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- Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti
RARA: The Haitian Rara: a social-cultural and mystical manifestation
In Haiti, after the carnival period is over, it is the time of festivities called Rara.
Whether in Léogane, Paillant or other cities, residents overwhelmingly participate in the activities surrounding this popular event
To identify the roots of Haitian Rara, vaudou priest Lionel Dupont and sociologist Jean Marie Désire provided updates on the topic.
Rara festivities are celebrated during the Easter period. Thousands of Haitians attach great importance to this ritual. Jean Marie Désiré, public relations manager of the “Prix Flower,” a rara band in Léogane, explains that the phenomenon of the Haitian Rara originated in pre-Columbian times, but it developed more during the period of slavery, particularly in the context of the maroons.
At the time, it was a Rara without drums and bamboo but had a revolutionary impact, he said. This band consisted of maroon, then known as Chanpwèl, he said.
AMERICAS
U.N. Votes Unanimously to End Peacekeeping Mission in Haiti
UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously on Thursday to end its 13-year-long peacekeeping mission inHaiti, and replace its blue-helmeted soldiers with police officers.
The mission, often a source of embarrassment to the world body, landed inHaiti in 2004, after a rebellion led to the removal of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. It became arguably best known for introducing a deadly cholera strain to the country — and then refusing for years to take responsibility for it.
The cholera outbreak, which began in 2010, has killed at least 9,500 people so far and infected hundreds of thousands of Haitians. The United Nationsapologized last year and proposed to compensate affected Haitians, but hasyet to raise money for the effort. Of the $400 million that the United Nations says it needs, it has received $2.66 million, from only six countries — Britain, Chile, France, India, Liechtenstein and South Korea, according todata posted on its website.
The mission has also recently been troubled by allegations of sexual abuse. A sex ring, operated by Sri Lankan soldiers who were posted there from 2004 to 2007, exploited at least nine children, according to an internal United Nations report, The Associated Press reported this week.
The American ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki R. Haley, referred to the sexual abuse allegations in her brief remarks in the council chambers on Thursday. “The United States has made it clear to the U.N. and all troop-contributing countries that these abuses must stop,” she said.
She did not address the cholera outbreak, nor how the United Nations can compensate survivors.
The Haiti drawdown, which was recommended by the secretary general, António Guterres, comes amid pressure by President Trump’s administration to review each of the organization’s 16 peacekeeping missions. The United States is the United Nations’ largest financial contributor; it funds about 28 percent of the world body’s $7.87 billion budget, and Trump administration officials have said they want to bring that down to a maximum of 25 percent. The American contributionamounts to less than 0.1 percent of the federal budget.
In Haiti, the roughly 2,300 soldiers are scheduled to leave gradually by October. Seven United Nations police units will remain for an initial period of six months to train Haitian police officers.
The decision to close the Haiti mission represented a rare moment of unity on the Security Council, with the world powers agreeing that the country had reached a new level of stability.
Ms. Haley called the drawdown “a success story.”
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FIVE NOBEL PEACE PRIZES WINNERS LAUNCH AN URGENT CALL TO THE UNITED NATIONS, ASKING IT TO PAY ITS DEBT TO HAITI
On the eve of a meeting of the Security Council where the decision to end the MINUSTAH took place- a very criticized mission which has been in Haiti since 2004 - the five Nobel Peace prizes winners have appealed to the United Nations asking it to repair the wrongs caused in Haiti, which consist mainly of human rights violations committed by its troops.
Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Jody William, Rigoberta Manchu Tum, Shirin Ebadi and Betty William thus wrote to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to express their profound concern about the total lack of justice and the merits of the requests of the Haitian people demanding repair for the wrong caused to the victims of the MINUSTAH in some of its actions.
"Thousands of women and children were raped or exploited sexually, and several of them abandoned with children”, recalled those who signed the letter.
They also pointed to a report of the UN which recognized that CHOLERA was introduced into the country by MINUSTAH troops from Bangladesh. This caused the death of thousands of victims, perhaps even three times more than the official count of 9,483.
"It is urgent and essential that United Nations does everything to repair the damage it caused to the people of Haiti”, stated the Nobel prize-winners... The attitude of the MINUSTAH is inadmissible and does not correspond to the objectives set up by the Security Council.
They proposed that the situation be addressed and that certain rich countries participate in the creation of peace missions by granting financing which would be used to repair the wrongs caused and which would be paid to the country according to a quota corresponding to the damage caused in the country.
Even the General Secretary had denounced the absence of funds for programs proposed by the United Nations to compensate the victims, for the eradication of the cholera and for the completion of programs to install drinking water throughout the country. 80 % of the population of Haiti is deprived of drinking water. The costs could be covered by what was paid for operations of the MINUSTAH during the past 13 years.
The 5 Nobel Prize winners expressed their total agreement in the ending of the MINUSTAH’s mission, which in reality was only an extension of the hundred years of American occupation. Such is the opinion of organizations in Haiti, Latin America, the Caribbean and throughout the world
A final petition was handed to hundreds of entities of the United Nations and to South American governments such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay, who had sent the troops which constitute the MINUSTAH.
The letters also ask for reparations for the damages caused.
What Haiti needs is cooperation, not a guardian, and even less an occupation, concluded the Nobel Prize winners.
"The People of Haiti have the right for respect and support… in its struggle to assure its safety, its determination to enforce its rights, which also includes controlling its essential resources for its survival and welfare.
The credibility of United Nations is at stake, said those who signed the letter. First, for causing the disaster, then secondly,for denying any responsibility for it for six long years while the cholera epidemic raged throughout the country.
U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Visits PEPFAR Partner GHESKIO
on World Health Day
Port-au-Prince, April 7, 2017 – In recognition of World Health Day 2017, American Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Brian Shukan and members of the U.S. Government health team visited the GHESKIO National Institute of Laboratory and Research (INLR) in Port-au-Prince. GHESKIO (Groupe Haïtien d’Étude du Sarcome de Kaposi et des Infections Opportunistes/Haitian Group for the Study of Kaposi’s Sarcoma and Opportunistic Infections) has been a U.S. Government partner since 1983 and is one of the largest providers of TB/HIV diagnosis and treatment in the Americas. GHESKIO has received U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) funding since the beginning of the initiative in 2004, and is implemented by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Chargé Shukan was greeted by GHESKIO Deputy Director Dr. Marie Marcelle Deschamps who briefed the Chargé on GHESKIO’s history, the vast set of health and support services the organization provides, and the state of healthcare in Haiti. Chargé Shukan had the opportunity to tour several of GHESKIO’s PEPFAR-funded clinics to observe the innovative work the organization is undertaking.
With PEPFAR funding, GHESKIO provides life-saving antiretroviral treatment (ART) free of charge to more than 25,000 patients annually. During the site visit, Chargé Shukan toured GHESKIO’s ART clinic and learned about new approaches to improve patient care – such as multi-month scripting of ART and a “rapid pathway” intervention aimed at reducing patient wait times. At GHESKIO’s pediatric unit, the largest pediatric AIDS clinic in Haiti, Chargé Shukan met with Dr. Vanessa Rouzier to discuss how PEPFAR is supporting HIV exposed infants to receive HIV treatment and care for TB.
PEPFAR also works with GHESKIO to provide integrated services to victims of gender-based violence (GBV) and to identify and refer victims of GBV through a network of community health workers. Chargé Shukan met with representatives of the program to learn about the prevalence of GBV in Haiti and how PEPFAR is supporting GHESKIO to care for victims of violence. Chargé Shukan toured GHESKIO’s vocational school – a training workshop for victims of GBV designed to promote resiliency and economic independence – and spoke with participants in the program.
GHESKIO remains one of PEPFAR-Haiti’s longest-standing and highest-performing partners. Chargé Shukan commended the GHESKIO staff on their tireless efforts to deliver quality services to the people of Haiti noting that “GHESKIO has shown its profound dedication by providing outstanding health services for over 35 years. It is impressive to see such a comprehensive program that responds to the service delivery needs of the community.”
Approximately 58,000 Haitian migrants in the US who have been protected by the Temporary Protection Status (TPS) are now under the threat of deportation, according to GARR.
Tens of thousands of Haitians living in the United States are afraid that the Temporary Protection Status (TPS) from which they had benefited under the Obama administration may not be renewed. This status allowed them to become established in the US following the earthquake of January 12th, 2010. It expires on July 22nd, 2017.
- Détails
- Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti
U.S. immigration services recommend the end of TPS
James McCamen, Acting Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), recently recommended an end to the program Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in January, 2018. This program benefits about 60,000 Haitians by authorizing them to stay in the United States.
It should be remembered that the Obama administration had offered the TPS to Haitians, following the devastating earthquake of 2010. This protection was repeatedly extended and its current expiration date is July 22nd, 2017.
In its letter, McCamen underlines that the conditions in Haiti have improved enough to end the "Temporary Protected Status" (TPS) for Haitians. He proposes an extension until January, 2018, only to allow a "period of orderly transition", and expects that this program should not be extended beyond that date.
However, the final decision on the fate of Haitians will be made by Secretary John Kelly of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), who has not yet made a decision on this subject, according to spokesman David Lapan.
Twenty French Companies are on their way
About twenty French companies will soon be in Haiti. Last Friday, Pierre Marie Du Meny, Minister of Trade and the Industry, met a French delegation linked to the cooperation between France and Haiti. France aims to be more active on the economic plan in Haiti, and with the support of the French-Haitian Chamber, about twenty French companies will soon be in Haiti for a forum around the economy and the business, has indicated Secretary Du Meny.
Rebuilding the National Palace
A meeting took place recently regarding the rebuilding of the National Palace of Haiti. The famous building was demolished by the earthquake of January 12th, 2010. Since then, announcements about its reconstruction were made by France, and also by the American actor Sean Pean.
Seven years after the earthquake, it’s the first meeting taking place about the rebuilding of the palace. It brought together around President Jovenel Moïse, architects who specialize in the reconstruction of historic monuments, such as Patrick Delatour, Patrick Durandis, and Sabine Malebranche to name only a few.
Leading the group is Engineer Clément Bélizaire, also Executive director of the Unity of Homebuilding and Public Buildings (UCLBP). He promised to offer to the nation a Palace worthy of the name.
The Committee’s responsibility is to deal with this reconstruction. But already Mr. Jovenel Moïse stressed that the new construction will have to respect the outside of the previous palace which should not be changed. The Committee will have to deal with the reconstruction of the interior of the building.
U.S. Department of Justice
United States Attorney Public Information Officer/
Southern District of Florida Special Counsel to the U.S. Attorney
99 N.E. 4 Street Sarah J. Schall
Miami, FL 33132 (305) 961-9377
(305) 961-9001
NEWS RELEASE:
Haitian National Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Launder Money
Derived from Drug Trafficking
A former high-ranking Haitian National Police officer pleaded guilty today in the United States to a money laundering charge in connection with an international narcotics scheme.
Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Adolphus P. Wright, Special Agent in Charge, United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division; Matthew G. Donahue, Special Agent in Charge, DEA, Caribbean Division; and Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
Guy Philippe, 49, of Haiti appeared before U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga of the Southern District of Florida, where he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering stemming from his receipt of cash payments derived from the proceeds of narcotics sales that occurred in Miami, Florida and elsewhere in the United States in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Philippe faces a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment. The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Altonaga in Miami on July 5, 2017 at 9:30 a.m.
"After evading law enforcement for over a decade, Guy Philippe's guilty plea demonstrates the unrelenting commitment of the U.S. government and our foreign counterparts to disrupt and dismantle transnational narco-trafficking and money laundering organizations,” said Acting United States Attorney Greenberg. “Philippe cast aside his duty to protect and serve the people of Haiti. Instead, he abused his position of authority as a high-ranking Haitian National Police Officer to safeguard drug shipments and launder illicit trafficking proceeds. The prosecution of those who abuse the public’s trust to facilitate criminal conduct remains a top priority for the U.S. and our Haitian law enforcement allies.”
“In addition to its other pernicious effects, drug trafficking corrupts public officials and important government institutions that form the foundation of every democracy. Philippe – a former high-ranking official in the Haitian National Police – was on the payroll of the drug traffickers for years, receiving more than $1.5 million in bribe payments for protecting drug shipments,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Blanco. “The department’s investigation and prosecution of this case for more than a decade demonstrates its commitment to prosecuting all of those who facilitate the international drug trade, including the corrupt officials on the take, and that there is no place to hide from the U.S. justice system."
“It is important that Philippe accepted responsibility for his criminal offenses against the United States and the people of Haiti for his involvement in criminal activities associated with drug trafficking,” said Adolphus P. Wright, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Miami Field Division, also adding “With the increased strength of our law enforcement partners, both in the United States and abroad, DEA will never abandon nor ever give up on seeking and bringing to justice those responsible for drug trafficking and the laundering of drug money, no matter how many years they attempt to evade capture.”
“This international investigation demonstrates the possibilities of success in identifying and producing significant prosecutorial evidence against members of drug trafficking organizations, money laundering organizations and corrupt public figures,” stated Matthew G. Donahue, Special Agent in Charge, DEA, Caribbean Division. “Guy Philippe violated public trust and the confidence of the Haitian people and others throughout the Caribbean Region and the United States, by supporting and benefiting from drug trafficking organizations. The arrest of Guy Philippe is a testament to the collective mission of our federal agencies and exceptional Foreign Police Units. The Haitian Police, La Brigade de Lutte contre le Trafic de Stupéfiants (BLTS), is commended for their continued hard work, dedication and assistance provided to the international law enforcement community. This investigation sends a strong message to criminal organizations globally, that the law enforcement partners throughout the Eastern Caribbean Region will not rest until these violators are brought to justice.”
Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), said, "Today Mr. Philippe admitted to accepting bribes while employed as a high-ranking Haitian National Police Officer and to assisting a drug operation that brought cocaine into Miami. IRS-CI is pleased this longtime fugitive has admitted his role in the money laundering conspiracy and will now face the consequences of his actions. IRS-CI will continue to work alongside our global law enforcement partners and provide our financial investigative expertise to dismantle these international drug and money laundering organizations."
According to admissions made in connection with the plea, beginning in the late 1990s, Philippe knowingly using his position as a high-ranking Haitian National Police Officer to provide protection for the shipments of drugs and drug proceeds arriving into Haiti in exchange for cash payments. Philippe admitted that from approximately June 1999 to April 2003, he received between $1.5 and $3.5 million in bribes from drug traffickers, knowing that the payments he received constituted proceeds of cocaine sales that occurred in Miami, Florida, and elsewhere in the United States. Philippe also admitted that he shared a portion of these payments with Haitian National Police officials and other security personnel to ensure their continued support for future drug shipments arriving into Haiti. Philippe used these payments to purchase a residence in Broward County, Florida; and to support himself and to support his family in the United States.
In addition, Philippe wired proceeds derived from the sale of cocaine, in the amount of $376,000, from banks in Haiti and Ecuador to a joint bank account in Miami. To avoid detection, Philippe used the names of others to wire the funds to his account. Philippe further admitted that he arranged for over $70,000 in drug proceeds to be deposited into his account that were conducted in a series of deposits each less than $10,000 to avoid the U.S. federal reporting requirements.
The DEA and IRS-CI investigated the case. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, DEA Port-au-Prince Country Office, Caribbean Field Division, U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement and Removal Operations, and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Miami Office of Field Operations provided assistance in this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lynn M. Kirkpatrick and Andy R. Camacho of the Southern District of Florida and Senior Trial Counsel Mark A. Irish of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section are prosecuting the case.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our federal partners commend the Government of Haiti, including the Ministry of Justice, Haitian National Police, and La Brigade de Lutte contre le Trafic de Stupéfiants (BLTS) for upholding the rule of law and assisting U.S. counterparts.
This case is the result of the ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) a partnership that brings together the combined expertise and unique abilities of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, dismantle and prosecute high-level members of drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations and enterprises.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
After eluding the feds for a decade in Haiti, Guy Philippe plans to plead guilty in Miami
According to the Miami Herald, Guy Philippe has apparently run out of moves in his quest to outfox the U.S. government. The former Haitian national police commander, who led a revolt against this nation’s president in 2004, and got elected to the Senate last year, has agreed to plead guilty on Monday to a drug-related charge, according to a notice filed in Miami federal court on Friday.
It is not clear from the notice whether Philippe, 49, will plead guilty to a principal conspiracy charge of smuggling cocaine from Colombia via Haiti to the United States, or to a secondary conspiracy offense of money laundering in an indictment dating back to 2005. The drug trafficking charge carries up to life in prison and the money – laundering offense up to 20 years.
In exchange for agreeing to plead guilty to avoid the risk of trial in early May and possible conviction on the main drug-conspiracy charge, it is likely federal prosecutors have offered Philippe a deal that sends him to prison for many years but not for the rest of his life.
Philippe’s defense attorney, Zeljka Bozanic, confirmed Saturday that “There is a favorable plea agreement in place” that allows him to avoid a life sentence but she declined to provide details. The U.S. attorney’s office could not be reached for comment.
The Dominican Republic was ranked at the top of a list of countries that must be visited in 2017
After Canada, which ranked first place of “must see” countries for 2017, Colombia came in second place in the prestigious classification by Lonely Planet, one of the most renowned travel guides of the world. The guide is one of the most reputable resources for millions of travelers all over the world. As a result, there is a strong likelihood the South American country will become the tourist destination of excellence in a few years.
Here is the complete ranking:
1- Canada
2- Colombia
3- Finland
4- Dominican Republic
5- Nepal
6- Bermuda
7- Mongolia
8- Oman
9- Burma
10- Ethiopia
Signing of an agreement to build a road connecting Hinche and Saint Raphael
Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant and the European Commissioner for Development, Neven Mimica signed an agreement for 45.3 million Euros concerning the construction of a section of main road No. 3 connecting Hinche and Saint Raphaël, according to a press release from the Office of the Prime Minister.
The works will be executed by the Haitian firm Vorbe and Sons, and the French firm Razel BEC. It is scheduled to begin in a month, and it will last 24 months.
At the end of the signing ceremony, the head of the government thanked the European Union, especially for funds available, notably 35 million Euros, following the passage of Hurricane Matthew, as well as the disbursement of 14.5 million Euros in the form of budgetary support for the government and for the consolidation of the Haitian state.
A SITE OF HAITI AMONG 20 NEW WORLD RESERVES OF BIOSPHERES
The International Co-ordinating Council of Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme of UNESCO, added 20 sites to the World Network of Biosphere Reserves during its meeting in the capital of Peru on 18 and 19 March. The newly adopted sites include 18 national sites and one transboundary site shared between Spain and Portugal. The Council also approved 9 extensions to existing Biosphere Reserves. Following the withdrawal of two sites at the request of Austria, this brings the total number of biosphere reserves to 669 sites in 120 countries, including 16 transboundary sites.
The site of La Hotte joined the World Network of Biosphere Reserves:
Located in the south-east of the country, the biosphere reserve encompasses both terrestrial and marine areas. The region is considered a biodiversity hotspot due to its wide climate range: from humid to subtropical dry. The reserve covers six mountain peaks culminating at 2,347m, as well as a coastal and marine ecosystem in the north (Iles Cayemites) and south (Ile-à-Vache). It is home to more than 850,000 inhabitants, whose main economic activities are farming, agroforestry, fishing, commerce, and handcrafts.
- Détails
- Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti
Haiti leader pleads guilty to money laundering in drug case
Monday, April 24, 2017
MIAMI, Florida (AP) — A former Haitian coup leader and recently elected senator in that country pleaded guilty Monday to a US drug money-laundering charge under a deal that should allow him to avoid a potential sentence of life in prison for cocaine trafficking.
Under the plea deal, the recommended prison sentence for Guy Philippe is nine years and the drug trafficking charge would be dropped. He also faces a US$1.5 million fine at a sentencing hearing July 5.
"You understand I am under no obligation to impose that sentence?" asked US District Judge Cecilia M Altonaga, noting that the maximum potential sentence is 20 years.
"Yes, your honour," said Philippe.
Philippe, 49, led a 2004 Haitian uprising that ousted then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and was indicted along with several others on US drug charges in 2005. He managed to elude capture for more than a decade, including at least 10 attempts to arrest him in Haiti that involved a military operation and a foot chase through the countryside.
Philippe was elected to the Haitian Senate in November but was arrested while giving a live radio interview in the capital of Port-au-Prince in January and whisked immediately to the US Altonaga rejected his claim of immunity as an elected Haitian official. The judge noted even if immunity applied, Philippe had not yet been officially sworn in.
There was no immediate comment about the guilty plea from the many members of Haiti's parliament who questioned the legality of swiftly flying Philippe to Florida on the same day of his arrest in the capital's Petionville district.
The remote, mountainous town of southwest Haiti where Philippe ran a virtual fiefdom was also quiet on Monday, local residents said. The town of Pestel was one of many communities on Haiti's remote southern peninsula struggling with flooding following heavy rain.
Philippe admitted Monday in court that, as a high-ranking Haitian police commander in the city of Cap-Haitien, he accepted between US$1.5 million and US$3.5 million from drug smugglers from 1999 to 2003. Prosecutors say Philippe and other police officers took the money in exchange for ensuring safe passage for cocaine shipments from Colombia and other countries that went through Haiti on their way to Miami and other US destinations.
"Philippe cast aside his duty to protect and serve the people of Haiti," said Acting US Attorney Benjamin Greenberg. "Instead, he abused his position of authority as a high-ranking Haitian National Police officer to safeguard drug shipments and launder illicit trafficking proceeds."
Philippe attorney Zeljka Bozanic said taking the potential life sentence off the table was the key to the plea agreement, especially considering there are few witnesses and documents available to mount a credible defence.
"We're happy that's going to be the result," she said. "Hopefully he'll still be a relatively young person walking out of there."
About US$376,000 of the illicit cash was wired to a Miami bank account from Haiti and Ecuador and used by Philippe to purchase a house in the Fort Lauderdale area, according to court documents.
There was a series of protests in Haiti when Philippe was arrested in January, with some supporters calling it an illegal kidnapping. Several dozen people demonstrated outside the Miami courthouse at one of his earlier appearances, but there was no such show of support Monday.
"It is important that Philippe accepted responsibility for his criminal offenses against the United States and the people of Haiti," said Adolphus Wright, chief of the Drug Enforcement Administration's Miami office.
Haiti PM's motorcade hits 2, killing 1 near flooded zone
Monday, April 24, 2017
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A motorcade carrying Haiti's prime minister struck two teenage boys, killing one, as officials drove into the country's third largest city on Monday to see flood damage left by heavy rains.
Serge Daniel, a government delegate who was traveling in Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant's motorcade, said one of the vehicles accidentally struck two adolescents who darted into the road on a motorbike.
The motorcade continued on to its destination as the badly injured teenagers lay on the road, sparking a tire-burning protest by furious locals in the southwest city of Les Cayes.
Les Cayes police spokeswoman Guerline Dimanche said officers rushed the boys to a public hospital, where one was declared dead on arrival.
Mayor Jean Gabriel Fortune said Lafontant, a physician who was approved last month as Haiti's No 2 official, agreed to put the survivor on a government helicopter for treatment in the capital of Port-au-Prince.
It was not clear if the motorcade was speeding or if the boys were driving recklessly.
Monday's trip was meant to show government solidarity with victims of downpours that have saturated much of Haiti, triggering flooding in low-lying areas and causing at least two deaths in the struggling southwest region that was slammed by Hurricane Matthew last year.
Interior Ministry spokesman Guillaume Albert Moleon said that a 19-year-old man in Camp Perrin was swept away when he tried to cross a rising river with his motorbike. The other death was an elderly resident of Port Salut whose shack was destroyed by a torrent of water.
Even moderate rain in Haiti can lead to flash floods carrying mud and debris and authorities have urged people near surging rivers to be vigilant.
A trough bringing wet weather has drenched swaths of the Caribbean in recent days, with some flooding reported in the neighbouring Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Puerto Rico.
Haitian TPS
The Trump administration should extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for all qualified Haitians. Failing to do so will complicate the delicate and fragile situation in Haiti.
However, we need to think beyond the Band-Aid of TPS and seek long-term solutions to Haiti’s continuing crisis. Haitians are found in just about every country in our hemisphere as unwanted migrants.
The United States is uniquely placed to innovate by working with Haiti’s Moise/Lafontant administration, the large, and largely successful, U.S.-based Haitian diaspora, and the Haitian private sector, to channel some USAID funds into an investment fund with strict oversight and management structure to facilitate direct investments in key sectors in Haiti.
Keeping displaced Haitians here is the right thing to do, but it does not address the continuing factors that have made the average Haitian youth dream only of a visa or an illegal trip to seek a better life elsewhere.
JEAN D. VERNET, II,
BROOKLYN, NY
APRIL 27, 2017
“You Live Under Fear”: 50,000 Haitian People at Risk of Deportation
by DARLENE DUBUISSON – MARK SCHULLER
“With TPS, it’s like you live under fear,” thirty something aspiring nurse Michaëlle explained. “You don’t know what’s going to happen. I live with stress because of that.”
Michaëlle’s situation just got worse on April 20, when Trump’s immigration agency recommended ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 50,000 Haitian people living in the U.S.
After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, President Obama granted temporary relief status to undocumented Haitians who had arrived in the U.S. before 2011. Given the slow pace of recovery efforts and subsequent disasters – notably the cholera epidemic that has killed over 10,000 and counting, and Hurricane Matthew that hit Haiti last October – TPS has been extended several times. The latest TPS is set to expire on July 22, 2017.
In essence, the Trump administration’s policy would amount to kicking out 50,000 people who have, despite their fear, put their faith in the U.S. government to legalize, like fifty something child care provider Wideline. She recalls that “[We were told to] tell all fellow Haitians they don’t need to fear because they are going to give Haitians who are illegal in this country papers so they can work.”
Wideline specifically acknowledged fear that TPS would become, in effect, a pipeline to deportation: “people spread fear, arguing that the papers were so that the U.S. government can identify Haitians living in the country in order to deport them. And this is why some people didn’t do it.”
Given the switch in administration, TPS, like registering for DACA for many undocumented Mexican families, has meant that it places a target on people’s heads. TPS, like DACA, makes people visible to the State and thus more “deportable,” like undocumented rights activist Jeanette Vizguerra, who sought sanctuary in a Denver church this February.
While this particular threat to the Haitian American community has gone largely unreported, it represents a betrayal for some. Unlike Mexican Americans, specifically targeted by then-candidate Trump, Haitian Americans, particularly in Florida, were actively courted by Republican strategists and Breitbart News.
In 2000, the fate of the free world hung on 537 dimpled chads in the Sunshine State, home to an estimated 424,000 people of Haitian descent per the 2010 Census. This number is low not only because of undocumented but because people have to self-select as “Haitian.”
Many Haitian community leaders and organizations were solid and early backers of Obama, the country’s first African American president. Compared to the Cuban community in South Florida, the Haitian Diaspora wields less political power because of the lack of dual citizenship. As the first and only slave revolt to beget a free nation, Haiti has long symbolized Black pride. As scholars such as Nina Glick Schiller and Georges Fouron and others argue, Haitian Diaspora keep their Haitian citizenship while sending remittances, representing athird of the country’s Gross Domestic Product.
Following the earthquake, organizations within the Haitian Diaspora such as the Haitian Congress to Fortify Haiti pushed for both TPS in the U.S. and dual citizenship in Haiti. Both were won in 2011.
Why would this solid Democratic voting bloc help push the needle towards a candidate who openly expressed hostility toward immigrants?
While the Haitian community is large and diverse, and therefore complex, an important factor was the role the Clintons – the “king and queen of Haiti” – played following the earthquake.
On April 11, the United Nations announced the end of its controversial military force. MINUSTAH belatedly apologized for infecting Haiti with cholera, but it was too little, too late. And the UN is still attempting to dodge responsibility for a rash of sexual assault cases. The Clintons were involved in no-bid contracts for shoddy homes,high-end tourism, an apparel factory outside of Port-au-Prince, andgold prospecting.
Some in the Haitian community might have forgiven this disaster capitalism if Haiti was “built back better” as Bill Clinton promised.
It wasn’t.
However, at least in the capital of Port-au-Prince, an argument can be made for at least some economic institutions and physical infrastructure being rebuilt. Much of this is unrecognized initiative by Haitian people themselves, such as in Canaan, an informal settlement created to house the displaced after the earthquake.
Following Trump’s election, proponents for ending TPS suggest that Haiti has recovered enough to support the return of these undocumented.
It seems that yet again when officials speak of Haiti, they mean Port-au-Prince, where recovery efforts have been targeted. But Port-au-Prince is not Haiti. And Haitian TPS holders have origins all over the country, including the Grand’Anse that is still reeling from Hurricane Matthew. But people living outside of the capital are moun andeyò,“outsiders.” As the lackluster international response suggested, these people who live far from the NGO offices and high-end hotels don’t count. Their lives don’t matter.
Like many community leaders here legally, people like Michaëlle who don’t have legal status define both as “home.” Professors Shannon Gleeson and Kate Griffith at Cornell University lead a study of TPS holders in NYC. This research documents that Haitian TPS holders tend to have significant ties to this country, not the least having had children and raising them here.
Of the 30 respondents in the Cornell study so far, most report being in the U.S. for decades, particularly beginning in the late 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. Being Haitian in the 1980s was to endure ridicule and stigma, as Haiti was incorrectly blamed for AIDS. U.S. actions like the destruction of local pigs, rural bank accounts, as well as free-trade policies it imposed destroyed Haiti’s economy, triggering this migration in the first place. These actions benefited large U.S. agribusiness and other corporations.
The people in the Cornell study tend to have children here, and some report having left children back in Haiti. Many people report having worked in the undocumented labor force, but after receiving TPS they could apply for better paying jobs, albeit still below minimum wage. But these jobs require that their TPS be current, which costs $400 every eighteen months.
Ending TPS would cause a deep wound in the Haitian community, ripping apart families, and punishing people who endure sub-minimum wage jobs because they believed the government would be fair.
Especially because of the causes of the migration – not to mention exploitative working conditions –benefit U.S. companies in the first place, justice demands that the U.S. own its accountability to these temporary status holders.
But TPS also affirms humanity and human decency. Michaëlle reported “I feel grateful because I am in this country. I have the ability to go to school and to work.”
Michaëlle, like other TPS holders from Haiti, Honduras, and El Salvador, contribute to this country through their labor and the pursuit of their dreams.
The least we can do is act, before the final ruling on TPS is handed down. There is a petition calling for Secretary Kelly to renew TPS.
Darlene Dubuisson is a PhD Candidate in the joint Applied Anthropology program at Columbia University. Her research interests include black intellectualism, academic culture, diaspora, and transnationalism. She has conducted research in the US and Haiti on issues ranging from diaspora involvement in higher education to the impact of humanitarian aid in Haiti to Haitian temporary workers in NYC. Mark Schuller is Associate Professor at Northern Illinois University and affiliate at the State University of Haiti. Schuller has thirty scholarly publications on NGOs, globalization, disasters, and gender in Haiti. Schuller wrote or co-edited seven books, including Humanitarian Aftershocks in Haiti and co-directed documentary Poto Mitan: Haitian Women, Pillars of the Global Economy. Recipient of the Margaret Mead Award, Schuller is active in several solidarity efforts.
- Détails
- Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti
TPS: Black Caucus asks the Trump administration to show compassion
The Miami Herald
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus joined a growing chorus of voices calling on the Trump administration to show compassion for tens of thousands of Haitians who are at risk of being deported back to Haiti under a federal agency recommendation.
In a letter sent to Department of Homeland Secretary John Kelly Tuesday, the bipartisan House caucus asks the administration to “show compassion” and extend Haiti’s Temporary Protected Status designation for another 18 months.
The plea comes on the heels of a recommendation by acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, James McCament, that the special immigration status, often referred to as TPS, be extended for only six months past the current July 22 expiration date. Under that recommendation, TPS for Haitians would end Jan. 22.
McCament issued the recommendation to Kelly in an April 10 memo. Kelly has until May 23 to decide. If no decision is made, TPS will be automatically extended for six months, according to federal law. Haitians received TPS after the devastating 2010 earthquake in the Caribbean country. A recommendation for its extension after Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti in 2016 was never acted upon.
The recommendation to end TPS has fueled at least two petitions from Haitian activists, letters from Republican and Democratic lawmakers and 416 faith-based leaders and organizations, and editorials in publications including the Miami Herald, Washington Post and New York Times.
Trump once told Haitians he’d be their ‘greatest champion.’ Now he wants to deport them
BY FABIOLA SANTIAGO
For a fanatically anti-immigrant presidential candidate, Donald Trump’s campaign stop to hobnob with members of Miami’s Haitian community and make campaign promises many of us suspected he wouldn’t keep was, at best, bizarre.
But a hopeful crowd of voters welcomed Trump at a marketplace and visitor center in the heart of Little Haiti in September. Some were Republicans, some independents, some frustrated Democrats. Some were well-to-do, others working class, others activists. One was a former finance minister of Haiti.
Trump told Haitians they shared “a lot of common values” and pushed the narrative that the Clintons failed Haiti in the aftermath of the devastating 2010 earthquake. Money slated for recovery, he told them, went to “their cronies.”
“I really want to be your greatest champion,” Trump said.
Flash forward to President Trump. There’s been no appointment of a Haitian American as ambassador to Haiti, as he led them to believe he would do. Heck, there’s not even a properly staffed State Department with an expert hand in charge of Western Hemisphere affairs.
But there’s a battalion operating at the Department of Homeland Security working to deport millions of immigrants without permanent resident status in the country — and it’s the Haitians’ turn.
In a memo to Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, the acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, James McCament, said the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) allowing some 58,000 Haitians to live and work in the United States since the earthquake — which left 300,000 people dead and 1.5 million injured — should be terminated instead of renewed. It expires on July 22.
Unless enough public outcry reverses the course, this means deportation to a poverty-stricken nation that hasn’t recuperated from one natural disaster before it’s been hit with another, from deadly floods to a cholera epidemic brought by U.N. peacekeepers to last summer’s Hurricane Matthew.
The high levels of displacement and homelessness, food and water shortages, and lack of sanitary conditions in many parts of the country make it very difficult for the country to reabsorb returned nationals, a panel of experts eloquently argued Tuesday.
“Rains have started and there’s already been flooding,” Dr. Paul Farmer, who shuttles between Harvard University and Haiti, said via phone conference. “This morning the water is dark brown. I wouldn’t drink it. I wouldn’t even bathe in it.”
To all that suffering, add political instability to the mix.
MORE THAN 400 FAITH LEADERS AND ORGANIZATIONS NATIONWIDE URGE SUPPORT FOR HAITIANS AT RISK FOR DEPORTATION
Call on DHS Secretary Kelly to extend Temporary Protected Status for Haiti for another 18 months
WASHINGTON, D.C. - CWS and Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. announced today that 248 leaders from across faith traditions and 168 faith-based organizations delivered a letter to DHS Secretary Kelly, urging him to extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS), currently set to expire in July, for at least 18 months for our Haitians neighbors in the United States.
In the wake of the 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti, the U.S. government committed to protecting Haitians already in the United States. Today, about 58,000 Haitians have been able to rebuild their lives, work, and raise a family in safety. DHS is now considering terminating TPS for our Haitian brothers and sisters, and we call on Secretary Kelly to live up to our American values of compassion, generosity, and welcome.
“Faith in God calls on us to welcome the stranger and stand with the vulnerable. We cannot turn our backs on the vulnerable Haitians whom we pledged to welcome after the devastating natural disasters that forced thousands from their homes,” said CWS President and CEO Reverend John L. McCullough. “Terminating TPS would violate our our closely-held moral, religious and American values to stand for the human rights and dignity of all people. As hunger, disease, and the worst cholera epidemic in the world persist in Haiti, we pray that Secretary Kelly remembers the common values we all aspire to: to love our neighbors.”
“Ending TPS for Haitians – whose country struggles to recover from an unprecedented string of catastrophic events – offends American and Catholic values,” said Jeanne Atkinson, executive director of Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC). “It would be cruel and unconscionable to stop protecting from deportation the 50,000 Haitian TPS holders who live and work peacefully in the United States. The ripple effects of sending Haitian TPS holders home would further destabilize that fragile country. Extending TPS is the compassionate and just approach.”
“As a Christian, my faith has taught and called me to welcome without discrimination, stand with the vulnerable, and love my neighbor,” said Rev. Dr. Ronald J. Degges, President, Disciples Home Missions, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). “I absolutely believe that my faith calls me to do everything in my power to meet our Haitian neighbors with the same welcome that our Biblical ancestors, who were once immigrants and refugees, received. We cannot call ourselves Christian and reject the most vulnerable among us. Extend TPS for Haitians for at least another 18 months. It is the American and Christian thing to do—and would honor the deep love I feel for the people of Haiti, and the many contributions they continue to offer to our communities and to our congregations.”
“Our God commands us in our scriptures like Deuteronomy 15:11 to ‘open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land,’” said Rev. Dr. Philius Nicolas, Evangelical Crusade of Fishers of Men, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Brooklyn, N.Y. “Our faith communities follow God’s word to ‘welcome the sojourner,’ and we have done this for decades by offering spiritual care, social support, health ministries, and integration resources. The Haitians now in the U.S. who have received Temporary Protected Status are indeed in great need in our land. They did not come here because they desired to leave their homeland of Haiti, but rather left because of great disasters, poverty, and dangers of disease that still continue. To separate families to make them return to such conditions would be against the values of our faith. Instead, extending TPS would actually bring great value to the United States, because we already have seen for decades how Haitians in the U.S. offer many strengths to the communities where they settle.“
Join our press call with Center for American Progress at 10:30 AM today (Tuesday) for further information: Call 877-627-6582, Conference ID: 4980094. Click here to take action and urge Secretary Kelly to extend TPS protections for Haitians in the United States for at least another 18 months.
Cholera cases down 60 percent in Haiti
May 8, 2017
The number of cholera cases reported in Haiti through Apr. 8 this year is down significantly compared to the same periods in 2015 and 2016, according to a new report from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
A total of 4,871 suspected cholera cases were reported in Haiti, including 69 deaths to date. This represents a 60 and 61 percent decrease compared to the 12,373 and 12,226 suspected cholera cases reported during the same period in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
In addition, the 69 deaths reported in 2017 represents a 41% and 50% decrease compared to the 116 and 139 deaths reported during the same period in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
All 10 Departments of Haiti have reported suspected cholera cases during 2017. The five departments with the highest rates in descending order are: Centre, Ouest (which includes the capital city of Port-au-Prince), Nippes, Artibonite, and Nord.
Since the cholera outbreak began in October 2010, months after the Jan. 12, 2010 earthquake, 800,665 cases have been reported, including 9,480 deaths.
Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. It has a short incubation period, ranging between two hours and five days.
The bacterium produces an enterotoxin that causes a copious, painless, watery diarrhea that can quickly lead to severe dehydration and death if treatment is not promptly given. Vomiting also occurs in most patients.
It affects both children and adults and can kill within hours. Person-to-person transmission is not common.
Among people who develop symptoms, about 80-90% of episodes are of mild or moderate severity and are difficult to distinguish clinically from other types of acute diarrhea. Less than 20% of ill persons develop acute watery diarrhea with moderate or severe dehydration.
People with low immunity, such as malnourished children or people living with HIV, are at greater risk of death if infected.
Tourism: Haiti host of the next International Bar Conference
Last Friday, Colombe Émilie Jessy Menos, the Minister of Tourism, spoke with Stanley Gaston, the president of the Bar Association of Port-au-Prince, and some of his colleagues. The topic of this conversation focused on holding the next International Bar Conference (CIB) in Haiti from December 6th through 9th, 2017. As host country, Haiti will welcome representatives of 120 bars coming from 42 countries.
Charter Haiti airline connects Montreal to Haiti
Griot, banana pesee, riz collé - all the Haitian fixings will be aboard the Charter Haiti flights from Montreal to Port-au-Prince. The new airline celebrated its inaugural flight from the Pierre-Elliot Trudeau Airport in Montreal on May 6th.
This Haitian airline offers competitive prices and other conveniences to its customers. By permitting two 25-pound suitcases, Haiti Charter accommodates Haitians known to have luggage surpluses when travelling.
"We tell our customers that we can send their luggage surpluses on another flight or by cargo, because we offer that service as well. Their luggage should arrive 48 hours later in Port-au-Prince," asserts Michel Romain, the CEO of Charter Haiti.
Romain, a former real estate agent, invested about a half-million dollars in this company. Charter Haiti has a fleet of seven planes with pilots from Quebec for a safe and secure mode of transportation.
The company, based in Canada, has already passed all of the steps needed for certification for transport in order to begin operating this month. Although Charter Haiti began its first flight in Montreal, the company expects to set up other flights, in particular from Fort Meyers (Florida) to Port-au-Prince.
The headquarters of Charter Haiti are located at 6770, Rue Jarry Est. Suite 230, Montreal, Quebec H1P 1W3, Canada. They can also be reached by e-mail at:
Leonardo DiCaprio Joins Sean Penn at Haiti Takes Root Benefit Dinner
Naomi Campbell, Ellie Goulding and Andy Cohen were also on hand to share their support for the J/P Haitian Relief Organization at the annual gala.
On Jan. 12, 2010, the lives of thousands of Haitians were forever changed in 53 seconds by a devastating earthquake, leaving many homeless and in need of medical care. It was during the immediate aftermath of this grave natural disaster that Sean Penn founded J/P Haitian Relief Organization as an emergency response to save lives. And with each passing year, millions of dollars are raised to help to rebuild the country.
On Friday night, the organization held its annual gala, an event that usually takes place in Los Angeles, at Sotheby's in New York City, co-hosted by Bryan Lourd and David Geffen. Many of Penn's friends were in attendance, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Naomi Campbell, Ellie Goulding, Andy Cohen and Donna Karan, who came to show their support for the organization's newest initiative, Haiti Takes Root, which is helping with reforestation following Hurricane Matthew.
"Haiti was devastated by Hurricane Matthew," Penn said as he explained the new initiative, "and I watched from another country as news organizations said no one is doing anything for these people."
Haiti Takes Root will for the first time ever be able to reverse hundreds of years of deforestation, thanks to the generous donations of its supporters, many of whom were in attendance on Friday night. And it was with the help of DiCaprio, who, after making an incognito entrance, made himself very valuable in raising funds. The actor and activist added himself to one of the auction items in order to up the ante from $200,000 to $225,000. A dinner experience with Penn and former President Bill Clinton was bid on for $200k, but Leo said aloud he'd also join the dinner if someone would make it $225k, which they did.
It was a night to remember, with acoustic performances by Damien Rice and Andra Day, who, in the spirit of the evening, performed her hit "Rise Up," bringing everyone to their feet for a standing ovation.
To close out the event, Penn took to the stage to share a few more words: "Haiti could be an example of not how bad a country could be, but how it could rise up from its current situation and achieve something better. And if it can happen in Haiti, it can happen in the rest of the world, and that becomes an example to the rest of the world on how hope and renewal can be found in the face of death and devastation."
The St. Luke Foundation Inaugurates St. Luke Hospital and International Training Center
Construction Supported by USAID/ASHA Grant
Port-au-Prince, April 27, 2017- Chargé d’Affaires Brian Shukan joined St. Luke’s Foundation, the Haitian Ministry of Health, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to inaugurate the first international medical training center in Haiti.
The training center consists of two training and simulation rooms, a conference room, and an administrative meeting room.
“This state-of-the-art medical training center will ensure that St. Luke staff and the greater Haitian medical community have a base to build and hone the most current skills they need to continue their vital work,” said Shukan.
The construction was supported by a $500,000 grant from USAID’s Office of American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA), and the facility will host its first international conference, “The Haitian Acute Care and Emergency Care Conference“ on April 28 and 29.
“Continuing Medical Education (CME) is a guarantee of quality in healthcare,” said St. Luke Mission medical director, Dr. Marc Edson Augustin. “The conference will be the first of many such experiences at St. Luke's new training center, furthering our primary goal of bringing quality and dignified care to the most vulnerable.”
USAID/ASHA grants support the construction and purchase of equipment for medical institutions in Haiti. Additional recipients of ASHA grants include St. Boniface Haiti Foundation; Catholic Relief Services for equipment at Hospital St. Francois de Sales; Albert Schweitzer Hospital; and the International Child Care’s training center and inpatient child care unit. Since 1979, ASHA grants have provided over $21 million in support to projects in Haiti.
Support for St. Luke also includes a wastewater treatment system for the hospital implemented through a water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) project partnership with UNICEF.
USAID Haiti has a longstanding partnership with the St. Luke’s Medical Mission. In 2010, USAID supported hospital construction of structures to house their cholera treatment activities; these are currently still in use.
Four deaths and approximately 3,500 families stricken
4 deaths, approximately 3,500 families stricken, and countless damaged houses - that is the assessment drawn up by Civilian Protection following the latest rains that have come down on the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince recently.
Forum of French-Haitian businesses
Last Thursday, the French Ambassador in Haiti, Elisabeth Beton Delegue, was in Santo-Domingo where she held a joint meeting of the Franco-Haitian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CFHCI) and the Dominican Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIFD). The French Ambassador in Santo Domingo was also in attendance. The Objective of this meeting was to promote the French-Haitian Business Forum, which will take place in Port-au-Prince on June 24th and 25th.
Haiti Dominican Republic: intensification of repatriations at the border towns of Carisal / Elias Piña
The operations of Haitian repatriations have intensified in the last few days to Belladère. A total of 1,854 Haitians were repatriated at the border towns of Carisal / Elias Piña from April 1st to April 27th, 2017. A total of 736 of them were welcomed by the services of the GARR in Belladère.
Out of those, key cases were recorded. One of those involved a young 19-year-old repatriate who received a gunshot from the weapon of a Dominican serviceman. He was detained for 25 days at the prison center of Haina, in San Cristóbal in the South of the Dominican Republic.
A native of Fonds-des-Nègres, John Kéry Paul lived approximately two years in the Dominican Republic. He worked for an electric company. He was intercepted on April 2nd, 2017 by Dominican servicemen while he was reporting to work early.
After arriving in Haina, which usually contains many Haitian migrants before they are deported, John denounced aloud the ill-treatment subjected to the Haitian nationals. Furious, the Dominican servicemen approached him and began to strike him in the back and in the stomach, and finally shot a rubber ball in the left foot, specifically in his ankle. In spite of all of this, the victim was imprisoned afterward.
After being released on April 27th, 2017, he was escorted the same day back to the border line of Carisal / Belladère together with a group of 57 repatriates.
According to the young repatriate, who is the father of a 12-month-old baby, the Dominican servicemen seized several bags belonging to the repatriates, including his, which contained his cell phone and clothes he had just purchased.
GARR pleads in favor of respecting the rights of the repatriated Haitians. It calls upon Haitian authorities to pursue the negotiations already begun with the bilateral Dominican State within the framework of the mixed bi-lateral Committee while giving priority to human rights violations subjected upon Haitian nationals on a daily basis.
Launch of the “Operation Hurricane” to fight insecurity
Recently during a press briefing, Lead Inspector Gary Desrosiers, Deputy Spokesman of the National police force of Haiti (PNH) gave some details about "Operation Hurricane" which was deployed recently with the objective of fighting crime and rendering bandits harmless.
This operation, which will last one month, will be spread into 3 departments: the West, the Artibonite and the North. It will mobilize more than 3,000 policemen (20 % of the national staff). The targeted zones of operation are markets, transportation stations, tourism sites, and parking lots.
For the western department, 200 agents from various specialized units of the PNH are going to be deployed in strategic places of the metropolitan region.
Gary Desrosiers underlined that "Operation Hurricane" also included securing the safety the President Moises’ travels.
- Détails
- Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti
DHS chief Kelly asks for criminal histories of thousands of Haitians seeking to stay in US
Secretary John Kelly asked Department of Homeland Security staff for the criminal history of thousands of Haitians living in the United States on protected immigration status as he mulls the decision of whether to extend the program set to expire in July.
The Trump administration must soon decide whether to renew "Temporary Protected Status" for some 50,000 Haitians currently living in the U.S. In 2010, the Obama administration granted the status to Haiti after a massive earthquake that devastated the island-nation, killing an estimated 220,000 and displacing 1.5 million.
The 18-month program has been extended three times since.
DHS staff said Kelly's requests for criminal data and public benefit usage by Haitian protected status recipients will not be used to make a decision request.
However, the move has raised concerns among immigration advocates who worry about how this information will be used given the administration's more hardline positions on immigration.
"Secretary Kelly hasn't made a decision on (Temporary Protected Status) for Haiti," Joanne Talbot from DHS's Office of Public Affairs told NBC News. "The Secretary's decision will be based on a thorough assessment of the conditions in the country; separately, he has asked the staff for detailed information to increase his understanding of how the program operates. The two actions are separate and distinct."
Federal law regarding Temporary Protected Status does not specify a recipient's behavior as criteria for extending the program and immigration experts say those who receive it are heavily screened before they are granted the protected status. They are also not eligible for welfare benefits.
"The idea that you would deny protection for 50,000 people because there are a few bad apples who wouldn't be eligible for Temporary Protected Status in the first place, makes little to no sense," Tom Jawetz, the vice president of immigration policy at the Center for American Progress, a liberal research organization told NBC News.
Paul Altidor, ambassador of Haiti to the U.S. said his government is in communication with DHS.
"We have as a government requested that Temporary Protected Status be extended for at least 12 to 18 months from our standpoint," Altidor said. "Not because simply Haiti needs it, but we feel that it would be in the interest of both countries as Haiti is putting in motion its development plan based on the catastrophe of the Earthquake in 2010 and a set of other issues that came up along the way that has slowed down our reconstruction process."
Haiti elected a new president in January following a 14-month election process which was further prolonged by a brutal Hurricane in October.
Haitian-born New York City Council member Mathieu Eugene said Temporary Protected Status recipients who have come to his office are looking for an extension on the program, "because they are people who are working hard every single today to provide for themselves and their families and consider it the fabric of the United States."
The Associated Press was the first to report the DHS' request for criminal data of the Haitian community based on inter-agency emails they obtained. The report found that career officials appeared to struggle to find the type of information Kelly was requesting
"We should also find any reports of criminal activity by any individual with (Temporary Protected Status). Even though it's only a snapshot and not representative of the entire situation, we need more than 'Haiti is really poor' stories," wrote Kathy Nuebel-Kovarick, who began her new role April 2 heading immigration policy at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), an agency within DHS.
Previously, Kovarick constructed immigration policy under Sen. Chuck Grassley — working closely with Attorney General Jeff Sessions' staff when he was a senator.
Ira Mehlman, media director at the restrictionist Federation for American Immigration Reform, said Temporary Protected Status originally had some merit, but he questions what the program has become.
"You know the T in TPS stands for temporary. But you know people just keep extending their stay here in the United States long past any reasonable time frame after the triggering event," Mehlman said.
The director of USCIS James McCament recommended in April that Sec. Kelly not fully extend Temporary Protected Status status for Haitians because he said conditions have improved significantly. That recommendation has received its share of criticism from lawmakers and advocacy groups.
McCament's agency sent a vastly different report about the conditions in Haiti in December when they said housing shortages, a cholera epidemic, limited medical care, economic concerns, food insecurity and security threats still remained a problem in the country. Haiti was rocked by Hurricane Matthew in October, just weeks after Trump appealed to voters in Miami.
Then-Secretary of State John Kerry recommended Temporary Protected Status be extended.
Leonardo DiCaprio Joins Sean Penn at Haiti Takes Root Benefit Dinner
5/6/2017 by Sara Kitnick
Naomi Campbell, Ellie Goulding and Andy Cohen were also on hand to share their support for the J/P Haitian Relief Organization at the annual gala.
On Jan. 12, 2010, the lives of thousands of Haitians were forever changed in 53 seconds by a devastating earthquake, leaving many homeless and in need of medical care. It was during the immediate aftermath of this grave natural disaster that Sean Penn founded J/P Haitian Relief Organization as an emergency response to save lives. And with each passing year, millions of dollars are raised to help to rebuild the country.
On Friday night, the organization held its annual gala, an event that usually takes place in Los Angeles, at Sotheby's in New York City, co-hosted by Bryan Lourd and David Geffen. Many of Penn's friends were in attendance, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Naomi Campbell, Ellie Goulding, Andy Cohen and Donna Karan, who came to show their support for the organization's newest initiative, Haiti Takes Root, which is helping with reforestation following Hurricane Matthew.
"Haiti was devastated by Hurricane Matthew," Penn said as he explained the new initiative, "and I watched from another country as news organizations said no one is doing anything for these people."
Haiti Takes Root will for the first time ever be able to reverse hundreds of years of deforestation, thanks to the generous donations of its supporters, many of whom were in attendance on Friday night. And it was with the help of DiCaprio, who, after making an incognito entrance, made himself very valuable in raising funds. The actor and activist added himself to one of the auction items in order to up the ante from $200,000 to $225,000. A dinner experience with Penn and former President Bill Clinton was bid on for $200k, but Leo said aloud he'd also join the dinner if someone would make it $225k, which they did.
It was a night to remember, with acoustic performances by Damien Rice and Andra Day, who, in the spirit of the evening, performed her hit "Rise Up," bringing everyone to their feet for a standing ovation.
To close out the event, Penn took to the stage to share a few more words: "Haiti could be an example of not how bad a country could be, but how it could rise up from its current situation and achieve something better. And if it can happen in Haiti, it can happen in the rest of the world, and that becomes an example to the rest of the world on how hope and renewal can be found in the face of death and devastation."
Death of the mother of Dany Laferrière
Dany Laferrière’s first stop when he traveled in Haiti was always at his mother's place in Delmas. Marie Nelson Laferrière died on Thursday, May 11th, at the age 90. Less popular than her son, Marie carried the same scars as Dany: the dictatorship, an absent husband and father.
She looked on with pride and serenity at her son’s literary successes. President François Hollande invited him to France, it was a long journey, and a violent reminder of her husband’s exile. She preferred to stay here, knowing that all of the paths in the world could only take Dany to Delmas, to her love and affection.
Before passing away, Marie Nelson Laferrière saw her son Dany become a literary genius in Canada and Haiti, as well as get inducted as a member of the French Academy – the official authority on the French language.
A Painting by Basquiat is estimated at 60 million dollars
Jean Michel Basquiat is about to enter the pantheon of the contemporary artists. One of his paintings "could become a new record for the American painter," according to Sotheby’s which hopes it will reach the 60 million dollar figure.
Fourteen works of the painter born in Brooklyn in 1960, and who died from a drug overdose in SoHo in 1988, will be presented at a spring auction in New York, where a pallet of potential buyers support the art market.
Basquiat is to become the dominant figure at the auction, which will take place this week, according to L'Express magazine.
In May, 2016, another large, untitled painting by Basquiat reached $57.2 million at Christie’s, dethroning "Dustheads," which earned $48.8 million dollars in 2013, according to L’Express.
"Basquiat, is New York. It is the 1980’s," summarizes Grégoire Billault, who is in charge of contemporary art at Sotheby’s in New York.
"It was the place we wanted to go. It was where things were happening. Jean-Michel is really the fuel of that," he said.
Another work by the painter, who was of Haitian origin on his father’s side and Puerto Rican on his mother’s side, "La Hara," should reach a high price at Christie’s. He estimates it will reach between 22 and 28 million dollars.
Both Christie’s and Sotheby’s wish to surpass the 1.1 billion dollar bar during the week of the 15th to the 19th, according to estimates from both houses.
Coast Guard offloads ton of pot in Fort Lauderdale after confiscation south of Haiti
BY CARLI TEPROFF
More than a ton of marijuana will not make it to the streets of South Florida after the Coast Guard confiscated the drugs in the waters south of Haiti last month.
On Tuesday, the drugs, worth about $2.4 million, were offloaded from the Coast Guard Cutter Seneca in Fort Lauderdale and transferred to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
According to the Coast Guard, the 2,600 pounds of marijuana were interdicted by the Coast Guard Cutter Diligence in April about 80 miles south of Haiti.
IFC Helps Haitian Businesses Strengthen their Corporate Governance
The FINANCIAL -- IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, together with the World Bank and the Central Bank of Haiti are hosting a three-day corporate governance workshop in Port au Prince this week to help Haitian state-owned enterprises, family businesses and the media develop sound corporate governance practices.
“IFC’s global corporate governance team has a long track record of helping companies of all types and sizes build the conditions necessary for long-term success,” said Sylvain Kakou, IFC Representative in Haiti. “In Haiti, good corporate governance can make a big difference in helping companies grow and attract new investors. This in turn helps strengthen the country’s economy.”
Corporate governance is defined as the structures and processes by which companies are directed and controlled. During more than two decades, IFC has worked to improve the governance of a wide range of companies. Our experience has shown that good corporate governance practices help businesses operate more efficiently, better manage risks, and attract investment on better terms, according to IFC.
The objective of this week’s workshop is to raise awareness about the governance of family-owned businesses and state-owned enterprises. IFC and World Bank specialists will address challenges faced by these firms such as planning for succession, raising capital, ensuring accountability, and structuring the board of directors. There will also be a session to help journalists build their capacity to report on corporate governance matters.
“Haiti’s businesses, large and small, are key to boosting growth, innovation, trade, and efficiency. Helping these businesses thrive is essential,” said Jean Baden Dubois, Governor of Haiti’s Central Bank. “Corporate governance is an important tool in supporting Haitian businesses to attract needed investment, grow and partner with international firms.”
Well-run companies are better able to respond to competitive challenges and legitimate stakeholder concerns. Family owned businesses can also see important benefits. Approximately 95% of the world's family businesses do not successfully reach the third generation of ownership; the long-term sustainability of such firms is therefore a central issue. Improving corporate governance practices, such as adopting more formalized approaches to management, succession guidelines and changes in board structure, can help family businesses increase their long-term viability.
IFC’s portfolio in Haiti amounts to $148 million, including $54 million mobilized from partner institutions. IFC operates in sectors such as hospitality, energy, access to finance, and manufacturing. Our strategy focuses on creating jobs, access to basic infrastructure, and income opportunities for Haitians.