Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 2 novembre 2016

 Prison Outbreak In Arcahaie

According to inspector Garry Desrosiers, Yvener Carélus, the prisoner who caused the escape is a specialist. According to the inspector, this individual, who was arrested for his implication in cases of kidnapping, was already involved in other prisoner escapes in the country. He is also the presumed murderer of the policeman Fritz Gérald, 52 years old, said the communications manager of the PNH.

Out of the 266 prisoners who were incarcerated in Arcahaie, only 93 remain. A total of 173 others have fled, whose more than hundred have been recaptured. The police spokesman gave a clear warning to anyone who would try to help these fugitives.

A policeman assigned to the civil prison of Arcahaie is currently in isolation and suspected of being implicated in the escape, said Inspector Gary Desrosiers. He reassured the population that there was only a rifle taken by the escapees, contrary to what circulated in the press.

"The weapons of the prison are still there," he said.  He also stated that the 93 prisoners staying in the prison of Arcahaie were transferred to another detention center, while a complete search of the Arcahaie prison was underway.

It is official: China is ready to bring electricity to Haiti with solar and wind energy

A 1.2 billion dollar contract was signed with China to bring electricity to all of the Republic of Haiti using wind and solar energy.

The Haitian delegation, led by Planning minister Aviol Fleurant, initialed this agreement with the Chinese, whose Bank of China will forward 85 % of the total cost of the project, while the Haitian government will contribute 15%.

According to the Minister of Planning and External Cooperation, the wind and solar systems, once installed, will supply all the country with electrical energy.

Taking advantage of the sun’s rays, which sweep the territory permanently, and the wind, which blows in strategic places, will allow Haiti to become autonomous when it comes to electrical energy. This will enable the country to resort much less to oil for all its needs. Such a project will establish the first stage of progress towards a complete quality of life improvement and social well-being for all Haitian citizens.

U.N. Plans to Pay 400 millions US to Victims of Cholera Outbreak It Caused in Haiti

24 Oct. 2016

"About $200 million of the package is meant for what United Nations officials call “material assistance” to families and communities that were most affected. (The other $200 million would help pay for cholera eradication and improved sanitation.) The officials avoid the term “compensation” partly over fear among donors that it could set a precedent. 

But the United Nations does not have the money it needs for the proposed package,

Dr. Nabarro said the $200 million for payouts could be money for families of the dead — it would amount to roughly $21,000 for each of the estimated victims. Or it could be spent on helping the hardest-hit communities, with benefits such as scholarships or health insurance.

In the end, said Dr. Nabarro, who is one of six candidates vying to be the next head of the World Health Organization, it will depend on what donor nations are willing to pay for.

The official rollout of the package, expected in the coming weeks, is designed in part to repair the damage that cholera has done to the reputation of the United Nations, which regularly presses governments around the world to pursue accountability, and to help Mr. Ban’s legacy in particular."

CHOLERA IN HAITI

UN human rights expert: “UN lawyers undermine a just solution for the victims of cholera in Haiti”

Posted on the Internet by United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner

Republished by AlterPresse

United Nations human rights expert Philip Alston claimed today that flawed and unfounded legal advice provided by the UN lawyers is preventing the Organization from accepting responsibility for the cholera outbreak that UN peacekeepers caused in Haiti in 2010.

“The UN’s explicit and unqualified denial of anything other than a moral responsibility is a disgrace,” Alston said today. “If the United Nations bluntly refuses to hold itself accountable for human rights violations, it makes a mockery of its efforts to hold Governments and others to account,” he noted.

Cholera was brought to Haiti for the first time in the country’s history by UN peacekeepers exactly six years ago. Almost 10,000 people have died as a result and around 800,000 have been infected, affecting close to ten per cent of the population.

In a report to the UN General Assembly, the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights criticized the UN’s Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) for coming up with a “patently artificial and wholly unfounded legal pretense for insisting that the Organization must not take legal responsibility for what it has done.”

Alston also noted that OLA’s approach “has been cloaked in secrecy: there has been no satisfactory official explanation of the policy, no public attempt to justify it, and no known assessment of its consequences for future cases. This goes directly against the principles of accountability, transparency and the rule of law that the UN itself promotes globally.”

The Special Rapporteur noted that the Organization’s legal position appears to be largely explained by the approach of the United States of America, Haiti’s close neighbor and the main contributor to the UN’s peacekeeping budget.

“There are many reasons to believe that the reluctance by OLA to accept legal responsibility is consistent with views strongly pressed by the United States. Despite numerous requests to do so, the United States itself has never publicly stated its legal position on the responsibility of the UN for causing cholera in Haiti,” the expert said.

“Instead, it seems to have pressed the UN to adopt the position frequently taken by lawyers in the US that responsibility should never be accepted voluntarily, since it could complicate future litigation. But this rationale is completely inapplicable to the UN which enjoys absolute immunity from suit in national courts, and whose reputation depends almost entirely on being seen to act with integrity,” he noted.

Alston explained that, for six years, the UN ignored claims by victims for a remedy, focusing exclusively on measures to contain the outbreak, and only after his draft report leaked to the New York Times in August did the UN announce a ‘new approach’.

“The good news is that, under the courageous leadership of the UN Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General, the UN has recently set up the Haiti Cholera Response Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF) with the goal of raising at least $400 million to greatly enhance its cholera eradication efforts and to assist victims of the disease. The bad news is that the UN has still not admitted factual or legal responsibility, and has not offered a legal settlement as required by international law,” said the independent human rights expert.

Alston said that even sympathetic and well-informed observers had asked him why it was so important that the UN admits legal responsibility. “Far from being a legal technicality, the OLA position has deep and lasting consequences, for Haiti and all future cases,” he noted.

“The current stance of its lawyers ensures that the UN will never admit its responsibility for introducing cholera,” Alston said. “And avoiding legal responsibility hinders the UN from learning lessons and making sure that the fatal mistakes made in Haiti are not repeated elsewhere.”

“If the UN wants to salvage its reputation and credibility, which have been severely damaged by the cholera crisis, and ensure that this case will not haunt it forever, it needs to do the right thing and admit legal responsibility. There is no justification, legal or otherwise, for any other course of action,” the Special Rapporteur concluded.

Vaccination against cholera will begin this week

More than 800,000 people will be vaccinated.

Two lots of vaccines, each with 500,000 units, arrived in Port-au-Prince. The Ministry of Health and the Population (MSPP) does not intend to lower its guard regarding cholera. It announced the launch of a vaccination campaign on November 8^th with the anticipation of eliminating the epidemic by 2030.

A total of 800,000 people who are at least a year old will be affected. They will receive their dose free of charge. According to the ministry, nine municipalities of Grand’Anse, about seven municipalities in the South and other districts in the department of Nippes will be targeted due the fact that they were badly affected by Hurricane Matthew.

The vaccine is viewed as an additional intervention to save lives. However, it does not replace the government’s efforts to create a framework urging the population to respect hygiene procedures. This is in addition to ensuring the consumption of clean drinking water.

The vaccine will be administered to the population and will last up to four years. It is part of the entire effort to eradicate cholera in Haiti by 2020.

1,000 Housing Units in 100 Days: Food For The Poor Accelerates Rebuilding in Haiti After Hurricane Matthew

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. As the threat of disease spreads and desperate families cling to hope with no place to call home, Food For The Poor is launching a campaign with the support of donors to build 1,000 new housing units in 100 days in Haiti as the country recovers from Hurricane Matthew.

The new homes are in addition to repairing 450 homes that sustained damage in Haiti's southern peninsula.

"It is important that we move quickly so that people can get their lives back fast and start again. Through our donors here, the people of Haiti will know that they are not forgotten and that there is hope for the future," said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. "It's going to be magnificent, believe me."

Acknowledging it is an aggressive goal, the charity's leader points to the need to give people hope and move them quickly into sturdy, safe shelter.

The charity sent funds recently for reconstruction to begin on the roofs of fishing villages and the 450 homes that need repair. Two months' worth of building supplies are in Haiti now and more are being shipped.

According to the latest assessments from teams on the ground, 13 of 29 fishing villages built by Food For The Poor in southwest Haiti were destroyed and must be rebuilt. Another 16 suffered significant damage such as loss of roofs, freezers and equipment and must be repaired. Funded and built through donations, the fishing villages provide deep-sea fishing opportunities for food and needed income to communities that previously struggled to get either one from the sea.

The goal is to have all the new housing units, repairs and fishing villages finished in 100 days.

Will Haiti Be Able to Recover From Hurricane Matthew?

Hurricane Matthew, the most powerful Caribbean hurricane in nearly a decade, ripped through Haiti early this month. The storm is believed to have killed more than 1,000 people and displaced thousands more. In light of the storm and its anticipated aftermath, authorities postponed until November presidential elections that had been scheduled for scheduled for Oct. 9, following repeated delays after a presidential election last year had been declared null. What parts of the country and sectors of Haiti’s economy are most in need of aid following the hurricane? How and from where will assistance to Haiti materialize? What does the further postponement of Haiti’s presidential elections mean for the country’s political stability, and when is it likely that a vote will finally be held?

According to Kenneth Merten, Haiti special coordinator and deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs: “There are currently 1.4 million Haitians in need of humanitarian assistance following Hurricane Matthew. The top priority is to provide food, safe drinking water and other relief commodities to communities cut off by the hurricane. Other priorities include mitigating the spread of cholera, developing a comprehensive shelter strategy and determining additional humanitarian needs. USAID is providing nearly $14 million for initial relief assistance in the Caribbean and is working with partners and the government of Haiti to provide critical food assistance and relief supplies to hard-hit areas in Haiti’s southwestern peninsula. Together, USAID and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are ramping up cholera response activities to help prevent the spread of the disease in the aftermath of the storm. With the government of Haiti, the two U.S. government agencies are also working to re-establish cholera surveillance and reporting systems in affected areas in order to facilitate strategic and coordinated responses to potential cholera outbreaks.

The United States reiterates its belief that democratic elections are the only path for Haiti to return to constitutional rule in order to address the many urgent issues facing the country. Haiti is recovering from the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. We call on all actors to remain peaceful and to refrain from any action that hinders either disaster recovery activities or the organization of credible and timely elections. The United States supports the efforts of the government of Haiti to pursue these objectives. We support the CEP’s decision by the Provisional Electoral Council to assess Hurricane Matthew’s impact on Haiti’s ability to conduct credible elections. The United States looks forward to transparent, credible, and fair elections in Haiti on Nov. 20.”

Raymond Joseph, former ambassador of Haiti to the United States: “By far, Haiti’s Greater South region suffered the bulk of the damage. Parts of the Western department, which includes Port-au-Prince, as well as the Artibonite and the Northwest were also affected. About 80 percent of the houses in cities on the southwestern peninsula are roofless. The countryside of one of the most verdant parts of Haiti now looks bare. The people must brace for famine resulting from uprooted gardens and the loss of cattle. Also, a spike of cholera will complicate matters. Roads and bridges must be rebuilt. Electricity and clean water must be provided. With help from the United States, Latin America, Canada, the European Union and fewer NGOs than after the 2010 earthquake, some areas in the interior have been reached by helicopters making drops of provisions and water. But the situation turned ugly when gangs attacked truckloads of supplies.

The Dominican military had to return home with its fleet of vehicles reportedly loaded with $12 million worth of produce and equipment. Nationalists blamed President Privert for the Dominican military on Haitian soil. Postponing the elections was logical and accepted by all. But there’s trouble with the recent announcement of the vote to be held Nov. 20, with a second round scheduled Jan. 29. Final results for the presidential vote won’t be known until Feb. 20. Nothing is said about the date for swearing in the new president. It was generally expected that the Feb. 7 constitutional date for power transfer would be kept. Accusing President Privert of hoarding power, six justices of Haiti’s Supreme Court published a letter calling for delaying the elections and for a judge of the court to assume the presidency in accordance with the 1987 Constitution. Amended in 2011, that charter no longer provides for such a solution. Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador Peter Mulrean says his government backs the November elections to allow for a democratically elected president and a new legislature to deal with pressing problems after the passage of Matthew.”

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 8 novembre 2016

 Dozens of clandestine Haitians were discovered in St. Martin

Members of the Police for French Borders (PAF), which suspected migrants trafficking in the bay of Marigot (the French side on the Island of St. Martin), discovered 52 illegal migrants, most of whom were Haitian (28 men, 17 women and 7 children) during a control operation. The migrants were piled up aboard a catamaran whose capacity was 12 people, and was anchored in the Bay.

The three crew members, two Dutch, a man and a woman as well as a man from St. Lucia, all three of whom lived on the island, were arrested and admitted to have participated in human trafficking for money.

According to the migrants’ testimonies, the crew was to lead them to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands and some were supposed to stay in St. Martin. The price of the trip varied between 1,000 and 7,000 US dollars a person. The illegal migrants were ordered to leave the French territory, but no deportation procedure have been undertaken according to the assistant prosecutor.

Kuwait will finance a hospital in Haiti

Last week, the Fund for Economic and Social Assistance (FAES), received a delegation from Kuwait (Mohammad Alhadidi and Mohammad I.A Alomani) to evaluate the constructions financed by the Kuwaiti Government for an Urgent Care Center in the West, a high school in Petit-Trou-de-Nippes and two national schools, for a total amount of 9 million dollars.

Last Wednesday, Lucien Francoeur, the Managing director of the FAES, Daphnée B. Delsoin, Minister for Health and representatives of the Kuwaiti Development Fund, Mohammad Alhadidi and Mohammad Alumni signed an agreement for the construction of a new hospital in the metropolitan zone.

The Kuwaiti delegation left Haiti last Thursday after having completed their evaluations, following the passage of the hurricane Matthew.

More than a dozen people were injured following the collapse of an old soda plant building at the Rue du Magasin de l’Etat in downtown Port-au-Prince

Last Wednesday, in the center of Port-au-Prince, a former soda production plant that was strongly damaged by the 2010 earthquake partially collapsed causing 8 victims and panic among local residents.

"Four bodies were removed from some rubble and we transported four other people who were seriously hurt to the general hospital of Port-au-Prince," confirmed the coordinator of the civil protection.

The Mayor of Port-au-Prince, Youri Chevry, reached the scene of the accident, where rescue teams searched in the rubble for possible survivors. He indicated that all the victims were inside the building at the time of the accident, in search of materials, especially steel bars that they could resell.

Mayor Chevry expressed sadness in the face of this incident. In order to avoid a repeat of such a tragedy, he announced that a demolition campaign will be underway in the capital to bring down all of the buildings that were severely damaged by the 2010 earthquake.

According to Guillaume Albert Moléon, the Interior Ministry spokesman, no one knows exactly how many people could have been in the building at the time of the accident. This former soda factory was one of the buildings in the capital on the list for demolition.

Haitians kill a Dominican military officer

Last Friday in Los Rieles of Copey, a municipality of Manzanillo (Province of Monte Cristi), a group of Haitians entered the Dominican territory illegally through the border, and refused to obey a Dominican military patrol officer. Instead, they attacked Captain Manuel Belliard Felipe, age 49, stabbing him several times and killing him. They also hurt his colleague Quartermaster Sergeant, Jeremías Mateo Espinal, 34, and stole a rifle and other goods. Captain Felipe was transported to a private hospital in Monte Cristi, but did not survive his wounds.

The Dominican Ministry of Defense indicated that authorities had arrested three of the five illegal Haitians, identified as being responsible for Captain Felipe’s murder. They were handed over to the Monte Crisiti prosecutor for legal proceedings.

Haiti - Port-Salut: rehabilitation of the main water supply system

Thanks to financing from the Government of Norway and with the technical support of the UN Environment (ONUE), some local organization have proceeded toward the rehabilitation of a portion of the water supply system feeding the central part of Port-Salut, more specifically the network fed by the Grand Kay and Manzè Anne (Trouillac) water sources. This system which serves 10,000 people, had been severely damaged, following the Matthew's passage in Southern Haiti.

"Our work consisted of the removing tree trunks, which fell on the line of adduction on a distance of about three kilometers, and to replace certain pipes and joins", explained Joël Samedy, the engineer of PADI, a local fisherman’s organizations, in charge of the work. "After an evaluation of the damages, we proceeded with cleaning out of the harnessing and the galvanized steel conducts, as well as the reservoirs".

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 23 novembre 2016

 Thousands of Haitians immigrants to be released for lack of detention space

Published November 18, 2016Fox News LatinoFederal officials say they are releasing Haitian immigrants who have been entering the country by the thousands since last year, backtracking on a pledge to jail them before they are deported.

A U.S. government official told The Associated Press that the decision to free Haitians arriving in Arizona and California is in response to a lack of jail space.

Between October of 2015 and late September, about 5,000 Haitians have arrived at San Diego's San Ysidro port of entry, overwhelming border inspectors. Another 40,000 are on their way, officials have said.

They arrive at the U.S. border with Mexico, many after traveling 7,000 miles by foot, taxi and bus from Brazil through eight nations.

The decision to release Haitians will likely add to the growing backlog of more than half-a-million cases already pending in immigration court. That backlog has effectively meant that immigrants routinely wait years for a judge to decide if they should be kicked out of the country.

The official said releasing immigrants with orders to report later to immigration court is a tactic used when detention space is scarce, under certain humanitarian conditions or as part of efforts to keep families together.

Before the Haitians are released, they will be subjected to a criminal background and national security check. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and insisted on speaking on condition of anonymity.

The Department of Homeland Security last week said there were about 41,000 people in immigration detention facilities, compared to a typical population of 31,000 to 34,000.

It was unclear how many Haitians have been released since the change, although ICE says it has deported 203 Haitians to their home country and that about 4,400 remain detained.

The influx of migrants and lack of jail space on the border will be one of the most immediate immigration challenges for Trump.

Among the issues Trump will face is growing opposition to conditions at Border Patrol holding cells and ICE detention centers.

For example, the Border Patrol in Arizona faces a lawsuit from immigrants who say its holding cells are overcrowded, dirty and extremely cold. A federal judge in Tucson on Tuesday said he was inclined to direct the Border Patrol to improve sleeping conditions, although he hasn't issued a directive yet.

Immigrants who enter through Texas also report that Border Patrol holding facilities – known as "hieleras" – the Spanish word for "freezers," are difficult to sleep in. CBP has said it is "committed to the safety, security and welfare of those in our custody, especially those who are most vulnerable."

Includes reporting by the Associated Press.

NOVEMBER 20^TH, 2016: ELECTION DAY THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY

The following are some reflections from our reporters who were on the ground:

• There were delay at several polling stations, at the beginning of the day.

However, there were no major difficulties in the voting process, in spite of some lines.

• People who were going to vote were mostly between ages of 18 and 25 years old.
• We did not notice any ramps to facilitate the access of people with disabilities to the polling stations.
• Marketplaces were open, but there weren’t many vendors. People were at church and it was after church services that they went to vote.
• The national police force was everywhere.  The Minister of Justice informed that about ten drones flew over the territory on Sunday to record any breaches related to the elections. "I guarantee that the police will respond immediately to any emergency call during electoral day,” said the Minister.

IRREGULARITIES

The Institute of Justice and Democracy in Haiti has reported several irregularities in Pétion-Ville, including campaign signs posted too close to polling station; a lack of identification documents for representatives of political parties; inconsistent use of the marking ink on voters’ fingers, and observers' from different political parties exchanging money outside the polling stations.

In Cap-Haïtien, the election took place under the rain. Heavy Downpours were reported in the area of Paillant, where people did not mobilize to go to vote. Was it because of the fog which covered the city?

Voter turnout was also light in Barradères and in Grand Boukan which also received heavy rains.  

Jude Célestin, the candidate of LAPEH, voted at the Lycée of Pétion Ville, one of the most important polling stations of Pétion-Ville, which experienced large crowds, since early in the morning. There as well, we were struck to see that the majority of people going to vote were very young (about 19 years old).

Jovenel Moïse voted in the municipality of Trou du Nord, his native place, in the Northeast Department.

The President of the Republic accompanied by his wife, went to a polling station, in Petit Trou de Nippes to carry out his duty as a citizen.

President Jocelerme Privert presented the November 20^th election in Haiti as a last attempt to restore stability in the country.

There seems to have been a heavy voter turnout in certain provincial towns.

According to our correspondents in various provincial towns, there was a strong police presence in Cap-Haïtien, as in well as in Jérémie, in the Grade Anse, which was deeply affected by Hurricane Mathew. Similarly, in Mirebalais in the lower part of the Plateau Central, a strong voter participation was observed early in the morning at the opening of the polling stations.

Similarly, in Jacmel in the Southeast of the country, and to Port-de-Paix in the Northwest and in Miragoâne in the Nippes, as well as in the Cayes in the South.

The Observers of the OAS deployed throughout the country

The electoral observation mission of the OAS (Organization of American States) in Haiti was deployed throughout the country. The international observers were in diverse polling stations. It was the Uruguayan Senator Juan Raoul Ferreira who managed the team of 130 experts and observers from 24 different countries. This mission observed the progress of the November 20^th election in 10 departments.

Among the members of the mission, were several specialists who were asked to analyze certain aspects of the electoral process including its organization, technology, fairness, and its electoral registry, as well as the participation of women. THE OAS was to observe the process from the opening of polling stations up until the counting of the votes. A team of Observers will remain in the country until the end of the election period.

"We have observed improvements in the process, in spite of difficult conditions,” asserted the head of the mission.

Briefing and Exhibit: Hurricane Matthew Recovery Efforts in Haiti

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

2261 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515

Exhibit: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm | Briefing: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson invites you to a briefing and photo exhibit on USAID-led efforts to help Haiti recover from Hurricane Matthew. The event will feature agency leaders on the frontline of the recovery efforts, members of Congress who recently traveled to Haiti, and other workers and experts in the fields of humanitarian and disaster relief assistance. Staff from USAID’s Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Affairs (DCHA) will be on hand from 11:00 am-12:00 pm to answer questions on the Hurricane Matthew response.  Key Facts

• Hurricane Matthew made initial landfall in southwestern Haiti on October 4 as a powerful Category 4 storm.
• The Government of Haiti reports that 546 people were killed as a result of the storm and an estimated 1.4 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.  
• USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) is the agency responsible for leading the U.S. government’s response to international disasters.  
• In anticipation of the storm, USAID activated a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) with staff in Haiti, Jamaica, and The Bahamas on October 3. The team continues to work with the Government of Haiti and USAID’s partners to deliver humanitarian assistance to communities in need. 
• The United States is the single largest donor of humanitarian assistance for Hurricane Matthew relief efforts. Total U.S. government assistance now stands at more than $53 million. This includes nearly $40 million from USAID and more than $13 million from the U.S. Department of Defense.
• International aid must help Haiti sustain itself
• The Miami Herald KATE SCHECTER Miami Herald 13 November 2016 780 words
• English MHLD (c) Copyright 2016, The Miami Herald. All Rights Reserved.
• Hurricane Matthew devastated much of Haiti. The storm killed more than 800 people and leveled entire communities. Those who have visited have described scenes reminiscent of when the earthquake hit the island in 2010. There are food shortages, and a cholera epidemic has reached an alarming level. The World Health Organization has sent 1 million doses of cholera vaccine in response. The Haitian Ministry of Health was to begin a mass vaccination program last week.
• It will take time to recover from this latest disaster. Then Haitians and the international community will once again embark on a rebuilding program.
• After the 2010 earthquake destroyed much of Haiti's urban society, the international community committed more than $1 billion to a rebuilding effort that was intended to set Haiti on the path toward sustainable development.
• The international community once again will spend millions, or even billions, in Haiti. Government officials and humanitarian groups will return to the island to implement programs. Foreign investors will arrive to assess opportunities.
• But this time, the focus can and should be more effective. There are important lessons from the post­earthquake effort. These lessons are reinforced by what governments and aid groups are learning about sustainable and integrated development in communities around the world.
• Based on our decades' long work in developing communities, including in Haiti, we have concluded sustainable development is guided by three concrete principles.
• First, build on what already exists. Development projects are especially effective when they help people improve what they already do or what they already have in place.
• In Haiti, this primarily means agriculture. Sustainability requires direct work with farmers, as well as infrastructure­based investments that expand market access and overcome constraints along the value chain. Smart and targeted infrastructure investment ­­ roads, bridges, and the electrical grid ­­ can yield impressive results for the development of market­driven economic activities of all kinds, including agriculture.
• Second, development organizations must work with and through communities. Sustainable economic and social development only succeeds if it identifies with and engages local power structures by leveraging the knowledge and capabilities of local leaders and groups.

CULTURE: The Miami Book Fair

The Miami Book Fair took place from November 13^th to 20^th with a significant participation by Haitian authors (Gary Victor, Yanick Lahens, Robert Large, Claude Pierre) but also by Haitian authors living in the diaspora (Edwige Danticat, Jean Mapou, Schiller Marcelin, Iléus Papillon, Kiki Wainwright …)

During its last weekend several Haitian authors livened up conferences in French and in Creole. Translators were present on the site, to provide simultaneous translation for the many foreigners who participated in Miami Book Fair.

It is the first time, can one say that Haitian literature had such a prominent place at the Miami Book Fair, the biggest literary event in the United States.

Members of the Creole Academy were on site leading a Round Table under the theme "Kreyol Pale, Kreyol Kompran." The authors who participated in this conference were Madam Jocelyne Trouillot of the Akademi Kreyòl, accompanied by: Gérard Férère, Michel Ange Hyppolide, Claude Pierre, Jean Robert Placide..

There was also another conference on Haitian Literature with writers EdwidgDanticat, Yanick Lahens and Gary Victor. This conference, which was a conversation on contemporary Haitian literature, took place under the animation of Michèle Duvivier Pierre Louis's.

This year’s strong Haitian participation, was an initiative of Sosyete Koukouy nan Miami.

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 30 novembre 2016

 Fidel Castro and the Media

Fidel Castro dies at the age of 90 years and the press all over the world presents the man who for 25 years occupied a first row seat not only in his country, but also in many Third World countries; the one who made of his country, one on whom all the looks have converged.

The following are a few excerpts from various newspapers following the death of the “Marxist Leader.”

Melodie FM and Haiti en Marche

Fidel and Haiti!

PORT-AU-PRINCE, November 26^th - The man was a legend. But not a Living God, as was considered Papa Doc. The same with Balaguer, successor of the Dominican dictator Trujillo. Nevertheless, his influence covered several continents.

We were fortunate enough to have met Fidel Castro thanks to an invitation by President René Préval (1996-2001) as a journalistic group that accompanied him during an official visit to Cuba.

The highlight of the visit was the reception held at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana.

The protocol was at its highest. The honor guard had a parade within the building. It was a military-civilian government like any revolutionary government desires.

Both heads of state made their speeches. To our surprise, the Marxist leader did not only know the history of Haiti, he knew it better we did. This was due to the fact that he was a history buff, a crazy admirer. For him, the history of Haiti and of Cuba are closely linked. This goes back to Hatuey in Cuba and the Cacique Henry for us, both Indian chiefs who unequivocally refused to submit themselves to the Conquistadors, just like the heroes of the War for Independence in Haiti.

After the victory of the former slaves against the French in November, 1803, many colonists from Santo Domingo took refuge in Cuba where they reproduced the sugar industry which had made Haiti “The Pearl of the Antilles” under colonialism.

Fidel considered that Cuba held a large debt to Haiti because it alone implanted the seed for a real revolution in the New World, while the United States continued to practice slavery for several more decades.

The Guardian, 26 November 2016 by Richard Gott

“Fidel Castro, who died at the age of 90, was one of the more extraordinary political figures of the 20^th century. After leading a successful revolution on a Caribbean island in 1959, he became a player on the global stage, dealing on equal terms with successive leaders of the two nuclear superpowers during the cold war. A charismatic figure from the developing world, his influence was felt far beyond the shores of Cuba. Known as Fidel to friends and enemies alike, his life story is inevitably that of his people and their revolution. Even in old age, he still exercised a magnetic attraction wherever he went, his audience as fascinated by the dinosaur from history as they had once been by the revolutionary firebrand of earlier times.

The Russians were beguiled by him (Nikita Khrushchev and Anastas Mikoyan in particular), European intellectuals took him to their hearts (notably Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir), African revolutionaries welcomed his assistance and advice, and the leaders of Latin American peasant movements were inspired by his revolution. In the 21st century, he acquired fresh relevance as the mentor of Hugo Chávez in Venezuela and Evo Morales in Bolivia, the leaders of two unusual revolutions that threatened the hegemony of the US. Only the US itself, which viewed Castro as public enemy No 1 (until they found an “axis of evil” further afield), and the Chinese in the Mao era, who found his political behavior essentially irresponsible, refused to fall for his charm. It took until Barack Obama’s presidency for US restrictions to be eased – but by then an intestinal illness had compelled Castro’s resignation as president in favor of his brother Raúl, who saw in the historic normalizing of relations between the two countries. Nonetheless, Fidel maintained his antagonism until the end, declaring in a letter on his 90th birthday this year that “we don’t need the empire to give us anything.”

Fidel Castro "torments" multiple American presidents

AFP Washington

The American media drew an unforgiving portrait of the Cuban ex-leader Fidel Castro, who died on Friday at the age 90. "Repressive leader" for some, "agony" of about ten presidents of the United States, wrote others.

In their electronic online editions, these media dedicated a wide part of their spaces to the "revolutionary leader who challenged" the United States, as wrote The New York Times.

"He brought the Cold war to the western hemisphere, tormented 11 presidents and brought the world at the edge of the nuclear war," recalls the Times. It also notes "the importance" in the twentieth century of this "international figure," who only managed a quite small island in the Caribbean with 11 million inhabitants.

For the Los Angeles Times, Fidel Castro was "a revolutionary icon whose influence was well felt far beyond Cuba." This point of view shared by Miami Herald, for whom his "shadow" propagated during almost fifty years through Latin America and world.

For his critics he was a "repressive leader who transformed his country into a Gulag,” asserts the Washington Post.

It remains to be seen whether his death will bring significant changes in Cuba. For Peter Schechter, expert at the Think Tank Atlantic Council based in Washington D.C., stability must prevail.

A Very Good Day for Haiti

by Focus On Haiti Initiative Team

If ever a country and its people needed a good day, it was Haiti and the Haitian people.  Over the past two months, they have been battered by a monstrous hurricane and, more recently, by widespread flooding and mudslides.  Over the past year, they have been subject to fraudulent elections and, when the country’s political, social, civic and economic leaders sought to rectify them, resistance and pressure to accept the election results status quo from external forces who ironically often present themselves as Haiti’s ‘friends.’  And, in the five years prior to those denigrating elections, the country and its people were subject to a government more known for organizing carnivals, engaging enthusiastically in debt-inducing political patronage and shady dealings, and disrespecting democratic process and practice than for leading the country to a stronger, more prosperous future.

It is through this lens that Sunday, November 20, 2016 was a very good day for Haiti.  On that day, the bruised country held an election and determined citizens went to polling places around the country in what has been described by the head of the elections council as “a successful day… that unfolded in calm, serenity… and, in general… without violence.” Voters went to cast ballots for president, and in certain constituencies, for senators and lower chamber deputies engaged in a run-off election.  Should no single candidate for the presidency receive more than 50% of Sunday’s votes, a presidential run-off between the two top vote getters is scheduled for January 29, 2017.

In view of the tepid and rather late support of Sunday’s reformed balloting by international actors (including the U.S.), Haitians who have chaffed for years over the dominant role outsiders have played in their political process must have a sense of vindication over Sunday’s ‘calm, serene’ outcome.  Joining the interim government and its Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) in relishing this absolution is the multitude of civil society, church, and business leaders who supported the push toward Haitian assertion of ‘ownership’ of its presidential election.  Without doubt, Haitian ownership contributed significantly in the positive outcome on November 20th. Haitians all along the country’s socio-economic spectrum now had something to prove with this election.  With determination and dignity they demonstrated that they can lead their own political process, and conduct – and pay for - their own elections.  They must now be accorded all due respect for this important step in strengthening Haiti’s democratic process.  After all, it must be asked, what truly democratic country does not ‘own’ its own elections?

Kudos are thereby accorded to the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) that organized the election and to the workers it engaged nationwide to organize and guide the electoral process; to the Provisional government that stood against pressure to accept electoral fraud and that successfully found the $55 million needed to finance their election; to both the Haitian National Police (HNP) who provided unflinching security for the process and the United Nations peacekeepers and police trainers who worked alongside them; to the Haitian election monitoring organizations that exposed the prior fraud and remained engaged as watchdogs to assiduously monitor the election on November 20; and to the citizens of Haiti who voted in calm and serenity, and by doing so showed their commitment to this manifestation of democratic process.

That process improved significantly in large part because the CEP implemented much-needed reforms in arrangements for electoral observation by political party operatives.  Their number was reduced; they were given photo IDs; and they were permitted only one vote, at their home polling station.  A year earlier, the jaw-dropping number of close to one million of these ‘mandataires’ were empowered with generic ID badges that infused the process with fraud, repeated voting in multiple polling places, and the crowding of polling sites which certainly intimidated ‘ordinary’ voters.

The ballot also improved because of the determination of the CEP and Haitian security officials to clearly disseminate the rules of the electoral process and to take quick, appropriate action against those who sought to break them either leading up to the election or on Election Day itself.  Early reports indicate that some 43 arrests were made on Election Day of individuals seeking to disrupt voting transparency.  Happily, violence feared for Election Day – heightened by the HNP’s interception of several illicit deliveries of weapons during the run-up to elections – did not occur.

One good day, however, does not make a successful election outcome.  Much work remains in the aftermath of the actual voting.  Ballots must be secured and counted – unfortunately still a painfully long process in Haiti.  Results must be released fully and with the transparency needed to instill greater confidence in them among both Haitian citizens who have become apathetic toward and distrustful of elections,  and the international actors who have become accustomed to accepting controversial and flawed election results, sending a message that Haitians must be satisfied with a ‘second class’ democracy.

Beyond doubt, when those results are released, losing candidates will cry ‘foul,’ accusing the process of fraud and of bias against them.  This has become standard practice in Haitian elections… sometimes, as was seen in the 2015 so-called elections, with cause.  It will be up to Haitian election authorities to respond quickly, clearly and fairly to contestations, as it will be the responsibility of losing candidates to accept transparent and honest results. Spoilers – with or without guns - still lurk in the shadows seeking to undermine a process or an outcome that does not satisfy their goal of gaining power and protecting their privilege.  Vigilance is called for to monitor them and thwart any even tentative moves they make toward disruption.    And, as the country moves toward a probable presidential run-off election on January 2017, flaws in the reformed process, including those that created confusion among certain voters as to where they could actually vote, must be corrected.

As always, many challenges remain ahead, as reflected in the oft-cited Haitian proverb ‘dèyè mòn, gen mòn,’or, ‘beyond mountains there are more mountains.’  Nevertheless, Sunday, November 20, 2016 was a very good day for Haiti’s besieged and fragile democracy, and a very good day for Haiti.  Haiti’s true friends hold fervent hope for many more very good days to come.

Robert “Bob” Maguire, Ph.D.Director, Focus On Haiti InitiativeElliott School of International AffairsThe George Washington University, Washington DCNovember 21, 2016

Fidel Castro: A Global Revolutionary

The original source of this article is Granma (Cuba)

Copyright © Sergio Alejandro Gómez, Granma, 2016

The Cuban Revolution and Fidel’s ideas have inspired all those searching for a different world; looking to overcome the contradictions which world powers try to present as inevitable.

At a time when it seemed as though all was lost following the fall of the Socialist camp in Eastern Europe; the light that had been lit in 1959, began to shine even brighter. Defending socialism in order to resolve humanity’s problems, even during the most difficult times in the country’s history, placed Fidel on the short list of revolutionaries who have known how to interpret “the significance of the historic moment.”

Such conviction was never tied to dogmas. In the same way that Cuban weapons and resources supported guerillas fighting against dictatorships across our continent, Fidel – the fighter from the Sierra – knew how to recognize when the time for armed struggle had ended, and that of political transformation had begun.

He has had the privilege of seeing various generations of Latin American revolutionaries come and go, individuals who have had the good fortune of benefiting from his support: from Salvador Allende to Hugo Chávez, to name just two of the many brave regional leaders.

“To me Fidel is a father, a comrade, a master of impeccable strategy,” stated Chávez during an interview with Granma in 2005. The two leaders first met in 1994, where Fidel received the recently freed lieutenant colonel at the foot of his plane’s stairway, on arrival in Havana.

Chávez’s 1999 presidential electoral victory marked the beginning of a new era for Latin America and the Caribbean which, as has been noted by protagonists of this process, from Evo Morales to Rafael Correa, would have been impossible without Fidel’s leadership.

Although a counter-offensive is currently underway by right wing forces, attempting to destroy all the gains made over the last decade, there exist concrete examples of the fulfillment of over 200 years of integration efforts, such as the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, founded in 2010.

Much earlier however, in a meeting during the 1993 Sao Paulo Forum in Havana, the Cuban leader had told leftist forces: “What more can we do, what more can the Latin American left do than create a consciousness promoting unity? This should be inscribed on the flags of the left. With socialism or without socialism.”

In addition to his tireless revolutionary work, Fidel’s humanist ideas have alerted many to the major problems facing humanity, from climate change to the possibility of global destruction by nuclear weapons.

No one can look back over 20^th and 21^st century history, without studying the work and ideas of this Cuban who wrote a small Caribbean island into the pages of “true global history,” as told by the people.