Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 23 septembre 2015

 Sophia Martelly in Texas

On Saturday, by invitation from the George W. Bush Institute, Haitian First Lady Sophia Martelly left the country and headed to Dallas, Texas to participate in the "Global Women Network/Women Initiative" summit which was scheduled to take place on September 22nd of this year.

This summit was created for first ladies and women leaders, and aimed at addressing women’s issues worldwide. It was also designed to promote the role of First Ladies as an answer to these problems in their respective countries.

During this occasion, Sophia Martelly was to meet with a panel of representatives of organizations who work to improve women’s lives in the areas of economics, education and health.

During her stay, Mrs. Martelly will also travel to the United Nations in New York, to participate in two high-level activities for the wives of the heads of state and government regarding education for sustainable development and women’s challenges.

The OAS wants to initiate negotiations between the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) and the leaders of political parties demanding the departure of the CEP and the cancelation of the elections of August 9th

The Organization of American States (OAS) wants to take the initiative of starting negotiations between the electoral council as well as candidates and political parties from the opposition. An electoral crisis persists in Haiti since the publication of the preliminary results of the ballot of August 9th, 2015.

An envoy of the hemispherical organization was expected in Port au Prince recently. Gerardo de Lcaza, the Director of the Department for the Cooperation and the Electoral Observation, tried to bring closer the positions of the political actors and the electoral advisers regarding the pursuit of the electoral process. He had working sessions with the leaders of the political parties which are demanding the resignation of the president of the CEP, Pierre Louis Opont, and the cancellation of the first round of the general election.

The definitive results of the first round of the general election, which were disrupted by violence, have not been published more than a month after the elections.

Officially the General Secretary of the OAS, Luiz Almagro, supports having the first round of the presidential election on October 25th of this year.

On a different note, the OAS advised that the head of the Electoral Observation Mission, former Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs Celso Amorim, was scheduled to take a preliminary evaluation trip to Haiti on September 21. The OAS’s Observation Mission recently transmitted to Haiti the an electoral authorities recommendations regarding the progress of voting operations. These recommendations are to contribute to the strengthening of the electoral machine before holding the first round of the presidential election.

Haiti Border Crisis Grows as Dominican Republic Expels 'Migrants'

New York Times, ANSE-à-PITRE, Haiti — Every morning, Gustavo Adolfo wakes up in a migrant shelter in Haiti, treks across a field of burnt brush where men make charcoal, and crosses a river into the Dominican Republic, a country he left in fear three months ago.

With a machete strapped to his waist, Adolfo is joined by others each day in a desperate effort to make a living. They cross the border into the wealthier Dominican Republic under constant threat of arrest or expulsion.

"I can make 200 pesos ($4.50) a day working in the fields there," said the middle-aged Haitian as he swatted away a swarm of mosquitoes.

Dominican officials last month began implementing a controversial immigration program targeting Haitian migrants and Dominican-born people of Haitian descent.

The program centers on round-ups and deportations that have triggered concerns about a slow-growing border migration crisis in the poorest country in the Americas.

So far about 1,500 people have been deported at a pace of 50 to 100 per day, according to relief officials with access to records supplied by the Dominican government. The officials asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to discuss the number of deportees.

Thousands more have fled the Dominican Republic out of fear of arrest or harassment, scared by neighbors, bosses, coworkers and police or immigration officials.

More than 27 percent of those crossing into Haiti say they were born in the Dominican Republic, according to Amnesty International. But they lack documents to prove residency or citizenship, and many are undocumented immigrants who say they have lived most of their lives on the Dominican side of the border.

The Dominican Republic, which has a population of about 10 million, has long complained of illegal migration of Haitians, even as it benefits from a steady source of cheap labor for construction, agriculture and domestic work.

The Dominican government declined repeated requests for comment on its immigration crackdown. But the issue touches a centuries-old xenophobic nerve in the country, stemming from its occupation by Haiti in the early 19th century.

Four informal settlements have sprung up in southern Haiti for people affected by the deportations. They now house between 2,500 and 3,000 people, according to the Jesuit Refugee Service.

The Haitian government began a relocation program at one settlement camp, Tête à l’Eau, last month. But the program, including $30 in assistance for deportees, was suspended due to a lack of funds, according to Frantz Pierre-Louis, a top regional Haitian government representative.

A United Nations human rights official in Haiti, Gustavo Gallón, this week urged the government to establish health facilities and deliver drinking water to the camps.

"The conditions are horrible there, I don't know how people are living," he said.

The U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti is seeking $6.9 million in emergency assistance for the country but it is unclear how much of it would be used to improve conditions in the migrant camps.

Camp residents complain they lack basic essentials and receive little or no help from the Haitian government.

"People come all the time and take our information but they never give us anything! We need food," yelled Manuel Amadice, a rail-thin man in his 50s wearing worn flip-flops.

Amadice left Haiti as a child but said he lacked the required documents to apply for residency in his adopted homeland.

The migrant crisis stems from a 2013 constitutional change that stripped citizenship away from the Dominican-born children of foreign parents - mostly of Haitian origin. The ruling was applied retroactively to 1929, sparking an international outcry that it would leave thousands stateless.

Under a separate law all "migrants" were required to apply for temporary residency by deadline of June 17, or face deportation.

Dominican officials have said 78,000 out of 289,000 applicants for residency were denied. It remains unclear how many of those may face expulsion.

"I was born in the Dominican Republic and my mom died when I was 7. I never had a birth certificate," said Pablito Felix Ramirez, a resident of one settlement camp called Parc Cadeau.

Ramirez, 24, who fixes motorcycles at his cardboard and stick shack, said he is legally Dominican, but the Dominican government sees him as Haitian.

He has no family in Haiti and added that he had been unable to get a Haitian identity card or birth certificate, making him a man without a country.

"Wherever I can make 50 pesos ($1), I'm happy," Ramirez said.

(Editing by David Adams and Tom Brown)

Cuban and American doctors lavish care at a hospital of Port-au-Prince

Port-au-Prince, September 16th, 2015 - (AHP) - Such a collaboration has not taken place since decades.

American doctors who were in Haiti within the framework of the humanitarian mission of the hospital ship USNS Comfort, worked last Thursday with Cuban doctors to supply care to Haitian patients at a private hospital in the capital, said the spokesman of the American embassy, Karl Adam.

This historic initiative which occurred in Haiti, is part of the framework of the warming of relations between both countries, after they were broken in 1961.

Last Thursday the Ambassador of Cuba, Ricardo Garcia Napoles and a group of Cuban doctors joined officials from the American embassy in Tabarre to the Saint Luc Hospital, which will benefit from this collaboration.

The Cuban and American doctors got together then started to look after the sick.

The latter received general, pediatric care, dental, ophthalmological and orthopedic treatment.

Two days earlier, American doctors from the Comfort had visited The Renaissance Clinic, where Cuban doctors work in the district of the Belle Air.

Earlier, Ambassador Napoles and a group of Cuban doctors participated in the ceremony marking the arrival of the USNS Comfort at the Admiral Killick Naval Base in Bizoton, said the spokesman of the U. S. Embassy.

The initiative between the Americans and Cuban doctors marks a new stage in the resumption of the relations between both countries, introduced on December 17^th by the American president, Barack Obama, and his Cuban counterpart, Raul Castro.

President Obama maintains Haiti on Black List

Obama maintains Haiti on his "black list" of drug trafficking for 2016

In a memorandum signed by U. S. President Barack Obama, for the Secretary of State, regarding the presidential determination on the major transit of drugs or the main producing countries of illicit drugs for the 2016 fiscal year, it states, "… I undersigned to identify the following countries as countries that are major transit countries for drugs and/or main producing countries of illicit drugs: Afghanistan, the Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Burma, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Peru and Venezuela.

The presence of a country on the list is not a reflection of its government’s efforts to fight drugs or its level of cooperation with the United States.

Seven nations in Central America and four of the Caribbean are included in the determination

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 1 octobre 2015

 Don Bohning, who spent 3 decades as a Latin America correspondent, editor for the Herald, dies

By Glenn Garvin

Don Bohning, who spent three decades building up the Miami Herald’s Latin American coverage, died early Saturday after a long battle with cancer. He was 82.

From the mid-1960s to the turn of the century, there was scarcely a war, coup, revolution, massacre, assassination, volcanic eruption, hurricane or other act of political or environmental mayhem that Bohning didn’t cover. And when he couldn’t get there himself, he was editing copy from an all-star cast of reporters he assembled that won two Pulitzer Prizes under his command.

“In the early 1980s, when the country suddenly woke up to the importance of Latin America, the Herald’s Latin Desk was a Murderer’s Row of great correspondents: Guy Gugliotta. William Montalbano. Juan Tamayo. Bill Long. Sam Dillon,” said Tim Golden, a Herald foreign correspondent of that era, ticking off a list of reporters who were the elite of American foreign correspondents.

“And Don was the anchor of that lineup — the player-coach, the mentor, the wise man who knew every layer of the story and every good source. He was also the teacher who made sure that lineup remained strong for years and years, even after so many of those reporters went off to the foreign staffs of other papers.

…

He wasn’t one for flashy scoops — though he certainly produced some — or frilly writing. “He worked hard and wrote fast,” observed University of Miami journalism professor Joseph B. Treaster, a former colleague, offering the highest praise known to their generation of reporters.

Bohning concentrated more on stories that explained why things happened and what their impact would be on common people. “He had a little bit of Ernie Pyle about him,” said a friend, longtime Time magazine correspondent Bernard Diederich, citing the World War II combat correspondent famous for preferring to share foxholes with GIs over cocktails with generals. “He never was too busy to talk to a taxi driver or a market lady and get their thoughts.”

SIGNATURE OF AN AGREEMENT TO FIGHT AGAINST THE FORGERY OF TRAVEL DOCUMENTS

Last Thursday in an agreement signed by Mr. Pierre-Richard Casimir, Minister of Justice and Brian Shukan, a representatives of the U.S. Embassy in Haiti, agreed on behalf of both governments, to create a joint mission to fight against the forgery of visas, passports as well as other travel document. This agreement also plans to investigate related crimes affecting both countries.

The Ministry of Justice, as regulatory body of the national police force of Haiti, made a commitment to strengthen the security of American visa applicants, in particular due to their proximity to the American Embassy and to protect them against the counterfeiters.

With this agreement, the Ministry intends to respond to the complaints of the Haitian citizens who are victims of fraud because of swindlers who are pretending to be representatives of the American Consulate.

KENNETH MERTEN IS WORRIED ABOUT THE ELECTORAL PROCESS

The new Special Coordinator for Haiti at the State Department, Kenneth H. Merten, was on official visit in Haiti for five days recently. The U. S. Embassy provided a summary of Merten's first visit as special coordinator of the Haiti case in the State Department.

The electoral crisis is the main concern of the senior official at the State Department. Merten, who knows Haiti’s political figures relatively well, had working sessions with the main figures among whom were President Michel Martelly, Prime Minister Evans Paul, members of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), representatives of the United Nations and representatives of human rights organizations.

The American diplomat expressed the United States’ desires regarding the need for the electoral process. America expects the Haitian authorities to respect the 2015 electoral calendar 2015 reiterating that it can bring "long-term, viable economic growth in Haiti ".

During the previous week, the American administration had threatened to suspend its cooperation with Haiti if the ballot of October 25th had been postponed. However numerous political party leaders from the opposition demanded the cancellation of the August 9^thballot and the resignation of the electoral advisors.

Washington implores the political figures and the people in charge of the electoral body "to work together to solve the defects observed during the elections on August 9th, to assure that the elections of October 25th and next December 27th take place in a peaceful and credible way."

THE HAITIAN GOVERNMENT FORBIDS THE ENTRY OF 23 PRODUCTS ON THE HAITIAN TERRITORY THROUGH GROUND TRAVEL

Many are concerned about this measure.

The former president of the Dominican Senate, Reinaldo Pared, indicated, last Thursday, that the decision of the Haitian government to forbid the entry of Dominican products by ground travel to Haiti is "silly and nonsense" by the Haitian government, and it is going to hurt the Haitian people the most, according HPN.

He also announced a 40 percent increase on the prices of these 23 products which from now only can enter Haiti by sea or by air travel.

However representatives of the Haitian private business sector (Réginald Boulos and Gregory Brandt) contradict these statements, saying that these measures will produce no price increase, something that Haitian Minister of Finance, Wilson Laleau also confirmed.

Nevertheless, the Dominican government is still angry. "Enough silliness and nonsense from the Haitian government," shouted Pared.

On a different angle, the current president of the Senate and the Dominican Congress, Crisitina Lizardo, asserted that the tolerance of the Dominican government toward Haiti had reached its limits, according to a quote in Dominican Today.

She asked the Dominican president and high-ranking diplomats to look for other measures, including other markets to sell the national products.

The Association of the Dominican exporters (ADOEXPO) indicated, on Thursday, that because of the measures of the Haitian government, the losses to the Dominican Republic are estimated at 200 million dollars.

EU official: Haitian ban on Dominican goods will be costly

 SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — A European Union official warns that an upcoming Haitian ban on some Dominican Republic products will drive up prices in the impoverished country.

Alberto Navarro, head of the EU delegation in the Dominican Republic, said Tuesday that wheat, corn, bread and other affected goods could become up to 40 percent more expensive in Haiti.

Haiti's government says it is banning 23 Dominican goods from crossing the border of the island it shares with the Dominican Republic to improve tax collection. The goods will be allowed to enter Haiti by boat or plane.

The goods represent some $500 million in sales a year and make up 6 percent of all Dominican exports.

The ban comes amid growing tensions between the two countries as the Dominican Republic steps up deportation of Haitians.

JACMEL: WHEN THE IRON MARKET BE REBUILT?

HPN learned that the inhabitants of Jacmel, are demanding for the restoration of the iron Market to in order to transform the Bel-Air and offer more leisure activities to the visitors and to the local youth.

Nevertheless, the state of decay of the iron market didn’t draw the attention of any authority, in particular not the ISPAN, the city hall, nor the delegation of the Department of Tourism designated to protect the historic buildings in the city.

Built by Bruges studios in Belgium, imported by the municipal administration headed by Alcius Charmant, the iron Market was built in 1895 by the engineer Alcibiade Pommayrac. Once the work was finished, the iron Market was officially submitted to the Haitian government on December 9^th, 1895.

Over the years, the pillars have been eaten away by rust and salt, certain parts of the roof even collapsed creating hazardous areas. Furthermore, certain pilasters were removed from the ground and the iron constructions which dominate the roof, intended formerly for storage, were partially attacked by rust.

To avoid any further decay, a mission made up of executive such engineer of the company Eiffel, an architectural leader in the city of Strasbourg had traveled to Jacmel in August, 1998 as part of a French cooperative mission to analyze the technical feasibility of repairing of the market whose architectural interest justifies the preservation.

This study which resulted with the necessity of reconstructing the building as before rather than repairing it because of its state of advanced degradation, was submitted to the city hall of Jacmel.

Seventeen Years later, no repairs have been made. Instead, a new municipal market was built in the locality of Beaudouin, the temporary leaders at that time proceeded with moving the merchants on Monday, 23 Mars 2015.

The ruins of this big building became, to the great displeasure of the population, an open-air dump.

Haiti World Bank report: Time for a social contract

Haiti’s presidential campaigning slowly gains momentum amid continuing uncertainty about the fate of the country’s scheduled Oct. 25 elections, a new World Bank report calls for a social contract to improve the lives of all Haitians.

The report notes that natural disasters and political instability have greatly affected Haiti’s anemic economy and contributed to the 6 million Haitians living in poverty on less than $2.25 a day. At the same time, a bad business environment has not encouraged private investments, while insecurity in the urban centers has sharply increased with the crime rate in metropolitan Port-au-Prince reaching critical levels.

“Policies to ensure more inclusiveness are needed,” the report said.

Growth is faltering and will not be sufficient for Haiti to achieve its vision of becoming an emerging economy by 2030 Mary Barton-Dock, World Bank Special Envoy in Haiti

The call comes as the International Monetary Fund estimates that the Haitian economy only grew between 1 and 2 percent this fiscal year, and Haiti’s Finance Minister Wilson Laleau concedes that it has been difficult to finance the upcoming budget. Foreign assistance is down to less than $500 million from $1.5 billion, Laleau said, and there is less available financing under Venezuela’s PetroCaribe discounted-oil program because of low oil prices.

“These allotments have really tightened the budget constraints of the government,” said Raju Singh, a World Bank economist and author of the Haiti: Toward a New Narrative report unveiled Tuesday. “One big challenge for the future government is to deal with a tighter budget envelope without jeopardizing the progress that the previous governments have achieved to improve human indicators.”

Areas of economic opportunity for Haiti include in agribusiness, light manufacturing and tourism.

Those improvements are in the areas of poverty reduction, primary school enrollment and access to water. Those living on less than $1.25 a day in extreme poverty, for example, has dropped from 31 percent in 2000 to 24 percent in 2012, according to a Bank study.

“These could be jeopardized if suddenly the budget leads to cuts in programs in social areas,” Singh said.

I am confronted by my poor minister of health or my poor minister of education and frankly I have no clue as to how these people could do their job; 60 or 80 percent of the services are done outside their control Raju Singh, World Bank economist

Bank officials say the report is intended to promote a debate around a new social contract for Haiti to dig itself out of poverty and head to sustainable and inclusive economic growth. But that contract requires the government, to among other things, identify a single vision and program, and do more to finance public spending.

“Government says, ‘Please pay your taxes. In return, I will improve my services, I will provide security. I will improve my fiscal transparency of reporting,” Singh said. “In Haiti, this social contract has either disappeared, never been built or has to be revamped.”

The level of insecurity has increased in Haiti’s urban centers, particularly in metropolitan Port-au-Prince where the crime rate has reached critical levels

Singh said officials didn’t plan for the report’s release to coincide with the electoral cycle, but Port-au-Prince based economist Kesner Pharel says its timing offers an opportunity for the presidential, legislative and local candidates “to better understand the great social and economic challenges, and how difficult it will be to lead and manage this country.”

Anybody comes here, builds a hospital and expects the government to staff it or pay for power or to build a road. It's a nightmare Raju Singh, World Bank economist

So far, candidates have largely concentrated on the problems rather than proposal for tackling them. The report, meanwhile, highlights three key areas for growth: tourism, agriculture and light manufacturing.

“Following the earthquake, Haiti experienced its best performance in decades with a real growth rate averaging 3.3 percent from 2011 to 2014, partly spurred by high levels of reconstruction aid. However, this growth is faltering and will not be sufficient for Haiti to achieve its vision of becoming an emerging economy by 2030 and improve life for its poorest citizens,” said Mary Barton-Dock, World Bank Special Envoy in Haiti.

But faster economic growth alone will not be enough to bring significant improvements in the living standards of most Haitians, the report said.

Areas of economic opportunity for Haiti include in agribusiness, light manufacturing and tourism.

“There are a lot of people who are active in Haiti. The issue is how do you improve the earnings of these people?” Singh said.

“We have to be disciplined to sit around the table and say what is our vision? What is the vision of the authorities, of the government, of the population of Haiti in health, in education, in key sectors? And we all share the same vision and we all try to finance the same vision instead of having a piecemeal approach that doesn’t work,” he said. “On the donor side, we have to finance a single vision, a single program of the government; not a hospital here, a school there.”

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 14 octobre 2015

 Local Missionary known around the world killed in Haiti

HENDERSON, Tenn. -- A West Tennessee church mourns the loss of one of their own missionaries, Roberta Edwards, who was killed on a mission trip in Haiti.

"We cannot measure all the lives that she has touched through all the ways she will be missed," Dr. Jessee Robertson said.

An undescribeable tragedy thousands of miles away and is now hitting close to home for a West Tennessee community and church.

"There are thousands of people today who know Roberta and who appreciated her work, who are touched tearful and prayerful," Dr. Robertson said.

Edwards was overseen by the Estes Church of Christ and was on a mission trip in Haiti.

However, on Saturday night, that mission turned violent when she was killed by a group of armed gunman.

"It's been more than once over the years that heartbreaking things have happened in our mission work, and this is the most heartbreaking that we can imagine," Dr. Robertson said.

Edwards was the director at SonLight Children's home in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti.

It's a place where church leaders say she was called 'Mom' by 20 foster children.

"The strength of her personality and the strength of her will and her faith produce in her a person to keep going when other people would have quit a long time ago," Dr. Robertson said.

Edwards also ran a nutritional center feeding 160 children two meals a day, 5 days a week in Haiti.

Estes Church of Christ Minister Dr. Jesse Robertson knew Edwards for more than 15 years. He says in the amount of time Edwards was overseen by the church since 2002, she accomplished things that seemed impossible sometimes.

Violinist Romel Joseph, survivor of Haiti earthquake, dies at 56

Buried in the Haiti earthquake of 2010, musician Romel Joseph recalled concertos to keep his sanity.

Superstar Stevie Wonder sent the internationally known musician his keyboard to help the healing process

Joseph, father to two musicians, died Oct. 5 of a stroke in his native Haiti

Romel Joseph, a blind violinist who survived the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti after spending 18 hours pinned under concrete, played the violin at the rehabilitation center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in March 2010, just a few months after treatment. Alexia Fodere For The Miami Herald

BY HOWARD COHEN

                     Music saved Antoine Romel Joseph’s life. In particular,

                     My Favorite Things from The Sound of Music.

“That’s the song that saved me,” Joseph told the Miami Herald from Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital in March 2010, two months after he was buried in the rubble of the Haiti earthquake.

BY HOWARD COHEN

Music saved Antoine Romel Joseph’s life. In particular, My Favorite Things from The Sound of Music.

“That’s the song that saved me,” Joseph told the Miami Herald from Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital in March 2010, two months after he was buried in the rubble of the Haiti earthquake.

More than five years after capturing the hearts of the world with his tale of survival and pluck, Joseph, born nearly blind in Gros Mornes, Haiti, has died at 56.

On Oct. 5, his daughter Victoria posted a message on Facebook asking for prayers for her father who had suffered a stroke while in Haiti. Hours later, the social media site turned into a memorial, filled with messages of condolence.

“I think for a lot of people, he kind of became the face of survival,” said Jennifer Piedra, director of communications at Jackson Health System. Piedra befriended Joseph and his children, musicians Victoria and Bradley, who survive him, almost immediately after Joseph was airlifted to the hospital.

“He was one of the first patients I met, and from that first moment I knew that this man was extremely special,” she said. “He had been through this horribly traumatic situation and yet he was so positive. He had lost his wife, but he was already talking about getting better so he could play his music again and rebuild his school. That was his mission in life — to help others.”

Marco Rubio: U.S. Needs to Ensure Fair Democratic Elections in Haiti

From his perch as chairman of the U.S. Senate Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., weighed in on Tuesday as U.S. Sec. of State John Kerry heads to Haiti. 

“It’s important Secretary Kerry use this visit to renew the United States’ commitment to assisting Haiti in conducting a free, fair and inclusive presidential and parliamentary election later this month,” Rubio said. “The United States has provided support to Haiti in carrying out its earlier first round of parliamentary elections in August, and now we should provide technical support throughout the upcoming elections to ensure that every Haitian vote is counted.
 
“The U.S. government should continue working with the Haitian government to guarantee that polls are open and free of violence on election day, and we should encourage the Haitian people to participate in deciding their future,” Rubio added. “The Haitian people deserve to have their voices heard and to be represented by a leader of their choice.” 

UN Wants Another Year for Haiti Peacekeeping Mission

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. secretary-general is recommending that the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti stay for another year — which might be its final one.

The head of the mission, Sandra Honore, told the U.N. Security Council on Thursday that Ban Ki-moon wants the peacekeeping mission to extend for a year to help Haiti complete its upcoming round of elections.

She says the mission also will help the country with an "orderly and sustainable" transfer to having national authorities assume responsibility for future elections.

Honore told reporters that she is urging all parties in Haiti to avoid the kind of violent disruptions that marred legislative elections last month.

The Security Council will consider the mission's mandate later this month. The mission had more than 4,500 uniformed personnel as of late June.

How career of Upstate Medical's new president was shaped by Haitian roots,

Syracuse, N.Y. -- Dr. Danielle Laraque-Arena, Upstate Medical University's incoming president, says the bitter poverty of Haiti and her family's political exile from that Carribean country shaped her career.

Laraque-Arena, 60, who will become Upstate's first woman president in January, was born in Haiti and came to the U.S. at age 7 when her parents fled Haiti for political reasons.
 

Upstate Medical President Dr. Danielle Laraque-Arena on health care (video)Dr. Danielle Laraque-Arena, who will become the new president of Upstate Medical University in January 2016, talks about health care in the United States.

Paul Laraque, her late father, was a noted Haitian poet and outspoken critic of former Haiti dictator Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier, whose regime terrorized political opponents and murdered about 30,000 Haitians.

Her father tried to inspire change by writing poetry that explored the suffering of the Haitian people.

Laraque-Arena, a pediatrician, said during an interview at Upstate today she decided at age 12 to change peoples' lives in a different way -- through medicine and research.

After they came to the U.S., Laraque's family lived in Queens. She said she grew up in a house filled with books and spoke French, Creole – the languages of Haiti -- and English. Her parents did now allow English to be spoken at home so Laraque-Arena and her two brothers would preserve their culture. Laraque-Arena said she learned her work ethic from her mother, who was a clerk at the United Nations.

"My parents were an incredible influence on my life," Laraque-Arena said. "That mission to serve the poor, not in a charity way, but in a way that people have the right to health care, and live OK and send their kids to school, that's a message I got from the very beginning."

Laraque-Arena is chair of the pediatrics department at Maimonides Medical Center in New York City and a pediatrics professor at Yeshiva University. She will take over Jan. 14 from Upstate's interim president Dr. Gregory Eastwood, who filled the role after Dr. David Smith resigned under fire two years ago after being accused of padding his pay.

Laraque-Arena is an expert in child abuse, injury prevention and providing care to underserved communities. SUNY appointed her to the Upstate post last month. Her annual pay will be $600,000.

Laraque-Arena's decision to take the job at Upstate also stems from the lesson she learned from her parents. "This is an incredibility opportunity to bring the best of science and technology to look at how to improve both individual health and population health," she said.

Laraque-Arena is married to Dr. Luigi Arena, a radiologist. They have two children, one in law school and one in medical school.

As a leader, Laraque-Arena says, "I'm never indecisive."

"I like collaboration and I like a diversity of input. I think we are stronger if we can see things from different perspectives," she said. "Fairness is important. And not losing sight of the reason I'm coming here is important."

Dominican merchants shutter biggest border market to protest Haiti ban on overland imports

October 9, 2015 4:22 PM

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) -- Merchants in the Dominican Republic have shuttered the biggest border market for trade with Haiti amid that country's ban on some goods entering overland.

Haiti has banned 23 products from crossing by land its border with the Dominican Republic, seeking to improve tax collection and ensure better quality control. As of Oct. 1, such things as drinking water, flour and construction materials can arrive only by air or sea.

On Friday, Dominican traders in the market town of Dajabon began a strike to pressure Haiti to scrap its ban. Union leader Freddy Morillo says the work freeze at Dajabon is "indefinite."

The banned goods represent $500 million in annual sales and make up 6 percent of all Dominican exports. The Dominican government has complained to the World Trade Organization.

Against the restrictions from Haiti, DR gets support from several countries

The Dominican Chancellor Andrés Navarro and José Del Castillo Saviñón, the Dominican Minister of Industry and Trade reiterated the discriminatory nature of the decision of the Haitian government to prohibit entry by land of 23 Dominican products. 

Andrés Navarro stressed that this decision came into force on 1 Octoberhttp://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-15156-haiti-notice-import-ban-by-road-of-certain-products-from-dr.html violated among others, the MoU signed between the two countries in July 2013, recalling that this unilateral decision had not been previously notified to the relevant Dominican authorities, while Article 12 of the Memorandum stipulates that "the parties must notify all rules and legal instruments concerning trade before their implementation and timely to the ministry in charge of industry and commerce."

The two Ministers also reiterated that the decision of the Haitian Government, has been submitted for prior notice, on 29 September, before the Committee of access to the markets of World Trade Organization (WTO), which gave them its support , agreeing that the prohibition by the Haitian government of land transport of Dominican products, represented a commercial limitation between the two countries.

Note that in its efforts, the Dominican Republic has received the support of several countries in the region which include: Panama, Ecuador, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Colombia.

Chancellor Navarro said on the other hand, he had sent a diplomatic note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Haiti, through the Dominican Embassy, in which the right of the Republic of Haiti to establish controls on imports is recognized, but he challenges the unilateral measure applied for infringement including of the MOU with the Dominican Republic and the fact that this decision is discriminatory de facto, against Dominican products.

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 22 octobre 2015

 Alvin P. Adams (Bourik Chaje) died

Former Ambassador Alvin P. Adams., Jr., whose foreign service took him to Southeast Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and South America, died Saturday in Portland of an apparent heart attack. He was 73.

Adams helped Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide escape into exile with the Venezuelan government during a military coup in 1991.

Adams started his career during the Vietnam War as a district senior adviser for the U.S. Department of State in 1968. Friends and family said on Friday that the former ambassador was known for his wit and love of history.

"He likes his views but at the same time he was a good listener on what I had to say on various issues," said friend Hiroshi Furusawa, Consul General of Japan in Portland. "As a human being, I thought he was very considerate. I was always impressed by his knowledge."

He was special assistant to Secretaries of State Al Haig, during the Falklands war, and Henry Kissinger during his shuttle diplomacy between Egypt and Israel, Phelps said.

Presidents Ronald Regan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton appointed Adams to ambassadorships three times before the age of 50; first to Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa, from 1983 to 85. He later served in Haiti from 1989 to 1992 and in Peru from 1993 to 96. He also worked as deputy director for counterterrorism in the late 1980s for the state department.

"He was a remarkable man who helped initiate elections and the democratic process in Haiti, then led U.S. efforts to assist the government of Peru in defeating the Shining Path terrorist organization and Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement," said Kent Brokenshire, a deputy Haiti special coordinator for the state department who served with Adams in both countries.

Adams arrived in Haiti at a time when the United States showed concern for human rights against the Caribbean government, according to Human Rights Watch.

"Adams and the Venezuelan ambassador waited with Aristide there for three hours, taunted all the while by hostile soldiers, until a Venezuelan plane arrived to take Aristide into exile," wrote Phelps, who is a journalist for the Los Angeles Times, in an email message. "He was awarded the State Department's Citation with Award for Valor for his work in Haiti."

Adams was born Aug. 29, 1942, in New York and graduated from Yale University in 1964. He earned a law degree from Vanderbilt University in 1967. His grandfather, Nathan L. Miller, was New York governor from 1920-22, and his father, Alvin P. Adams Sr., was an aviation executive during the early days of the industry.

Adams is survived by a son, Lex Adams of Orange County, California; his brother, Nathan Adams of Enis, Montana; his sister, Edith Kiggen; and his niece, Elizabeth Kiggen, both of New York City. His marriage to Mai-Anh Adams ended in divorce. His son Tung Thanh Adams was killed in an explosion onboard the battleship USS Iowa in 1989

Funeral arrangements are pending.

-- Tony Hernandez

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US Embassy: Statement on the October 25 Elections in Haiti

On October 25 Haitians will go to the polls to vote for their next president, parliament, and municipal mayors.  The responsibility for these elections lies in the hands of the Haitian people.

We believe this is an opportunity for Haitians to have a renewed voice in their governance.  We encourage all actors to participate peacefully and fully in the electoral process, abide by the rule of law, and pledge to a high standard of transparency.

As U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made clear in his recent visit to Port-au-Prince, electoral intimidation and violence are unacceptable.  Those who organize, finance, or participate in electoral intimidation and violence should be held to account in accordance with Haitian law.  The United States is taking note of parties involved in electoral violence.

The United States stands with the international community in supporting the Haitian National Police’s electoral security plan in coordination with the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti.

Credible and peaceful elections that put in place a full and legitimate government will benefit the Haitian people and build a stronger, more sustainable democratic process.

Little Haiti will welcome the Festival of Caribbean Art

Between 23 and October 25th the cultural complex of "Little Haiti" will receive one of the biggest festivals of Caribbean art in Florida.

This third edition of this Caribbean Art Festival will gather several artists from several art forms from Central America and the Caribbean. Independent movies, music and the poetry will also be headlined throughout the event. Lesser-known artists and more famous ones will take part in this event.

The main organizers, McKoy and David Muir hope that this year’s festival will reveal the real essence of Caribbean art. Besides being a means of recreation for residents and visitors of South of the Florida, the festival is also expected to be a place of exchange for the artists.

October 17th: Anniversary of the assassination of Jean Jacques Dessalines

Numerous activities were organized in Port-au-Prince on Saturday, October 17^th, in remembrance of the 209th anniversary of the assassination of Emperor Jean-Jacques Dessalines.

For this occasion President Michel Martelly, accompanied by his Prime Minister and other government officials went to Pont Rouge for the inauguration of the memorial, built in honor of the founding father.

During his speech, President Martelly urged for national unity. He pointed out that it was discord which caused the murder of Dessalines. "Haitians were never able to realize the Dessalinien dream," declared the president.

Martelly took advantage of this occasion to denounce individuals who represent themselves as sons of the emperor (extremely patriotic), while they are really only trying to advance their personal agendas.

On his end, Prime Minister Evans Paul called for respect for the memory of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, while welcoming the construction of the memorial.

The head of government pointed out that Dessalines is considered the father of freedom worldwide.

According to Paul, it was Dessalines who spurred the emancipation of the Negros, thanks to his revolution.

"We are all heirs of Dessalines," Evans Paul exclaimed.

Fanm Executive Director Marleine Bastien to Receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, October 16, 2015, 6 PM !

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) unanimously chose Marleine Bastien to be awarded the "Lifetime Achievement Award". As Charles Fischer, Board Member of the Miami-Dade Chapter of the ACLU expressed, the award was "for the body of activism you've accomplished representing the rights of women, Haitian-Americans, people affected with HIV/AIDS, and all the other communities which have benefited from your work.|"

 Two days after arriving in the U.S. in 1981, Marleine Bastien started volunteering at the Haitian Refugee Center.  She was then trained and hired as a paralegal a few months later to assist Haitian refugees who were coming in by the thousands and being detained at the Krome Detention Center. Marleine's experience at the Krome Detention Center marked the beginning of years of social services, advocacy and organizing on behalf of Haitian immigrants in South Florida.  After leaving the Haitian Refugee Center, Marleine spent 13 years at Jackson Memorial Hospital working as a medical social worker for HIV/AIDS, Sickle Cell Anemia, and cancer patients. There, she left her mark as a staunch advocate for patients' rights. In 2000, she left Jackson to lead FANM, a social advocacy group she co-founded with a group of women and her ex-husband in 1991. Her work, which combines social services with strong advocacy and organizing efforts on issues such as immigration, workers' rights, affordable housing, women's rights, access to health care and economic empowerment, has gained national and international recognition and accolades from Amnesty International, The U.S. Human Rights Network, Ford Foundation, The Gay and Lesbian Task Force,  The Association of University Women,  NAACP, and Essence Magazine who named her  "One of the 35 Most Powerful Women in the World" in 2005, among others.

"I'm thankful and humbled by this recognition said Marleine.  I accept it in the name of Clemencia Charles, a 59 year old client fighting eviction from her mobile home, and so many others like her who struggle daily to live a dignified life despite repeated challenges and disappointments. They give me the strength to press on, in the path for justice, equality and peace."

THE OIF (International Organization of the Francophonie), organizing the Young Journalist Award, extended its registration deadline.

Dear partners of the Young Journalist Award in Haiti,

Allow me to write you in the name of the Director of the Regional Office of the OIF for the Countries in the Caribbean (BRPC), Mister David Bongard.

As announced, since yesterday Thursday, October 15th at midnight, we have come upon the deadline to file applications for the "First Young Journalist Award in Haiti ".

However, since this morning, we have received many e-mails and phone calls stating that several candidates for the prize are still working to finalize their applications. Up to this point, we haven’t received a large number of applications.

That is why we wish to extend the deadline by two weeks to October 31st, 2015 at midnight.

Haiti Reconstruction: Inauguration of High Schools and Grammar Schools

A brand new Lycee Pétion was inaugurate last week, raising the admiration and the enthusiasm of all. Lycee Pétion had been demolished by the earthquake and was reconstruction begun a short time later.

On Thursday, President Michel Martelly, accompanied by his wife Sophia Martelly, with the Prime Minister Evans Paul and several government members, among whom was National Minister of Education, Nesmy Manigat, went to the Lycee Petion in Port-au-Prince for the inauguration of the new facilities. Former President of the Republic, Boniface Alexandre, an alumni of the Lycee Pétion was also present.

In his speech for the occasion, President Martelly declared, “Throughout its 199 years of existence, Lycee Petion was the first non-religious educational institution of the Caribbean. Just like education implies the participation of all, the management of the Lycee Petion must be inclusive. Today, I feel proud to tell the population of Bel Air, that their children will be attending the most beautiful school in Haiti.”

Following his speech, the Head of State proceeded with the distribution of digital tablets to the teachers and to some of the school’s pupils.

In the same fashion, Le Petit Seminaire College St Martial inaugurated its Primary building. The school, seriously damaged by the earthquake, had its primary school rebuilt. Work is still ongoing for the secondary school.

The Lycee Toussaing Louverture was also rebuilt. The rebuilding of the school begun in 2013 by the firm IBT Group Haïti, under the supervision of CSA GROUP, the Ministry of Planning and External Cooperation, which supervised the job that was financed by 7 million dollars from PetroCaribe funds.

The high school houses 22 classrooms, the main office, an infirmary, a secretarial department, a meeting room, a library, and science laboratories among others... The Lycee Toussaint Louverture accounts for 300 pupils in the primary grades and 2,800 pupils in secondary school between the two sessions (21 classes in the morning and 22 classes in the evening).

In other news, three other schools in the municipal section of Monchil, were also inaugurated. They are: Christ-Roi in Jacmel, Deslandes and Saint Marie de Latournelle in Léogâne. All three were destroyed by the earthquake of 2010. The United Nations Program for Development (UNDP), with its partner organizations the Anglican Office for Education in Haiti (BAEH), the Finn Church Aid, the Norwegian Church Aid and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland and the local authorities all participated in the inauguration

Initiated in 2014, the building of these three schools will allow approximately 1,000 children in remote areas to have access to a solid educational infrastructure at the primary school level. These three schools also contributed to the local economy during their construction, creating 1,340 jobs, including 279 for women.

Reverend Joël Racine, Representing the BAEH, said that the local population will benefit greatly from these infrastructures. He added that they must manage them well and protect them, in order for the next generations of students to take full advantage of them.