Higher incomes for mango farmers in Haiti

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 8 octobre 2018

 Paris - Tasting: Haitian chocolate seduces French specialists thanks to its unique flavor

Members of the Chocolate Lovers Club in Paris were able to sample some Haitian chocolate, which they rated as an "exceptional product."

Paris, Saturday, September 29th, 2018 ((rezonodwes.com)) - Approximately eighty chocolate amateurs and specialists participated in a meeting on a barge of the Seine, "The Liberty barge" together with Minister of Tourism, Marie Christine Stephenson, and of the Ambassador of Haiti in Paris, Vanessa Lamothe Matignon.

During this event, the chocolate concocted by approximately five French chocolate makers with Haitian cocoa, cultivated in particular by the cooperative FECCANO, was highly praised.

These edible master-pieces were presented by Chocolate Capon and savored by a very select audience for its unique flavors, under the leadership of Patrice Chapon who visited Haiti in 2015 to discover new productions of cocoa and participate in the 1^st national competition of cocoa, in Cap-Haïtien.

Invited to speak on this exceptional occasion, ambassador Matignon put the accent on the history and the patrimonial aspect of cocoa in Haiti.

For his part, Secretary Stephenson insisted on the peculiarity of Haitian cocoa with regard to the country’s climate, and on its potential role in reforestation, and providing an outlet to grow Ecotourism and rural development.

More than two hours of screen impoverishes the cognitive development of children

A study published by the British magazine Adolescent Lancet Child and Health compares the cognitive capacities of children who spend more than two hours in front of screens each day, and those whose exposure is more limited.

The study led by Canadian researchers (CHEO institute / University of Ottawa / Carleton University) concerned 4,520 children from 8 to 11 years old on 20 sites through the United States. On average, these children spent 3.6 hours a day glued to a screen - mobile phone, tablet, computer, television - beyond the Canadian recommendations for less than 2 hours of screen, 9 at 11 am of sleep and at least one hour of physical activity a day.

Sufficient sleep, limited screen time and physical activity, were the winning trio for all of the children participating in the investigation. Only one American child out of 20 (5 %) achieves the three parts of the Canadian recommendations. According to questionnaires filled by families, almost one out of three (29 %) reaches none of them: enough sleep, limited screen time and physical activity.

Sounds of Little Haiti featuring Belo

With vibrant performers, tasty food and a lively crowd, it's sure to be a good time the entire family can enjoy.

When: October 19, 2018

Where: Little Haiti Cultural Complex

Time:   6pm - 10pm

Marche in support of the legalization of abortion in Haiti

Dozens of people demonstrated, on Wednesday, September 26^th, 2018, in Port-au-Prince, for the legalization of abortion in Haiti, according to the on-line AlterPresse agency.

Because of the penalty against abortion, women are forced to have miscarriages, in secret, in bad conditions, to avoid being punished by the judicial system, explained Katia Hilaire, project officer for Fanm Ayisyèn Solidarity (Sofa), during the protest.

She wished to raise more awareness with authorities and with the population on the phenomenon of abortion, which causes death, serious illnesses or infertility in women.

The parliament is called to pass a law to legalize abortion in Haiti.

"Women must be able to control their pregnancies, and plan their lives freely. Women, across the spectrum, have to have access to quality health care," pleaded Katia Hilaire.

The demonstrators denounced the irresponsibility, shown by the State towards the poor health conditions in the country.

Some of the protesters, dressed in white T-shirts and carrying signs, expressed, their anger in the face of this critical situation.

"The Haitian State has to assign a more important financial contribution for healthcare, in the national budget, so that the population can have better access to the healthcare system," demanded the protesters.

"The Hospital does not have to be a cemetery for women," chanted the demonstrators in front of the Hospital of the State University of Haiti in the street Monseigneur Guilloux.

Among other things, the march aimed to bring awareness to and to promote access to contraception methods, on the occasion of the World Day of Contraception commemorated this year under the theme: "Reducing Unwanted Pregnancies in the world."

Charles Aznavour, the 'Frank Sinatra of France', dies aged 94

Singer best known for ballad She sold 100m records and had parallel acting career

Ben Beaumont-Thomas and Kim Willsher in Paris

Mon 1 Oct 2018 09.49 EDTFirst published on Mon 1 Oct 2018 08.14 EDT

The French singer Charles Aznavour has died at the age of 94, French media have reported, citing his spokesman.

Aznavour, who was born Shahnour Varinag Aznavourian in Paris to Armenian parents, sold more than 100m records in 80 countries and had about 1,400 songs to his name, including 1,300 he wrote himself. He was sometimes described as the French answer to Frank Sinatra because of his stirring, melancholic style.

He left school aged nine to become a child actor and went on to have a successful parallel acting career, most notably appearing in François Truffaut’s new-wave classic Tirez Sur le Pianiste (Shoot the Piano Player), Claude Chabrol’s Les Fantômes du Chapelier (The Hatter’s Ghost), and the 1979 Oscar-winning film adaptation of Günter Grass’s The Tin Drum.

His singing career was forged in occupied Paris during the second world war, performing in cabarets as his parents secretly worked with the resistance, hiding Jews, communists and others in their apartment. “French is my working language but my family language is always Armenian,” he said in 2017.

Aznavour opened for Édith Piaf at the Moulin Rouge and the popular singer was an early adviser – and flatmate. “I brought her my youth, my madness; she loved my whole jazzy side,” he told the Guardian in 2015. She advised him to have a nose job, only to declare, “I preferred you before” after the surgery.

He is one of the most celebrated exponents of the French “chanson” form – easy-listening songs with vivid lyrics, rich in storytelling, emotion and humour. One early song, 1955’s Après l’Amour, was banned on French radio for its depiction of a couple basking in post-coital happiness. 1972’s What Makes a Man, meanwhile, is sung in the persona of a gay man who faces down homophobia to declare: “Nobody has the right to be / The judge of what is right for me.” He became perhaps best known for his gloomier numbers – the director Jean Cocteau once quipped: “Before Aznavour, despair was unpopular.”

His biggest hit in English was She, a 1974 romantic ballad in which Aznavour confronts the equal joy and strife in a relationship, nevertheless declaring “the meaning of my life is she”. It spent four weeks at No 1 in the UK singles chart, and was also recorded in French, German, Italian and Spanish. The song got a second lease of life when it was covered by Elvis Costello for the soundtrack to the 1999 film Notting Hill, reaching No 19 in the UK. Aznavour’s only other solo hit in the UK was with The Old Fashioned Way, which reached the top 40 in 1973.

Over the years he recorded duets with the likes of Sinatra, Elton John, Céline Dion, Bryan Ferry, and Sting, as well as the classical tenors Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo. In 2010, he recorded Un Geste pour Haiti Chérie, a song with young French rap stars, to help raise money after that year’s devastating earthquake in Haiti.

Charles Aznavour, the 'Frank Sinatra of France', dies aged 94

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Another singing partner was Liza Minnelli, with whom he also had a brief love affair, telling the Telegraph in 2014: “She learned from me. She says that herself – or else I would have shut my mouth!”

The ballet director Sir Matthew Bourne paid tribute to Aznavour, saying he was “considered to be one of the greatest live interpreters of song. Was lucky enough to see him at Royal Albert Hall last year. His performance of his own song What Makes A Man A Man [sic] was unforgettable.”

Piers Morgan recalled interviewing him, saying: “One of the greatest singers the world has seen & such an intelligent, eloquent, graceful & charming man.”

At the unveiling of Aznavour’s star on the Hollywood walk of fame in 2017, director Peter Bogdanovich said: “Sinatra once said every song is a one-act play with one character, and Charles is an extraordinary actor as well as an extraordinary singer.”

Open Letter to the City of Miami Commission

To the City of Miami Commission

Mayor Francis Suarez

Chairman Keon Hardemon

Commissioner Ken Russel

Under the leadership of the late Father Gerard Jean-Juste and a coordinated campaign, our compatriots were released from several detention centers around the U.S. They settled in Little Haiti, an abandoned, depressed, and neglected area. Through hard work, sheer resilience and determination, the Haitian immigrants transformed Little Haiti into this inclusive and culturally diverse mecca. When I first arrived in the U.S. in 1981, an area like Sabal Palm for example in Little Haiti, was inhabited mainly by Haitian immigrants. Through the process of gentrification and forced displacement, most of the Haitians lost their homes. Today, Little Haiti is believed to be the “fastest gentrified area in the U.S.” Many home and business owners have been evicted from spaces that they’ve occupied for 30-40 years.

Three major developments have applied for Special Area Plan: Magic City is one of 3 major developments asking for SAP consideration from the City of Miami. The process to obtain an SAP (Special Area Plan) which will allow them to build up to 27 floors while the area is zoned T-5 is already going in front of the City of Miami Commission this Thursday, at 2 PM. As several local and national journalists reported, this is the fastest that they’ve ever seen, as SAPs usually take months, sometimes years. But it seems like developers in Little Haiti have strong support from the City of Miami and no concerns whatsoever for the residents of Little Haiti. To date, Magic City has refused to hold an open meeting with the community to collectively discuss concerns with the project. Instead, Magic City has chosen to do "Open Houses" where they give guided tours to small groups of people through the different parts of the project. This format does not allow the different stakeholders/leaders to listen to the concerns of others and understand how they may be resolved as a community. It not only makes for bad process, but it sows divisions in the community where individuals or groups look to their own interests instead of the interests of the broader community in a coordinated manner.

We see the consequence of this in the extremely weak community benefits package offered by the developer, and conditions on the development by the Planning and Zoning department that don't quite go far enough because the City did not have the benefit of listening to the concerns of the public. A major Magic City shareholder Neil Fairman disrespected community leaders yesterday, and walked out of a meeting organized by FANM to express our concerns stating: “I do not have time for a community meeting and I will not change the Community Benefit Package. If the City of Miami Commission moves to defer on Thursday, Guy Laliberte will pack his bag and take his millions somewhere else. If you want a community meeting, come give us your support on Thursday and we’ll discuss a meeting afterwards” and he walked out. Repeated requests for a community meeting and on-going negotiations have been consistently denied by Magic City. Efforts to meet with Chairman Keon Hardemon have also been unsuccessful. The Special Area Plan is not a Right the developer has just because it owns more than 9 acres.

The SAP is a permission the developer requests from the City and its neighbors in exchange for going far above and beyond its currently allowed zoning. In this bargain, it is the City and the neighbors acting through their elected officials, who may allow the developer to create the SAP. This is why the SAP is a negotiation of compromise and mutual benefit, not an imposition of the developer’s will over a community stated Meena Jagannath of Community Justice Project.

Added Elvis Cruz: Magic City is an enormous project that will forever change the character of the area. This mixed-use project would consist of: 7.8 million square feet of development.  At least eight buildings of 12, 20 or 25 stories in height, 2670 apartments, 6000 parking spaces, and 340,000 square feet of retail. (By comparison, a Home Depot store is around 100,000 square feet. This would be 3.4 times that.). It is also illegal under Miami 21, a fact the City will likely ignore, or creatively interpret.

The City of Miami Planning Department failed to do its job in planning for the future of Little Haiti. It must develop a comprehensive masterplan for the area involving all sectors. SAPs should be assessed collectively to assess the impact residents, small businesses and the infrastructure.

Most importantly, the City Commission must defer its decision on Thursday to allow more community input.

Sincerely,

Marleine Bastien, MSW, LCSW

Executive Director

Family Action Network Movement

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 10 octobre 2018

 Earthquake in Northern Haiti

An earthquake with 5.9 strength shook Haiti last evening. 

The whole country felt it and buildings collapsed in northern Haiti 

where as many as ten people may have died. 

It was triggered on the Septantrional Fault Line that runs from 

Eastern Cuba, along Haiti's Northern Coast, and into the Cibao in 

the Dominican Republic.

Engineer Claude Preptit, a well-known Haitian expert on the subject,  

gave a thorough  update on Pi Lwen Pi Fon of Haitian Radio Vision 2000 with Taylor Rigaud,

as to what happened yesterday. 

The earthquake that destroyed Cap-Haïtien in 1842 originated in that fault line. 

It is important to explain that the Caribbean Plate is permanently stressed by the North American plate and the South American Plate!

Preptit stressed the shocking inability of the Haitian State to research such events, plan for them, 

and institute the measures to educate the population re such seismic realities, and to impose anti-seismic 

construction norms to strengthen buildings throughout Haiti. 

It is as if the state learned nothing from the Earthquake of 2010 that physically destroyed a large part of Port-au-Prince, 

and killed and maimed 300,000 people there!

U.S. Embassy Statement following the Earthquake

in Northern Haiti

The United States expresses its condolences and support to all of those in Haiti affected by the earthquake that struck the Artibonite, North and Northwest Departments on October 6. We continue to closely monitor the situation. The United States and Haiti are strategic partners and friends, and we stand ready to assist in the relief effort if requested.

St. Boniface Haiti Foundation Inaugurates

Infectious Disease and Emergency Care Center

Supported by USAID/ASHA Grant

Fond-des-Blancs, October 04, 2018 – U.S. Ambassador to Haiti Michele Sison joined the Haitian Ministry of Health, the St. Boniface Haiti Foundation, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to inaugurate the new Center for Infectious Disease and Emergency Care (CIDEC) in the southwestern peninsula of Haiti.

 The center is a state-of-the-art 33-bed treatment facility that includes isolation wards to treat patients and protect the public from contagious diseases like cholera and tuberculosis. Since opening in March, the emergency wing has treated nearly 5,000 patients. The infectious disease wing has already successfully treated a case of diphtheria, a highly contagious and serious bacterial infection.

The construction of CIDEC was supported by a $500,000 from USAID’s Office of American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA).  ASHA provides assistance to schools, libraries, and medical centers; and most recently funded the construction of the new surgical ward at St. Boniface. This ward is the only fully functioning surgical center on Haiti’s southern peninsula that provides care to all patients regardless of their ability to pay. 

 “Today’s inauguration highlights the partnership between the American people and the people of Haiti,” said Ambassador Sison. “This Center for Infectious Disease and Emergency Care will enable the amazing doctors, nurses, and technicians here to respond to public health emergencies and tackle the problem of tuberculosis in the region.”

 Additional recipients of USAID/ASHA grants include St. Luke 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 childcare unit. Since 1979, ASHA grants have provided over $21 million to projects in Haiti.

 The U.S Government, through USAID Haiti, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has had a longstanding partnership with St. Boniface Hospital.  With USAID support, St. Boniface built the first program in Haiti to provide clinical and rehabilitative care to persons with spinal cord injuries.  USAID Haiti also supported a training program for Haitian engineering technicians to fix and maintain life-saving biomedical equipment. Furthermore, in coordination with CDC and PEPFAR, USAID supported a maternal and child survival program.  Separately, CDC and PEPFAR have provided technical and financial support since 2012, to St. Boniface through the Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB), to expand HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis services.

Haitians, immigration lawyers welcome ruling blocking Trump from ending TPS - for now

BY JACQUELINE CHARLES AND BRENDA MEDINA

The Miami Herald

Advocates for hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Central American immigrants facing deportation from the United States said a California federal judge’s decision to temporarily block Trump administration plans to send them back home offers new hope — but also increased uncertainty.

U.S. District Judge Edward Chen on Wednesday granted a preliminary injunction stopping the administration and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from terminating Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for immigrants from Haiti, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Sudan. The ruling affects over 300,000 people who, under the TPS program, have been allowed to live and work legally in the U.S. for decades after war or major natural disasters in their own countries.

“I’m happy to hear that there is still a possibility that the TPS could be extended. It gives us TPS holders hope,” Elva Castillo, 71, who immigrated from Nicaragua to Miami 21 years ago, said Thursday. “But it is important that we keep up the fight.”

Chen granted the injunction as part of a California lawsuit filed by lawyers on behalf of TPS recipients from the four countries who have U.S.-born children. Lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) and a private law firm sought the temporary injunction, arguing that the administration’s decision to end the program was motivated by racism and would adversely affect the immigrant families.

Some 19 states and 34 cities and counties filed friend-of-the-court briefs supporting the preliminary injunction, said Emi MacLean, co-legal director of NDLON.

“This is an extraordinary decision. It is the first time in the history of the TPS statute, a statute from 1990, that there has been a court-ordered halt for any TPS termination,” MacLean said Thursday, during a conference call held by the National TPS Alliance. “It is hugely important in terms of what is says about the Trump administration’s decision-making policies in the arena of immigration.”

She warned, however, that the decision is “preliminary and something we will need to continue to defend in the courts, in the streets and in Washington.”

As part of their arguments, MacLean and others cited the potential separation of families as well as President Donald Trump’s alleged reference in January to Haiti, El Salvador and some African nations as “s—hole countries.”

In the ruling, the judge said that “TPS beneficiaries and their children indisputably will suffer irreparable harm and great hardship.”

The ruling extends only for the duration of the California lawsuit. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Oct. 26. The government has said it will appeal the ruling. The Associated Press reported that Justice Department spokesman Devin O’Malley said the ruling “usurps the role of the executive branch.”

“The Justice Department completely rejects the notion that the White House or the Department of Homeland Security did anything improper. We will continue to fight for the integrity of our immigration laws and our national security,” O’Malley’s statement said, according to the AP report.

The judge had previously turned down a U.S. Justice Department request for dismissal of the lawsuit. He wrote in his ruling that the government “has failed to establish any real harm were the status quo (which has been in existence for as long as two decades) is maintained during the pendency of this litigation.”

Chen also said that evidence shows that the decision by acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke to change the criteria applied by prior administrations in deciding whether to continue or end TPS “may have been done in order to implement and justify a pre-ordained result desired by the White House.”

Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, D-Miami, whose district includes a large concentration of Haitian-Americans, said she wasn’t surprised that the judge found “direct evidence of animus” in the Trump administration’s decision to end TPS.

“From the start of his administration, President Trump has made it more than clear, with his Muslim ban and more recently the inhumane treatment of migrant children, that people with brown skin are unwelcome here,” Wilson said. “It is incumbent upon us to do everything in our power to undo these racist acts.”

In Miami, Marleine Bastien, whose Family Action Network is a plaintiff in a suit filed in the Eastern District of New York on behalf of several South Florida Haitians enrolled in TPS, called the decision “sensible.” She said the news will bring hope to those in the program. TPS for Haiti is scheduled to end on July 22.

“I commend Judge Chen for his courage and thank him for the sigh of relief he brought to hundreds of thousands of families, including their American-born children, from the specter of family separation that loomed over them,” Bastien said. “Make no mistake, the Trump administration’s decision to terminate TPS was based on racism and xenophobia.

“Our hope is that this decision will hold to allow us to continue our efforts toward a permanent solution for those 300,000 deserving families,” she said.

Miami immigration attorney Ira Kurzban, who is among the lawyers representing FANM and others, said he hopes the California ruling will have “a positive impact on our case, as it raises similar but not identical issues.”

The group most immediately impacted are Sudanese, whose protection was set to end Nov. 2, followed by Nicaraguans, who were set to lose TPS in January.

Ouanaminthe 7 people among whom 2 judges taken by a river in flood

At least 7 people died due flooding caused by the Canarie River, on Thursday evening, in the municipality of Ouanaminthe.

The situation was the result of pouring rains in Department of the Northeast. The tragedy created a panic within the population.

Among the victims were county court judges from of Port-au-Prince - Goldie and Ostwalde Joseph, who were overtaken by water as they tried to cross the cresting river.

2 Haitian-Quebecois received the highest distinction of Quebec in 2018

Rezo Nodwes

Established in 1984, the National Order of Quebec aims at highlighting the contribution of Quebecois toward the growth and evolution of Quebec.

The highest distinction granted by the government of Quebec was awarded this year to thirty-four personalities. Among them were two Quebecois of Haitian origin - Patrick Paultre, a specialist in earthquake-resistant engineering and Wilson Sanon, the founder of the Association of sickle-cell anemia of Quebec. This year, both of these individuals were honored as knights by the National Order of Quebec.

Wilson Sanon had four children, two of whom suffer from sickle-cell anemia – the most widely-spread genetic disease in the world. Sickle-cell anemia is nearly incurable, and affects the blood. After the death of his son Nicky, he saw it necessary to create the Association of Sickle-Cell Anemia of Quebec.

He has chaired over this body since its inception in 1999, and hasn’t stopped spreading its reach, by surrounding it with a team of volunteers and partners including the Foundation of the Medical Specialists Federation of Quebec, Héma-Québec, Novartis Oncology, Operation Enfant Soleil, www.passeportsante.net, and the Pfizer Corporation.

Patrick Paultre, on the other hand, has worked to insure greater structural and mechanical safety of buildings and other constructions. In 2001, this Quebecois of Haitian origin launched the Center of Inter-University Major Seismic Infrastructures of Quebec, which he managed in its early stages.

In 2006, he established another international organization: The Center of Inter-university Research of Structures Under Extreme Loads.

After the earthquake which destroyed Haiti, his native country, in 2010, he worked to upgrade the building codes for earthquake-resistant constructions, and provide the necessary training for civil engineers and architects.

Melania Trump Responds to Criticisms of "Colonial" Hat

by Katie Kilkenny

The Hollywood Reporter

Speaking to press in Egypt while finishing up her solo, four-country African tour on Saturday, the First Lady addressed the controversial white pith helmet she had worn while embarking on a safari in Nairobi National Park in Kenya. The hat piqued some observers, who noted that the helmet is frequently associated with European colonizers of Africa and India.

"You know what, we just completed an amazing trip. We went to Ghana, we went to Malawi, Kenya, here we are in Egypt. I want to talk about my trip and now what about what I wear," Trump told reporters. "It's very important what we do, what I'm doing with U.S. aid, and what I do with my initiatives, and I wish people would focus on what I do, not what I wear."

Her wish was not heeded on Saturday, when critics compared her menswear-inspired look to the outfit worn by Michael Jackson in the "Smooth Criminal" music video, the titular character in the Carmen Sandiego computer games and villains from the Indiana Jones films.

However, others noted that the menswear look was a pointed political statement in a country that has been ranked worst for women's rights out of all Arab nations. "For me this a fascinating fashion statement for a country with a very poor record on women’s rights. In the politics of fashion realm, she’s sending a message: Women are equal," CNN reporter Kate Bennett tweeted.

Just one day earlier, however, the white pith helmet attracted criticism from experts and Twitter alike, with St. Lawrence University historian and African Studies coordinator Matt Carotenuto comparing the look to "[showing] up on an Alabama cotton farm in a confederate uniform" in an interview with CNN.

Al Jazeera English journalist Hamza Mohamed, meanwhile, tweeted, "Melania Trump went on a safari in Kenya wearing a pith helmet - a symbol of European colonial rule across Africa."

It's hardly the first time the First Lady's clothing choice sparked widespread debate: Perhaps most notably, a Zara jacket emblazoned with the phrase "I really don't care, do u?" enraged many when Trump accompanied her husband on a trip to visit an immigrant children's detention center in Texas in June.

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 11 mai 2019

 A Street named «Joseph Manno Charlemagne», in Florida...

In Florida, a street in North Miami will be named after the Haitian artist, Joseph Emmanuel Charlemagne. The inaugural ceremony was scheduled for Wednesday, May 1, 2019, on the occasion of the official launch of Haitian culture and heritage Month.

Joseph Manno Charlemagne Way, located in North Miami on 125^th Street, the street honors the committed singer, who died two years ago in Florida. The resolution on this decision was introduced by the current North Miami Mayor, Dr. Smith Joseph before being adopted by the City Council.

North Miami elected officials, local residents, and Manno Charlemagne’s relatives were among those who participated in the ceremony.

“It is our way to honor this artist who marked his presence in Miami-Dade County,” said Mayor Smith Joseph, in an interview given to ISLANDTV, while highlighting the role played by Manno in the promotion of Haitian culture.

The name of Manno Charlemagne will be inscribed alongside those of the heroes of Haitian independence, who, according to the Florida legislature in 2004, enter the pantheon of fighters in the struggle for the abolition of slavery. This proposal was introduced by Rep. Philippe Brutus and approved by Governor Jeb Bush. Joseph Emmanuel Charlemagne died on December 10, 2017, from lung cancer at the age of 69. He left behind a discography full of committed music which, among other things, raisde the problem of inequality, imperialism, the poor working conditions of the workers...

LITTLE HAITI BOOK FAIR

In South Florida May is Haitian Heritage Month, and to kick off the month of events, Sunday was the Seventh Annual Little Haiti Book Festival. The festival took place at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex, 212 NE 59th Ter., Miami.

In Kreyol and English, authors from Haiti and the Haitian diaspora hosted literary panels, craft talks and workshops for writers, hands-on-activities for children, dance workshops, poetry, dance and music performances, and more. All of them were available to sign books. MJ Fievre is the Caribbean coordinator for the Miami book fair and urged non-Haitians to come out to the event.

"I believe the Little Haiti book festival is a great opportunity for anyone, not just people with Haitian ties, to discover aspects of Haiti that they may not know," Fievre said.

Organizers believe it is important for South Florida to learn positive attributes about Haitian culture, especially its impact and legacy to literature." We learn a lot in the media about the difficulties the Haitian community faces, and of course all those problems are true, but there is also an aspect of Haiti that is very often overlooked,” said Fievre.

Miami Book Fair partnered with Sosyete Koukouy of Miami, Inc., to present the Little Haiti Book Festival on Sunday, May 5, 2019. This book festival—a vibrant cultural exposure to writers, booksellers, performers, and more—is part of Miami Book Fair’s ReadCaribbean programming.

The event took place on at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex, 212 NE 59 Ter. Miami, and at Libreri Mapou, 5919 NE 2nd Ave, Miami, FL.

Group aims to build library in Cite Soleil in Haiti

A group raised $180,000 and 70,000 books to build a library in Cite Soleil, Haiti.

Montpellier – France: Nérilia Mondésir finally wins a professional contract

The former U-20 captain of Haitian football, Nérilia Mondésir, has moved to full professional status at the Montpellier Hérault Sport Club.

After 2 years of training, the striker and ex-Tigress has thus become the first Haitian to reach this rank in Europe.

According to the president of the Haitian Football Federation (FHF), Yves «Dadou» Jean-Bart, the contract was signed in January, but the information was not made public.

Jean-Bart also did not reveal the amount that the talented athlete will earn from this 3-year contract.

The gang leader "Tije" of Savane Pistache killed in Delmas 83 in an operation of the PNH

HPN - The powerful gang leader accused of having perpetrated the massacre of Carrefour Feuilles (at least 8 dead), a large working-class district located southeast of the capital, was reportedly shot dead during an operation carried out on Monday evening in the commune of Delmas.

In a recent interview with a radio station in Port au Prince, "Tije" revealed his role in the attacks of Carrefour Leafs, which had left more than eight dead and about 20 injured, a situation that revolted citizens. Tije, it should be stressed, had indicated that there would be other gang leaders even after his death, because some senior state officials use them for political purposes.

Two Faculty of Medicine professors decorated with the Order of Montreal badge

Two professors from the Faculty of Medicine at the Université de Montréal have been appointed to the Order of Montreal. Professors Trang Hoang and Jean-Claude Fouron were awarded the title of Commander, the highest in the Order.

Trang Hoang: leader in the fight against leukemia

Trang Hoang is a professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology at UdeM and she co-founded with six colleagues the Institute of Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) of the University, where she heads the hematopoiesis and leukemia research laboratory.

Jean-Claude Fouron: Pioneer of fetal cardiology

A pediatric cardiologist at Sainte Justine University Hospital for nearly 50 years, Jean-Claude Fouron is a pioneer in fetal cardiology. Originally from Haiti, he arrived in Quebec in 1960, and founded the first fetal cardiology unit in Canada in 1989. He is known for his pioneering work on the functioning and disorders of the fetal and neonatal cardio circulatory system, including those caused by malformations, arrhythmia and placental circulatory insufficiency. Dr Fouron’s achievements have been instrumental in advancing his discipline, reducing maternal and child mortality, and improving specialized ultrasound services.

Professor Emeritus of the Department of Pediatrics at UdeM and renowned researcher, Jean-Claude Fouron has always had at heart, a clear teaching rhythm, through exchanges, rigorous research and communication all with finesse and humor.

His recognition as an international authority in his field made the name of Montreal and his eponymous university shine.

Dr. Fouron is an Officer of the Ordre national du Québec, a Member of the Order of Canada and a recipient of the Charles Biddle Award and the Grand Prix of the Collège des médecins du Québec.

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 23 mai 2019

 Wycleff Jean Earns receives an honorary doctorate degree

The Haitian singer, guitarist, producer and actor Wyclef Jean has just taken another step in his great international career. On May 18, the former Fugees member was awarded the title of Doctor of Music by Five Towns College located in Ten Hills, Long Island, New York.

The native of Croix-des-Bouquets made the announcement via his Twitter account. Today, on the occasion of the celebration of Haitian bicolor, I became doctor of music. It was an honor to be recognized by the college I attended in the early years of my life,” he wrote.

Wyclef Jean, 49, immigrated with his parents to the United States at the age of ten.

IN NEW YORK, CREOLE IS AN OFFICIAL LANGUAGE

In New York, Creole is one of the six languages officially spoken in institutions since the beginning of the year.

Since January 1^st, 2009, Creole is officially spoken in all of the institutions of New York. The Bloomberg administration adapted itself to this reality by recognizing Creole as one of the six the most used languages in the city. Creole speakers are indeed part of 25 % of New Yorker whose native language is not English, and among the 1.8 million people who have not yet mastered English, according to the site Grioo.com.

Originally, an order signed by former New York Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, in July, 2008, officially recognized six languages, widely spoken in the Big Apple, and granted them justifiable status within the administration. "Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Korean, Italian and French Creole," as it is read on the Internet portal of New York City. This is significant because Creole is recognized as a language in New York and a means of communication in the public places. It should be highlighted that French was not included as one of the six languages. Because New York City is home to so many Creole speakers, it became natural for Haitian Creole to become recognized as of one of the city’s six most widely-spoken languages.

Consequently, all municipal agencies are now obligated to have at least one employee who is fluent in Creole, and who can assist Creole speakers in translate the information. Forms, official documents, inspection reports, must also be available in Creole.

Canada: A Haitian woman was named one of the 100 black women to follow in 2019

Journalist and reporter for Téléjournal Ontario, Francesca Mérentié Cinéas, who arrived in Canada after the earthquake of January 12, 2010, was ranked among the 100 black women to follow in Canada in 2019.

The “Top 100 black women to watch in Canada” award, created by the Canadian Black International Event platform, recognizes women who have marked their generation by the quality of their work and their talent.

This is not Francesca M. Cinéas’ first recognition by this organization. In 2016, she was nominated for another important award, Michaëlle Jean, the former Governor of Canada who is also from of Haitian origin, became the recipient.

Cinéas is a host from Radio Ibo, in Haiti. A comedian and a reporter Cinéas first worked at Television Franco-ontarienne in Canada, from 2013 to 2018, as a program host for youth aged 9 to 12. She then joined the Canada Radio newsroom in October 2018 where she did the weather.

Opioid-dealing doctor with connections to Haiti, Mexico and Miami-Dade now a fugitive

Miami Herald - April 24, 2019 11:07 AM, Updated April 27, 2019 07:40 PM

More than a half-million people died from opioids between 2000 and 2015. Today, opioid deaths are considered an epidemic. To understand the struggle of a drug addiction, we take a closer look at what happens to the body. By 

THURSDAY MORNING UPDATE: A review of Jeanne Germeil’s bond papers says, if Germeil remains a fugitive, three individuals will be on the hook for $250,000 -- husband Jean Rene Foureau, daughter Naela Foureau and family friend Jan-Yves Woel.

Before her scheduled sentencing in federal court for distributing a controlled substance, North Miami Beach doctor Jeanne Germeil declared in an email to the Miami Herald, “I will not obey an unjust and racist system!”

And, April 19, Germeil backed up that declaration — she didn’t show up for her sentencing. 

That triggered an order from Judge Ursula Ungaro that read, “The defendant is hereby transferred to the Clerk’s suspended/fugitive file until such time as the fugitive(s) are apprehended.”

One of Germeil’s federal public defenders, Daniel Ecarius, would only say via email Tuesday that she had not appeared since Ungaro declared her a fugitive. 

Germeil, 55, has been out of jail since posting $250,000 bond six days after her Sept. 21, 2018, indictment on 16 counts of distributing a controlled substance. She had to give up her passport and could travel without special permission only to the U.S. District Court’s Southern and Middle Districts of Florida. 

But, as one of the nation’s identity theft capitals, South Florida’s also a place where faux identification can be bought as readily as anywhere. Germeil wouldn’t be the first federal bond jumper to get out of the country.

Most fugitives wind up in areas familiar to them. Germeil was born in Haiti, and attended medical school in Mexico. Her registered address with the Florida Department of Health is in Aventura and Germeil Medical, the clinic where she prescribed the opioids, was in North Miami Beach.

Court documents say the home she had to be in from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily under terms of her bond was in Naples.

Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Bob Bromage says Beaufort County, S.C. saw about 20 opioid drug overdoses in January and February 2019. "It's a public safety issue, it's a public health issue," he said.

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According to the Florida Department of Health, Germeil had been in practice since 1995 and licensed in Florida since 2007. The Department of Health dropped an emergency suspension order on her license last week because of the federal court conviction.

In 2017, she paid a total of $12,895 and had to complete a medical records course after a case that was a microcosm of her federal case, prescribing opioids with inadequate examination.

Jurors found Germeil guilty on 11 counts in February after prosecutors presented evidence she, among other actions, prescribed opioid pain medications at a rate of 687.95 prescriptions a month, a rate too high for actual diagnosis.

Her April 10 email to the Miami Herald declared her prosecution and conviction a product of misogyny, racism and a jury trial rigged against her defense team. 

It ended with: “I am through playing it fair while the opposing party had been cheating left and right without consequences. I know they will label me and harass my daughter as they are already doing. However that justice system is rigged against people like me. Colored, Haitian, successful female physician. Enough is enough! They will get my corpse. I will not obey an unjust and racist system!”

Since 1989, David J. Neal’s domain at the Miami Herald has expanded to include writing about Panthers (NHL and FIU), Dolphins, old school animation, food safety, fraud, naughty lawyers, bad doctors and all manner of breaking news. He drinks coladas whole. He does not work Indianapolis 500 Race Day.

Hundreds of migrants to be flown to California in as many as 3 flights a week, officials say

Fox News

Hundreds of migrant families will be flown to California in as many as three flights a week as U.S. Border Patrol agents continue to struggle with the growing number of illegals crossing into the U.S., officials said.

Flights carrying 120 to 135 people were set to begin flying Friday to San Diego from the Rio Grande Valley in Texas and would continue to do so indefinitely, Border Patrol's interim San Diego sector chief Douglas Harrison said.

Harrison called it a “contingency operation” that would see at least three flights a week making the trip. Each flight would cost the government around $6,000, officials said.

SEN. MARSHA BLACKBURN: EVERY TOWN IS A BORDER TOWN UNTIL WE SECURE THE SOUTHERN BORDER

“We don’t have an end date,” he said. “We’ve got to give the people in Rio Grande Valley some relief.”

Once taken in at the border, migrants will go through processing where their biographical information will be collected. They will then go through a medical screening before being placed on a flight to San Diego International Airport where they will be transported to a Border Patrol Station upon arrival. There, they will be fingerprinted and interviewed and subject to a second medical screening.

The process of screening and interviewing one person typically takes several hours. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will decide whether to release or detain the families in San Diego.

Border arrests have skyrocketed since Oct. 1, having reached a record 520,000, the highest in a decade, and on average agents make around 4,500 arrests a day, Reuters reported. The Rio Grande Valley, with nearly 8,000 people in detention, is by far the busiest charter followed by El Paso.

Officials have said they are also considering similar flights to Detroit, Miami and Buffalo, N.Y.

Taiwan becomes first in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage

By Nick Aspinwall

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Thousands of marriage-equality advocates celebrated Friday in the pouring rain outside Taiwan’s legislature as it voted to become the first in Asia to fully legalize same-sex unions.

The law — which allows for same-sex couples to apply for “marriage registration” as part of “exclusive permanent unions” — came a week before Taiwan’s codes barring same-sex marriage would have been automatically dropped by court order.

Lawmakers had faced pressure from LGBT groups demanding sweeping changes and from religious groups and others opposing the changes. Friday’s 66-to-27 vote recognizes same-sex marriages and gives couples many of the tax, insurance and child-custody benefits available to male-female married couples.