Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 12 avril 2016

ROBERT ANGLADE'S MURDER

Last Thursday evening in Zanglais (St-Louis du Sud) Robert Anglade, the owner of the Hotel "Jardins sur Mer" (Aquin), celebrated his 74^th birthday. While at home, he was attacked, and was shot dead by one or several unidentified individuals. An investigation about this heinous crime was open; however, the motive remains unknown.

The Departmental Management of the South for the Ministry of Tourism learned with regret about Robert Anglade's death. The Ministry of Tourism and the Southern community wish to offer their most sincere condolences to the Anglade family and friends affected by this death. The Tourism sector is very deeply affected by this loss. May his soul rests in peace!

Taiwan and the fight against food insecurity

The Ambassador of Taiwan Tsai-Wang Chiu and Ogé Beauvoir, Executive Director of the NGO Food For The Poor signed a grant agreement last Friday at offices of Food. The objective of the agreement is to fight against food insecurity and poverty in Haiti. As a result 2,400 ton of husked rice from Taiwan (Republic of China), will be donated to Food For The Poor to contribute to its food assistance programs in Haiti. Delivery will be made in 3 shipments respectively in July, August and September 2016.

It should also be noted that the Taiwan government has provided 600 tons of husked rice to a Taiwanese NGOs to deploy its humanitarian operations in Haiti. The arrival in Port-au-Prince of its first rice shipment is scheduled for the month of May.

Travel Ban for Olivier Martelly, Wilson Laleau and others

Published in “Le Nouvelliste”

"Yes, I am confirming that Olivier Martelly, Wilson Laleau (…), Alix Célestin, and Marc Antoine Acra, among others, are banned from leaving the country," confirmed a government representative by telephone last Friday. According to Danton Léger, he is in possession of documents which would lead to believe that the former president’s eldest son may have mismanaged the construction of sports parks throughout the country.

There is no request for Olivier Martelly to appear before the Port-au-Prince prosecutor, but, according to Danton Léger, he can come to provide an explanation regarding his case by making an appointment as did Alix Célestin, managing director of APN. After the hearing, Leger said, if it is proven that he is not involved in a mismanagement of these funds, the travel ban will be lifted.

When contacted by “Le Nouvelliste,” the Martelly family attorney - Gregory Mayard-Paul - indicated that he was not aware of the travel ban on Olivier Martelly. He added that there was no legal basis for it.

In an interview given to “Le Nouvelliste” on August 31^st, 2012, Olivier Martelly made the following statement regarding this matter: "We have no funds at our disposal. When it comes to financing, the Ministry of the Planning manages the building of the land, and the Ministry of Youths and Sports takes care of summer camp activities. I only make proposals."

Wilson Laleau, former Minister of Finance under the Martelly administration, Alix Celestin, current managing director of the APN, and businessman Marc Antoine Acra, among others, are also banned from traveling.

Alix Célestin appeared last Friday before the prosecutor. According to the government commissioner, the managing director of the APN presented documents proving that the contract which he is accused of having mismanaged had been signed by the previous director of the APN Jean Evans Charles. "Thus, there is a possibility that I will lift his travel ban," announced Léger.

On his side, Marc Antoine Acra made a formal request last Friday that his file be reviewed, since new information was available, explained Léger.

As for former Minister Wilson Laleau, his case is still under investigation. However, the head of the prosecutor's office mentioned that there was a lot of confusion and that some documents had disappeared.

Former head of OAS Haiti special mission favors vote verification

BY JACQUELINE CHARLES

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The Antiguan diplomat, who led an Organization of American States’ special mission to Haiti after the country’s delayed presidential runoff set off a constitutional crisis earlier this yea,r says verifying the disputed elections is vital to avoiding a deepening political crisis.

“It is a necessary evil in order to have long-term peace,” Ronald Sanders told the Miami Herald in an exclusive interview. “The verification process must take place. There is an awful lot of suspicions that there was fraud in that election process, and it would not suit any government that is elected without a verification process because there would always be that suspicion.”

But verification, Sanders said, should be swift in order for Haiti to quickly get back to political stability by transferring power from its current caretaker government to an elected one. Sanders’ support of a Haitian-owned investigation into the country’s disputed Oct. 25 presidential first round differs from the position of many other foreign diplomats engaged in the crisis.

The European Union, the United States and others in the international community have publicly dismissed calls for verification and have been stepping up pressure for provisional President Jocelerme Privert to quickly resume Haiti’s interrupted electoral process. On Thursday, 60 Haitian-American leaders and organizations wrote U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, asking for the Obama administration to end its opposition of verification.

“If we go ahead and force Privert to hold elections without it, an election that is not ultimately acceptable to the majority of Haitians, we are courting trouble,” Sanders said. “We are going to let a possibly fraudulent process deliver a government? In which country would we accept that? Can you tell us the U.S. would allow that? The English-speaking Caribbean?”

The chairman of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States until last week, Sanders said he wasn’t speaking on behalf of the hemispheric organization, which has shied away from making any public statements on the matter. Its electoral observation mission has said that despite voting irregularities, “the information gathered by EOM/OAS on the ground did not show inconsistencies with the final results presented by the CEP in terms of which two candidates go to the run-off.”

Sanders said he was speaking as the diplomat who led a February mission to Port-au-Prince at the request of then-president Michel Martelly. The mission was tasked with helping Martelly and the opposition broker a political accord on how the country would be governed after Martelly’s Feb. 7 departure from office.

That agreement, known as the Feb. 5 accord, outlined the steps for a 120-day transitional period led by a caretaker administration. It also set April 24 as the runoff elections date after the balloting was twice postponed because of the fraud allegations. This week, the head of the country’s newly revamped Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) indicated that the elections cannot be held that day.

A FUND RAISING TO HELP the MOST VULNERABLE

LastThursday, the Government of Haiti and a humanitarian team of the United Nations launched a 193.8 million dollar fund-raising campaign to answer the critical humanitarian needs of 1.3 million people. This strategic planning document aims to ensure and protect access to basic services to the most vulnerable people, but also to reinforce the strength of the Haitian population and its institutions.

"We appreciate this effort of pooling the priorities and the coordination between the national authorities and the members of the humanitarian community. The critical situation of thousands of families affected by these multiple problems and particularly by the food insecurity require a fast and effective answer to avoid a worsening of the humanitarian situation as we are laying the foundations for a sustainable development of the country," said Aviol Fleurant, the new Minister of Planning and Extreme Cooperation. The ultimate objective of this plan is to reduce the vulnerability of the 1.3 million targeted people. Although the top priority is to address the most essential humanitarian needs, this plan also intends to implement structural actions to avoid a worsening of the vulnerability of needy populations, and move forward with the Objectives of Sustainable Development (ODD) on the horizon of 2030.

"Structural problems associated with multiple crises continue to increase the vulnerability of millions of Haitians. We have to act together to allow these people to get back up on their feet”, declared Mourad Wahba, Coordinator of the humanitarian aid and special representative of the United Nations Secretary General in Haiti.

Delta Airlines Employee Arrested Carrying More Than A Quarter-Million Dollars

Taken Into Custody At Palm Beach (FL) International Airport

An employee of Delta Airlines was arrested Saturday carrying a backpack containing $282,000, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Southern Florida last Monday.

Airline ramp agent Jean Yves Selius was stopped after bypassing security checkpoints and using him employee ID to enter a secure area at the airport, according to a report from ABC News. He was wearing civilian clothes at the time of his arrest.
In the affidavit, a special agent with the Department of Homeland Security stated that Selius was asked to show the contents of the backpack, which he did willingly. It contained "large packets of cash wrapped in clear, vacuum-sealed bundles," according to the document.
A drug-detection dog indicated that the backpack had been in contact with drugs.
Selius said he had been paid $1,000 to carry the backpack to an "unknown person in a bathroom inside the airport's sterile area." He said he had done similar drops over the past year, for which he had been paid $4,000.
He said that he knew that the backpack contained money that "did not come from a good cause."
Selius said that he knew the men who had paid him only as "Ricky" and "John".
Delta said his employment has been terminated, and the airline said it is fully cooperating with law enforcement agencies in the matter.

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 28 avril 2016

 Haiti signed the Agreement of Paris (COP21)

On Friday, provisional President Jocelerme Privert signed the Paris Agreement (COP21) on behalf of the Republic of Haiti. The President was back in the country on Sunday. It should be noted that 175 countries signed this agreement. These countries represent 55 % of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Haiti - Diaspora

Within the theme “Ann rekonstwi Ayiti ansanm- Se la pou la” the ministry of Haitians Living abroad (MHAVE) chose to commemorate the National Day of the Diaspora. For this occasion, an evening celebration brought together former officials of the ministry, members of the diaspora, representatives of the MAHVE and other government officials.

To respond to the complaints of the diaspora regarding the lack of information available, the MAHVE has put at their disposal an office within the customs bureau of Port-au-Prince, which will only address questions related to the diaspora. Also, from now on at the airport, there will be a Diaspora Lounge where administrative files and complaints can be addressed.

Mrs. Jessie C. Petit Frere, current ministry of Haitians Living Abroad, did not hesitate to mention the situation Haiti is presently experiencing and the necessity for Haitians to unite for the sake of the country. "The contribution of the diaspora allows us to avoid irreparable tragedy," said Petit Frere, who encourages the diaspora to invest in all the areas.

For his part, Minister of Tourism Guy Didier Philippe called on the members of the diaspora to be ambassadors of positive images of the country because, according to him, the country suffers from a negative image.

Mr. Smith Joseph, the mayor of North Miami, spoke on behalf of the diaspora, to request the integration of this sector into the internal affairs of the country.

"We of the Diaspora, we are the most authentic ambassadors of Haiti, we are not only senders of money, we are brains, visionaries, investors and tourists" said the mayor.

THE CUSTOMS OFFICE OF BELLADERE WAS PLUNDERED

Vandals plundered the customs office of Belladère on Monday, April 18th, 2016, according to the on-line AlterPresse agency.

The criminals knocked over furniture, broke windows and welded the front door before leaving.

No police officer was able to prevent this break-in, according to a source.

In December, 2015, the customs office of the border city of Thomassique (18 km from Hinche) was burned by angry suspects, following the shooting death of two truck drivers.

In October, 2015, unidentified individuals also set fire to the customs office of Anse-à-Pitres (Southeast of Haiti), not far from the border point with Pedernales (Dominican Republic), following to the interception of a flour truck by Haitian customs.

Ten Caribbean Nations More Dangerous Than The U.S.

By NAN Staff Writer

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. April 22, 2016: When it comes to murders worldwide, there is no denying that the Caribbean has been blighted by a rise in homicides in recent years. NAN compared murder rates from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for every 100,000 people in top Caribbean nations to the U.S. and found that in several nations, a U.S. national’s chance of being murdered is higher than in the U.S.

Here are the top 10:

1: Belize

You are 11.9 times more likely to be murdered in Belize than in the U.S. Forty-five in every 100,000 people are murdered annually in Belize compared to about 4 in The United States according to the UN data.

2: Jamaica

You are 11.3 times more likely to be murdered if living in Jamaica than in the U.S. Forty-three in every 100,000 people are murdered annually in Jamaica compared to about 4 in The United States.

3: St. Kitts/Nevis

You are 8.8 times more likely to be murdered in St. Kitts and Nevis. Thirty-three in every 100,000 people are murdered annually in St. Kitts and Nevis compared to about 4 in The United States.

4: Trinidad & Tobago

You are 7.9 times more likely to be murdered in the oil rich nation of T&T. some 30 people in every 100,000 people are murdered annually in Trinidad and Tobago compared to about 4 in The United States.

5: The Bahamas

You are7.8 times morelikely to be murdered in the Bahamas than in the U.S. Twenty-nine in every 100,000 people are murdered annually in Bahamas compared to about 4 in The United States.

6: Puerto Rico

You are 7 times more likely to be murdered in Puerto Rico. Twenty-six in every 100,000 people are murdered annually in Puerto Rico compared to about 4 in The United States.

7: St. Vincent & The Grenadines

You are 6.7 times more likely to be murdered in St. Vincent & The Grenadines than in the U.S. Twenty-five in every 100,000 people are murdered annually in St. Vincent and the Grenadines compared to about four in The United States.

8: The Dominican Republic

You are  5.8 times more likely to be murdered in the DR. 22 in every 100,000 people are murdered annually in Dominican Republic compared to about 4 in The United States.

9: St. Lucia

You are 5.7 times more likely to be murdered. Twenty-one in every 100,000 people are murdered annually in St. Lucia compared to about four in The United States.

10: Guyana

You are 5.1 times more likely to be murdered in Guyana than in the U.S. 19 in every 100,000 people are murdered annually in Guyana compared to about four in The United States.

Haiti is not included.

US Government Scales Up Response to Drought in Haiti

Nearly $22 Million in Emergency Relief

Port-au-Prince. April 15, 2016

The US Embassy announced more funding for the ongoing needs of Haitian households suffering from the effects of the El Nino-induced drought, bringing US contributions to $21.9 million USD over the last six months.

US Ambassador Peter Mulrean reiterated that: “The US stands steadfast with Haitian families to provide for their emergency food, nutrition, and water needs. We also continue to work to strengthen Haiti’s future capacity to prepare for and withstand shocks, including by boosting agricultural production and closing food gaps for those most vulnerable to weather, political and price shocks.”

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) began working to mitigate the risks of drought-induced hunger and malnutrition in October 2015. To date the U.S Government has provided $21.9 Million USD to address emergency needs for food, nutrition, and water in all the drought-affected departments of the country: North-East, Artibonite, Centre, West, and South-East.  This includes

        $7.4 million to the World Food Program (WFP) for cash and food transfers to 100,000, and $1.2 million to UNICEF to treat 37,800 children who could be diagnosed with Severe Acute Malnutrition.

        Emergency food aid funding of $11.8 million to partners CARE, Accion Contre la Faim, and World Vision aims support at over 135,000 people, additional to the 102,000 already served by the USAID and Government Kore Lavi social safety net program, through which participants receive cash for assets, cash for work, and food vouchers to purchase locally sourced, nutritious food.

        For water, sanitation, and hygiene, $1.3 million is increasing clean water supply and sanitation in the South-East department, one of the hardest hit by drought, migration from the DR, and recent cholera outbreaks.  This sum includes: $900,000 to Solidarités International, $250,000 to UNICEF, and $160,000 to International Organization for Migration (IOM). 

        Finally, the US contributed $200,000 to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) for drought, migration, and cholera response coordination across and among all organizations and the government.

Food Security Situation

Haiti is experiencing one of the worst droughts in 35 years, made worse by the El Niño event. According to the Famine Early Systems Network (FEWS NET), supported by USAID globally, severe dryness due to the 2015 El Niño resulted in national crop production that was less than 50 percent of the five-year average, while local food prices remain above average. From now through June-July 2016, communes in Sud-Est, Ouest, Nord-Ouest, upper Artibonite, Centre, Nord-Est Departments and on the Southern Peninsula will remain in Crisis (IPC level 3) food insecurity,(signifying that households may suffer high or above usual acute malnutrition or deplete their livelihood assets to meet minimum food needs).

Haiti imports approximately 50 percent of its food and, with half of population living on less than $1.25 per day and three quarters of the population living on less than $2 per day, it is extremely vulnerable to the cost of food and price spikes in the global food market. In addition, the current drought and election crisis have negatively impacted the Haitian economy; the Haitian gourde has been steadily depreciating since June 2015.

Driven by crop losses and reduced farm labor opportunities, FEWS NET reports that many poor households are becoming increasingly reliant on non-agricultural income sources including petty-trade, labor migration, remittances and other more severe coping measures, such as charcoal production.

“GARR” DENOUNCES THE POOR TREATMENT INFLICTED ON HAITIAN REPATRIATES

The support group for repatriates and refugees (GARR) denounced the ill-treatment imposed on Haitian repatriates at the border of Belladère, in a release transmitted to AlterPresse.

A dozen Haitian nationals, who arrived at the border of Belladère on April 19th, 2016, were victims of ill-treatment.

Arrested in Santo Domingo in the morning of Monday, April 18th, 2016, these migrants were kept, for the most part, in a detention center for Elias Piña where they spent one night without eating anything, before being driven to Haiti the next day.

One of the repatriates reports to have spent several hours on the bus before arriving at Elias Piña without any food.

The repatriate “Johnny” said he was abused by the Dominican military officers at the time of his arrest.

"The Dominican soldiers tore up all the documents which I had in my possession. I wanted to protest [but] they threatened to hit me," he exclaimed.

Johnny who worked in the farming sector in the Dominican Republic, was very upset about his wife and children whom he left on nearby territory, according to GARR.

Disappointed to have been returned to Haiti, Johnny intends to use all available means to find his family.

The migrants were repatriated without any due process and in violation of human rights. This is contrary to the draft agreement on the mechanisms of repatriation signed by the two nations on the island, denounced GARR.

Anthonal Mortimé

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 4 mai 2016

 BCEN ready for the municipal appeals, while Canada deplores cancellation of polls

 PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, May 2, CMC – The National Office of Electoral Disputes (BCEN) says it will begin hearing later this week appeals made by candidates in the municipal elections on October 25 last year.

BCEN vice president, Carlos Hercules, said the three sections of the body will be constituted this week and that it will sit for about two weeks rendering its judgments on appeals made by candidates in the municipal elections in order to complete the publication of the results of those elections.

Each section of the BCEN will be composed of two electoral advisers, two lawyers and a judge of the Court of Appeal who will be selected by a draw on the day of the hearing to prevent attempt at corrupting the officials.

Opposition politicians have claimed that the October 25 polls were rigged and have been calling for fresh elections. They have also filed several appeals rejecting the results in some areas.

Meanwhile, Canada has become the latest country to deplore the cancellation of the April 24 second round of presidential elections to choose a successor to Michel Martelly who left office on February 7 without a successor being elected.

Foreign Minister Stéphane Dion and Minister of International Development and Francophony, Marie-Claude Bibeau, in a joint statement said “Canada deplores the fact that the elections, scheduled to take place on April 24, have been cancelled for the third time, as well as indications that they may not take place until October.

“It is essential that Haitian political actors take the necessary and responsible actions to re-establish constitutional order quickly so that they can devote themselves entirely to resolving the difficulties the Haitian people are facing.

“We are very concerned that commitments made in the February 5, 2016, agreement, when Haiti’s leaders promised their fellow citizens the election process would be completed in 90 days or less, are not being met,” the two ministers said.

They said as a “partner of Haiti and of all Haitians…Canada once again calls on Haitian political actors to do everything they can to ensure that the partial legislative elections and the second round of the presidential election take place quickly and peacefully.

“Canada will continue its dialogue with Haitian leaders in support of Haitians’ democratic aspirations. In accordance with Canada and Haiti’s joint commitments in the International Organisation of La Francophonie, Haiti, more than ever, needs to strengthen its democratic institutions, as an essential step to ensure inclusive governance, peaceful pluralism and inclusive economic growth.”

Canada said it has invested CAD$1.6 billion (One Canadian dollar =US$0.79 cents) in humanitarian and development aid in Haiti since 2006.

European Union announces additional €38 million in aid for Haiti

The European Union (EU) said it was giving an additional €38 million in cash aid to Haiti, which is combating drought and a migration crisis with neighbouring Dominican Republic.

The funding included €12.2 million for food and drinking water to more than 400,000 Haitians, an EU news release said. The El Nino weather phenomenon has devastated crops, with losses of up to 70% in some areas. About 3.6 million Haitians are facing food insecurity, with 1.3 million among them severely food insecure, according to the World Food Program (WFP).

The EU was also allocating €400,000 to assist people in Haiti who had been deported from the Dominican Republic. The neighbouring country began enforcing an immigration policy in summer 2015 primarily targeting people of Haitian origin. Since then, some 87,000 people have been forced across the border into Haiti, where some have never lived. Among them are more than 1,200 unaccompanied minors, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

Some were deported so suddenly that they arrive with only the clothes on their backs. Thousands are living near the border in makeshift dwellings with poor sanitation. In addition to the emergency aid, the EU was also providing €17 million for medium and long-term projects aimed at helping Haiti build its capacity to respond to climate threats. Haiti is the poorest country in the Americas, crippled by long-term political instability and a devastating quake in 2010.

Cuban baseball players paid smugglers $15M for voyages to Mexico, Haiti

Published April 27, 2016 

 Associated Press

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Cuban baseball players paid a South Florida-based smuggling ring more than $15 million to leave the communist island in secretive ventures that included phony documents, false identities and surreptitious boat voyages to Mexico, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, federal prosecutors say.

A recently unsealed grand jury indictment against three men provides fresh details about the smuggling of 17 Cuban players, among them Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox and Leonys Martin of the Seattle Mariners. The smugglers usually took a percentage of any Major League Baseball contract a player signed.

The indictment names Bartolo Hernandez, a Weston, Florida-based sports agent whose clients included Abreu; Hernandez associate Julio Estrada, who runs Total Baseball Representation and Training in Miami; and Haitian citizen Amin Latouff of Port-au-Prince, who is not in U.S. custody and remains in Haiti. They are charged with conspiracy and illegally bringing immigrants to the U.S.

Estrada, who was arrested last week, has pleaded not guilty and is free on $225,000 bail. Hernandez pleaded not guilty when originally charged in February and is also free on bond.

Estrada's lawyer, Sabrina Puglisi, said in an email Tuesday that he has never been involved in illegal human smuggling.

"He has always taken care of his players, training them so that they could achieve their dream of playing MLB in the United States," she said.

The case is an outgrowth of the previous prosecution in Miami of four people for the smuggling of Martin out of Cuba, one of whom is serving a 14-year prison sentence. Martin is among the players named in the new indictment as well. None of the players have been charged.

Prosecutors have said the investigation is focused on the smuggling organizations and not on the players. As Cubans, under U.S. policy they are generally allowed to remain in this country once reaching U.S. soil.

As part of the thaw in U.S.-Cuba relations, MLB is in talks with both nations' governments on a potential deal that could make it easier for Cuban ballplayers to play in the U.S. without having to sneak away at international tournaments or risk high-seas defections with smugglers.

But beginning in April 2009, prosecutors say, the South Florida-based smugglers ran a flourishing and lucrative illegal pipeline for Cuban players who must establish third-country residency in order to sign as MLB free agents.

The indictment says that Hernandez, Estrada and Latouff "recruited and paid" boat captains to smuggle players from Cuba to Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The plot included use of fake jobs for the players, such as welder, mechanic, body shop worker — even one who was called an "area supervisor for Wet Set Ski."

The conspirators also used fake foreign and U.S. documents, including falsified passports and visa applications, to get the players to the U.S., according to the indictment.

The case of Abreu, who set a White Sox rookie record with 36 home runs in 2014 and was named American League rookie of the year, is fairly typical although the money involved is higher than most.

According to the indictment, Latouff paid $160,000 in August 2013 to a boat captain to smuggle Abreu from Cuba to Haiti. There a fraudulent visa and false name were provided so that Abreu could fly from Port-au-Prince to Miami.

A short time later, Chicago announced Abreu had signed a five-year, $68 million MLB contract. But the court documents show he still owed the smugglers millions and sent them several wire transfers in 2014 totaling at least $5.8 million.

Prosecutors are seeking forfeiture of more than $15.5 million in total payments from ballplayers to the smugglers, as well as forfeiture of four pieces of property in South Florida, four Mercedes-Benz vehicles and a Honda motorcycle.

Haiti Customs: the Managing director of the APN in Miami to present the project of renovation of the Port of Cap-Haïtien

The Managing director of the National Harbour Authority (APN), Alix Célestin, accompanied with the coordinator of the agency’s administration, Valery Adrien, participated in an investors’ conference in Miami following the initiative of the APN, the USAID and the IFC. For Célestin, who is an engineer, it was an opportunity the renovation for the port of Cap-Haïtien.

This event was within the framework of promoting Haiti’s maritime sites. The National Harbour Authority hopes to stimulate investors to contribute in the development of this expanding sector in order to spearhead of the state economy’s.

The international port of Cap-Haïtien will be reconstructed thanks to 65 million in financing from the USAID. The works which will begin in July with the demolition of sheds and other dilapidated buildings, will last two years and six months.

Kenneth Merten's recent visit to Haiti

In a press release signed by the American State Department and forwarded to the newspaper office of HPN, the Special Coordinator for Haiti, Kenneth Merten was scheduled to visit the country last week.

This visit was "to estimate the progress towards the completion of the electoral process begun in 2015 and the installation of a democratically elected government in Haiti."

Merten was to mainly meet with Haitian government officials involved in the implementation of the agreement of February 5th and with Haiti’s partners from the international community.

On January 6th Kenneth Merten and Assistant-Secrétaire Adjoint of ambassador Thomas Shannon was accompanied with the latter within the framework of a visit to Haiti to complete the electoral process. That visit failed given that the Temporary Electoral Council at that time had to postpone the elections which were scheduled for January 24th due to numerous street protests.

Haiti Security: Plans were diverted towards the Dominican Republic

On Wednesday, April 27th in the evening, the air traffic of the Toussanit Louverture International Airport was severely disrupted. Due to a power failure on the landing runway of the airport, plans heading for Haiti had to be diverted towards the Dominican Republic to land safely.

According to the head office of the National Airport Authority (AAN), the electric problem was caused by construction work to rehabilitate part of the airport reserved for moving and parking planes on the tarmac.

Haiti-justice: social organizations perform a sit-in to demand an audit on the management of the administration Martelly

Several social organizations had a sit-in last Friday in front of the ruins of the national palace, to require the implementation of an Audit Committee to shed light on the management of Michel Martelly's former administration.

The initiative was taken by the Circle of studies in literature gramscienne (Circle Gramsci), the Think Tank on the social problems (Greps), the National Union of Normaliens (Unnoh), the Popular democratic Movement (Modep) and the Movement of freedom and equality of the Haitians for the brotherhood (Moleghaf).

The sit-in also aimed at supporting the commission to evaluate the electoral process of 2015. It condemned the interference of the international community in particular Core Group in the internal affairs of the country.

Following the appeal of these organizations, a sit-in was already organized already, on Friday, April 15th, 2016, in front of the offices of the Superior Court, to denounce the corruption in public administration.

This mobilization gathered dozens of activists, provide with signs on which were posted messages hostile to Martelly, accusing him of having been involved in corruption.

The administration of the former president was the object of deep criticisms for its implication in corruption scandals of corruption and waste of public money.

As a result, the Government’s Commissioner, Jean Danton Léger, has already put in place a travel ban on several citizens, including the former head of the Ministry of the Economy and the finances, Wilson Laleau.

HAITI HAD ZIKA MONTH BEFORE 2015 BRASIL’S OUTBREAK

 BY JACQUELINE CHARLES

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Two months after Haiti confirmed it was having an outbreak of the painful mosquito-borne virus chikungunya in 2014, Haitians began complaining about a new fever epidemic and wondered whether it was Zik or Zika, the other virus carried by the same mosquito.

Haiti health officials and experts from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention quickly dismissed the Zika rumors, regarding the fever symptoms as another bout of fast-spreading chikungunya.

Now, infectious-disease specialists at the University of Florida believe that diagnosis was wrong. Zika, according to new research, was not only present in the Western Hemisphere before it was confirmed in Brazil in March 2015 — it was in Haiti.

“What seems to have happened is that the chikungunya outbreak was followed by [dengue] and Zika,” Dr. J. Glenn Morris, Jr., a professor of medicine and the director of the University of Florida’s Emerging Pathogens Institute, which runs a lab in Haiti, said about the June 2014 rumors sweeping Haiti.

Moris said the UF study, while focused on samples taken in December 2014, suggest that it’s not “an unreasonable possibility that” the dengue-like symptoms that Haitians were reporting in June of 2014 were Zika cases.

 Following Haiti’s April 2014 chikungunya outbreak, UF’s laboratory began monitoring the virus and collecting blood samples from schoolchildren in the Gressier/Leogane region, southwest of Port-au-Prince, where the laboratory is located.

Soon, the center’s nurses began noticing that some of the children started coming down with a fever.

“The nurses said, ‘Everybody is getting it again,’” Morris said, recalling how almost everyone dismissed the illness as a second wave of chikungunya.

Everyone except for one curious virologist: John Lednicky, who would become the lead author of UF’s study on the findings. The study was published Monday in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

The scientists from UF’s environmental and global health department and the Emerging Pathogens Institute specialists began doing additional lab studies. Sick schoolchildren had blood sampled and were screened for dengue, chikungunya and malaria. After the samples came back negative for all three, they were classified as “mystery” viruses.

Using a more sophisticated testing method, researchers subsequently sequenced and identified the Zika virus. The plasma samples that yielded Zika virus were taken in December 2015, three months beforeBrazilian scientists confirmed that Zika was present in the South American country.

The Haitian strain, while genetically similar to the Brazilian, is more similar to the strain from the French Polynesian islands, said Dr. Jacques Boncy, director of Haiti’s National Public Health Laboratory.

In June 2014, Boncy was asked about whether Zika was present in Haiti. He told the Miami Herald that Zika had been confirmed in Yap Island and in French Polynesia, islands in the Pacific, but it was “not in the Caribbean region.”

Now, after speaking with Morris, Boncy says he may have been wrong.

“They did sequencing, and that is where they saw three children who came back positive for Zika,” he said.

Boncy said that before Zika was confirmed in Brazil, it was reported on Easter Island, a Chilean territory, where an annual festival is believed to be the source of transmission. On March 3, 2014, Chile notified the Pan-American Health Organization/World Health Organization of Zika’s existence on the island.

Haiti has United Nations troops from Chile stationed in the country, and a number of Haitians are employed in Brazil’s construction industry — factors that could have led to Zika’s transmission in the country.

“We will never know where the current Zika outbreak in the Americas started,” said Daniel Impoinvil, CDC research epidemiologist involved in helping Haiti monitor the spread of the virus. “Most likely it was imported into Haiti and once it is imported, you can expect additional cases.”

Impoinvil noted that during the time period of the UF study, Haiti was 20 weeks into a major chikungunya outbreak.

“The symptoms of chikungunya, dengue and Zika are remarkably similar,” he said. “Given the similar symptoms and the lack of history of Zika in the Americas and around the world at that time, Zika would not necessarily have been considered as a source of infection.”

As of April 2, there have been 2,024 suspected reported cases of Zika in Haiti since the virus’ Jan. 15 confirmation, the CDC said. A dozen of the cases involve pregnant women.

CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden recently confirmed that a study looking at brain scans of babies born with suspected Zika-related microcephaly in Brazil confirms that the virus causes the birth defect. Babies with the birth defect have been born with smaller than usual heads to mothers infected with Zika in Brazil and several other countries, according to the WHO.

“We haven’t yet found any cases of microcephaly, but we have found about three cases of Guillain-Barré Syndrome,” Boncy said. Guillain-Barré Syndrome, also linked to Zika, is a neurological syndrome in adults that leads to difficulty in walking.

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 11 mai 2016

 More than 20 killed as boat capsizes

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (CMC) – At least 22 people were killed when a boat capsized in rough waters over the weekend, Haitian officials have confirmed.

They said the incident occurred on Saturday into Sunday when the small boat left Bombardopis for the northern city of Gonaives.

Head of the maritime and navigations service, Eric Prevost, said rescuers were able to save several passengers, but do not know how many people in total were on board the vessel.

The national maritime service is continuing the search for survivors and the recovery of bodies from the shipwreck area.

Haiti will officially become a full member of the African Union next month

Haiti will officially become a member of the African Union at the next summit of the regional organization in June. According to a famous journalist from Benin, it was high time that African states make a strong gesture towards the first black republic.

The news is almost unnoticed. Until then simple "observer", Haiti, the first black republic in history, became, in early February in Addis Ababa, "full member partner" of the African Union.

This decision, the first of its kind for a diaspora country, will be formalized at the next AU summit in June-July in Lilongwe, capital of Malawi.

The African Union is the modern incarnation of the Organization of African Unity (in French OUA), started in 1963, and its vision today is to build “an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena.”(Written from multiple sources).

U.S. To Ship Peanuts To Feed Haitian Kids; Aid Groups Say 'This Is Wrong'

Sacks full of peanuts are displayed for sale at a market in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Aid groups say they are dismayed by a planned influx of American-grown peanuts from a U.S. agricultural surplus that they fear could undercut a vital cash crop in the impoverished Caribbean nation.

Dieu Nalio Chery/AP

On paper, sending surplus U.S. peanuts to feed 140,000 malnourished Haitian schoolchildren for a full year sounds like a heroic plan. Instead, it's united 60 aid groups that are urgently calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to halt a shipment containing 500 metric tons of peanuts, preventing the legumes from reaching Haiti.

The aid groups call it "crop dumping" and warn that it will deliver an economic blow to struggling Haitian peanut farmers. Critics say it's poor aid policy that will have long-term negative impacts on Haitian communities.

"This is a country where peanut production is a huge source of livelihood for up to a half-million people, especially women, if you include the supply chains that process the peanuts," says Claire Gilbert, spokesperson for Grassroots International, a Boston-based nonprofit that supports food sovereignty.

How the USDA got stuck with a pile of peanuts stretches back to the 2014 Farm Bill, which included incentives encouraging American farmers to plant more. It worked. In 2015, growers harvested 6.2 billion pounds of peanuts, and that number is expected to go up another 20 to 25 percent this year. But all that extra planting has left the USDA holding the bag, with a hefty peanut surplus.

To unload some of the excess, the agency announced a few weeks ago that it would ship 500 metric tons of packaged, dry-roasted peanuts to schoolchildren in Haiti as part of the "Stocks for Food" program, a joint initiative between the Farm Service Agency, Foreign Agricultural Services and Food and Nutrition Services.

A statement issued from the aid group Partners in Health did not mince words about the announcement: "We believe this is wrong."

The well-known aid group has been working on health and nutrition issues in Haiti for more than 30 years, including a partnership with Abbott Laboratories to manufacture and distribute a product called Nourimanba used to treat severely malnourished children.

"We're not talking about big business owners being put at risk by an input of peanuts," says Dr. Louise Ivers, senior health and policy adviser, Partners in Health. "We're talking about small, very poor farmers that are very dependent on a single crop. We really believe the dumping, or donation, whatever your perspective, will have negative consequences."

Bolivia to Be Completely Food Independent in 2020 by Investing in Small Farmers

 (UR) Bolivia — How can we go about tackling climate change while promoting a flourishing local economy and ensuring food security, all at the same time? The U.N.-led 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, launched in September 2015, would have you believe we need another 15 years to reach any kind of substantial progress on these issues. But there might be a way to speed things up, and it seems this Andean country has just cracked it.

The Government of Bolivia has just invested $40 million to support small and medium farmers in food production. Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Agriculture, Marisol Solano, stated that over 20 food security projects are already underway across the country, with financial support so far being given to breeding livestock and fish farming, as well as increasing the production of crops like potatoes, tomatoes, wheat, vegetables, coffee, and cocoa.

By enhancing local capacities, Bolivia aims to become entirely self-sufficient by 2020. With an increase of 25 percent in food production reported since 2014, and the aim being to sustain this growth rate for the coming year, it seems the country is not too far off from reaching its ambitious aim.

Reducing or halting imports would not only help improve livelihoods of local farmers and businesses, it would also cut down on emissions, while addressing overarching global issues like unemployment, hunger, and poverty.

Whether Bolivia will achieve complete food sovereigntyin five yearsis uncertain. What is certain, however, is that if all our governments showed as much initiative as Bolivia to build on existing local capabilities, we would be having a very different conversation about world development issues right now.

Miami immigration lawyer Julie Ferguson dies at 49

Miami immigration lawyer Julie Ferguson worked with Haitian and Cuban charities.

She was an immigration attorney in Miami who represented a family against a member of the Pinochet regime.

Ferguson, who spoke five languages, was an expert in the field of asylum law

 BY HOWARD COHEN

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Julie Ferguson was a young immigration lawyer in Coral Gables when she joined a team of local attorneys and lawyers from Amnesty International to help the family of a Chilean economist murdered by the secret police of then-military leader Augusto Pinochet.

In 1999, the family had sued a Miami businessman they said was responsible for the October 1973 slaying. They looked to Ferguson, then 32. The woman who had dreamed of becoming an immigration attorney since she was a little girl found herself working the first lawsuit in the United States against a member of the Pinochet regime.

Though the court ruled against the family in 2001, Ferguson had made a name for herself in the field of immigration law.

Ferguson died in Washington, D.C., on April 21, after an accident indoors while attending a conference of Invest in the USA (IIUSA), an advocacy event for the EB-5 investor visa program. She was 49.

“Julie was a highly skilled, determined and compassionate immigration lawyer. She cared deeply about her clients and fought for them relentlessly,” fellow immigration attorney Roger Bernstein said in an obituary. “She was a tenacious litigator” who “excelled in the area of asylum law.”

The accident is still under investigation, according to her mother, Marilyn Ferguson.

SHE HAD A CALLING TO HELP PEOPLE IN THE IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY.

Marilyn Ferguson, on daughter Julie Ferguson, a Miami immigration attorney-

“She had a calling to help people in the immigrant community with immigration,” Ferguson said. “The few times she didn’t win cases she was distraught because a child was taken away from the mother and sent back. She had a lot of passion for people. That’s why she was such a wonderful attorney.”

Born in Lake Forest, Illinois, on March 15, 1967, Ferguson earned her bachelor’s in philosophy and economics from the University of Geneva in 1989. She then earned her law degree from American University Washington College of Law.

She spoke five languages — English, Spanish, French, Portuguese and Italian, her mother said, and wrote the handbook, AILA’s Focus on Waivers Under the Immigration and Nationality Act in 2008. “She was a woman of the world,” her mother said.

 (Miami Herald May 5th 2016)

FRIENDS OF MUSIC EDUCATION FOR HAITI…

In honor of our founder and Haiti’s most pre-eminent violinist, Romel Joseph, Friends of Music Education for Haiti is proud to present “Chansons Enfantines D’Haiti.” It is a special interactive concert by his daughter, Victoria Joseph, and pianist/close friend of over 25 years, Micheline Denis, in order to keep his legacy of music education for Haiti’s children alive. Over the span of his 30 year teaching career, Romel Joseph created over 150 musical arrangements of Haitian, French, American and religious songs for beginning violin as a unique tool for them to learn musical technique using familiar tunes that they learn in school. This concert series will introduce these musical treasures to you all in hopes of preserving Haitian culture and to honor his incredible contribution to Haiti’s classical music community. Special guests include Raoul Denis, Jr., Welele Noubout, Bladimir Chery, Jael Auguste, and Will Hodgson. Sponsored by FOKAL, The New Victorian School, Fondation Sogebank, and Fondation Odette Roy Fombrun.

Literature-politics: Book Signing in Miami for the autobiography "Michel Martelly" by the former head of State

During this event Martelly will be interviewed by Elizabeth Guérin, a famous radio and Haitian television personality. Following their conversation, a book signing session will take place.

In "Michel Martelly – Autobiography," which costs $50.00 (3,120 Haitian Gourdes), the ex-head of state (who ran the country from May 14^th 2011 to February 7^th, 2016) deals with his childhood, his adolescence and how he became one of the most influential musicians in Haiti and beyond. He also writes about the road which led to the presidency. He writes about his education, about his formative influences, and the strong convictions which guided him during his mandate.

Haiti - Diaspora: Jean Monestime launches the 16th edition of Haitian Cultural Heritage Month

On Sunday, May 1^st, the President of the Miami-Dade County Commission Jean Monestime invited the community to discover the magic of the Haitian culture, the art, the music and the food, by participating in the celebration of the 16^th Edition of Haitian Cultural Heritage Month.

"Haitian Cultural Heritage Month is a wonderful opportunity for the residents of every nationality to come and discover the wealth of the Haitian culture," declared Monestime, the first American-Haitian elected as President of the County Commission. "I encourage you all to take part in this celebration of all the contributions that the Haitian community has made in Miami-Dade and the world,” he added. "My Haiti is a land of striking beauty, diversified by its mountains, its valleys, its lakes, its rivers and its plains and contains in itself all the elements for greatness and sustainable wealth. My Haiti is too rich to be poor."

On the itinerary among other things: six exhibits of Haitian art at the Miami International Airport’s South Terminal Gallery, the lobby of Stephen P Clark Center, 111 NW 1^st Street; the Cultural Center of Little Haïti, 212-260 WAS NE 59^th Street; the Center of Haitian studies, 8260 NE 2^nd Avenue; the Museum of Haitian Heritage, 4141 NE 2^nd Avenue; and the Sant La Neighborhood Center, 5000 Biscayne Blvd. 110. The art exhibits will take place throughout May.

This year’s celebrations will take place under the theme "Haiti: See It, Live It, Love It” and will include the 4th annual edition of the "Taste of Haiti" showcasing Haitian cuisine at the "MOCA Plaza" of the City of North Miami; the 18^th annual edition of the "Compass Festival" in Bayfront Park, and the 5^th "Annual Haitian History Bee" at the Stephen P. Clark Center.