at the age of 81, Cassagnol visited Tuskegee University after a 57-year absence. After living in Orlando, Florida for 20 years, Cassagnol now resides in Mobile, Alabama.
(received from Hugues Pelissier / Esther Garcia Flavien)
BID22 8bienal iberoamericana de diseño
NOTA DE PRENSA
Madrid, 4 de julio de 2022
Abierta la convocatoria para la 8ª Bienal Iberoamericana de Diseño BID22
La 8º edición de la Bienal Iberoamericana de Diseño (BID22), que tendrá lugar del 21 al 25 de noviembre de 2022, abre su convocatoria del 4 de julio al 7 de agosto de este año, para todos aquellos interesados en ser parte de la comunidad BID.
- La BID, impulsada por DIMAD Fundación, contará con alrededor de 300 proyectos, en la exposición principal de la BID y en la galería online, de diseño de América Latina, España y Portugal.
- Llega a su octava edición con 1 millón de visitantes, 22 países, 16 años, 7 ediciones con 65 exposiciones y 15.700 proyectos a sus espaldas.
- En la semana inaugural, del 21 al 25 de noviembre, se realizarán actividades en formato híbrido en las que se hablará de las preguntas que rondan al sector del diseño en la actualidad.
- Además de la exposición principal de trabajos en Matadero Madrid, habrá exposiciones paralelas en torno al diseño iberoamericano.
- La BID en esta edición plantea dudas sobre la práctica del diseño ante la incertidumbre de estos años.
En el panorama de dos años de desastres a nivel mundial, en los que se han expuesto las contradicciones y los dilemas actuales, toca reflexionar sobre otras formas de estar en el mundo, que busquen evitar el agravamiento de la crisis climática y la desigualdad socioeconómica.
El espacio de la BID está compuesto por muchas culturas y naturalezas diferentes que se mezclan, contaminan y valoran, enfocado a dar respuestas al mundo.
¿Puede el diseño unir el Sur con el Norte y el Oeste con el Este, colaborando para reducir las desigualdades y la injusticia social?
¿Puede el diseño descarbonizar el cielo sin destruir la Tierra?
¿Puede el diseño posponer el fin del mundo?
Busca el Diseño que nos acerque, que nos identifique, que nos dignifique en comunión con el planeta, un diseño que nos reconcilie con la vida, un diseño que nos permita sobrevivir.
Con estas premisas, como todos los años pares, la BID organiza esta Bienal de Diseño haciendo un trabajo de búsqueda de los diseñadores iberoamericanos emergentes y consolidados, que en los últimos dos años, hayan realizado proyectos destacados e innovadores.
En esta edición se quiere dar más importancia a los ejes transversales, que pasan a ser las categorías BID con sus respectivos Premios BID. El diseño, cada vez más, está enfocado en solucionar los problemas que van surgiendo en la sociedad, por esto se quiere dar la importancia que se merece a estos ejes, que hasta hace poco se llamaban especiales y que ahora la organización de la BID los considera primordiales en el diseño.
Categorías BID: Diseño para el Desarrollo / Diseño y Ciudad / Diseño y Participación ciudadana / Diseño para Todas las Personas / Diseño e Innovación / Diseño y Sostenibilidad / Diseño y Emprendimiento / Diseño y Cultura / Diseño e Investigación.
Se contará además con categorías del diseño bajo sus disciplinas, como también se ha hecho en el resto de ediciones.
Las propuestas admitidas serán ratificadas por un Jurado internacional que elegirá un máximo de 25 proyectos por país y formarán parte de la Selección BID22. El Jurado estará formado por un número de 5 a 7 destacados profesionales, ligados al diseño y a disciplinas transversales, que valorarán todos los trabajos. Este Jurado también concederá 17 premios, los Premios BID y los premios de disciplinas del diseño.
Desde 2020, debido a la situación con la pandemia, se ha añadido el formato online a la semana inaugural de la BID. En esta edición, también se contará con un formato híbrido, presencial y online, pudiendo de esta forma acoger y dar espacio a todas aquellas personas de los 22 países que no puedan desplazarse presencialmente hasta Madrid.
Los planteamientos y dudas que han surgido estos dos últimos años en el diseño, serán abordados por especialistas y profesionales en el área, en distintas actividades a lo largo de esta semana. En estos momentos de incertidumbre es cuando el diseño debe plantearse sus objetivos y su función, por ello, es un momento muy interesante en el sector que dará pie a debates de suma importancia y enriquecimiento.
La BID busca crecer cada año a pesar de las adversidades. En esta edición, se van a realizar distintas exposiciones y jornadas paralelas a la exposición de trabajos principal y semana inaugural, que se irán anunciando a través de las redes de la BID.
Los diseñadores participantes seleccionados en la BID expondrán sus proyectos físicamente y en la galería online, recibirán el sello BID, formarán parte del catálogo BID22 y optarán a los premios y menciones, así como la difusión en las redes y prensa de la BID.
A través de este formulario podrán inscribirse los proyectos siguiendo las Bases de la convocatoria de 2022.
La BID22 es posible gracias a la colaboración principal del Ayuntamiento de Madrid y el apoyo de UCCI, Unión de Ciudades Capitales Iberoamericanas.