Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 23 décembre 2014

Haiti gets more IMF money

WASHINGTON (CMC) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it has approved US$2.4 million for Haiti after the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country successfully completed its final review of the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) programme.

The IMF said the new disbursement brings to US$60 million the amount of funds provided to Haiti under the facility that was first approved in July this year.

Haiti: IDB Grants $36 Million for Haitian Tourism Development

Haiti’s burgeoning tourism industry received a significant boost this week via approval of a $36 million grant from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The grant will support initiatives to “foster tourism around Haitian historic, cultural and natural resources” on the country’s southern coast, said IDB officials in a statement.

The grant will also create tourism employment for Haiti’s low-income residents, said officials. “Given its inviting beaches, rich tropical landscape, unique cultural history as the world’s first black republic, and its proximity to the United States, Haiti has much to offer tourists,” said IDB.

“But they’re not likely to flock there until they perceive the environment is clean, excursion leaders are well-trained and equipped with safe equipment and vessels, and security is not a concern.”

The grant will enable Haiti’s government to implement “a well-planned tourism program featuring a combination of infrastructure development, job training and government capacity building,” officials said.

Haiti faces well-documented economic challenges, notes IDB. “More than 80 percent of rural inhabitants scrape by as subsistence farmers and just 60 percent work in the formal job sector,” said officials. Moreover, the country struggles to “combat the effects of climate change and other natural disasters, environmental degradation from deforestation, overfishing, and improper disposal of solid waste,” said IDB.

As a result, environmental cleanup will account for 71 percent of grant expenditures, IDB officials. E grant will also fund rehabilitation of historic sites and construction of artisan markets and other cultural spaces.

In addition, 12 percent of grant funds will fund the training of hospitality, excursion, and entertainment workers and local tourism authority development.

While Haiti’s southern coast features potentially popular area including the beachfront towns of Port Salut and Aquin, these districts offer few hotels for contemporary leisure travelers , while some have beaches that are “heavily eroded,” according to IDB. The group estimates that only 10 percent of Haiti’s southern coast historic sites and protected areas offer adequate tourist facilities.

Meanwhile the ministry of tourism’s effort to rebuild Haiti’s leisure visitor arrivals is reporting some early success. Tourist arrivals Haiti increased 21.1 percent increase in 2014, according to the ministry’s third-quarter data.

The country has hosted 362,890 overnight visitors to date in 2014 versus 299,686 in 2013. The increased 2014 totals follow Haiti’s 20.3 percent arrivals increase in 2013. Haiti has also hosted 477,128 cruise passengers at its Labadee cruise port to date in 2014.

A government study reports most tourists spends an average of three days in Haiti and spend $160 per day. Overnight visitors contributed $174.2 million to Haiti’s economy.

New housing solution for Haiti’s seminarians

Tom Tracy

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti

Jean Moise Zetrenne still remembers that horrible afternoon in January of 2010 when life radically changed for the Catholic seminarians of Haiti, and in many ways is only just starting to improve.

“I was in a prayer moment in a philosophy class when the earth started to shake,” said Zetrenne,” now a third-year theology student studying for the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince.

“I didn't know what it was but we heard a lot of noise outside, and I didn’t have time to run outside so sat down in a chair; four of us were lost because there was a part of the seminary that fell down.”

Several other seminarians in Haiti, he said, were left amputees but have since gone on to priestly ordination.

In the week before Christmas, Zetrenne was among 140 other theology seminarians studying for the church in Haiti who -- along with another 140 minor seminarians at another location -- have for five years been living in ad hoc housing arrangements and in some cases emergency tents provided by U.S. donations.

The tent dormitories are now empty after a new two-story, yellow and lime-green building a forty minutes-drive out of the city of Port-au-Prince became the provisional campus for the Notre Dame Grand Seminary, the major seminary for the 140 seminarians studying for Haiti.

That building, originally constructed with the support of unrestricted parish collections within the Archdiocese of Miami in the months following the magnitude 7 earthquake, had been conceived as a medical clinic or possible guest/mission house for visiting U.S. volunteers.

Msgr. Jean Pierre, pastor of St. James Parish in North Miami, was instrumental in leading the local fundraising and had been frequently shuttled between Miami and Haiti following the earthquake. He envisioned a new mission center complex with a medical clinic in his native Haiti that would be a special outreach project of the Miami community.

Nationally, Catholics contributed some $100 million to the Haiti relief effort, with 70 percent of that designated for immediate humanitarian needs and in concert with Catholic Relief Services, while the rest ($30 million) was designated for church and pastoral needs -- a number which was even then was seen as a shortfall and unrealistic for church rebuilding in Haiti.

While the full and exact extent of the damage is not known, the Haitian government estimates 230,000 people were killed in the 2010 catastrophe, 300,000 were injured and 2 million were displaced.

Archbishop John Favalora, head of the archdiocese at that time, supported the idea that some $1 million of unrestricted funds and Miami parish collections after the quake would best be used for church reconstruction projects such as Msgr. Pierre’s proposed building; some of those funds allowed for smaller grants to each of the dioceses of Haiti.

But more recently the local church in Haiti saw another urgent need: for better seminarian housing which was has been a lingering problem. And so on Nov. 7 the theology students moved in to the new building, allowing younger philosophy students to abandon the dormitory tents and move into other housing structures at the minor seminary, itself a temporary situation.

At the Miami-funded campus, new mattresses, still in their wrappers, lined an upstairs hallway at the center, which features a chapel, dining room, kitchen ample classrooms, student and faculty residential space and a garden.

“We like it, because before we were in a difficult situation and I think now we will be able to study better, to sleep better and to become priests for the people of God,” Zetreene said of the new seminary space. “We thank everybody for this and we will pray for them.”

Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski came here to celebrate Mass in the chapel on Dec. 16, the final week before the Christmas holiday break, and to talk further with faculty and administration about how the new facility was serving the seminarians.

The Miami archbishop, who traveled with Trinitarian Father Juan Molina, director of the U.S. bishops’ Office for the Church in Latin America, said he was happy that a new building, which began as a Miami project but was finished with some $800,000 of local church funds, has found a good purpose.

“The building had not been designed to be a seminary but I think the hand of God was in whoever made that design because it fits the purpose of a seminary very well,” the archbishop said.

As the five-years anniversary of the Haiti earthquake approaches, Archbishop Wenski noted there is wide recognition in the church globally that new energy and focus need to be put back on the church infrastructural rebuilding efforts in Haiti. And that the overall funds have fallen short of the task.

To that ends the Vatican is sponsoring a one-day international conference in Rome Jan. 10 in concert with the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, the Vatican's office for distributing and encouraging Catholic charitable giving, and many of the key reconstruction international partners including key representatives of the U.S. bishops.

Michel Martelly played a role in the release of Alan Gross

The Miami Herald Jacqueline Charles

Haitian President Michel Martelly declined Wednesday to reveal details of his intervention with Cuban leader Raúl Castro on behalf of the United States for the release of USAID subcontractor Alan Gross.

But he said no one knew when he left Haiti with an adviser and his oldest son, Olivier, in early 2013 what he was up to. He had been asked to intervene by Florida Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, who thought his relationship with Cuba and the U.S. could be of use.

On Tuesday, Cuba released Gross and the U.S. and Cuba announced sweeping efforts toward normalizing relations that have been frozen for more than a half-century.

After Martelly discussed the Gross case with Cuban officials, Vice President Joe Biden later called to thank him on behalf of the United States, he said.

“Haiti is proud to have played a role in what happened today,” Martelly told the Miami Herald in an interview, preferring to give all the credit to Nelson. “It’s making it better for people on both sides.”

During his visits to Cuba, Martelly said he ‎saw how “heavy other investments were by other countries, and the United States, which is just 45 minutes away from Cuba, was losing opportunity in business investments.”

Martelly said he always spoke to people, whether it was presidents or ambassadors about bettering relations between Cuba and the U.S.

“I’m happy today that this was a success, and about the little role I was able to play,” he said.

The Cuban people, he said, “have definitely suffered from that embargo. We had an embargo for three years, and up to this day, we have not recovered.

“I wish for the embargo to be over for Cuba, and all I can do is wish success to both countries in having better relations.”

Martelly said in today’s global environment, it’s important for countries to accept differences, and to dialogue.

Health Minister Named as Haiti's New Interim Prime Minister

Haitian Health Minister Florence Duperval Guillaume was named interim prime minister on Sunday to replace Laurent Lamothe, who resigned a week ago following several weeks of protests.

The announcement is part of an effort to resolve a mounting political crisis over long-delayed elections. Under Haiti's constitution, Guillaume can hold the interim position for up to 30 days before a permanent choice is nominated for approval by parliament.

Lamothe was forced to resign after President Michel Martelly accepted the recommendations of a special commission appointed to defuse the crisis, including calling for the prime minister to go.

It also came after international warnings from the United States and the United Nations that the impoverished Caribbean nation was on the brink of political chaos again.

Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, is still recovering from an earthquake five years ago that levelled much of the capital, Port-au-Prince. In recent weeks, demonstrators in several cities have accused the government of corruption.

If elections are not held before Jan. 12, the fifth anniversary of the earthquake, parliament will shut down, leaving the country without a functioning government until presidential elections in late 2015.

A career health worker whose official title is minister of public health and population, she is seen as close to Haiti's First Lady Sophia Martelly, and has overseen efforts to rebuild the country's fragile medical services, including by starting new hospitals and handling a cholera epidemic and long-running HIV-AIDS treatment.

Named health minister in 2011, she is widely respected by international aid agencies. She previously was deputy chief of management science for Health in Haiti, an organization working with government and private groups across a wide range of medical problems.

She told a Harvard Kennedy School forum last year that her biggest challenge is reaching the 40 percent of Haitians not covered by basic health care, according to the official Harvard Gazette.

Martelly still has to find a permanent replacement for prime minister, who must be approved by parliament before it expires. Former Interior Minister Jocelerme Privert, former Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive and current Finance Minister Marie-Carmelle Jean-Marie‎ are mentioned as possible candidates.

New York: a man shoots down two policemen then commits suicide

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A man shot down on Saturday two policemen in New York before committing suicide, announced the head of the city’s police department. A message left by the gunman on the Internet evoked an act of vengeance for the death of an unarmed black man during an incident this summer with the New York law enforcement.

The shooter, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, a 28-year-old black man, fired a semiautomatic pistol at both policemen as they sat in their patrol car in Brooklyn, said William Bratton, accompanied with Mayor Bill de Blasio, during a press conference.

He then rushed into a subway station, where he shot himself in the head.

The two deceased policemen were called Rafael Ramos, age 40, and Wenjian Liu, 32 years old.

Before going to Brooklyn, Ismaaiyl Brinsley had shot and seriously injured his girlfriend, in Baltimore, Maryland, said William Bratton.

American media showed a message broadcasted on Saturday on Instagram and emanating apparently from the suspect, who uttered insults against the police: "I give wings to the pigs today. They take one of ours (...) Let us take two of theirs."

This message is accompanied with hashtags evoking Eric Garner and Michael Brown, the two black men who died this year in incidents involving white policemen, the first one in New York, and the second to Ferguson in the Missouri.

In both cases, Grand Juries decided not to charge the policemen.

These decisions provoked demonstrations in New York and in other cities of the United States to denounce the treatment of Blacks by the police and the apparent impunity enjoyed by law enforcement.

Suspended North Miami Mayor Convicted Of Mortgage Fraud

December 16, 2014

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A jury has convicted suspended North Miami Mayor Lucie Tondreau guilty on all counts of federal mortgage fraud.

Prosecutors say Tondreau and others conspired before she became mayor to defraud lenders using straw buyers, who obtained inflated loans for 20 properties. The scheme allegedly involved recruiting buyers through a radio program catering to Haitian-American listeners.

Tondreau’s business partner, Karl Oreste, previously pleaded guilty in the case.

Tondreau faces up to 30 years in prison during sentencing which is set for March 20th.

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 31 décembre 2014

 VOA Voice of America

Haiti’s First Family Under Corruption Probe Cloud

Jeffrey Young

December 22, 2014 8:54 AM

Haiti’s first family is spending this end of year holiday season under a legal cloud.

The streets of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, and other cities have been mobbed with protestors demanding Haitian President Michel Martelly’s resignation.

The Haitian Court of Justice on December 16 decreed that a corruption investigation focused on the president’s son Olivier, and the First Lady Sophia, could proceed.  The two are accused of crimes including abuse of authority, money laundering, and squandering public funds. Sophia and Olivier have steadfastly asserted their innocence.

No corruption related charges have been brought against Martelly.

Days before the Court of Justice decision, thousands of Haitians marched in angry protests against Martelly and his government. They did the same in November. In the face of public rage, Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe resigned.

While analysts say much of the anger stems from Martelly’s foot-dragging on his longstanding promise of elections, there is also considerable popular discontent with what is called Haiti’s “culture of corruption”.

The head of the Heritage Foundation for Haiti, Marilyn Allien, is closely watching the Martelly investigation and other corruption developments. Her organization is a branch of the global better-governance group Transparency International.

“The president’s wife and the president’s son should not be managing state funds, regardless of whether they are managing them honestly or dishonestly,” Allien told VOA. “It is not their role to do that. It creates the perception that there is corruption and fraud going on.”

Transparency International ranks Haiti eighth from the bottom out of 175 countries surveyed in its 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index. Haiti shares that low rung on the ladder with Yemen, Guinea-Bissau, Angola, and Venezuela.

The accusations against the first lady and the president’s son notwithstanding, Haiti’s Transparency International chief says Martelly appears to be “clean.”

“We have never received a complaint pertaining to acts committed by the president,” she said.

But Martelly’s political opponents are taking aim at Martelly.

Haitian Senator Moise Jean-Charles told the web publication “Haiti Liberte” that “President Martelly had the governor of the central bank give him five bulletproof cars, which cost the Haitian state $2.5 million.”

Jean-Charles said the bank governor also purchased 60 Toyota SUVs “for [Martelly’s] children, for his wife, and for people living with him. These,” Senator Jean-Charles said, “are the type of costs being incurred by President Martelly, the president of the poorest nation on the continent.”

Haiti has an official anti-corruption unit, known by its French initials, ULCC. Last June, new anti-corruption legislation, championed by the ULCC, was signed into law by Martelly. The measures were also supported and promoted by Allien’s Heritage Foundation.

But Allien said the work of the ULCC is hampered by several factors.

 “The cases stay there, dormant, for months and months – sometimes, for years,” she said. “The prosecutor’s office doesn’t move very rapidly.”

The good governance advocate says another factor hampering the fight against corruption is parliament’s inertia.

“The [anti-corruption] law that was recently voted on in May 2014 was a law that was drafted in 2008,” Allien said. “It is a law that we sorely needed, because it covers a number of practices that were not covered by previous legislation.”

As for why Haiti’s parliament took so long to enact this and other laws, Allien said “Too many of them [Haiti’s lawmakers] are too busy being involved in politics, and perceive their job as simply [one of] controlling the executive [branch, i.e., the president] and not doing the job for which they were elected, which is voting on laws.”

Allien said despite Haiti’s anti-corruption shortcomings and the slow pace of its institutions, at least the country allows watchdog groups such as Transparency International, and a similar group, the RNDDH – headed by Pierre Esperance – to operate freely.

“We are not harassed,” she told VOA. “We have a very good climate in which to work. “We do not feel [that we are] under attack.”

Editorial from “The Washington Post”

The Post's View

Without international help, Haiti faces a political meltdown

FROM TIME to time, Haiti’s chronic political dysfunction erupts in crisis and violence, compelling the international community to re-engage with an impoverished country it might prefer to disregard. Haiti is at just such a juncture right now. Policymakers in Washington and elsewhere should pay prompt attention, before the predictable calamity arrives.

The brewing crisis arises from a three-year-old political impasse between President Michel Martelly and legislators that has blocked parliamentary and municipal elections. An election date came and went, triggering mounting protests and street violence in recent weeks.

Now the clock is ticking toward what looks like a watershed. On Jan. 12 the terms of most members of parliament will expire. In the absence of a duly elected parliament, Mr. Martelly will be empowered to rule by decree, a dangerous scenario in a country with a history of autocracy and instability.

Some lawmakers in the politically fractured parliament think Mr. Martelly, elected in 2011, has been angling all along to establish a de facto dictatorship. In fact, parliament shares the blame. A group of six senators has blocked legislation to establish an electoral council on the grounds that its composition and rules would favor candidates loyal to the president. With no council in place, elections are off the table.

To his credit, Martelly tried to break the impasse this month by forcing the resignation of his prime minister and close political ally, Laurent Lamothe. Lamothe, a wealthy businessman, was widely seen as Martelly’s hand-picked successor for president; the hope was that his departure would clear the way for a compromise between the president and the opposition, leading to elections.

So far that hasn’t happened. If a vacuum develops, Martelly will be the last man standing; he says he’s prepared to lead by decree if no deal is struck leading to elections. Even the president’s moderate opponents say that would trigger a wave of violence.

Recognizing that the standoff has become dire, Secretary of State John F. Kerry has urged a negotiated settlement that would “open the door for elections to be scheduled as soon as possible.” Yet without more aggressive mediation by U.S., United Nations, French, Canadian and other diplomats, the chances of such a settlement are slim.

As it happens, the senators’ terms will expire and parliament will be dissolved on the fifth anniversary of the earthquake in 2010 that killed more than 100,000 Haitians. As Kerry pointed out, too much progress has been made since then toward rebuilding Haiti to risk extinguishing all hope amid renewed political violence.

To dismiss Haiti as a basket case or shrug off its troubles as insoluble is to forget a history that suggests that without outside help, the country can deteriorate into anarchy, at which point ignoring it is no longer an option.

Security in Haiti: A Concern for the International Community

In a letter sent to Deputy Jacques Stevenson Thimoléon, President of the Lower House, Paula Caldwell St-Onge, the Ambassadress of Canada in Haiti denounced the behavior of several members of Parliament last week, in particular Deputy Arnel Bélizaire, as well as the members of their security team, who circulated through town with illegal assault weapons.

In this letter, a copy of which was sent to Dieuseul Simon Desras, President of the Senate, the diplomat underlined "The respect which the Haitian population demonstrates to the National police force of Haiti (PNH) and the police authorities should be stressed by the actions of the Haitian elected officials. The carrying of assault weapons by Haitian elected officials during democratic demonstrations, sends an image which disturbs the international community ".

She also stated that "such provocative actions could also slow down the interest of investors, which would damage the economic development of Haiti. This lack of respect to the rule of law worries us. "

"We exhort you to do everything in your power to call in to order the members of Parliament who do not respect Haitian laws."

In her letter, Caldwell St-Onge insisted that during democratic demonstrations, there should be no security risks for the demonstrators, the authorities and especially the population.

Karine Condé Emeran Person of the Year 2014

A jury comprised of five people, supported by the Executive Committee to Discover Haiti, decided unanimously to award the "Prize to Discover Haiti, Personality of Year 2014 " to Karine Conde Eméran, Departmental Director of the Southern Ministry of Tourism and the Creative Industries (MTIC).

This award is to promote a positive image of Haiti, particularly in the Southern region and [to recognize] efforts in the professionalization of tourism-related businesses through the Institute of Hotel and Tourist Training (IFORHT), explained Jean Max Beauchamp, Coordinator General of Découvrir Haiti, adding that, "The decision to grant this prize to Karine Condé, aims at inspiring Haitians to work sincerely on the development of the country."

Karine Condé Eméran will be invited to Port-au-Prince the last week of January 2015 to receive her award at the official launch of "Tourism and Hospitality Fridays“ at the premises of the Higher Institute of Studies and Research in Social Sciences (ISERSS), formerly IERAH.

Recognizing that the other competitors had made important contributions during year 2014, Jean Max Beauchamp invited them to the award ceremony as well.

Turks and Caicos Islands: 65 Boat-people intercepted

The authorities of the Turks and Caicos Islands advised that they had arrested 65 Haitian migrants aboard a boat near the British territory of the Caribbean last Thursday. The officials declared in a press release last Friday that the migrants would be deported to Haiti. The arrests took place the same day that Bahamian authorities intercepted 112 migrants from Haiti.

The versatile player of the AS Mirebalais, Cliff Cantave took away the individual title of the golden ball G & G 2013 Athlete of the Haitian Association of Sports Press (ASHAPS).

Cantave, who was crowned champion of the 2013 season with the ASM, succeeded Montrévil Franzdy, guard of the Valencia, by winning, on Monday evening, at the annual official reception of ASHAPS, this honorary trophy.

The mid-fielder, Cliff Cantave, scored 5 goals during the 2013 season, including 4 in the play-offs and 1 in the cup against Baltimore. He played an important role in the acquisition of his team’s championship trophy for the 2013 season.

In spite of the absence of certain athletes and sports managers, the General Secretary of the ASHAPS, Légupeterson Alexandre, distributed the awards, now in their fourth year, that included5 trophies and 20 plaques honoring winners in the numerous categories.

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 14 janvier 2015

 Statement of the US Embassy in Haiti on the Political Impasse

The U.S. Government strongly supports the efforts by President Martelly to arrive at a global political consensus to resolve the political impasse in Haiti.  The U.S. Government notes with grave concern that despite the President's wide-ranging concessions, parliament has not voted an electoral law to allow for 2015 elections.  In the short time remaining before the constitutionally mandated end of the current parliament on January 12, we urge all parties to agree on a framework for parliamentary mandates, a new Provisional Electoral Council, passage of amendments to the electoral law, and the formation of a government of consensus.  The USG strongly urges the parties to find a solution which ensures continuity of Haiti's republican institutions in accordance with the Constitution.  However, if such a solution cannot be reached by January 12, the U.S. will continue to work with President Martelly and whatever legitimate Haitian government institutions remain to safeguard the significant gains we have achieved together since the January 12, 2010 earthquake.  The Haitian people have the right to elect their leaders, and in these circumstances the U.S. would expect the President to use his executive powers responsibly to organize inclusive, credible and transparent elections, in an expeditious manner.

UN Security Council heading to Haiti to press for elections

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council is heading to Haiti later this month with a message for President Michel Martelly: It's past time to urgently organize credible elections.

Chile's U.N. Ambassador Cristian Barros Melet, the current council president, told reporters Monday that elections must take place "in order to normalize the legislative process and the presidential process."

Haiti faces an uncertain political future in upcoming months, with Senatorial seats expiring on Jan. 12, exactly five years after a devastating earthquake struck the nation of 10 million people. If the election isn't held in the next week — which is virtually impossible — Martelly will rule by decree.

During the Security Council's Jan. 23-25 visit, Barros Melet said the unanimous message from the 15 members will be that "the priority of the president of Haiti should be to develop a credible electoral timetable — a timetable that is also feasible and can be implemented."

Martelly's administration was supposed to call elections in 2011 for 20 seats in the 30-member Senate, all 99 seats in the lower Chamber of Deputies and 140 municipal positions. He has blamed legislators for blocking a vote that would lead to approval of an electoral law.

Martelly, who is to leave office in 2016, could sign a decree allowing Haiti to hold elections in the first half of the year.

Barros Melet said the council will also be visiting the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti, which is being reduced from its current strength, which at the start of November stood at nearly 5,000 troops and 2,300 police.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

STATEMENT BY SECRETARY KERRY

January 9, 2015

Marking Five Years Since the 2010 Earthquake in Haiti

Haiti and the world mark on Monday five years since the devastating 2010 earthquake hit Haiti. On January 12, 2010, our close friend and neighbor suffered an unimaginable blow: The earthquake left an estimated 230,000 dead, 300,000 injured, countless homes and businesses leveled, and 1.5 million Haitians homeless. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their loved ones they left behind. 

After the tremors stopped, Haitians worked tirelessly to rebuild their nation. Their progress is remarkable.  Rubble no longer impedes reconstruction. The number of displaced persons in tent camps is down more than 90 percent. Basic health indicators are improving. More children are attending primary schools. New jobs are created every day. And Haiti has achieved positive economic growth for each of the past four years.

I’m proud that millions of Americans generously donated to Haiti’s relief, including Len and Cherylann Gengel – two Massachusetts natives who opened an orphanage in Grand Goave in honor of their daughter, Britney, who died in the earthquake. The United States Government, too, has worked closely with the Haitian government, NGOs, and the Haitian people to help make a difference. Over the past five years, the United States has made available $4 billion for relief and longer-term reconstruction efforts. That support ensured 70,000 Haitian farmers have higher crop yields and incomes; 328,000 displaced Haitians found alternative shelter; nearly half of all Haitians can access basic health services at a U.S. supported facility; 3,300 new police officers were trained and commissioned; and some 5,000 jobs to date were created at the Caracol Industrial Park. Despite this progress, much remains to be done. The years ahead will demand sustained international support for Haiti’s development.

But, first and foremost, Haiti’s success requires greater political stability. As the world reflects on this somber anniversary, I urge Haiti’s leaders to do what is right for their people’s future.  Only with increased stability, including the holding of free and fair elections, now overdue, can Haiti ensure the rights of its citizens and attract the foreign investment needed to create economic opportunity and reduce poverty. The example of President Martelly, who is working hard to make real compromises, is one to emulate.  I call on Haiti’s leaders to settle outstanding issues blocking the organization of parliamentary elections as soon as possible.

Today – just as we did five years ago – the United States stands firmly with the Haitian people in their efforts to forge a more prosperous, secure, and democratic future. Together we can achieve these goals, because, in the words of Haiti’s motto and coat of arms, l’union fait la force – unity makes strength.

Pope names new envoy to Haiti on 5th anniversary of devastating quake

Published January 10, 2015Associated Press

VATICAN CITY –  Pope Francis has named a new envoy to Haiti as he emphasized that much work still needs to be done to rebuild the country five years after the devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake.

The Vatican announced Saturday the appointment of Archbishop Eugene Martin Nugent as papal nuncio to Haiti. Nugent has been the church's nuncio to Madagascar, Mauritius and the Seychelles, as well as apostolic delegate in the nearby Comoros Islands.

The pope earlier addressed a meeting on Haiti organized by the pontifical commission for Latin America, expressing gratitude "to all those who in numerous ways came to the aid of the Haitian people" after the quake.

The pontiff noted that while much has been done to rebuild Haiti, "we cannot ignore the fact that much remains to be done."

Haiti 5 years after quake, still troubled

DAVID McFADDEN

Jan 10th 2015 12:26AMPORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) -- Before the earth shook and turned their lives upside down, Rosena Dordor was like millions of poor Haitians, living with her family in a cramped home with no running water or sanitation, struggling to get by and fearing the next rent increase would force them out.

Today, nearly five years after the devastating 7.0 earthquake, Dordor has a new place to live with her husband and five children: a one-room shack with a plastic tarp for a roof and walls made of scrap metal and salvaged wood. It's perched on a cactus- and scrub-covered hillside, a long walk from the nearest source of water, and meals are cooked over fire pits.

Life is still a struggle in Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, but Dordor's new settlement does offer a measure of freedom because there is no landlord for her family or for the tens of thousands of other homesteaders who rushed to stake a claim in arid hills after the government expropriated a barren zone of 18,500 acres (7,500 hectares) just north of Port-au-Prince following the Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake.

"We love this place because we have made it our home with our own hands and hearts," Dordor said on a recent morning while shucking castor beans for a hair product she sells to neighbors. The area was initially only meant to house those stuck in tent shelters considered most at risk for floods or landslides, but it is growing so fast that U.S. State Department officials say the settlement could soon be considered Haiti's second largest city.

The country's complicated housing problems are perhaps the biggest drag on an uneven recovery that has nonetheless improved the lives of many poor Haitians, who say they prefer their living situations now compared to before the quake.

The disaster prompted a huge influx of international assistance, with governments and aid groups arriving to offer both immediate help and long-term development. One of the worst natural disasters of modern times, the quake killed an estimated 300,000 people, damaged or destroyed more than 300,000 buildings in densely packed Port-au-Prince and largely obliterated the government, toppling nearly all ministry buildings. Prisons and police stations crumbled into ruins.

Officials repeatedly said they would be "building back better," and in many ways they have made progress toward that goal.

The two-lane highway running nearly 100 miles from Port-au-Prince to Gonaives is a smooth river of asphalt, not the bone-jarring, off-road experience it was before the quake. There's a new international airport in Cap-Haitien, and hundreds of new schools. Several new hotels have opened, including known brands such as Best Western for the first time in decades. Direct foreign investment in Haiti reached $250 million last year, up from $4 million in 2001, according to the government.

Today, work crews in downtown Port-au-Prince are raising frames for new government offices. The rubble of the national palace has been removed. The wrecked historic Iron Market was rebuilt by Haiti's biggest employer, mobile phone company Digicel. The grim camps and shantytowns that once sheltered some 1.5 million people now hold about 80,000, and the government says they will all be moved out by mid-2015. The police force is being professionalized while growing from about 8,000 officers to roughly 12,000.

Yet the recovery has been uneven at best, plagued by poor planning and accusations of graft. And a worsening political standoff is one sign that progress since the disaster is tenuous.

President Michel Martelly, a former pop star who took office in May 2011, has been embroiled in a stalemate with lawmakers over parliamentary elections, delayed for over three years. Many fear a failure to resolve the gridlock could plunge the country back into familiar chaos.

Critics, meanwhile, say the construction of new slums is not an answer to Haiti's many problems.

"If the international community wants to pat itself on the back for building new Haitian shantytowns, with the collusion of the Martelly government, fine. I don't see evidence of sustainable change for the better," Amy Wilentz, author of "Farewell, Fred Voodoo: A Letter from Haiti," and other works about the Caribbean nation, said via email.

Many poor Haitians say their lives have been complicated by a rising cost of living and lack of jobs, and they put the blame squarely on the government for failing to create opportunities.

"I love my country but it's still struggling thanks to our politicians," said Genyca Wilhelm, a former math teacher who hopes to find work by training to be a car mechanic. "Our international friends have been helping us, yes, but Haiti will always be Haiti. That is good news and bad news."

More than $12.4 billion in humanitarian and development aid and debt relief was pledged by more than 50 countries and international agencies, with at least 80 percent of that disbursed, according to the United Nations.

The U.S., the largest individual donor, provided $1.3 billion in humanitarian aid and committed an additional $2.7 billion for longer-term reconstruction and development, nearly two-thirds of which has been disbursed. American aid has been channeled toward rebuilding the infrastructure and economy, improving health care and law enforcement. It included developing an industrial park in northern Haiti as part of a strategy to encourage development outside Port-au-Prince.

Economic growth is what Haiti needs most, said Thomas C. Adams, the State Department's special coordinator for Haiti.

The economy has had modest growth since 2011 and if the country can keep that pace for 25 years or so, it could become a middle-income country like neighboring Dominican Republic, Adams said.

"Whether they can continue depends on whether they can maintain stability and attract foreign investment, because foreign aid by itself is not enough to fix everything in Haiti," he said.

Some Haitians dared to dream that the aid flowing in after the disaster would make their lives dramatically better. Etienne Edeva, who lives a short drive from Dordor's homestead in a planned area known as Camp Corail, now says it was unrealistic to expect so much change for troubled Haiti.

"We're living in darkness here, but miserable or not we're getting by and making the best of it," said Edeva, who runs a bakery out of her home.

On the sunbaked hillsides north of the capital, Haitians are taking care of things on their own even as the government asks for U.S. help in planning the growing towns. Though poor, Haitian families here remain hopeful and, happy with the bit of progress they've made, they have no desire to return to the Port-au-Prince slums where landlords kept jacking up rents.

Modest businesses have opened in the settlements: barber shops, food stalls, lottery shops, hardware stores selling rebar and wood. Small scrapwood churches and enterprising Voodoo priests bring in the faithful. The wealthiest homesteaders have graduated from homes of tarp and timber to cinderblock.

Outside her hillside shack, Dordor says she has no plans to live anywhere else

"It's either God or death that will move me from here," she said. "In the name of God, we will build a concrete house here someday."

With her children gathered around her, a gust of wind shook the tarp ceiling of their crudely made but cherished home.

Associated Press writer Ben Fox in Miami contributed to this report.

Haiti protesters rally to demand president's departure as political stalemate continues

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Protesters burned tires and threw rocks at police during the latest anti-government demonstration in Haiti's capital amid a bitter political stalemate over long-delayed elections.

The gathering of mostly young men reached a peak of about 1,500 Saturday as protesters called for the departure of President Michel Martelly.

Riot police fired tear gas and sprayed water from an armored vehicle, dispersing the crowd near where the National Palace stood before it collapsed in Haiti's 2010 earthquake.

There has been no letup in violent protests since last month's resignation of Martelly's prime minister and other concessions aimed at resolving the stalemate holding up legislative elections.

Haiti faces an uncertain political future in coming days with Senate seats expiring Monday. If a last-minute agreement isn't reached, Martelly will soon rule by decree.

There is no Ebola case in Haiti, says acting PM

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti (CMC) — Health officials have dismissed reports that a case of Ebola has been detected in the country.

On Saturday, Dr Florence D Guillaume, minister of public health, told the Haitian Caribbean News Network that the reports of an Ebola case being detected in the vicinity of Petite Riviere de l'Artibonite, in the northern region of the country were totally false.

"There are ill-intentioned people spreading such rumours," said Guillaume, the acting prime minister

According to Guillaume, the depoliticisation of the health sector was "an essential principle for the restoration of trust and confidence in the response to provide to individuals who require care and services for prevention, maintaining or the restoration of their health in case of illness".

The Ministry of Health has, meanwhile, called on the population "to remain calm and to respect all disclosed prevention regulations while making the duty, if any were needed, to reassure every one of the effectiveness of the vigilance system in place to reduce significantly the risk of contamination of our country".

Ebola is an infectious and generally fatal disease marked by fever and severe internal bleeding, spread through contact with infected body fluids.

There is no known cure for the Ebola virus which has killed more than 7,000 people, mainly in West Africa.

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 20 janvier 2015

 US Vice President’s Call with Haitian President Michel Martelly

The Vice President spoke today with Haitian President Michel Martelly, continuing their dialogue on the United States’ long-term support for Haiti’s reconstruction, development, and democratic progress. The Vice President commended President Martelly for his efforts to reach a negotiated agreement with the Haitian parliament and political parties to allow Haiti to hold elections. The Vice President recognized that President Martelly made several important concessions in order to reach consensus, and expressed disappointment that Haiti’s Parliament did not pass an electoral law before lapsing on January 12. The Vice President reiterated the support of the United States and the international community as President Martelly works to organize timely elections this year to permit Haitians to exercise their democratic right to choose their representatives. He also reaffirmed that the United States remains Haiti’s committed friend and partner and looks forward to deepening bilateral cooperation as President Martelly’s Administration works to build a more prosperous and secure future for the Haitian people.

Dominican Republic “seals” border on Haiti turmoil

Santo Domingo - Dominican Republic’s Defense Ministry has "sealed" the border on Haiti political instability, with heightened patrols by highly trained troops, ready to act against any adversity.

Haiti opposition groups on Wednesday (January, 14) called for civil disobedience, which further jeopardizes President Michel Martelly’s Administration.

The measure however doesn’t include additional troops, according to Border Security (CESFRONT) director Carlos Aguirre, who affirmed that there are enough soldiers to patrol and deal with any problems that could emerge in the heels of the call.

He did confirm constant patrols along the entire 370 kilometer border, which in his view has attracted the attention of many people.

The official said the implementation of ‘Operation Shield’ has halted the illegal entry of more than 15,000 Haitians or nearly 1,000 daily, just in the first two weeks of January.

Aguirre added that the forces deployed are well equipped to patrol the area and affirmed that precautions have been taken to avert any regretful situation at the border.

Every Haitian detained while trying to enter illegally is subjected to a thorough background check to determine their true identity and arrest Haitian fugitives, a Defense Ministry source told diariolibre.com.do.

Dominican Republic arrests prosecutors, 21 cops after 1 ton of seized cocaine disappears

SANTO DOMINGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC (AP) – A court in the Dominican Republic has ordered the arrest of three prosecutors and 21 police officers accused of not reporting drug seizures involving more than a ton of cocaine that has since disappeared.

Among those accused is the former director of an anti-narcotics unit, who is among the dozen of suspects that have been arrested. Authorities are still seeking to arrest the remainder.

"In one way or another they became drug traffickers," said General Prosecutor Francisco Domínguez. "This type of situation is unacceptable."

One of the three drug seizures occurred in September near Santo Domingo, where 950 kilograms (2,000 pounds) of cocaine were discovered but never turned over to authorities, he said.

Domínguez said he believes some of the drugs were sold, adding that some suspects have turned over the cash from the alleged transactions. Authorities are still investigating whether some of the drugs were returned as part of a bribe.

The investigation began in December after Police Chief Manuel Castro noticed the missing drugs.

The arrests are the latest in an ongoing crackdown on corruption in the Caribbean country's police force.

A 2011 Amnesty International report found that some 12,000 police officers were accused of corruption between 2007 and 2010. It is unclear how many of those cases were tied to drug trafficking.

Help could have been better

(THE ECONOMIST)

In future disasters the West should not treat the victims or the government like bystanders

FEW countries have suffered an earthquake so devastating, or have been less prepared for such a calamity. The quake that struck Haiti on January 12th 2010 killed perhaps 200,000 people—no one is sure how many—left 1.5 million homeless and caused economic damage equivalent to 120% of the country’s GDP. A cholera epidemic compounded the misery. These disasters called forth the biggest-ever outpouring of humanitarian relief, worth some $9.5 billion in the first three years after the quake. The well-wishers vowed, in the words of Bill Clinton, who helped co-ordinate their early efforts, to “build back better.” Yet five years later, the country is little better off than it was before the disaster—and in some ways it is worse.

The most visible devastation has largely been cleared away. Only about 85,000 people are still stuck under plastic in displacement camps. But many of the rest have moved to makeshift dwellings in slums without sanitation. Port-au-Prince, the overcrowded capital of an over-centralized country, is more jammed than ever. If another earthquake hits, the death toll might be even higher. Corruption, shoddy infrastructure and political instability discourage private investment, which Haiti desperately needs to bring down unemployment and raise its pitiful wages. A ferocious battle between the president, Michel Martelly, and the opposition came to a head on January 12th, when parliament’s mandate expired. This leaves Martelly free to govern by decree, which will do nothing to reassure Haitians or investors.

How did so many humanitarians bearing so much cash accomplish so little? The failure to “build back better” contains lessons for those who would rush to help when disaster strikes an impoverished country.

Haiti before the quake, though not quite a failed state, was a fragile one. A tortured history has stunted its institutions. It took a slave revolt and payment of crippling reparations to free Haiti from France. America marched in to enforce payment of debts in 1915 and did not fully withdraw until 32 years later. Many senior officials died in the quake that flattened the capital in 2010, further enfeebling the state.

But the rescuers did little to build up Haiti’s capacity to govern itself. Less than 10% of spending for relief and recovery went through government agencies. That is chiefly because many officials were corrupt and obstructive. The government demanded big fees to allow in medicines, vehicles and other relief supplies, for example. Local NGOs received even less. Foreign aid agencies set up a logistics compound where they held meetings in English. That helped them co-ordinate with one another but left Haitian organizations in the cold.

This spurning of Haiti’s institutions came at a high cost. Eager to impress donors at home, aid agencies built clinics, but the government was left without money to pay doctors and nurses. Foreign contractors saw far more of their money than did local businesses. The mistrust of officialdom was understandable, but experience in other poor countries shows that it is possible to funnel money through governments while strengthening their ability to monitor how it is spent.

It could have been better

“Non-traditional” donors such as Venezuela did not circumvent Haiti’s government. Some of the money from its PetroCaribe program, which lets participants buy oil with credit on subsidized terms and invest the profits from reselling it, was usefully spent on infrastructure. But this encouraged Haiti to accumulate debt. Should Venezuela, whose economy is suffering from the slump in oil prices, withdraw its subsidy, Haiti now risks disaster. The country needs grants, not more debt.

The progress from being a fragile state to becoming a functional one is inevitably slow. The World Bank reckons that even the fastest reformers require 15-30 years to move from Haiti’s level of institutional development to Ghana’s. Yet today’s political crisis suggests that Haiti may be moving in the wrong direction. Outsiders can do little to stabilize democracy in the country. But the 2010 tragedy could have been an opportunity to work through its institutions rather than around them, making them stronger. Unfortunately, Haiti’s friends did not make the most of it.

Earthquake: Warning for the region

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) – The Seismic Research Centre (SRC) of the University of the West Indies (UWI) is warning the region to “move expeditiously” towards building resilience amid predictions of the Caribbean being hit with an earthquake with a magnitude of eight or larger.

“We must develop, legislate and enforce Building Codes using up-to-date seismic hazard maps based on the latest available science. Preparedness measures at the individual levels are insufficient and greater efforts are needed to facilitate self-resilience,” the SRC said in a statement as it marked the fifth anniversary of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that rocked Haiti in 2010, killing an estimated 300,000 people.

The SRC said that the earthquake in Haiti “should have been the wakeup call for a fundamental shift in regional mechanisms for coping with seismic hazards”.

It said major earthquake disasters around the world have stimulated similar shifts and resulted in greater resilience to seismic hazards in these regions.

“This has not happened in the Caribbean and the region continues to be extremely vulnerable to seismic events,” the SRC said, adding “research suggests that the region is capable of generating an earthquake of magnitude 6.0 or larger every 3-5 years.

“Of more concerns, we are long overdue for a magnitude 8.0 earthquake, which has 32 times more energy than the Haiti event. In light of these sobering facts, it is imperative for the region to move expeditiously towards building resilience to such events,” it added.

The SRC said that while there have been advances in many areas, “the effectiveness of the implemented strategy from country to country still needs to be measured.

“The need for broad based impact assessments for seismic hazards and risks is now greater than ever with clearly established short term and long term objectives. Every year that passes without the necessary measures being in place is a year closer to a repeat of the Haiti disaster. Now is the time to be ready,” the SRC added.