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Florida a battleground : civil rights left vs. anti-woke right
BY MARY ELLEN KLAS
HERALD/TIMES TALLAHASSEE BUREAU
TALLAHASSEEAs protesters marched to the Florida Capitol on Wednesday for the second rally in three weeks to oppose what they say is Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “assault” on Black history, the state’s battle over the future of education started to take shape as a war over the future of civil rights in America.
On one side is DeSantis and the Republican-led Legislature — with coaching from Christopher Rufo of the conservative Manhattan Institute. They vow to move the nation to a pre-1960s America with “a new conservative counter revolution.” Their goal: ending what they say is a “neo-Marxist” focus on “wokeness” in education, corporate America and government that discriminates against individuals.
On the other side are Florida’s Black leaders and national civil rights activists like Al Sharpton. They vow to ignite voter energy and unleash a grassroots movement to remind people that “this is not 1963. It’s 2023.”
Their goal: halting what they see is the effort to reverse the gains of the civil rights era, particularly as it relates to education and voting — which they have long viewed as the two pillars of a multiracial democracy.
The conflict could have national implications but, right now, DeSantis has the upper hand, and the Black pastors who assembled on the Capitol plaza with hundreds of their supporters took note.
“We are here today to serve notice on you that we will not stand for it,” bellowed the Rev. Rudolph McKissick Jr., pastor at Bethel Church in Jacksonville, within shouting distance of the governor’s office. “We are not just marching, but we are coming to affect change. ... We’re not going to let you determine how our story gets told.”
The leaders talked about voter registration drives and get-out-the-vote efforts. They threatened legal challenges and suggested Black athletes could boycott Florida universities. They vowed to teach “truthful Black history” in churches, community programs and college clubs. And they warned of a national effort to have their supporters protest wherever DeSantis goes if he launches a presidential campaign, as expected.
Sharpton, the talk show host and civil rights activist, told the crowd that Florida may be DeSantis’ “domain” but he could face “a real fight” with a broad coalition of opponents outside of his home state.
“He needs to understand that he will have resistance all over this country if he keeps messing with Blacks, LGBTQ and women,’’ he said.
FIGHTING AGAINST A REGRESSION IN CIVIL RIGHTS
The leaders pointed to what they say is DeSantis’ history of being anti-Black: his strong-arming the Legislature to pass a redistricting map that eliminated two congressional districts held by Black Democrats; his push for legislation aimed at criminalizing peaceful protests; his plan to ban colleges and universities from offering diversity, equity and inclusion programs; his ban on critical race theory; his law restricting the instruction of race relations in classrooms; and his rejection of the College Board course on African-American studies.
“This governor is trying to turn back the hands of time,’’ said Ben Frazier, a Jacksonville activist and president of the Northside Coalition as he spoke to protesters gathered at the Bethel AME Church in Tallahassee. “He’s a one-man wrecking machine.”
While DeSantis may have one of the highest profiles in the battle, he is not the only Republican leader who has engaged in the fight.
According to the UCLA School of Law’s tracking project, at least 183 local, state and federal government entities across the country have introduced bills, resolutions, executive orders, opinion letters, statements or other measures to roll back equity and inclusion measures and block discussions about race and systemic racism.
“This is not just a Florida problem,’’ said state Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-Miami Gardens, at a Jan. 25 rally to announce a threatened lawsuit against the governor. “Florida is just a petri dish. But people from across the country should be concerned. ... If it can happen in Florida, it can happen in Tennessee. It can happen in Colorado.”
A NEW FLORIDA EXPORT
Exporting Florida’s initiatives to other states, especially Republican-governed ones, is precisely the plan for Rufo and other DeSantis allies.
Shortly after DeSantis named Rufo, a conservative activist who is an architect of the anti-woke crusade, to the board of the New College of Florida last month, he quickly posted a video titled “The Conservative Counter-Revolution Begins in the Universities.” In it, Rufo explained how he will use the “strategies” of Marxist theorists of the 1960s and change public policy from the top down to “recapture institutions” from “bureaucratic morality.”
“It starts with this hostile takeover of the New College of Florida and on the beaches of Sarasota,’’ he declared. “And if we are to be successful, I think that we’re going to create a model for red state governors all over the country.”
In March 2021, Rufo acknowledged the desire to create the code words for the movement that could be used to reflect common grievances of Americans. He began with the term: “critical race theory.”
“The goal is to have the public read something crazy in the newspaper and immediately think ‘critical race theory,’ ” he wrote on Twitter. “We have decodified the term and will recodify it to annex the entire range of cultural constructions that are unpopular with Americans.”
Critical Race Theory is “a euphemism for equity, social justice, diversity and inclusion and culturally responsive teaching,’’ Rufo argued in another video, and those are things embedded in our institutions. He suggested that the changes to public education are intended to “put guardrails on what kind of values and ideologies you can transmit” and to “exclude certain ideas — like one race is inherently superior to another race, or you should feel guilty on behalf of your ancestry or your racial identity.”
Those who study the discipline of critical race theory, however, say the goal is not to suggest individuals are racist but instead to shift the emphasis to public-policy tools that can be used to create equity and freedom for all.
“Rufo, the Heritage Foundation, the Manhattan Institute, all have a rhetorical strategy that tries to broadly reframe civil rights remedies as themselves a threat to civil rights,’’ said Jonathan Feingold, a history professor and expert on anti-discrimination law at Boston University. “If you are comfortable with inequality, and would prefer a system that retreats to the hierarchies of old, then it makes sense to try to villainize and delegitimize modest efforts to account for all the ways in which race and racism continue to operate in American society.”
If there is a rallying cry for this revolution, however, it is DeSantis’ declaration on his reelection night that Florida is “where woke goes to die.”
WHAT DOES ‘WOKE’ REALLY MEAN?
The governor has used “woke” to describe the Advanced Placement African-American Studies course, the College Board, Walt Disney Co., the NCAA, math books, Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren, school boards, universities, cruise ship companies and businesses that offer diversity, equity and inclusion training.
But what the governor means precisely is open to interpretation.
Like Rufo, DeSantis equates “wokeism” to Marxism, the political and economic theories that formed the basis of communism. But he offers no examples.
“I think what you see now with the rise of this woke ideology is an attempt to really delegitimize our history and to delegitimize our institutions,” DeSantis said last year as he signed into law the Stop W.O.K.E. Act, which restricts race-based conversations in schools and businesses. “And I view the wokeness as a form of cultural Marxism.”
But civil rights leaders say it is DeSantis who is delegitimizing history with conduct that parallels what happened during the era of Jim Crow by reversing progress.
After the Civil War and slavery was abolished, Blacks were elected to state and local offices and, for the first time, made strides in business and education. But the movement to “deconstruct reconstruction” reversed their gains as state and local Jim Crow laws legalized racial segregation and suppressed Black voting.
Jim Crow laws were outlawed in 1964, with the signing of the Civil Rights Act and the 1965 passage of the Voting Rights Act. But the intense and sustained backlash against Reconstruction, which lasted nearly a century, “was a period of unrivaled racial terrorism and your rights were determined by the state you were in,’’ Feingold said.
“We see the same thing happening now with this governor and his attack on things that are Black,’’ said Frazier, the Jacksonville activist.
Feingold suggests that DeSantis is trying to wrap together the public’s frustration with racial divisions when he uses the term “woke.”
That became clear when Ryan Newman, the governor’s general counsel, was asked under oath what “woke” meant. Testifying in the court case brought against the governor by the ousted Hillsborough County state attorney, Newman answered: “Generally, the belief there are systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them.”
“Newman placed DeSantis on the side of injustice,” Feingold wrote in an essay for The Conversation. Feingold said DeSantis could be called an “injustice denier.”
DESANTIS SAYS AMERICA IS OPPORTUNITY, NOT SYSTEMIC RACISM
The DeSantis camp not only denies that institutional racism and systemic injustices exist in the United States, it argues that the remedies to racial inequities — such as programs that encourage diversity, equity and inclusion — are themselves violations of anti-discrimination laws and other civil rights protections.
In an April 2021 interview with Laura Ingraham, DeSantis was asked if he thought systemic racism exists. The governor quipped that it was “a bunch of horse manure.”
“I mean, give me a break,’’ he said. “This country has had more opportunities for people to succeed than any other country. It doesn’t matter where you trace your ancestry from.”
Jones, the state senator, echoed the words of many Black leaders when he described the governor’s policies as intended to roll back advances in racial justice in America as the country becomes increasingly less white and more racially diverse.
“It’s not just about AP history,’’ Jones said. “The fight is against this strong uprising of racism from people who are seeing the shifting of America.”
Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau reporters Ana Ceballos and Lawrence Mower contributed to this report.
Mary Ellen Klas can be reached at
Le Quotidien News
Announcement
It is estimated that at least 30 per cent of Haitian women between the ages of 15 and 30 years old have been the victims of sexual abuse or violence.
To raise awareness, the Quotidien News, in collaboration with the Quisqueya University in Port-au-Prince, is leading the second edition of the competition on violence against women for young people aged 18 to 30.
Thanks to your contribution, the fifteen finalists of the competition will be able to receive a financial reward for their essays, which will then be published and socialised to create more awareness of this issue. 100% of the funds raised by GoFundMe will be given to the competition winners. https://gofundme.com/f/end-the-violence-against-women-in-haiti
Arrested for possession of an illegal weapon
February 23, 2023
The police proceeded, this Tuesday, February 21, to the arrest of the named Ludson Zéphyr Pierre, alias John, aged 33, on Tuesday February 21, 2023, in Charrier, an area located near Vertières and Haut du Cap.
During this arrest Ludson Zéphyr had in his possession a 9mm caliber pistol which he carried illegally.
According to the Police note, the defendant took this weapon on Friday evening, February 17, 2023, in the possession of two individuals who were trying to steal a motorcycle in the same area.
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Haiti: Rise in extreme gang violence makes for “living nightmare” GENEVA/PORT-AU-PRINCE (10 February 2023) – Extreme violence and gross human rights abuses, including mass incidents of murder, gang rape and sniper attacks, have sharply increased in Cité Soleil on the outskirts of the Haitian capital, said a UN report* published today, creating “a living nightmare” for thousands."The findings of this report are horrifying: it paints a picture of how people are being harassed and terrorized by criminal gangs for months without the State being able to stop it. It can only be described as a living nightmare," Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said.The report said that from 8 July to 31 December 2022 gang violence resulted in 263 murders in the Brooklyn neighbourhood of Cité Soleil, the impoverished and densely populated commune near the capital Port-au-Prince. It documented at least 57 gang rapes of women and girls, as well as kidnappings and sexual exploitation.
On one day alone, 8 July 2022, gang members murdered 95 people, including six children one of whom was two years of age.The situation in Brooklyn mirrors the plight of hundreds of thousands of others in Haiti who reside in areas under the control of heavily armed gangs, the report by the Human Rights Service of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti said.The G-9 gang has spread terror by using snipers, who indiscriminately kill anyone who enter their field of vision, the report said, adding that on average six people are killed each week by snipers.The gang blocked access to the neighbourhood, thus controlling the entry of basic necessities such as food and health services. Unsanitary conditions have been exacerbated, leading to the spread of infectious diseases such as cholera.The report detailed the case of Rose, a mother of four and five months pregnant, who was severely beaten and raped in the presence of her children by three heavily armed masked men who forced their way into her home in Cité Soleil. Earlier in the day, Rose's husband was shot by members of the same gang. Before leaving, the gunmen set fire to her house."The case of Cité Soleil is not an isolated one, and sadly many Haitians are experiencing similar ordeals,” said Türk. “It is time for the international community to help the Haitian authorities regain full control, so this suffering can be stopped.”The UN Human Rights Chief called for a strengthening of the security forces, as well as the judicial system. All perpetrators, as well as those providing support and finance to the gangs, must be prosecuted and tried according to rule of law, and all victims recognized and their rights to truth, justice and reparations must be fulfilled, Türk added.*To read the full report, please click here<https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/country-reports/population-cite-soleil-grip-gang-violence-investigative-report-human>For more information and media requests, please contact:
Ravina Shamdasani – (travelling with the High Commissioner)
Beatrice Nibogora - + 509 36537043 /
Criminal Power in Haiti and Hunger as an Instrument of Governance
Around two hundred criminal groups operate in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, a city with a population of one million people. These numerous gangs have established a criminal order capable of hindering the supply of food and humanitarian aid in Haiti; this criminal sovereignty, organized through the illegal activity and violence, manufactures political legitimacy for these gangs. While the criminal network and governmental corruption in Haiti has drawn the attention of the international community, the related food insecurity crisis has not received significant external concern. This article analyzes the use of hunger as an instrument of criminal governance and reinterprets the meaning of sovereignty and governance within the context of criminality.
Haiti is a ‘Criminocracy’
Haiti today can be characterized as a phantom state with a supplanted political structure—competition between gangs vying for political authority has created a limited, fragmented, and authoritarian presence within the state. The country can also be considered as a criminal federation, or a ‘criminocracy’, because several criminal organizations have acquired government capabilities and their sphere of influence threatens the lives of Haitians through direct violence or forced starvation.
Following the assassination of former president Jovenel Moïse on June 7, 2021, the humanitarian and food security crisis of the last two decades further deteriorated. The polarization and political violence that ensued after Moïse’s assassination precipitated limited access to COVID-19 vaccines and widespread hunger due to food shortages. These factors have also enabled criminal networks in Haiti to govern by enacting rules and corrupting the legal regime to exercise control over the lives of the Haitian population, suppressing individual liberties and the most basic rights of Haitian citizens, such as the right to freedom of movement or to access food.
One prominent criminal leader, a former police officer and commander of the G-9 gang, Jimmy Chérizier, previously co-governed with president Moïse through a non-aggression pact in which Chérizier provided territorial control and intimidation over Moïse’s political opposition in return for legal immunity. Pacts between governments and criminals are not uncommon in Haiti. In fact, during the dictatorial government of the Duvalier family (1957–1986), paramilitary forces were developed for intimidation purposes. Presidents Jean-Bertrand Aristide (2001–2004) and Michel Martelly (2011–2016) were also tolerant of organized crime and suspected of ignoring drug trafficking in exchange for bribes. The process by which gangs rose to power in Haiti was gradual, but since 2017, when Moïse took office, their territorial control has greatly increased. The rise of gangs in Haiti is intertwined with domestic political incentives and the deterioration of democracy that sustained the Moïse regime through armed support. Additionally, the criminal groups managed to make alliances with the police and security during the Moïse regime, thus enabling kidnapping, human trafficking, the flow of weapons, and other crimes while minimizing the consequences. Now, following the Moïse regime, more than half of the political institutions in Haiti are controlled by criminal gangs and operate as de facto governments. At this moment, about 60 percent of Port-au-Prince is under gang control. The Haitian state demonstrates its acceptance of gang violence by not counteracting or inhibiting it.
Hunger and Crime
According to the World Food Programme (WFP), there are around one million people at risk of acute food insecurity in Port-au-Prince alone, and five million people currently experience food insecurity across the country. This food insecurity is due, in large part, to the criminal gangs that exercise control over food distribution in Haiti by imposing restrictions on mobility, including access to markets, fuel, medicine, food, and international humanitarian assistance. The hunger produced by criminal intervention in food distribution is leading to the extinction of the Haitian population because an alarmingly high proportion of the population, around 60 percent, depend on criminal gangs to distribute food. Gangs allocate stolen food to cooperative civilians who share information about other gangs or state forces, and leverage food distribution by orchestrating sex trafficking networks in which women and girls receive food in exchange for sexual favors and forced labor. Thus, hunger has become a weapon to control the lives of Haitian people. Gangs take advantage of basic needs to build dependency, legitimize criminal actions, and force cooperation in exchange for food.
In the Cité Soleil neighborhood in the capital of Port-au-Prince armed gangs have besieged the town and blocked the entry of humanitarian missions. Sixty-five percent of residents are experiencing food insecurity, and five percent is on the verge of death from starvation and disease. The combination of natural disasters, such as the earthquake of August 2021, the devastation following Hurricane Nicole in November 2022, and the global crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, has left the Haitian population even more vulnerable. After the 2021 earthquake, the destruction and poverty that ensued, combined with preexisting criminal structures, further exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in Cité Soleil.
Gang warfare for territorial control often occurs in public, forcing civilians to watch members of armed groups behead dissidents, burn people alive in retaliation for non-submission, and rape women in the streets. Criminal groups maintain a presence on major roads that connect urban and rural areas, controlling the passage of citizens, merchandise, medicines, and food. On the highway that connects Port-au-Prince with southern Haiti gangs have prevented the passage of various humanitarian missions attempting to supply medicine and drinking water. The hijacking and burning of food trucks by gang members has furher inhibited humanitarian aid in the city. Additionally, the 400 Mawozo group controls the land route that connects Haiti with the Dominican Republic—a strategic location for the Haitian economy and an area transited by irregular migrants who are recruited by the gang. There, the criminal group controls movement of people and merchandise by killing presumed enemies and rewarding informants.
Thus, Haitian gangs have facilitated the construction of a criminal federal state. Though the gangs are fragmented, they control large territories and obey an overarching criminal structure. In early October 2022, the Canaán and 5 Seconds gangs, two allied criminal groups, launched an operation on a highway that accesses northern Port-au-Prince, where the largest flour processing company in the country is located, Moulins d’Haïti. The motive of this operation was to take control of the food supply infrastructure in Port-au-Prince, which produces food for a large part of the Haitian population. Fortunately, state forces intervened, but if the operation had been successful, the supply of food to the capital and elsewhere would have been at the mercy of criminal leaders. The seizure of food infrastructure in Haiti elevates the influence of criminal gangs, thus potentially necessitating negotiations with intergovernmental organizations such as the United Nations (UN) to attenuate the effects.
Policy-based Solutions
Structural solutions can be built in two ways: internationally and domestically. On the one hand, international support is useful for monitoring the contribution of humanitarian aid and as an instrument for constructing a system of governance that appropriately oversees the rule of law and the security forces. But it must be a short, limited, and precise international support mission to avoid repeating the human rights violations of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). Teaching Haitians to facilitate their own democratic institutions, as well as police and justice systems, is a crucial component of this process. International experts in law enforcement could help strengthen institutional management and supervision of criminal activity and develop educational and employment opportunities that would dissuade young people from joining criminal structures. The solution, however, should not rely on a multinational military intervention, as this could exacerbate the humanitarian crisis and threaten civil society with potential war. There must be support for the restoration of the democratic order, and increased monitoring of free and transparent elections with the support of organizations like the UN.
The possibility of negotiating with criminal gangs should be considered. For that, there must be an established agenda, political volition, and clear rules for justice. With the support of the international community, there can be a post-crime transitional justice process to disarm the gangs. In other words, the idea may be to involve former members of criminal gangs as participants in building institutions for Haitian peace.
On the other hand, legitimate institutions must originate in Haiti. The best way to build legitimate institutions is through local initiatives backed by citizen confidence. Without structural change, Haiti could be the catalyst of broader security problems and instability throughout the region. The power and scope of the gangs greatly increase this possibility, in combination with the humanitarian crisis in Haiti, which has generated irregular migration across the continent.
. . .
César Niño is an associate professor and researcher in international relations at the Universidad de la Salle (Colombia). His research areas include international security, conflict, terrorism, violence, peace, and organized crime. He has a PhD in International Law from the Universidad Alfonso X el Sabio (Spain), and is currently a PhD student in International Peace, Conflict and Development Studies at the Universitat Jaume I (Spain).
Image Credits: Wikimedia, Alex Proimos
Official Launch of USAID’s Boost
Livestock Profitability Activity in Haiti
For Immediate Release
February 10, 2023
(Port-au-Prince) - The U.S. Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has launched the Boost Livestock Profitability activity called Programme d’Appui à la Rentabilisation de l’Elevage (PARE). Beginning in 2023, USAID will be partnering with livestock market actors to support livestock value chains. PARE will build a more resilient livestock market that will boost profitable commercialization of the cattle, goat, sheep, and poultry value chains in 35 communes of Haiti’s North, North-East, Center, and South departments. USAID will enable long-lasting market linkages with aspiring private and public sector partners, while building the resilience of smallholder farmers and their communities.
“Currently, smallholder farmers in Haiti lack access to inputs and services, such as quality feed and forages, and health, veterinary, and financial services. Outbreaks in animal diseases are common — as are supply chain disruptions around the country — making it difficult for producers to sell and transport goods,” says U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Eric Stromayer. PARE will use a $3.6 million market co-investment fund to kickstart the sector to tackle these issues, while improving local markets and livelihoods. By 2027, the activity will improve the resilience of up to 30,000 households and 100 firms, facilitating more than $65 million USD in sales for producers, input providers, and other businesses, and leveraging $3.6 million USD in private sector investment.
USAID/Haiti’s Mission Director Jennifer Link, adds that, “In Haiti, the livestock sector is of significant importance for most of the rural households as a means of savings and safety net. PARE will help increase livestock production to feed families, increase farmers’ earnings, and improve the resilience of the livestock market actors.”
Beyond livestock programming, USAID/Haiti works to promote economic growth, improve sustainable reconstruction and development, create jobs and agricultural development, provide health and education services, and improve effective governance.
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facilitate the task for voters.
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- Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti
Canada imposes new sanctions on two ‘Haitian elites’
Canadian government accuses two Haitian nationals, including associate of ex-President Martelly, of enabling gangs.
Sanctions come days after Canada sent armoured vehicles to Haiti to help bolster the Haitian National Police in their fight against armed gangs [File: Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters]
Published On 13 Jan 202313 Jan 2023
Canada has imposed new sanctions against two “Haitian elites” accused of enabling criminal gangs, the latest measure in an international campaign to stem a surge of deadly violence in the Caribbean nation.
Canada’s foreign affairs ministry said on Friday that it was sanctioning former member of parliament Arnel Belizaire and businessman Charles Saint-Remy, an associate of former Haitian President Michel Martelly.
“Canada has reason to believe these individuals are using their status as high-profile elites in Haiti to protect and enable the illegal activities of armed criminal gangs, including through drug trafficking and other acts of corruption,” the department said in a statement.
Canada and its allies, most notably the United States, have issued a barrage of sanctions against Haitian politicians, former officials and others in recent weeks in an effort to crack down on criminal gangs and illicit activities.
Martelly, the former president, was among six Haitian officials sanctioned by Canada in November on accusations that they “participated in gross and systematic human rights violations in Haiti and engaged in acts that threaten the peace, security, and stability of Haiti”.
In recent months, Haitians have faced a surge in gang attacks and kidnappings as insecurity skyrocketed in the aftermath of the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise in the capital of Port-au-Prince.
The country also experienced petrol and electricity shortages linked to a gang blockade on a critical fuel terminal in Port-au-Prince late last year.
Meanwhile, months of political deadlock deepened this week as the last elected officials in Haiti saw their Senate terms expire. The last parliamentary elections were held in 2017, with future elections yet to be scheduled.
Haiti’s acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry in October appealed to the international community to help set up a “specialised armed force” to restore security – a call that was backed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and US President Joe Biden’s administration.
But Washington-led efforts to mount “a non-UN mission led by a partner country” to Haiti have stalled since then, as the Biden administration so far has failed to get another nation to agree to lead such a force.
Haitian civil society groups also have raised staunch opposition to the prospect of foreign intervention, saying such missions have historically brought more harm than good. Some activists have instead urged more resources be sent to the Haitian National Police.
Earlier this week, Canada announced that it had delivered armoured vehiclesalready bought by Haiti to the head of the national police force in Port-au-Prince to help in the battle against the gangs.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA
DHS Implements New Processes for Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans and Eliminates Cap for Venezuelans
01/06/2023
On Jan. 5, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a safe and lawful way for qualifying Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans with U.S.-based supporters to travel by air to and temporarily reside in the United States. Individuals arriving under this new process may also apply for work authorization. DHS also announced elimination of the numerical cap for a similar process for Venezuelans announced earlier this year.
This process will provide a lawful and streamlined way for qualifying nationals of Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua who are outside the United States and lacking U.S. entry documents to come to the United States. Through a fully online process, individuals can be considered, on a case-by-case basis, for advance authorization to travel to the United States and seek a temporary period of parole for up to two years, provided that they:
- Have a supporter in the United States who will provide financial and other support;
- Undergo and clear robust security vetting;
- Meet other eligibility criteria; and
- Warrant a favorable exercise of discretion.
DHS will begin implementing these new processes for Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans on Jan. 6, 2023. For additional information on the process and eligibility requirements, please see the Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans page.
DHS strongly encourages Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans seeking entry in the U.S. who do not have and are not eligible for a visa to instead seek entry via this process, as this will be the safest and most effective way to pursue a temporary stay in the United States. Individuals complete the process electronically and should not approach the border to access this process.
Effective immediately, U.S.-based individuals may submit Form I-134A, Online Request to be a Supporter and Declaration of Financial Support, on behalf of named nationals of Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua to come to the United States. We are also continuing the process with respect to Venezuelans.
Access to these processes is free. Neither the U.S. supporter nor the beneficiary is required to pay the U.S. government a fee for the Form I-134A or participation in this process. Beware of any scams or potential exploitation by anyone who asks for money associated with applying to this process. Visit the Avoid Scamspage for information and resources.
12 in custody after at least 25 migrants land on Fort Lauderdale Beach
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Federal authorities took 12 people into custody after more than two dozen migrants made landfall on Fort Lauderdale Beach.
According to Fort Lauderdale Police, a group of migrants landed on the beach along the 700 block of Seabreeze Boulevard, near Harbor Drive, on Tuesday afternoon, just before 6 p.m.
Police estimate between 25 to 50 migrants made it to land.
However, U.S. Border Patrol officials said only 12 were taken into custody: nine from Haiti, two from Brazil and one from the Bahamas.
Dive teams also arrived at the scene.
Police on Wednesday continue to search for the rest of the migrants who took off running.
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue treated the migrants who were detained.
Copyright 2023 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/haiti-trudeau-rae-gangs-1.6713921Haiti: Trudeau wrestling with tough question, says Rae (CBC)CBC News, January 14, 2023
Trudeau 'wrestling' with the question of how to help Haiti, says Bob Rae
‘We are not interested in repeating the mistakes of the past,' says ambassador
By Catherine CullenAs Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince continues to be rocked by gang violence, one key adviser to the Canadian federal government says this
country doesn't favour the idea of putting boots on the ground to help address unrest."I don't want to speculate about that because I don't think that's really the step that we're taking," said Canada's Ambassador to the
United Nations Bob Rae, who last visited Haiti in December.Speaking to CBC Radio's The House, Rae said Canada is looking at how to provide assistance that will "create order" in Haiti — where, he said, the state is "holding together by a thread."Rae visited the country twice last year and is advising the Canadian government on a path forward. He said many outside Haiti don't fully
appreciate the great fear and anxiety experienced by ordinary Haitians,
who are dealing with civil disorder, widespread threats of kidnapping and sexual violence, and a food crisis."The prime minister is wrestling with a very tough question and that is, 'What is the most effective form of assistance that we can provide?'" said RaeEarlier this week, Canada airlifted a second shipment of Haitian-purchased armoured vehicles to the country to help the national
police. On Friday, Canada also announced new sanctions against two more members of the Haitian elite."We're leading the way on sanctions and frankly we'd like other governments to play a stronger role, including the United States," said
Rae, noting Canada is also providing food aid and help with public health as the country deals with a resurgence of cholera.The sensitive question of whether military involvement might be in the cards landed in the spotlight earlier this week in the lead-up to the
North American leaders summit, after comments by a senior U.S. official."Canada itself has expressed interest in taking on a leadership role" in offering some sort of multinational security support to the Haitian
National Police, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Monday.That could involve boots on the ground or other forms of support, said Sullivan. He said that U.S. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister
Trudeau would discuss the matter, adding he didn't want to "jam anybody" by anticipating the outcome of the conversation.But no public commitment to any specific action in Haiti emerged after those private discussions on Tuesday.Trudeau did not directly answer the question about the possibility of a Canadian military presence in Haiti when asked by a reporter — though he did talk about the importance of Haitian national police being empowered
to solve the situation themselves.He added that Canada and other countries are preparing various scenarios to respond in the event the situation in Haiti gets worse.Ariel Henry, Haiti's de facto prime minister, has asked for help from a foreign military, but many citizens of Haiti see Henry's government as
illegitimate.Still, the United Nations has urged countries to consider Henry's request. It's not clear how many Haitians would reject such a military presence. Haiti's history is littered with episodes of foreign powers intervening and leaving a trail of damage.Marjorie Villefranche, director of Montreal's Maison d'Haiti, said the country has dealt with years of foreign soldiers on the ground and many Haitians do not want to see that era return."The situation could be deteriorating, but the solution is not the occupation of Haiti," she saidRae insisted that no such suggestion is under consideration.
Jean Saint-Vil of Solidarité Québec-Haiti agreed that such an armed intervention would be unwelcome."The only reason that this kind of reflex shows up is because we are dealing in a colonial paradigm where white nations, white-dominated nations, see themselves as the national policemen of the planet," he
said. "This is not acceptable in 2023.""Nobody's contemplating a huge military intervention," said Rae. "I think that idea, which may have been around in some quarters, certainly was never one that was embraced by us."The focus now is on upgrading the capacity of the Haitian security services, he said, and looking at what additional assistance Canada can provide.Rae also pointed out that there is no United Nations Security Council resolution to authorize such an intervention. Whatever is done must be based on "a stronger consensus than we're currently seeing from all of the elements in Haitian society," he added."We are not interested in repeating the mistakes of the past."
- Détails
- Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti
Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick Moves Into the Leadership of the Congressional Progressive Caucus
Originally from Jacksonville, Kevin Derby is the editor of Florida Daily and covers politics across Florida. Reach Kevin at
December 26, 2022, 6:00 am
Last week, U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., the chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), named U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., as part of the group’s leadership.
Cherfilus-McCormick will be one of the CPC’s deputy whips for the 118th Congress.
“I’m honored to have been appointed by Rep. Jayapal to serve as deputy whip on the CPC Executive Board for the 118th Congress,” said Cherfilus-McCormick. “I’m proud to be a part of the most diverse leadership and the largest Progressive Caucus in history. I look forward to the road ahead as we continue to deliver for working families.”
“I am thrilled to announce these appointments today and complete our CPC Executive Board for the 118th Congress,” said Jayapal. “These members represent the diversity of the progressive movements, our caucus, and our country: they are immigrants and first-generation Americans, freshmen and senior members, state legislators and organizers, people of color and women, from working-class backgrounds and diverse geographies. Each of them is committed to our progressive values and to leaving no one behind.”
“The Progressive Caucus was founded in 1991 by Senator Bernie Sanders, Rep. Peter DeFazio, and Rep. Maxine Waters. Since its founding, the caucus has continued to grow, organize, and build. It will enter the 118th Congress with its largest membership to date. The diverse composition of the new CPC executive board includes 50 percent women, 73 percent people of color, and LGBTQ members,” the CPC noted.
In a special election held at the start of the year, Cherfilus-McCormick replaced longtime U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., who died in April 2021. She took 79 percent of the vote while Republican Jason Mariner got 19 percent,Libertarian Mike ter Maat garnered 1 percent and two candidates–Jim Flynnand Lenny Serratore–who were both running with no party affiliation–each pulled around .5 percent.
Cherfilus-McCormick had a much tougher time winning the primary in that special election. After several recounts, Cherfilus-McCormick prevailed over Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness and a large crowd to win the Democratic nomination. After recounts were finished and with all votes in, Cherfilus-McCormick beat Holness by five votes–11,662–23.76 percent–to 11,657 votes–23.75 percent.
After taking 26 percent of the Democratic primary vote against Hastings in 2018 and 32 percent of it last year, Cherfilus-McCormick ran a third time and she and Holness outpaced the field. Holness drew heavily in Broward County, taking 29 percent of the vote there, while Cherfilus-McCormick pulled 21 percent, enough for second place there. But she ran away in Palm Beach County, taking 30 percent while he garnered only 8 percent there.
Facing Holness in a rematch in the primary in August 2022, Cherfilus-McCormick won by a far larger margin. She won with 65 percent of the vote, while Holness finished a distant second with 29 percent of the vote.
In November, Cherfilus-McCormick routed Republican businessman Drew-Montez Clark, besting him 72.3 percent to 27.7 percent.
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HOMILY OF THE NEW YEAR 2012 (Feast of the Solemnity of Holy Mary, Mother of God)
Num 6, 22-27; Ps 67; Gal 4, 4-7; Luke 2, 16-21
Msgr. Pierre André Pierre
A. Happy New Year to all of you.
May the grace and peace of God
accompany you throughout the year
that we begin today and may the Lord Jesus be with you always, every day.
B. Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. Ps 132,1. As we gather in this beautiful Cathedral of St Agnes in Rockville Center, I would like the first words of my homily to be words of gratitude, for the great opportunity given to us to celebrate to welcome us as a sign of unity
C. Today begins a new year it is a day of Blessings.
And we sincerely wish each other all God's blessings:
good health, well-being, harmony in the family, happiness...
In the Church’s tradition, it is a day of Blessings.
May the Lord extend his hands of tender mercy upon each and every one of you! May in every family, the father or in his absence the mother lay hands upon their children imploring peace and God’s favor upon their family!
D. January 1st is also PEACE DAY!
On this day, as we celebrate the feast of Mary, Mother of God, we also include, with seriousness and insistence, wishes and prayers for a sense of deep and lasting peace, in a world beset by violence, conflicts, and fratricidal struggles, since Mary gave us Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace.
May our sense of justice and unity, of mutual forgiveness and acceptance, create the right atmosphere in which peace can grow in our hearts, in our homes, and throughout the world.
On this first day of the year, people exchange wishes for peace and joy. I do wish the same for you too.
There are so many wars, so many inequalities and so much misery in the world. God made us responsible. He put us in charge of the world when he asked Adam “to tilt the soil, cultivate and subdue it.” That did not simply involve the material development of the world but also its societal order. The present state of the world shows that we have fallen short of our societal duties. There are all too many street crimes in our neighborhood. Peace is a permanent pursuit. It ought to be pursued unceasingly otherwise it declines as happens to the bird when it stops flipping its wings. “Happy are the peace-makers, they will be called children of God.” Let us all be involved in deeds of peace.
E. Today January 1st, the octave day of Christmas, the Church likes to honor in a special way, Mary,
the predestined woman who made Christmas possible through her trustful “YES” to the angel. She is the new Eve, the Icon of Redeemed mankind, the Blessed One for whom the Almighty has done great things. As Salomon placed his mother in charge of all his affairs on a throne next to him, Mary is in the words of the Psalmist: “The Queen Mother standing next to the King dressed in Gold of Ophir.” (Psalm 45) We do not worship her for she is not God but we revere her with exquisite devotion. As we gaze at her we appreciate the words of St Paul saying that “we have been created for the praise of God’s glory.” She stands as the showcase of God's magnificent mercy toward his faithful servants!
May she walk with us on the narrow paths of the future and teach us to love and serve her divine Son!
The witness of our lives is crucial to the development of God’s plan. He destined us to be his co-heirs but first, we must be his partners in establishing on earth his kingdom of peace and love. “We are ambassadors for Christ, God as if it were appealing through us. We implore you in Christ’s name, be reconciled to God.” (2 Cor. 5, 20)
If like Mary, we trustingly say YES to the Lord, the year will be good and prosperous and there will be peace on earth.
With love and prayers.
Haiti faces famine – but its troubles are rooted in a brutal colonial past | Kenneth Mohammed
“Toussaint was a mighty man and to make matters worse he was black / Black and back in the days when black men knew their place was in the back / But this rebel he walked through Napoleon who thought it wasn’t very nice / And so today my brothers in Haiti, they still pay the price / Haiti, I’m sorry, we misunderstood you / One day we’ll turn our heads and restore your glory.”
The haunting song by David Rudder flooded my mind as the aircraft touched down at Toussaint Louverture international airport.
Later, as my taxi weaved through Port-au-Prince, the sight of mountains of rubble lining every street was overwhelming. Makeshift tents occupied every space. It was 2012, two years after a 35-second tremor from a 7.0 magnitude earthquake left an estimated 220,000-316,000 people dead and another 300,000 injured. Some 1.5 million were made homeless in one of the deadliest natural disasters in the world. Poor construction practices and high population density were blamed for the astonishing fatalities.
Fast forward to December 2022 and Haiti is rocked by a different disaster, a perfect storm of violence, poverty, corruption and poor governance, all built on foundations of slavery, colonialism, brutality and exploitation.
The head of the World Food Programme in Haiti, Jean-Martin Bauer, said this week that, with gangs in control, the country faces an unprecedented crisis and could soon see famine. Haiti has run aground.
The streets are owned by heavily armed criminals, while the law enforcement agencies are underequipped, undermanned and undermotivated. Kidnapping is a business model, with more than 1,500 recorded in the last 18 months. Any available fuel sells on the black market at more than $35 a gallon. Food is a desperate challenge for most.
To fully understand a nation’s anguish, examine its history. What has been done to Haiti in the name of “the race for wealth” is the deepest wound to the Caribbean.
Christopher Columbus landed in 1492 on the coast of Hispaniola, then called Ayiti and inhabited by the Taíno and Arawak people. Columbus renamed the island and claimed it for Spain. Then the French settled to the west and called it Saint-Domingue. By 1767, sugar, coffee, indigo and cotton were booming for the European economies, as Haiti’s labour accounted for a third of the transatlantic slave trade.
Inspired by the French Revolution, in 1791 the enslaved people rose in revolt, a struggle that continued for just over 12 years, despite invasions by the British, Spanish and French, and led to the creation of Haiti, the first independent black republic outside Africa. It was the world’s only successful slave revolt with the indomitable Louverture defeating the Napoleonic armies. His general, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, authorised a constitution calling for freedom of religion, for all citizens to be known as “black” to dispel colour hierarchy, and for white men to be forbidden from possessing property.
In 1825, France, backed by several warships, demanded from Haiti 150m francs as indemnity for claims over the loss of property during the revolution and, in addition, for diplomatic recognition as an independent state. Reparations for the loss of their “property” – their slaves.
The debt choked Haiti’s economic development as interest mounted, snatching a significant share of GDP and restricting development. Haiti was forced to take loans from Crédit Industriel et Commercial bank, enriching French shareholders. The remainder of Haiti’s debt was financed by the National City Bank of New York, now Citibank, and, in 1915, US President Woodrow Wilson responded to complaints from US banks about Haiti’s debts by invading. Never had a country been invaded for debts owing. That occupation lasted until 1934, deeply resented by Haitians who staged numerous revolts. France only repealed the debt in 2016, however no reparations were forthcoming despite being the root cause of Haiti’s decimation.
Haiti has produced a portentous rogues’ gallery of leaders and coups d’état. From 1911 to 1915, there were six different presidents, each either killed or forced into exile. But the most notorious in the island’s history was François Duvalier or “Papa Doc”, elected in 1957. His regime came to be regarded as one of the most repressive in modern history and, after his death in 1971, his son, Jean-Claude or “Baby Doc”, presided over Haiti’s further economic and political decline. The first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, faced two coups d’état, alleged to be US-backed, undone by the second in 2004.
US involvement was seen again in Jovenel Moïse, elected in 2016, whose links, along with predecessor Michel Martelly, to grand corruption in the Petrocaribe scandal brought unrest and protest again to Haiti’s streets. That same year, Hurricane Matthew hit the island, causing more than 500 deaths and destruction of over 200,000 homes. A cholera outbreak was also brought in by UN peacekeepers.
Moïse’s presidential term ended in assassination in July 2021, followed by another natural disaster in August 2021 when a 7.2 earthquake struck. It killed more than 2,200 people.
This year has brought more storms and more cholera. Violence has intensified with rival gangs fighting for control in Cité Soleil, the most impoverished and densely populated neighbourhood in Port-au-Prince. Thousands have been affected, afraid to leave their homes for food or water. Many have been killed by stray bullets. One week in July left 89 dead.
In October, the acting president, Ariel Henry, was forced to plead for the deployment of foreign troops to oppose the gangs and the anti-government demonstrations.
Now Haiti is an “aid state”, almost totally dependent on foreign governments and institutions and remittances from the diaspora. Its underdevelopment can be attributed to corruption and geopolitical manipulation.
The longsuffering but resilient Haitian people have been victims of centuries of corrupt dictatorial governments. The fortunate have fled Haiti, contributing to a debilitating brain drain. The complicity of the colonists and successive French governments have been fundamental to Haiti’s demise, and the US’s neocolonialist role in enforcing debt repayments and the subsequent 19-year annexation of Haiti’s sovereignty is nothing short of diabolical.
Many believe that Haiti’s problems were ancestral and self-inflicted but there is more to this story. The propensity of the US to prop up strongmen contributed over and over to the sad state of Haiti, and let’s not forget the opportunistic siphoning of aid by the very agencies that collected donations from around the world.
What can be done to fix Haiti? The answer lies in forming a government of integrity and substance without allegiance to any gangs. Eradicating Port-au-Prince of the violence means severing existing ties between gangs, politicians and law enforcement. A robust anti-corruption unit with muscle, a reformed police service and legislative arm is fundamental. Aid must be conditional on showing intent to rebuild a modern nation from ground up. Above all, Haiti cannot be held to ransom by the US’s whims any longer.
In 2013, I travelled to another area of the island and swam in a sulphur spring in the ocean a few metres from shore. I ate the best seafood I have ever had, prepared by the warmest people I have ever met. For that moment this could have been any stable Caribbean island. This is the Haiti we need to see, a Haiti where the people can finally prosper in peace. Haitian lives matter and they are not disposable.
As Rudder sang: “When there is anguish in Port-au-Prince it is still Africa crying … the middle passage is gone so how come overcrowded boats still haunt our lives?”