U.S. Navy Hospital Ship to Address Health Issues
in Hard Hit Port of Jérémie
In collaboration with the Haitian Ministry of Health, the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince announces the visit to Haiti of the U.S. hospital ship USNS Comfort. The Comfort will arrive in Haiti on December 11th and remain until December 17th 2022. The visit is part of the U.S. Navy's Continuing Promise 2022 (CP22) mission, a two-month long deployment to Latin America and the Caribbean on a medical assistance mission reflecting the support of the U.S. government to increase regional cooperation in humanitarian assistance and disaster preparedness, while strengthening maritime partnership. Haiti will be the ship's final stop on this mission, focusing on the hardest hit locations from recent natural disasters, at the Port of Jérémie
The United States thanks the Haitian Ministry of Public Health and Population for hosting this mission. The crew of the hospital ship Comfort will work in collaboration with the Ministry and international partners to offer specialized care while at Port. Medical teams from USNS Comfort will be working alongside host nation medical professionals to provide a variety of medical services to adults and children at the medical sites, to include:
(1) Optometry, (2) Dental, (3) Adult Care, and (4) Pediatrics.
CP22 is part of USSOUTHCOM’s Enduring Promise initiative and reflects the United States enduring promise of friendship, partnership, and solidarity with the Americas.
To benefit from the medical services of the USNS Comfort that will occur from December 13-15, all potential patients must check in with the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) representatives in Jérémie. The walk-in location is designated at the “Place Alexandre Dumas” in front of the Church of St Louis.
For more information pertaining to the provided medical services and how to register for the CP22 mission, continue to follow the U.S. Embassy in Haiti’s website and social media pages, and from your local MSPP representatives.
U.N. expects Haiti sanctions regime to be running by January
Dec 8 (Reuters) - The United Nations' sanction regime in Haiti in response to the gang violence and humanitarian crisis should be working by January 2023, the U.N. resident coordinator for the embattled Caribbean island nation said on Thursday.
Speaking at a news briefing, Ulrika Richardson said the U.N. Security Council is still discussing possible international intervention in Haiti, two months after U.N. chief Antonio Guterres proposed several countries send in a "rapid action strike force."
"I think there is a sense of urgency, a lot of the actors share that sense of urgency. But it's tricky," said Richardson when quizzed about how long such a response could take.
Richardson said people are being confronted with violence on a daily basis in capital city Port-au-Prince, saying "it can't continue."
Most countries remain skeptical of military intervention in Haiti, noting previous peacekeeping mission failures. Some prominent Haitian figures have already been sanctioned by individual countries.
Haitian gangs have expanded their territory since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise. The resulting violence has left much of the country off-limits to government and led to routine gun battles with police.
Richardson said some 155,000 people had been internally displaced, up 77% since August, and that the U.N. was particularly concerned about gangs using sexual violence to keep populations under control.
A recent U.N. report revealed the mass rape of 52 women in Haiti in July. Richardson said for many this happened in front of their children, and that several victims did not seek health support due to fear of retaliation or shame.
Around half of the population is in need of urgent food assistance, she added, and cases of cholera, which reemerged this year, are spreading outside the capital.
Reporting by Sarah Morland; Editing by Anthony Esposito and Josie Kao
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
No. 2022/21
Combating Global Corruption and Human Rights Abuses
U.S. Department of State announces Actions Taken for Significant Corruption against Romel Bell, Former Director General of the General Administration of Customs and Rony Celestin, Senator
On the occasion of International Anti-Corruption Day and on the eve of International Human Rights Day, the United States is taking the following actions to promote accountability for corruption and human rights abuse around the world. These actions include financial sanctions, using Executive Order (E.O.) 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Act, and four additional country-focused Executive Orders. The actions also include visa restrictions pursuant to Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2022 (Div. K, P.L. 117-103), as carried forward by the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2023 (Div. A, P.L. 117-180) and pursuant to Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
All property and interests in property of individuals or entities designated under E.O.s 14024, 13818, 13722, 13687, or 13553 that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or otherwise exempt, all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons are prohibited. The prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any blocked person or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.
Section 7031(c) provides that in cases where there is credible information that officials of foreign governments have been involved in significant corruption or a gross violation of human rights, those individuals and their immediate family members are generally ineligible for entry into the United States and must be either publicly or privately designated. INA Section 212(a)(3)(C) provides grounds for the Secretary of State to exclude any alien whose entry he determines would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.
Actions Taken for Significant Corruption
Haiti
Romel Bell, Former Director General of the General Administration of Customs
- Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Romel Bell for abusing his public position by participating in corrupt activity that undermined the integrity of Haiti’s government. As part of this action, one immediate family member was also designated.
Rony Celestin, Senator
- Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Rony Celestin for abusing his public position by participating in corrupt activity that undermined the integrity of Haiti’s government. As part of this action, four immediate family members are also designated.
To read the full version of the steps the United States is taking to promote accountability for corruption and human rights abuses around the world, please visit:
https://www.state.gov/combating-global-corruption-and-human-rights-abuses/
National Center of Haitian Apostolate
REFLECTIONS ON THE READINGS OF THE 3rd SUNDAY OF ADVENT (DECEMBER 11th 2022)
Isaiah 35, 1-10; Psalm 146; James 5, 7-10; Matthew 11, 2-11.
Joy and Patience are the lessons shining forth from the readings of the Day, halfway through Advent.
Through the prophet Isaiah, God promises that he himself will come to liberate his people. While Saint James insists: Be patient, the Lord is on His way to us. The gospel claims that Jesus brings this hope and joy to the poor and to those who suffer. Thus, he fulfills what the prophet Isaiah had announced about the establishment of God's new world.
Joy, because Christmas marks the beginning of a great history that will end in glory when Jesus returns at the end of time. Christmas manifests the tender compassion of our God who came to make his dwelling among us and within us. A divine seed is planted in our hearts and in the world’s garden. Human fruitfulness is now granted to all “people of goodwill!” Rejoice, therefore, no matter the trials! Joyfully repent! You are on the path to victory!
Patience is also a necessary virtue. Is it not true that long periods of rain and snow precede the harvest? The farmer must learn to wait patiently. Likewise, our long walk “BY FAITH” will lead us through periods of severe hardships and sacrifices. No matter the obstacles and difficulties encountered in this world, our spirits must remain trusting and undefeated. The Lord has come to initiate a process leading to successful achievement. Despair does not exist in the Christian vocabulary!
Jesus gives us a vision of history that is at once realistic and optimistic. Rejoice because no matter what people say and do, Jesus will come again! You therefore rejoice and repent for you have a part to play in the bringing forth of the Final Victory. There is joy in repentance!
A MAN IN TURMOIL
Documentary films will be available for free everywhere in the world from December 1st to 31st 2022.
A MAN IN TURMOIL. From Haiti to Miami and Puerto Rico, this three-part documentary is an exceptional archive of Haitian migration in the early 1980s in the United States, as this December 12, 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the first Haitian refugee boats that were not automatically turned back. The famous Haitian author Jean-Claude Charles leads the investigation, accompanied by a team of France Television, to realize the audiovisual counterpart of his book " De si jolies petites plages " (Such pretty little beaches). Realities and revolting testimonies, a subtle cinematic language to denounce the unspeakable. This trilogy is proposed in partnership with the Festival Quatre Chemins whose theme this year is "Sou Lanmè" (At sea).
I: HAITI: BETWEEN GOD AND THE PRESIDENT. This first of three films on Haiti by José Maria Berzosa and Jean-Claude Charles shows the importance of the role of the church in the status quo, its close ties to the government, and the irresponsibility of personalities close to power during the Duvalier dictatorship. We meet Archbishop Ligondé, blind to the errors of Haitian politicians, Ernest Bennett, also blinded by the position of his son-in-law Jean-Claude Duvalier, "the great chance for Haiti", and CEO of the Caribbean Cruise, who removes Haiti from the cruise itinerary. In Miami, the liberation theology priest Gérard Jean-Juste supports the refugee community and defends the violence of the oppressed against the oppressors. A film by José Maria Berzosa, an investigation by Jean-Claude Charles, France, VO ST-FR, 1982, 54'.
II: HAITI: THE LAWS OF HOSPITALITY. In this film, we see how Haitian refugees in the United States find themselves imprisoned as criminals. Some find themselves in refugee camps that resemble concentration camps, such as Krome in Miami. Others find themselves in high-security prisons such as Otisville, New York, where no distinction is made between them and ordinary prisoners. Poignant testimonies, the weight of great moral misery, separated couples (men's camps, women's camps) and the official discourse of America embodied in a spokeswoman for Krome, a person in charge of the Otisville prison and an industrialist who exploits the Haitian labor force in Port-au-Prince. A film by José Maria Berzosa, an investigation by Jean-Claude Charles, France, VO ST-FR, 1982, 46'.
III: HAITI: THE CHILDREN OF MILLBROOK. This last film in the series takes us to Millbrook, New York, a “special” school for minors considered unaccompanied by an American system that only recognizes the bonds of the nuclear family. They express their desire to leave this school, which is experienced as a prison, but are prevented from joining their relatives in the United States. In counterpoint to the testimonies of these teenagers, their families back in Haiti express their love but also their wish that they stay at all costs in the US. A film by José Maria Berzosa, an investigation by Jean-Claude Charles, France, VO ST-FR, 1982, 41'.