- Détails
- Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti
THE DEATH OF FORMER PRESIDENT RENE PREVAL
It was a week with a tragic news. A news which left all those who knew him and liked him distraught beyond measure – Former Haitian President René Préval passed away last Friday.
The news arrived as we least expected it. René Préval was out in the public eye quite a bit lately, and everybody found him to be in great shape.
We met him at the farewell party offered by President Jocelerme Privert at the National Palace recently. Later, he was at the palace again. This time for the investiture of newly-elected President Jovenel Moïse.
After learning of the death of Thierry Gardère, the head of Rum Barbancourt, he went to pay his respect to the family on Thursday, March 2nd. He died the next day on Friday, March 3rd.
No one remained unaffected by Preval’s death, and some of his favorite sayings came back to mind, especially his “Naje poun-n soti.” This quote had become known as the trademark of this shy, wise, lucid president, always looking for a consensus. He brought pride to his people.
The Haitian people are in mourning with René Préval's death, and even those who did not like him will not to forget his sense of humor which will remain one of his key character traits.
SIGNIFICANT DIPLOMATIC CHANGES
Last Monday, US Ambassador to Haiti, Peter Mulrean left the country, after announcing that he was retiring. Ambassadeur Mulrean was liked by the Haitian people and his departure which arrives without warning will leave a big void. We are now waiting to see who will be called to succeed him.
Still in diplomacy: Chile appoints a new ambassador for Haiti.
The Chilean Government, through Chancellor Heraldo Munoz, informed that Chilean President Michelle Bachelet appointed a new Ambassador to Haiti. Patricio Utreras, who has already received the approval of Haiti, was a geographer at the University of Chile, and a graduate of the diplomatic Academy "André Bello." Before his appointment to Haiti, Patricio Utreras worked as an advisor to the secretary and head of the chancellery at the Chilean embassy in the United States.
OBITUARY
Some sad news was received with great pain by all those who knew him – it is the news of the sudden death of the head of Rum Barbancourt, Thierry Gardère.
This is what The Nouvelliste writes:
Thierry Gardère, age 65, head of the Company of Rum Barbancourt, one of the most widely-known Haitian brands, passed away on the road that should have lead him to the hospital. Early in the afternoon of Wednesday, March 1st, he reported having trouble breathing. "He drove from of his secondary residence in Cyvadier, Jacmel, to his home in Port-au-Prince at about 11 o'clock in the morning.
Once he arrived, he complained of faintness, difficulty in breathing. He was driven immediately to the hospital, and he died along the way. It happened very fast. It appears to have been a pulmonary embolism. He had had heart problems for about fifteen year," continued the newspaper.
William Eliacin, administrative director of the company, was very shaken by this sudden loss. "It is a big loss for the country, for the company. He was our potomitan," continued William Eliacin, who worked by Thierry Gardère's side since 1976. That’s year the heir of the Barbancourt dynasty returned to the country after finishing his studies in industrial engineering.
Thierry Gardère took charge of the company after the death of his father in 1990. He had known how to keep the torch and assure the transition of the company in modernity, explained William Eliacin. "For Thierry, we have to move forward", he explained to the Nouvelliste. "He was a quiet man, a big shy person with a lot of lucidity, vision, wisdom, a big philanthropist as well.”
It is a loss for the country, for the board of directors of the UNIBANK to which he belonged since the creation of the bank", indicated Max E. Chauvet, who is also board member of the five stars bank. "Thierry Gardère had taken succession for his father and made Rum Barbancourt one of the jewels of our industry", underlined Max Chauvet who presented his condolences to the family of the deceased, particularly to his wife and their only daughter.
An American missionary was arrested at his home for sexual abuse on Haitian minors
The US citizen Daniel Pye was arrested by the American federal police last week. He is accused of sexual abuse on minors and sex tourism involving children.
According to the data supplied to the American authorities within the framework of the investigation around Daniel Pye, at least four minor girls were victims of sexual abuses while they were at his orphanage. These children were between 6 and 14 years-old at the time. One of the victims declared to the investigators that the abuses went on over several years.
The American newspaper “The Miami Herald” reported what, one of the victims reported to the investigators that she had sexually been assaulted every day; whether his wife was in the vicinity or not, between 2008, when she was six years old, until 2011, when Daniel Pye began to have problem with the Haitian justice system.
Indeed, Daniel Pye was imprisoned for almost 5 months in Haiti. At first, the motives for his detention were not clear, but then it was charges of illegal documents which justified his detention.
The 35-year-old man in question managed an orphanage in the South of country from 2008 till 2011. During this period, he made more than 40 trips between the United States and Haiti. The center which Pye managed welcomed and educated orphan children as well as disadvantaged children whose parents were alive. One of the victims’ mother who worked at the orphanage was dismissed from her job after having asked for explanations from the missionary.
Released due to the diligence of elected officials and the efforts from the American Embassy in Port-au-Prince indicated to “The Miami Herald,” that Daniel Pye returned home to the US and stopped all trips to Haiti. He continued his life, and even began working with children again. Pye will soon be judged for its acts in the United States.
COOPERATION: Donation of 600 tons of rice from Taiwan:
The Government of Taiwan (Republic of China) provided a donation of 600 metric tons of rice to the NGO (NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION) "Food for the Poor" in Haiti. Mr. Roger Beauvoir, who is responsible for the NGO, thanked the Taiwanese State via its diplomat for this humanitarian aid and their cooperation which has already lasted seven years.
Haiti - FLASH: 30,000 Haitian migrants on the border of Mexico are targets for swindlers
Ariadna Estevez, a researcher at the Autonomous National University of Mexico (UNAM), which has been visited by refugees in Tijuana, asserts that the majority of the people who try today to enter the United States are of Haitian origin
Estevez reminded that Haitians began to arrive at Tijuana in May, 2016 and less than year later, there are approximately 30,000 of them, blocked on the border zone. Many had run away to Brazil after the earthquake of 2010 which struck Haiti, but with a lack of jobs due to the economic crisis which rages in Brazil today, they are now trying to reach the United States.
The figures of the American Customs and Border Patrol show that the number of "inadmissible" Haitian arriving at the border post of San Diego increased from 333 in 2015 to 6,377 in 2016. During the first weeks of 2017, there were already 7,589 "inadmissible" Haitians who arrived at this American border post.
In the meantime, thousands of Haitian are blocked in overpopulated shelters and rare are the ones who can find a job in Mexico beyond a day’s labor on construction sites or as servants, often for less than $1 an hour.
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- Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti
Petition : Appeals to Trump to Extend Protection for Haitians In U.S.
By Atlanta Black Star
New York — A Haitian legislator and a community-based group have launched a petition urging United States President Donald Trump and the Department of Homeland Security to extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians living illegally in the United States
In the petition released on Saturday, New York City Council member Dr. Mathieu Eugene, who represents the 40th Council District in Brooklyn and the Brooklyn-based Haitian-American Council for Unity and Empowerment (HACUE) outlined the challenges facing Haiti, including the cholera outbreak, the devastation from multiple natural disasters and efforts to stabilize government institutions.
“We, the undersigned, request that the President of the United States and the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security hereby extend the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti as a humanitarian gesture that will alleviate the country’s socioeconomic burden and ease its recovery,” the petition noted.
In an interview with the Caribbean Media Corporation, Eugene said the petition is part of his “ongoing effort to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Haiti while providing Haitians living abroad the opportunity to remain in a stable environment.
“Any country in the world, even a rich country, would find it difficult to recover after several natural disasters,” he said. “I think it makes sense that we, as elected officials and concerned citizens, advocate and work together to ensure that the American government and Homeland Security grant TPS to the Haitian people.
“This act will serve as an important gesture of goodwill and sympathy for Haiti as the country continues to recover and rebuild,” he added.
Last month, the New York City Council passed a resolution, introduced by Eugene, the first Haitian to be elected to the council, requesting that the Secretary of Homeland Security renew TPS for undocumented Haitian nationals.
Earlier this month, Caribbean American Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke introduced legislation in the House of Representatives that would dramatically expand the TPS program to include all Haitian nationals who were in the United States prior to Nov. 4, 2016.
Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants who represents the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, told the CMC that the bill would grant 18 months of TPS to every eligible Haitian.
She said TPS for Haitian nationals living in the United States was established after the Jan. 12, 2010, devastating earthquake in Haiti “to start the process of recovery and to provide invaluable support in the form of remittances to family members there.
RENE PREVAL: A FUNERAL THAT LASTED THREE DAYS!
René Préval monopolized the nation’s daily life, for three whole days.
All current events were pushed aside. The ongoing negotiations for the Parliament to approve the Prime Minister’s proposed policies were put on hold. Even crime and violence, which have become all too common in the country, seemed to come to a halt.
René Préval died 8 days prior on March 3rd, 2017 at around noon.
The cause of his death is still unknown because an initial autopsy has ruled out the theory of a heart attack or a stroke.
Tissue samples were sent for biopsy to Canada, and we are awaiting the results.
But this did not prevent his funeral from taking place – a funerals in three parts!
First a welcome reception of the president’s friends during an unforgettable evening in the Gardens of the Karibe Convention Center, with Dr. Jean Joseph Molière as a host who, like “Ti René”, is a faithful of the band “Jazz des Jeunes.”
The band was present for this special evening, and played its beloved songs throughout the night, to a very appreciative audience.
The next day, Friday March 10th, was the viewing at the MUPANAH. The Gardens of the Museum for the Heroes lent themselves well to such a ceremony. It was the first time that this space was used in such a manner, and the artist Philippe Dodard was present to oversee all phases of its transformation which included a staging area where family and friends were seated while at the very bottom, a crypt with the president’s open casket allows friends and relatives to say goodbye.
On the third day, there was a religious ceremony, followed by a civil ceremony where the daughter of the deceased, Patricia Préval, gave a moving tribute to her father with a clear and firm voice.
The Preval clan, including relatives and friends from everywhere then set off to Marmalade, the president’s hometown, where he was eventually buried.
The four-hour funeral procession through mountains and hills went smoothly. On both sides of the road, along the cities of Saintard, Arcahaie, St. Marc, Pont Sondé, l‘Estère, Gonaïves, Passe Reine, people stood by to pay their respect one last time to their beloved leader.
Upon the arrival in Marmalade, among beautiful bamboo decorations, the president was finally put to rest.
Three gunshots marked his departure for eternity.
To address one of his last concerns, Preval had 250 copies of the book “Haïti Déforesté, Paysages Remodelés” by Alex Bellande reprinted recently, at his own expense.
It is as if it is the will and testament that he wanted to leave to the nation.
What if we reached a peace accord with one another in order to first read this book, and later apply its recommendations? We have a country which could have a rich agricultural production. But first someone would have to take the lead. Someone who would be close to the peasant sector and who would have the means to start the relaunching of our agricultural production.
Isn’t it worth it?
We could stop ordering all kinds of foreign agricultural products which crowd our supermarket shelves. These products, which come from abroad, would then be taxed accordingly to protect our own agricultural production.
The deceased president could have done this, but he didn’t. Perhaps, from the grave, is he asking to relaunch this effort?
Isn’t it worth trying?
A country cannot survive by continually seeing its children in search of a better life elsewhere. What if we all pitched in, and created opportunities for them to stay home in their own country? Elsie Etheart (Haiti en Marche)
Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada on the death of René Préval, former President of Haiti
Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada on the death of René Préval, former President of Haiti
Ottawa, Ontario
March 4, 2017
The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement on the death of René Préval, former President of Haiti:
“It is with sadness that I learned of the death of René Préval, a two-term president of Haiti.
“Mr. Préval was first elected as President in 1996. He left office in 2001, becoming Haiti’s first elected president to serve a full term, before returning to the presidency for another full term in 2006.
“Canada will remember his commitment to democracy as we continue to support Haiti’s development, and work with the Haitian people to address the economic and humanitarian challenges facing their country.
“On behalf of the Government of Canada, Sophie and I offer our condolences to Mr. Préval’s family and friends, and to the Haitian people.”
Congresswoman Wilson On The Passing of Former Haitian President René Préval
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson issued the following statement on the passing of former President René Préval:
“I was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Haiti’s former President René Préval on Friday, March 3, 2017. My constituents, especially members of District 24’s Haitian community, join me in sending our heartfelt condolences to his family and to the people of Haiti who are mourning his loss. President Préval will be best remembered for having achieved what no other Haitian leader has thus far, and that is to serve a full term and then transfer power to an elected successor. Moreover, he did so not once, but twice. Before a devastating earthquake struck Haiti in 2010, the year before the end of his second term, the nation’s political environment was stable and its economy was growing at the second-fastest rate in the hemisphere. Both improvements were thanks to President Préval’s leadership. May he rest in peace.”
After lengthy mission, UN peacekeeper pullout looms in Haiti
- By DAVID MCFADDEN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
A few dozen Brazilian troops wearing the blue helmets of the U.N. military force stroll through a dense warren of shacks in Haiti's most notorious slum, facing no greater threat than a few barking dogs along some of the same streets where pitched gunbattles between gangs and peacekeepers used to be a daily occurrence.
Years of easygoing patrols like the one on this recent afternoon in the steamy seaside district of Cite Soleil is a clear sign to many both in Haiti and around the world that it's time to wrap up a U.N. force that has been cycling through this Caribbean country since a 2004 rebellion engulfed Haiti in violence.
"We have a secure and stable environment," Col. Luis Antonio Ferreira Marques Ramos, deputy commander of the Brazilian peacekeeper contingent, told The Associated Press. "The important thing is to leave in a good way."
With a steady downsizing of Haiti peacekeeping operations in recent years and the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump pushing for cutbacks, the U.N. is looking at sending home 2,358 soldiers from 19 contributing countries, perhaps within months. U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said during a recent trip to Haiti that the military component "is likely to disappear in the relatively near future," though officials have not spoken publicly about the roughly 2,200 foreign police who accompany them.
Washington, the Haiti mission's main check-writer, is also applying pressure as it reviews all 16 U.N. peacekeeping missions. A diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because the conversations were private, has told the AP that the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, has spoken about winding up the Haiti peacekeeping operation, which is known by its French acronym, MINUSTAH.
"MINUSTAH in Haiti is a very good example of a mission that has basically done its job. So we'll be very happy for that one to close down," Britain's U.N. ambassador, Matthew Rycroft, said at a news conference at the world body's headquarters in New York.
The U.N. Security Council is expected to decide on a reconfiguration of the $346 million-a-year U.N. mission in mid-April after reviewing Ladsous' recommendations.
Still, sending troops packing does not mean the end of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti.
Operations such as UNICEF and the World Food Program also would remain. And analysts say officials are considering keeping the civilian staff in place along with a U.N. police component to continue building up and training the Haitian National Police.
"This would be unprecedented in U.N. peacekeeping history. Normally, police only serve in peacekeeping missions with military support and backup. But it's a creative option to reduce the mission's size and cost as MINUSTAH gradually works toward a full exit," said Aditi Gorur, who researches peacekeeping issues as a director of the Washington-based Stimson Center think tank.
The U.N.'s first-ever "stabilization" mission came to Haiti in 2004 following a rebellion that ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and had the chronically troubled country on the brink of collapse. There were daily deadly clashes among gangs loyal to Aristide's faction, rebels and ex-soldiers, and rogue police. A wave of killings and kidnappings followed, aimed at destabilizing a U.S.-backed interim government.
For years, uniformed U.N. troops provided the only real security.
But these days, Haiti's police do most of the heavy lifting and the mood has changed. It took U.N. peacekeepers three years to gain control over the sprawling district of Cite Soleil, but it's now placid even though its residents still live in desperate poverty.
AP journalists recently joined a few dozen U.N. peacekeepers and four Haitian police officers on an uneventful foot patrol and checkpoint duty in a Cite Soleil neighborhood once controlled by gangs.
"The job was well done!" Brazilian Capt. Leandro Vieira Barboza told the Haitian officers during a pep talk following the joint patrol. "I'm sure after the mission ends your good work will continue."
Amid relative stability, Haitian lawmakers argue it is time for Haiti to finally manage all of its own security affairs.
"The government needs to negotiate MINUSTAH's departure as soon as possible," said Sen. Patrice Dumont, who represents the West department, which contains about 40 percent of Haiti's electorate.
President Jovenel Moise and legislative leaders say the vastly improved police force is not enough. They want a real military to replace the army that was abolished in 1995 after a long history of coups and human rights abuses. They say a reconstituted army would create jobs, protect borders and assist during natural disasters.
With coffers so depleted that many public workers aren't getting paid, creating a new military would require sustained international support, said Jake Johnston, a researcher for the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington.
But Kenneth Merten, the U.S. State Department's special coordinator for Haiti, said that "it would be difficult to imagine U.S. financial support for recreating the Haitian military."
On a recent day in Cite Soleil, home to over 400,000 people, a group of men sat in the shade and gazed at Brazilian soldiers stopping motorists at a checkpoint. They broke into laughter when asked about their political leaders' military ambitions. Weeks before leaving office in February 2016, then-President Michel Martelly passed a decree to reinstate the army, but a real one doesn't exist.
"Where are they going to get money to pay them? How do you think hungry Haitian soldiers are going to act?" said Jonas Nicolas, a baker who is old enough to remember military-sponsored deaths squads. "No, I like the U.N. guys with our police."
Other Haitians, however, see U.N. peacekeepers as an occupying force. "I don't like seeing foreigners with guns driving around my country," said Jean Acao, who sells snacks from a roadside perch.
The peacekeepers' tenure has been rocky. They have earned praise for boosting security, paving the way to elections and providing crucial support after disasters, particularly the devastating 2010 earthquake. But some troops have also been accused of excessive force, rape and abandoning babies they fathered.
They will undoubtedly be remembered most for inadvertently introducing recent history's deadliest cholera outbreak because of inadequate sanitation at a base used by Nepalese peacekeepers.
Some Haitians are bitter the lengthy peacekeeping experience hasn't met their expectations regardless of the fact that building up institutions and stabilizing fragile countries like Haiti can take a long time.
"Shouldn't Haiti be better after all these years of MINUSTAH and international support?" caterer Stevenson Belizaire asked as he walked past a trash-clogged canal.
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Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
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- Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti
Justice: Michel Martelly will receive a subpoena…
Reached on the phone by HPN, André Michel, Jean Nazaire Thidé’s attorney, who recently warned Michel Joseph Martelly and asked him to publicly apologize for the obscenities he uttered during the Les Cayes Carnival, confirmed that the former president would receive a subpoena to appear in criminal court for offenses against public decency.
Michel Martelly, who had received a warning, seems to despise Jean Nazaire Thidé and his lawyer André Michel. It is what led to this new accusation against the singer of the group Sweet Micky last Friday.
According to Patrick Pierre Louis, any attempt by Michel Joseph Martelly to ignore this warning would be pursued legally as a violation of public decency and public modesty according to provisions of Articles 281 and 283 of the Penal code.
The former Haitian president, Michel Joseph Martelly, risks three years of prison, a 10-year ban from public performances for himself and his group Sweet Micky, and getting assigned to a psychiatric center after he is released from prison, learned HPN.
Nevertheless, it remains to be seen whether the former president, following the example of Jean Bertrand Aristide who keeps avoiding justice, will appear in criminal court, indicated André Michel. HPN
Justice: Secretary Camille Edouard on Guy Philippe's arrest
Guy Philippe was not covered by any immunity during his arrest, announced outgoing Minister of Justice Camille Junior Edouard. He assured that he did everything his predecessors before him had done, within the framework of the agreements between Haiti and the USA.
"I was only obeying the prescribed agreements and the conventions linking both countries," said the leader of the MJSP, who added having a clear conscience.
Within the framework of a conference given last Friday, Edouard said that while he recognized the right of the Members of Parliament to adopt resolutions, he denounced the hypocrisy of some regarding this case.
The elected senator from Grand’Anse is not the first nor will he be the last whom the Americans will capture in such a manner, if the agreement remains current, said Edouard.
Guy Philippe's arrest and transfer to the United States on January 5th raised the indignation of many Haitian citizens. HPN
Port –Au-Prince Mayor grants a 72-hour extension to free the public roadway
In a press release, the municipal administration of Port-au-Prince said it will grant an extension of 72 hours to the occupants along the public roadway going from Oswald Durand Street up to the Portail of Leogâne.
This decision was taken within the framework of safeguarding the area neighboring Sylvio Cator Stadium, the School of Medicine and the School of Law, said the press release.
"Consequently, the following activities will be forbidden: the washing of vehicles, the street sales of drinks, food, furniture, the circulation of wheelbarrows and any other activities hampering daily life," specified the press release.
According to the press release, the municipal administration of Port-au-Prince will obtain the support of the Haitian National Police Force (PNH) to execute its plan. HPN
The release of nine individuals involved in the trafficking of 31 adolescents and young girls is denounced by several organizations
The National Committee Fighting Against Human Trafficking (CNLTP) and the Group supporting repatriates and refugees (GARR) denounced the release by the Public Prosecutor of Port-au-Prince of nine people allegedly implicated in the trafficking of 31 adolescents and young girls in Haiti.
This trafficking network was dismantled in a hotel on February 6th, 2017.
These traffickers were interrogated along with the 31 adolescents and young girls. Found in their possession were drugs, pornographic photos and videos.
Among the victims were 14 minors between the ages of 13 and 17.
These presumed traffickers were gradually released between February 15th and March 8th, 2017, indicated Ely Thelot, President of CNLTP and also Advisor to the Ministry of Social Affairs, during a press conference on Thursday, March 16th, 2017, which was attended by AlterPresse, the online news agency.
The case was closed without follow-up, and without reaching a judge's chambers, he chastised.
The public must rise up against this injustice, because Haiti was placed on a blacklist among countries which are deprived of international aide for development, asserted Jean Philipe Thomas, President of GARR, and also a member of CNLTP.
The Public Prosecutor did not inform CNLTP about the motive for the release of the "accused", indicated Thelot. He called upon the Commission for Social Affairs and Commission for Justice, Defense and Law and Order of the Parliament to launch an investigation to shed light on the case.
The charged "individuals" were identified on pornographic videos found in their possession, which demonstrates their full implication, he added.
The release of "the accused" with such ease, in spite of public opinion, demonstrated the extent of difficulty the fight against human trafficking is in Haiti, he explained.
This could damage the country’s image on the international level even more, he lamented.
In a press release, Garr condemned the behavior of the Haitian judicial authorities to have hesitated to enforce the law.
No assistance was given to any of the minor victims, nor were any of them granted the accompaniment of their parents, he criticized.
MARCH 17, 2017 6:44 PM
U.N. secretary general: Time for peacekeeping mission in Haiti to end
BY JACQUELINE CHARLES
It’s time for the United Nations’ 2,300 blue-helmet soldiers in Haiti to head home after 13 years, the head of the world body recommended in a report to the U.N. Security Council this week.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said that the peacekeeping operation in Haiti should close by Oct. 15. Guterres made the recommendation in a 37-page U.N. report obtained by the Miami Herald.
“The military component should undergo a staggered but complete withdrawal of the 2,370 personnel,” Guterres said of the U.N. Stabilization Mission in Haiti, which is more commonly known by its French acronym, MINUSTAH.
Guterres’ recommendation comes as President Donald Trump seeks to significantly cut the United States’ U.N. contribution with a particular focus on reductions in peacekeeping, environment and development. At the same time, the Trump administration is proposing to slash funding for the U.S. Agency for International Development, Haiti’s biggest donor.
As part of the phasing out of MINUSTAH after more than a decade in Haiti, Guterres is recommending that the $346 million mission “be extended for a final period of six months” after its current mandate expires on April 15. The U.N. Security Council is expected to debate Guterres’ recommendations — including the future role of the United Nations in Haiti — on April 11.
While Security Council members all agree on the draw-down, there is disagreement on the future of the U.N.’s presence in Haiti. Guterres is recommending that a smaller mission replace MINUSTAH to focus on police development and the country’s dysfunctional judiciary.
The move had been expected since last month, when U.N. Undersecretary General for Peacekeeping Operations Hervé Ladsous visited Haiti and told the Miami Herald that “the military component is not necessary anymore.”
Guterres agrees.
But the last time the U.N. attempted to transition out of Haiti, an armed revolt forced the deployment of more than 6,000 troops. This time, Guterres said, the proposed withdrawal should be “gradual” in order to give the Haiti National Police time to take responsibility for the country’s security.
“Such a strategy would reduce the possibility of a repetition of the failures of past transitions, such as the rapid decline of HNP capacity, impartiality and credibility following the closing of the U.N. peacekeeping operation in Haiti in March 2000 which led to the ensuing electoral crisis and large-scale public unrest,” Guterres said in the report.
Guterres said the new mission also would be mandated to help strengthen human rights in Haiti. It would still maintain a political section, while the number of civilian employees would be reduced by 50 percent. Meanwhile, the U.N. foreign police presence also would be reduced, deployed only to five regions to provide back-up to Haiti National Police.
Overall, the number of foreign police officers in Haiti would be reduced from 1,001 to 295. They would be charged with mentoring and offering strategic advice to senior-level Haiti National Police officers.
Foreign diplomats acknowledge that the Haiti police force has made great strides — it was key in the recent arrest of alleged drug trafficking fugitive Guy Philippe — but Guterres said it “has yet to build adequate capacity to address all instability threats inside the country, independently of an international uniformed presence and in line with human rights standards.”
Haiti’s “longstanding risks of instability caused by a combination of a culture of zero-sum politics, deep-rooted political polarization and mistrust, poor socio-economic and humanitarian conditions as well as weak rule of law institutions and serious human rights challenges,” suggests the need for continued support for the national police, Guterres said, especially in gang-ridden metropolitan Port-au-Prince, and in the southern and northern region where police presence remains low.
“Haiti is still in a delicate period of political transition, pending the formation of the new government and the definition of its governance priorities,” he said.
On Thursday, Haiti’s Senate approved the policy statement of recently designated Prime Minister Jack Lafontant. Lafontant, who lacks political experience and has made sweeping promises to turn around the country’s fortunes, still must get the approval of the Lower Chamber of Deputies. He and his cabinet are expected to go before the body on Monday.
The new government’s lack of political experience is not the only challenge facing Haiti, which has seen a steep decline in foreign aid dollars since its devastating Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake, and the suspension of some budgetary support from donors after a fraud-marred 2015 presidential election led to an interim government.
Guterres noted that the U.N. has struggled to raise money for humanitarian assistance for Haiti after it was slammed by Hurricane Matthew in October, and to address the cholera epidemic. A March 6 letter sent to U.N. member states asking how much they intended to contribute to a $400 million Haiti cholera eradication plan has received lukewarm responses.
“As the United Nations gradually and responsibly draws down its presence, I encourage international partners and individual member states to also review the support they provide to Haiti to minimize the risk of jeopardizing the gains so far achieved,” Guterres said.
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- Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti
The President of Chile was scheduled to arrive in Haiti on Monday, March 27th
The President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet was expected in Haiti on Monday, March 27th.
This official visit will be the first one by a head of state with President Jovenel Moïse and it will take place within the framework of an 80-year relationship between both countries.
During her visit, the Chilean President also intended to confirm the departure of Chilean troops that are part of the MINUSTAH (UN peacekeeping mission). Yet she also planned to reaffirm Chile’s commitment to work for social and economic development in Haiti, thanks to its contributions in various domains.
On the itinerary, President Bachelet was scheduled to meet with Chilean troops based in Cap-Haitian and in Port-au-Prince, as well as tour the National School of the Republic of Chile, which was completely rebuilt after the earthquake of January 12th, 2010, thanks to Chilean cooperation.
Mrs Bachelet was also to meet with Sandra Honoré, Special Representative of the United Nations General Secretary and Head of the MINUSTAH, in the context of coordinating the withdrawal of Chilean troops planned for April 15th.
Before leaving, President Michelle Bachelet was also to sign a bilateral agreement related to education.
THE ‘SIMAN LAKAY’ PROJECT RESURFACES
It has been a long time since anyone has heard about this project, which consists of the construction of a cement factory in the City of Gonaïves.
The cement plant "Siman Lakay" with a capacity of close to 2 million tons of cement a year, will be built by Belgian firms TSE and TPF Engineering. They will invest U.S. $300 million and will fill a big portion of Haiti’s cement need, estimated at 4.5 million tons annually. This factory should create more than 2,200 jobs on the main production site (workers, staff, and various executives with different expertise). They will benefit from continuous training.
After a long silence, Artibonite Senator Carl Murat Cantave restored hope to residents of Gonaïves by sharing that he recently attended meeting at the National Palace where a representative of the Belgian firm (TSE) was present. He stated that the Belgian company would present a calendar of execution for this vast project in a few days.
TWO BANDITS ON THE RUN WERE ARRESTED IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Last Saturday, following a request by the Head office of the Criminal Investigation Department (DCPJ), and within the framework of a special mission, the Dominican police, accompanied with agents from the Haitian National Police force (PNH), led an operation during which two Haitian nationals were arrested. The two are suspected of kidnappings in Haiti, and have been wanted for some time.
During this operation, Edner Comé, a former police officer also known as Jackson Travelino, the second in command of the gang managed by Clifford H. Brandt, was arrested, after several years on the run. He had taken refuge in the Dominican Republic, very probably after Clifford Brandt's arrest, and had been wanted since 2012.
A second individual was also arrested. He is believed to be Gérald François, a member of the Gang Galil, which has been implicated in at least 17 kidnappings.
These two criminals should be transferred to Haiti soon, in order to appear before the courts of their country.
Author Celebration
Caribbean Studies Association 42th Annual Conference,
Nassau, Bahamas, June 5-10, 2017
Members of the Caribbean Studies Association (CSA) who have published books during 2016 and 2017, and who will attend the 2017 conference, are invited to participate in the Author Celebrations. A highlight of the annual conference, the Author Celebrations are a series of short events held throughout the week of the conference that will not only celebrate our colleagues’ publishing achievements, but ensure maximum publicity for individual authors. The sessions will comprise of brief introductions of each book followed by open discussions with the authors.
Do make note of the following guidelines:
- Authors must be present at the conference, and books must be presented by a colleague; authors cannot introduce their own books.
- Presenters will be allotted 3 minutes to introduce each book.
- Authors are encouraged to bring copies of their books for display or sale during their respective sessions. We also ask authors to bring one copy of their book for the CSA Executive Board to donate to a local library at the end of the conference.
To submit a work for inclusion in the sessions, please send us your name, affiliation, book title, a scanned image of the front cover of your book, the publisher and publication date, and the name and contact information of the colleague who has agreed to introduce your book.
The information provided by the authors will be printed in the conference program once we have confirmed with the author and presenter. [Any changes to the information should be communicated as soon as possible. Authors who cannot be present at the conference should inform us so that we can remove their names from the program. In addition, if the chosen presenter is unable to attend, please choose another presenter and inform us in time to change the program.]
Submissions must include the following and be submitted via the CSA website by April 21, 2017:
https://www.eventsforce.net/csa/frontend/reg/tAbsSubmitterLogin.csp?pageID=4931&eventID=6&eventID=6
Kamille Gentles-Peart, Roger Williams University
Karen Flynn, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Sheri Lewis, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
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UNITED NATIONS |
NATIONS UNIES |
Ref: PIO/CG-PR 04/2017
PRESS RELEASE
The “Core Group: welcomes the assumption of office of the new Government
Port-au-Prince, 22 March 2017- The Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the other members of the “Core Group” (the Ambassadors of Brazil, Canada, France, Spain, United States of America, the European Union and the Special Representative of the Organization of American States) welcome the confirmation by Parliament of the government programme and Cabinet of Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant and the assumption of office of the new Government.
In congratulating the Prime Minister and Government, the “Core Group” looks forward to working closely with them and with all elected officials as they address the most pressing challenges facing the country. The “Core Group” reiterates its full support to the consolidation of stability, democracy, including the rule of law and development in Haiti.
MORE THAN A HUNDRED HAITIANS HAVE TAKEN REFUGE IN A CAVE SINCE HURRICANE MATTHEW
The organization "Food For The Poor Haiti" informed that since the passage of the Hurricane Matthew, more than a hundred Haitians (men, women and children) have survive in a cave situated in Fond Rouge. These victims of Matthew lost everything and are left to their own devices, in what they call "the hole"
Jean Berlin Depeine who has assumed the role of ‘leader’ for these stricken families, explained with a lot of sadness that they do not know what to do anymore to survive. Living for the most part of agriculture, the hurricane destroyed all of their harvests, flooded their gardens and destroyed their houses.
He explained that families have been able to eat for 6 months, thanks foods donations made by two ministers, because they do not have any other assistance, nor do they have a way to get out of this terrible situation, in which the Government seems to have abandoned them...
Grand’Anse is within an inch of an alert famine …
Le Nouveliste - Some people say that it is already a reality in the mountainous regions of Grand’Anse. For this department, which made up at least 25 % of agricultural production of Haiti before the hurricane Matthew, the famine alert could be launched at any time.
Silence is not option for this community. More than five months after this disaster, "We are not far from an alert because of famine in Grand’Anse," said Monode Joseph, the president of the Chamber of commerce and industry of Grand’Anse. People are hungry. Plots of land blocked by tree trunks are not cultivated. In cities, like Jérémie for example, we observe an increase in population.
The exodus of victims in the rural sections has intensified, explained Joseph. He believes that an intervention is needed to allow the inhabitants of department to survive. "In conjunction with the emergency food aid, efforts are needed to clear fields, distribute seeds of pea, corn, tomato, of kalalou. Plowing tools are needed, as are farming tractors.” In the next four months we want to reduce the dependence of the victims, explained Joseph Monod.
The head of the Roman Catholic Church in the department is not less worried. "There is a very big food precariousness in Grand”Anze," announced the bishop of Jérémie, Joseph Gontrand Décoste.
After Bringing Cholera to Haiti, U.N. Can’t Raise Money to Fight It
By RICK GLADSTONEMARCH 19, 2017
A clinic in Rendel, Haiti, was overflowing with cholera patients in October. The disease has killed nearly 10,000 people in Haiti since it was introduced there in 2010 by a United Nations peacekeeping force.
When the leader of the United Nations apologized to Haitians for the cholera epidemic that has ravaged their country for more than six years — caused by infected peacekeepers sent to protect them — he proclaimed a “moral responsibility” to make things right.
The apology, announced in December along with a $400 million strategy to combat the epidemic and “provide material assistance and support” for victims, amounted to a rare public act of contrition by the United Nations. Under its secretary general at the time, Ban Ki-moon, the organization had resisted any acceptance of blame for the epidemic, one of the worst cholera outbreaks in modern times.
Since then, however, the United Nations’ strategy to fight the epidemic, which it calls the “New Approach,” has failed to gain traction. A trust fund created to help finance the strategy has only about $2 million, according to the latest data on its website. Just six of the 193 member states — Britain, Chile, France, India, Liechtenstein and South Korea — have donated.
Other countries have provided additional sources of anti-cholera funding for Haiti outside the trust fund, most notably Canada, at about $4.6 million, and Japan, at $2.6 million, according to the United Nations. Nonetheless, the totals received are a fraction of what Mr. Ban envisioned.
In a letter sent to member states last month, Mr. Ban’s successor, António Guterres, asked for financial commitments to the trust fund by March 6. He also appeared to raise the possibility of a mandatory dues assessment if there were no significant pledges.
The deadline came and went without much response.
Mr. Guterres has not stated publicly whether he intends to push for a mandatory assessment in the budget negotiations now underway at the United Nations. Privately, however, diplomats and United Nations officials said he had shelved the idea, partly because of strong resistance by some powerful members, including the United States.
Diplomats said part of the problem could be traced to simple donor fatigue, as well as to many countries’ reluctance to make financial commitments without certainty that the money will be used effectively.
The donor challenge was acknowledged by Dr. David Nabarro, a United Nations special adviser who rose to prominence running its mobilization to fight the Ebola crisis in West Africa, and who has been leading its fund-raising efforts for Haiti as he seeks to become the next director general of the World Health Organization.
“Donors will respond, but they need to be convinced that they’re going to be given a good proposition for what’s done with their money,” he said in January at the World Economic Forum. “The Haiti cholera story is not actually a very good one, in that it’s taken us a rather long time to get on top of it, and still the problem is persisting.”
The fund-raising effort has been further complicated by the Trump administration’s intention to cut spending on foreign aid. The United States, historically a leading source of Haiti’s foreign aid, is also the biggest single financing source for the United Nations, which may now confront painful choices over how to allocate reduced revenue.
Ross Mountain, a veteran United Nations aid official who is its senior adviser on cholera in Haiti, said that a number of ideas concerning the financing were under discussion. And, he said, while “$400 million is not a very large sum, considering the circumstances, we are all very aware about the competing demands.”
Mr. Mountain also conceded that “on the financial side, we have not moved further ahead.”
Mr. Trump’s new United Nations ambassador, Nikki R. Haley, who has called the cholera crisis “nothing short of devastating,” did not respond to requests for comment about the funding problem. But in her Senate confirmation testimony in January, Ms. Haley said, “We’re going to have to make this right with Haiti, without question, and the U.N. is going to have to take responsibility.”
Cholera, a waterborne bacterial scourge that can cause acute diarrhea and fatal dehydration if not treated quickly, has killed nearly 10,000 people and sickened nearly 800,000 in Haiti, the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country, since it was introduced there in 2010 by infected Nepalese members of a United Nations peacekeeping force. This year, as of late February, nearly 2,000 new cases had been reported, amounting to hundreds a week.
Studies have traced the highly contagious disease to sloppy sanitation that had leached fecal waste laced with cholera germs from latrines used by the Nepalese peacekeepers into the water supply.
“We still have the biggest outbreak of cholera of any country anywhere,” said Dr. Louise Ivers, a senior policy adviser at Partners in Health, an international medical aid organization that has long worked in Haiti. “Here we are, nearly seven years later, and it’s still a big problem.”
Compared with other disasters confronting the United Nations, like the Syria refugee crisis and famines threatening 20 million people in Yemen and parts of Africa, the Haiti crisis may not loom as large. But unlike the others, the direct cause in Haiti was traced to the United Nations.
This fact weighed on Mr. Ban until near the end of his tenure. He finally acted after the organization’s independent investigator on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, said in a scathing report that the United Nations’ failure to take responsibility for the cholera crisis was “morally unconscionable, legally indefensible and politically self-defeating.”
Understand the world with sharp insight and commentary on the major news stories of the week.
But Mr. Ban’s apology for Haiti’s cholera epidemic also clearly reflected an assumption that all members were responsible for the success of the new strategy to defeat it. “For the sake of the Haitian people, but also for the sake of the United Nations itself, we have a moral responsibility to act,” he told the General Assembly on Dec. 1. “And we have a collective responsibility to deliver.”
Advocacy groups that had been somewhat heartened by Mr. Ban’s words have grown increasingly anxious not only about the lack of money, but also about the lack of clarity in how the “material assistance and support” part of the plan, which represents half of the $400 million goal, will be used.
Two leading advocacy groups for Haitian cholera victims, the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux and the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, sent a letter on Thursday to Mr. Guterres, requesting a meeting and expressing concern that “the current trajectory of fund-raising and elaboration of the New Approach is betraying the U.N.’s promises of a meaningful and accountable response in Haiti.”
Lawmakers in the United States critical of the United Nations’ response in Haiti have also put pressure on the organization.
“While the U.N. has admitted to wrongdoing and promised to create a fund to provide restitution to the people of Haiti victimized by cholera,” Representative John Conyers Jr., Democrat of Michigan, said in a statement last week, “they have failed to make good on these promises.”
- Détails
- Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti
RARA: The Haitian Rara: a social-cultural and mystical manifestation
In Haiti, after the carnival period is over, it is the time of festivities called Rara.
Whether in Léogane, Paillant or other cities, residents overwhelmingly participate in the activities surrounding this popular event
To identify the roots of Haitian Rara, vaudou priest Lionel Dupont and sociologist Jean Marie Désire provided updates on the topic.
Rara festivities are celebrated during the Easter period. Thousands of Haitians attach great importance to this ritual. Jean Marie Désiré, public relations manager of the “Prix Flower,” a rara band in Léogane, explains that the phenomenon of the Haitian Rara originated in pre-Columbian times, but it developed more during the period of slavery, particularly in the context of the maroons.
At the time, it was a Rara without drums and bamboo but had a revolutionary impact, he said. This band consisted of maroon, then known as Chanpwèl, he said.
AMERICAS
U.N. Votes Unanimously to End Peacekeeping Mission in Haiti
UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously on Thursday to end its 13-year-long peacekeeping mission inHaiti, and replace its blue-helmeted soldiers with police officers.
The mission, often a source of embarrassment to the world body, landed inHaiti in 2004, after a rebellion led to the removal of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. It became arguably best known for introducing a deadly cholera strain to the country — and then refusing for years to take responsibility for it.
The cholera outbreak, which began in 2010, has killed at least 9,500 people so far and infected hundreds of thousands of Haitians. The United Nationsapologized last year and proposed to compensate affected Haitians, but hasyet to raise money for the effort. Of the $400 million that the United Nations says it needs, it has received $2.66 million, from only six countries — Britain, Chile, France, India, Liechtenstein and South Korea, according todata posted on its website.
The mission has also recently been troubled by allegations of sexual abuse. A sex ring, operated by Sri Lankan soldiers who were posted there from 2004 to 2007, exploited at least nine children, according to an internal United Nations report, The Associated Press reported this week.
The American ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki R. Haley, referred to the sexual abuse allegations in her brief remarks in the council chambers on Thursday. “The United States has made it clear to the U.N. and all troop-contributing countries that these abuses must stop,” she said.
She did not address the cholera outbreak, nor how the United Nations can compensate survivors.
The Haiti drawdown, which was recommended by the secretary general, António Guterres, comes amid pressure by President Trump’s administration to review each of the organization’s 16 peacekeeping missions. The United States is the United Nations’ largest financial contributor; it funds about 28 percent of the world body’s $7.87 billion budget, and Trump administration officials have said they want to bring that down to a maximum of 25 percent. The American contributionamounts to less than 0.1 percent of the federal budget.
In Haiti, the roughly 2,300 soldiers are scheduled to leave gradually by October. Seven United Nations police units will remain for an initial period of six months to train Haitian police officers.
The decision to close the Haiti mission represented a rare moment of unity on the Security Council, with the world powers agreeing that the country had reached a new level of stability.
Ms. Haley called the drawdown “a success story.”
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FIVE NOBEL PEACE PRIZES WINNERS LAUNCH AN URGENT CALL TO THE UNITED NATIONS, ASKING IT TO PAY ITS DEBT TO HAITI
On the eve of a meeting of the Security Council where the decision to end the MINUSTAH took place- a very criticized mission which has been in Haiti since 2004 - the five Nobel Peace prizes winners have appealed to the United Nations asking it to repair the wrongs caused in Haiti, which consist mainly of human rights violations committed by its troops.
Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Jody William, Rigoberta Manchu Tum, Shirin Ebadi and Betty William thus wrote to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to express their profound concern about the total lack of justice and the merits of the requests of the Haitian people demanding repair for the wrong caused to the victims of the MINUSTAH in some of its actions.
"Thousands of women and children were raped or exploited sexually, and several of them abandoned with children”, recalled those who signed the letter.
They also pointed to a report of the UN which recognized that CHOLERA was introduced into the country by MINUSTAH troops from Bangladesh. This caused the death of thousands of victims, perhaps even three times more than the official count of 9,483.
"It is urgent and essential that United Nations does everything to repair the damage it caused to the people of Haiti”, stated the Nobel prize-winners... The attitude of the MINUSTAH is inadmissible and does not correspond to the objectives set up by the Security Council.
They proposed that the situation be addressed and that certain rich countries participate in the creation of peace missions by granting financing which would be used to repair the wrongs caused and which would be paid to the country according to a quota corresponding to the damage caused in the country.
Even the General Secretary had denounced the absence of funds for programs proposed by the United Nations to compensate the victims, for the eradication of the cholera and for the completion of programs to install drinking water throughout the country. 80 % of the population of Haiti is deprived of drinking water. The costs could be covered by what was paid for operations of the MINUSTAH during the past 13 years.
The 5 Nobel Prize winners expressed their total agreement in the ending of the MINUSTAH’s mission, which in reality was only an extension of the hundred years of American occupation. Such is the opinion of organizations in Haiti, Latin America, the Caribbean and throughout the world
A final petition was handed to hundreds of entities of the United Nations and to South American governments such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay, who had sent the troops which constitute the MINUSTAH.
The letters also ask for reparations for the damages caused.
What Haiti needs is cooperation, not a guardian, and even less an occupation, concluded the Nobel Prize winners.
"The People of Haiti have the right for respect and support… in its struggle to assure its safety, its determination to enforce its rights, which also includes controlling its essential resources for its survival and welfare.
The credibility of United Nations is at stake, said those who signed the letter. First, for causing the disaster, then secondly,for denying any responsibility for it for six long years while the cholera epidemic raged throughout the country.
U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Visits PEPFAR Partner GHESKIO
on World Health Day
Port-au-Prince, April 7, 2017 – In recognition of World Health Day 2017, American Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Brian Shukan and members of the U.S. Government health team visited the GHESKIO National Institute of Laboratory and Research (INLR) in Port-au-Prince. GHESKIO (Groupe Haïtien d’Étude du Sarcome de Kaposi et des Infections Opportunistes/Haitian Group for the Study of Kaposi’s Sarcoma and Opportunistic Infections) has been a U.S. Government partner since 1983 and is one of the largest providers of TB/HIV diagnosis and treatment in the Americas. GHESKIO has received U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) funding since the beginning of the initiative in 2004, and is implemented by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Chargé Shukan was greeted by GHESKIO Deputy Director Dr. Marie Marcelle Deschamps who briefed the Chargé on GHESKIO’s history, the vast set of health and support services the organization provides, and the state of healthcare in Haiti. Chargé Shukan had the opportunity to tour several of GHESKIO’s PEPFAR-funded clinics to observe the innovative work the organization is undertaking.
With PEPFAR funding, GHESKIO provides life-saving antiretroviral treatment (ART) free of charge to more than 25,000 patients annually. During the site visit, Chargé Shukan toured GHESKIO’s ART clinic and learned about new approaches to improve patient care – such as multi-month scripting of ART and a “rapid pathway” intervention aimed at reducing patient wait times. At GHESKIO’s pediatric unit, the largest pediatric AIDS clinic in Haiti, Chargé Shukan met with Dr. Vanessa Rouzier to discuss how PEPFAR is supporting HIV exposed infants to receive HIV treatment and care for TB.
PEPFAR also works with GHESKIO to provide integrated services to victims of gender-based violence (GBV) and to identify and refer victims of GBV through a network of community health workers. Chargé Shukan met with representatives of the program to learn about the prevalence of GBV in Haiti and how PEPFAR is supporting GHESKIO to care for victims of violence. Chargé Shukan toured GHESKIO’s vocational school – a training workshop for victims of GBV designed to promote resiliency and economic independence – and spoke with participants in the program.
GHESKIO remains one of PEPFAR-Haiti’s longest-standing and highest-performing partners. Chargé Shukan commended the GHESKIO staff on their tireless efforts to deliver quality services to the people of Haiti noting that “GHESKIO has shown its profound dedication by providing outstanding health services for over 35 years. It is impressive to see such a comprehensive program that responds to the service delivery needs of the community.”
Approximately 58,000 Haitian migrants in the US who have been protected by the Temporary Protection Status (TPS) are now under the threat of deportation, according to GARR.
Tens of thousands of Haitians living in the United States are afraid that the Temporary Protection Status (TPS) from which they had benefited under the Obama administration may not be renewed. This status allowed them to become established in the US following the earthquake of January 12th, 2010. It expires on July 22nd, 2017.