Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 8 janvier 2020

 Madan Janba, a Haitian woman who could be "125" is at the threshold of the Guinness World Record

In the 8th section of Petit-Goâve, in the locality called Moyette, is an old lady who would have been born two decades before the American occupation of Haiti of 1915. Bernicia Souffrant is her maiden name. She is better known to her community as Madan Janba, and could be the world’s oldest person according to Guinness World Record, if research confirms that she is indeed 125 years old.

Several journalists met Bernicia Souffrant on Saturday September 8, following an initiative of the Rector of Quisqueya University (UNIQ), Jacky Lumarque. At this meeting, Lumarque unveiled some of his projects about the elder, including the submission of authentic documents to prove Souffrant’s age to be 125 years. Another project consisted of building a courtyard allowing students to stay with Madan Janba to learn about her story.

According to one of her grandsons, Rosier Laguerre, Madan Janba, who is his father’s mother, was married and had four children, three of whom were the product of her marriage to Jean-Baptiste Laguerre, hence the nickname Madan Janba.

In good health, both physically and mentally, “Madan janba” took her nutrition very seriously. She says she consumed very little rice in her entire life, and focuses her nutrition on fruit and vegetables. Questioned about what she did during her youth, she said she had a little business, and spent her entire life exercising generosity with those around her.

Jacky Lumarque says he recognizes the importance of confirming Souffrant’s age. He explained that the birth certificate of Madan Janba’s twin sister was found and an Anthropo-sociologist was hired to deepen the investigation to determine her actual age.

It should be noted that the dean of humanity is the oldest person on earth at a given time. At least, the person who is recognized as the oldest. Since the death of Chiyo Miyako on July 22, 2018, the current dean of humanity is Japanese Kane Tanaka, born on January 2, 1903 and aged 115. The proven record of longevity among women is currently held by the French Jeanne Calment, who lived until the age of 122 years and 164 days.

It remains to be seen whether the process begun by Jacky Lumarque and the scientific research will bear fruit and prove the 1500 months and more of existence of Madan Janba. Apart from her, persistent rumors speak of a Normina Louis, another lady born in Grand-Goâve who herself could be 150 years.

On the 216th Anniversary of Haiti’s Independence, 1200 Haitians were arrested in DR and expelled at the same time

The administration General of Migration continues its operations against illegal foreigners in the Dominican Republic and, during the celebration of the New Year, arrested 1,200 illegal Haitians and repatriated them immediately.

Rezonodwes.com –The Dominican newspaper El Nacional also revealed that other illegal nationals, including Venezuelans, Colombians, Chinese, and other nationalities who were engaged in various activities without a prolonged residence permit in the Dominican Republic, were placed in detention to be returned by air to their respective countries.

In a note sent Thursday to El Nacional, according to the media, the administration of the Migration Service stated that “It continues to receive all the support of the Army, the National Police and Cestur, in operations conducted in different parts of the country, in search of undocumented immigrants.”

The arrests, according to the newspaper, took place in the rural and urban areas of Santiago, Mao, National District and Santo Domingo Este. They were made on construction sites, or in the middle of the streets where, according to the DGM, illegal men and women of different ages were selling various items. Some were followed and arrested when they reached the uninhabited houses where they sought refuge.

Hope for Haiti gets major gift from GoDaddy founder ahead of earthquake anniversary

By Jacqueline Charles Miami Herald
774 words
31 December 2019 The Miami Herald MHLD

When Haiti's deadly earthquake hit on Jan. 12, 2010, Renee and Bob Parsons knew they wanted to help.

The couple had no connection to the devastated country, had never visited and did not have the slightest idea which charity they could support.

Then the Parsons came across Hope for Haiti, a small organization running an education and healthcare program in the southern area of the country. It was located in the city of Les Cayes, outside the earthquake zone, but its doctors, nurses and teachers were all Haitian, and more importantly, Renee Parsons said, most of the money it collected went into helping the communities it served.

"We felt that of all the organizations we had looked at and the research we had done, Hope for Haiti had the most significant impact; that the dollars could be leveraged for the people that they serve directly as opposed to administrative costs, advertising," she said.

So Renee, who was working as the community outreach person for GoDaddy, the internet domain registrar and web hosting company that her husband founded, wrote her first grant. It was for $500,000.

Now almost 10 years later, Parsons and her husband are multiplying that gift through their own charity, The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation, and are gifting Hope for Haiti $3 million over the next five years to help support its mobile clinics and other healthcare initiatives.

"They are boots on the ground, they're in the communities that they serve and very much invested in them," said Renee Parsons, who has since visited Haiti three times since the quake to see first hand the work the organization is doing.

She describes the visits as life changing.

"It really is rewarding, it's emotional. For us, we really were filled with hope that things could improve there, we really could make a difference and that we wanted to keep investing in the communities that we were serving. That's why we are sitting here 10 years later and still involved with a fresh new grant," she said.

Hope for Haiti CEO Skyler Badenoch said the Parsons grant will make a huge difference, especially in its outreach to provide medical care and medications to underserved rural communities in southwest Haiti that otherwise would not have access to health care.

"We are beyond grateful that they trust us, they are our partner," he said. "I can't state how important multi-year funding is because it really allows you to take a longer-term approach than just having funding for a year."

h4h_Day3-3592 (1).jpgHope for Haiti, which provides healthcare in southern Haiti, recently received a $3 million gift from The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation. Bob Parsons is co-founder of GoDaddy.

Recently the charity launched the Haitian Solidarity campaign to raise $10 million. The Qatar Haiti Fund gave $2 million in October and the Kellogg Foundation also provided funding. The Parsons' donation, Badenoch said, will bring the fund to about $6 million.

"The whole idea of it was to raise money in solidarity with the Haitian people but also to use it to tell this story that is counter to the narrative on the 12th, all of this money flowed into Haiti and nothing happened," Badenoch said.

Page 2 of 3 © 2019 Factiva, Inc. All rights reserved.

"We know that's partially true. We can go on and on about what went wrong, but I think it does a disservice to say that nothing happened to the 53 staff members who have been working really hard on our team over the last 10 years. And if we say nothing happened, what are we saying about their work?"

The Parsons' grant, he said, shows that there are organizations and individuals who still remain committed to the country years after the earthquake.

"It gave us a shot in the arm and it empowered us, and reminded us there is still a lot of good work to do," Badenoch said.

And while Hope for Haiti is not the only organization that employs an almost-all-Haitian staff, Badenoch said he considers it one of the organization's greatest assets.

"We fund-raise in the United States and we raise awareness in the United States, but all of our team in Haiti is Haitian. That's how we believe it should be, Haitian doctors, Haitian nurses, Haitian educators, technical staff," he said. "They were truly the first responders to the earthquake, before the international community came in, before anybody sent a dollar of aid, the first real responders were people who were there."

hit on Jan. 12, 2010, Renee and Bob Parsons knew they wanted to help.

The couple had no connection to the devastated country, had never visited and did not have the slightest idea which charity they could support.

Then the Parsons came across Hope for Haiti, a small organization running an education and healthcare program in the southern area of the country. It was located in the city of Les Cayes, outside the earthquake zone, but its doctors, nurses and teachers were all Haitian, and more importantly, Renee Parsons said, most of the money it collected went into helping the communities it served.

"We felt that of all the organizations we had looked at and the research we had done, Hope for Haiti had the most significant impact; that the dollars could be leveraged for the people that they serve directly as opposed to administrative costs, advertising," she said.

So Renee, who was working as the community outreach person for GoDaddy, the internet domain registrar and web hosting company that her husband founded, wrote her first grant. It was for $500,000.

Now almost 10 years later, Parsons and her husband are multiplying that gift through their own charity, The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation, and are gifting Hope for Haiti $3 million over the next five years to help support its mobile clinics and other healthcare initiatives.

"They are boots on the ground, they're in the communities that they serve and very much invested in them," said Renee Parsons, who has since visited Haiti three times since the quake to see first hand the work the organization is doing.

She describes the visits as life changing.

"It really is rewarding, it's emotional. For us, we really were filled with hope that things could improve there, we really could make a difference and that we wanted to keep investing in the communities that we were serving. That's why we are sitting here 10 years later and still involved with a fresh new grant," she said.

Hope for Haiti CEO Skyler Badenoch said the Parsons grant will make a huge difference, especially in its outreach to provide medical care and medications to underserved rural communities in southwest Haiti that otherwise would not have access to health care.

"We are beyond grateful that they trust us, they are our partner," he said. "I can't state how important multi-year funding is because it really allows you to take a longer-term approach than just having funding for a year."

h4h_Day3-3592 (1).jpgHope for Haiti, which provides healthcare in southern Haiti, recently received a $3 million gift from The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation. Bob Parsons is co-founder of GoDaddy.

Recently the charity launched the Haitian Solidarity campaign to raise $10 million. The Qatar Haiti Fund gave $2 million in October and the Kellogg Foundation also provided funding. The Parsons' donation, Badenoch said, will bring the fund to about $6 million.

"The whole idea of it was to raise money in solidarity with the Haitian people but also to use it to tell this story that is counter to the narrative on the 12th, all of this money flowed into Haiti and nothing happened," Badenoch said.

"We know that's partially true. We can go on and on about what went wrong, but I think it does a disservice to say that nothing happened to the 53 staff members who have been working really hard on our team over the last 10 years. And if we say nothing happened, what are we saying about their work?"

The Parsons' grant, he said, shows that there are organizations and individuals who still remain committed to the country years after the earthquake.

"It gave us a shot in the arm and it empowered us, and reminded us there is still a lot of good work to do," Badenoch said.

And while Hope for Haiti is not the only organization that employs an almost-all-Haitian staff, Badenoch said he considers it one of the organization's greatest assets.

"We fund-raise in the United States and we raise awareness in the United States, but all of our team in Haiti is Haitian. That's how we believe it should be, Haitian doctors, Haitian nurses, Haitian educators, technical staff," he said. "They were truly the first responders to the earthquake, before the international community came in, before anybody sent a dollar of aid, the first real responders were people who were there."

Document MHLD000020191231efcv0025t

Don’t abbreviate 2020 when signing documents, police warn. It can be used against you

It’s easy to accidentally write the incorrect date right after New Year’s but experts warn that abbreviating 2020 could lead to something more serious: fraud.

The East Millinocket Police Department wrote in a Facebook post that writing “20” instead of the year 2020 could result in fraud because dates could be manipulated. For example, “March 3rd, 2020 being written as 3/3/20 could be modified to 3/3/2017 or 3/3/2018.”

“This is very sound advice and should be considered when signing any legal or professional document,” the police department posted. “It could potentially save you some trouble down the road.”

“When writing the date in 2020, write the year in its entirety,” he wrote. “It could possibly protect you and prevent legal issues on paperwork. Example: If you just write 1/1/20, one could easily change it to 1/1/2017 (for instance) and now your signature is on an incorrect document.”

Others agree that the threat of fraud is real.

Ira Rheingold, executive director of the National Association of Consumer Advocates told USA Today that scammers could backdate a document in order to cash in an older check or even try to establish that debt is unpaid.

“Say you agreed to make payments beginning on 1/15/20. The bad guy could theoretically establish that you began owing your obligation on 1/15/2019, and try to collect additional $$$,” Rheingold wrote to USA Today.

Post-dating documents could also be a potential issue.

A check dated “1/1/20” could be labeled “1/1/2021,” making it active, Rheingold wrote.

An easy solution? When in doubt, write out the full date. That means write January 02, 2020, not 01/02/20.

Millions in Haiti face hunger in 2020

(CNN) — In a single week, eight of Rob Freishtat's tiny patients died of hunger.

In his photos, the children already seem to be vanishing, dwarfed by diapers three times their girth and the thick gloved hands of medical staff. Small comforts on their hospital beds, like the rolls of baby blankets printed with cheerful ducklings make them look even tinier.

All were under 2 years old when they died.

"Over the years, I've seen plenty of kids in Haiti with malnutrition get sick with infections or something else and die. Sad but not unusual. This is the first time that I have seen them literally starve to death," Freishtat told CNN after returning from a week at Sacre Coeur private hospital in the northern Haitian city of Milot, in early December.

Freishtat is the chief of emergency medicine at Children's National Hospital in Washington, DC, and he has volunteered his pediatric skills in Haiti every year for the past decade, ever since a devastating earthquake hit the Caribbean nation on January 12, 2010.

Now, just days ahead of the 10-year anniversary of that disaster, Haiti's population appears little prepared to face the next major shock, with millions threatened by hunger in 2020 due to a spiraling economic and political crisis.

Official mortality statistics for 2019 have not yet been made public, but doctors and medical staff working across the country tell CNN that unusually high levels of malnourishment are already claiming the country's most fragile lives -- and that more deaths are expected in the coming months.

Food insecurity headed for 'emergency levels'

Haiti has been on a rollercoaster of good intentions since the 2010 earthquake. Attention and donations from the rest of the world spiked in the immediate aftermath of the 2010 earthquake -- and then dropped. A deal with Venezuela known as PetroCaribe temporarily provided the country's government with cheap fuel, but then foundered and became linked to a scandal over the alleged mismanagement of the resulting funds.

Basic public services like hospitals and food access are supported by international aid organizations (which come with their own set of problems), but more and more Haitians simply cannot afford the food they need. According to the UN disaster relief organization OCHA, the cost of the most basic, joyless kitchen essentials in Haiti -- rice, wheat flour, maize, beans, sugar and vegetable oil -- jumped 34% this year alone.

"Marasmus (the medical term for starvation) was uncommon in Haiti since most families previously could afford rice or sugary drinks. That is no longer the case," said Freishtat.

In the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, a 25 kilogram bag of rice costs about $23 -- a steep increase over 2017 and 2018. (Though inflation can vary wildly level across different regions.)

"The under-2 group of kids is particularly vulnerable because formula is exorbitantly expensive there. Breastfeeding would be great, but the moms are starving too, so their milk dries up," he adds.

According to a new report by OCHA, things will only get worse. Forty percent of Haitians will face food insecurity by March, the agency predicts. For least 1 in 10, food insecurity will reach "emergency levels."

A national lockdown

Since 2018, Haitian protestors have been calling for change, their fury over the country's economic path fueled by official reports alleging massive corruption. But the resulting clashes have sometimes taken a toll on fellow citizens.

This fall, Haitian protesters demanding President Jovenel Moise's resignation pulled a desperate lever: peyi lock, a countrywide lockdown. Barricades were erected on roads across the country, some with as little as a kilometer between them, some manned by armed men. But the strategy failed to pressure Moise out of office, and further choked the country's flailing economy and emergency services.

Between fuel shortages and blocked roads, medical workers struggled to send supplies to rural areas, including vital flows of blood and oxygen to hospitals. Outbreaks of violence, including reported gang attacks, forced many schools to close down -- cutting off essential distribution points of food aid for kids.

One November evening during peyi lock, a young woman in labor with twins arrived at a small maternity hospital in the south, recounts Sandra Lamarque, the head of the Belgian mission of Doctors without Borders in Haiti. She urgently needed specialized obstetric care.

The facility did not have a specialist on hand, so it contacted a nearby general hospital, which refused to accept her. A second hospital said it no longer had a gynecologist, and a third said that because it had been looted and vandalized twice in October, it no longer saw patients after 6 p.m., Lamarque recounts, speaking from the southern coastal city of Port à Piment where the maternity hospital is located.

A fourth facility, a private clinic, finally agreed to see the woman, but wanted payment of $400 -- in a country where half the population lives on less than $2 per day. "The patient was taken care of and this is a happy ending, but if MSF had not made the transportation, contact with all hospitals -- and paid -- she would have died," said Lamarque.

Lamarque worries that, as inflation rises, even the medicines and services to save Haiti's hungry and injured will go up in price. According to local media, inflation drove up the cost of drugs and hospital services by about a third in 2019.

The number of mothers dying in childbirth was "extremely high" this year, she adds -- and that's only counting women who made it to hospitals to begin with. At least 45 women died in Haiti's southern region in 2019, Lamarque said -- more than anywhere else in the country, and a 35% increase over last year.

2019's long tail

By December, protester' barricades had been lifted, but the deadly aftereffects of the year's troubles are expected to extend into the new year. Ominously, there's no sign of political resolution on the horizon.

The children being hospitalized now are in a sense the country's canaries, the earliest victims of a danger to which the state can offer little response.

"There's always a delay between the nutritional state and the crisis ... so a rising death toll is expected," said Cédric Piriou, Haiti director of NGO Action Against Hunger, speaking to CNN from the capital Port au Prince.

Institutions that should nurse Haiti back to relative health in periods of calm have been crippled, with some hospitals remaining closed or understaffed. And while health services in the country are more developed and wider spread than they were before the 2010 earthquake, Piriou and other medical staff interviewed by CNN emphasize that the country is in no condition to deal with another major disaster.

"There isn't blood or oxygen in hospitals. It's been worse in these past three months," Piriou said, adding that other services like orphanages and prisons are also faltering. Haiti's Ministry of Public Health did not respond to multiple requests from CNN for comment.

Piriou, a Bréton who has worked in the country for two decades, has been personally touched by the crisis -- his wife's cousin, he said, had to go to two Haitian hospitals when she gave birth because the first one had no blood. Her child died within 24 hours.

Even without another major disaster, Haiti's hospitals could soon see a new wave of children suffering from the accumulated effects and complications of months of hunger, predicts Freishtat, the pediatrician.

"First you see the little babies, then you're going to start to see the bigger kids," he said.

In Haiti, Local Artists Spread The Christmas Spirit During Lull In Protests

Carrie Kahn, NPR - December 23, 2019

A lull in the demonstrations that have rocked Haiti for the last several months has given residents a break from the violence and a chance to get into the Christmas spirit — especially artists.

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: 

After weeks of unrest, the streets of Haiti are back to their usual busy, traffic-clogged state just in time for Christmas. Anti-government protesters who had put up barricades and burned tires are taking a holiday break. It's allowed businesses to reopen and local artists to spread the Haitian Christmas spirit. NPR's Carrie Kahn reports from Port-au-Prince.

CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE: Francisco Silva (ph) shakes a can of bright red spray paint before he adds the final touches to the large red face that is the centerpiece of his latest mural. It's covering the wall in front of the National Bureau of Ethnology that showcases Haiti's Vodou culture.

FRANCISCO SILVA: (Speaking Creole).

KAHN: This is Makaya, a Vodou spirit which we celebrate the same time of year as Christmas, he says. Makaya embodies the winter season.

SILVA: (Speaking Creole).

KAHN: "And the colors are the same as Christmas, red and green," says Silva. Green is for the Earth and red is for life. Artist Gary Francois (ph) is adding dozens of green leaves to the mural all around Makaya's red face. The eyes remain white, he says, to emphasize the spirit inside. Francois is studying at the ethnology school. It's located just across the street from the site of the former National Palace, which still hasn't been rebuilt since Haiti's devastating earthquake nearly 10 years ago.

GARY FRANCOIS: (Speaking Creole).

KAHN: He says most of his work reflects the political crisis engulfing Haiti right now. Until just a few weeks ago, he and his partner Silva couldn't have been out here so close to the scene of many street battles between police and demonstrators. Opponents of current President Jovenel Moise want him to resign. They accuse the president of massive corruption and theft - a claim Moise denies. Artist Gary Francois shows me a picture of a political mural just blocks from here, one he and Silva painted at the height of the opposition marches and riots this fall.

FRANCOIS: (Speaking Creole).

KAHN: In it, he depicts lawmakers as pigs, the president as a cat, the prime minister as a goat and the Haitian elites as sharks.

So it seems like there's a zoo in charge.

UNIDENTIFIED INTERPRETER: (Speaking Creole).

FRANCOIS: (Speaking Creole).

UNIDENTIFIED INTERPRETER: So, yes, many animals manage the country.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

KAHN: On the other side of the mural, the national Vodou dance company called 21 Nations is practicing for an upcoming New Year's Day performance. Erol Josue, director of the company and the National Bureau of Ethnology, says, sadly, this Christmas in Haiti is not joyous for many. The months of relentless protests, which claimed more than 40 lives, have taken a toll on everyone.

EROL JOSUE: It's hard. It's hard. But we working on it. We have hope.

KAHN: New Year's Day is also Haitian Independence Day, a sense of pride, he says, for everyone. It's also the day the opposition has called for protesters to return to the streets. Carrie Kahn, NPR News, Port-au-Prince.

(SOUNDBITE OF TRACEY CHATTAWAY'S "STARLIGHTS")

Copyright © 2019 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Two Haitian photographers in 2019 soar in France and the USA

Photojournalists Dieu-Nalio Chérry and Jean Marc Hervé Abérlard have each seen one of their photographs ranked among the best for the year 2019 in the United States and in France. The French newspaper “20 Minutes” ranked one of Abérlard’s photos in the top 13. While Time magazine considers one of Chérry’s photographs to be the top 100 in the world.

The photo of Jean Marc Hervé Abérlard ranked among the best of the year in France was taken in Port-Au-Prince, November 10, 2019. In this shot, the photojournalist of the daily newspaper “Le Nouvelliste” and the Spanish Agency Efe, shows a motorcycle riding in the middle of burning tires during a protest the resignation of President Jovenel Moïse. This photo was selected as of the 13 best photos of 2019 by the French newspaper “20 Minutes.” In a retrospective of last year, it shows images that describe the waves of protest that have exploded around the world, especially in Haiti. See photo below.

On the other hand, Dieu-Nalio Chéry, a collaborator at the Associated Press (AP) agency, saw one of his photos ranked among the top 100 of the American magazine «TIME» for the year 2019. The selected image was taken on September 23, 2019, on the court of the Senate of the Republic, when the Senator of the North, Jean Marie Ralph Féthière opened fire against a group of opposition activists who had stormed the space. During the heat-up, the photojournalist himself was shot in the face. Below is the moment in question, immortalized by a click of Chéry.

The two (2) Haitian photojournalists did not hide their satisfactions following this classification. I am really happy to have been selected among all these talented photographers! Thanks to Time’s», wrote Dieu-Nalio Chery on his Facebook page. For his part, Jean Marc Hervé Abelard is happy. «Yon lòt fwa ankò, foto m pami 13 pi bèl foto nan SIPA, pou lane 2019 lan», he was delighted, renewing his determination to maintain the torch of professionalism in Haiti in 2020.

The photos taken by Chery and Abélard, it should be noted, are used to being among the best, within their respective agencies in 2019, and by other international institutions evolving in the field of journalistic image. Let us also remember that Dieu-Nalio Chéry and Jean Marc Hervé Abélard are both (2) co-winners of the 2019 Philippe Chaffanjon Prize. They won this prestigious award in France, in collaboration with our reporter Luckson Saint-Vil, following a multimedia survey carried out last year in Cité Soleil. «Cité Soleil: les dessous d'une paix fragile», a journalistic work that highlighted the relationship between armed gangs, politicians and businessmen in Haiti’s largest slum.

haiti

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 17 janvier 2020

 
Security Council Press Statement on Haiti

The members of the Security Council expressed concern regarding the ongoing political impasse in Haiti.  They reiterated the immediate necessity for Haiti’s stakeholders to engage in an inclusive and open dialogue to form a government that responds to the needs of the Haitian people without further delay.

The members of the Security Council noted the ongoing efforts of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), and the good offices role of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti.  They stressed the need for all stakeholders to continue to avail themselves of this opportunity and act promptly.

The members of the Security Council emphasized the urgent need to address deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Haiti through coordinated action by the government of Haiti, the United Nations, and the international community.

The members of the Security Council recalled the need for the government of Haiti to address the underlying causes of instability and poverty within the country.  They urged all stakeholders to refrain from violence and to resolve differences through peaceful means.  They stressed the importance of ensuring that those responsible are held accountable and of bringing justice to the victims of the recent spikes of violence, in particular the violent events of November 13 and 14, 2018 in La Saline and November 4 to 7, 2019, in Bel Air.

The members of the Security Council reiterated their commitment to working with Haiti towards a democratic, peaceful, and secure future.

8 January 2020

Clinton can’t escape blame in Haiti failed recovery from the earthquake, critics say

By JACQUELINE CHARLES, Miami Herald

The Interim Haiti Recovery Commission, backed by the United States government and co-chaired by former President Bill Clinton, was supposed to be Haiti’s chance to “build back better” after its cataclysmic Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake.

But a decade after the commission’s formation in the wake of the disaster and its eventual dissolution under Haitian President Michel Martelly, Haiti is no better off, its multibillion-dollar recovery effort a dismal failure, according to critics. They say blame lies with the Haitian government, which missed an opportunity, foreign donors who didn’t make good on their billion dollar pledges — and Clinton.

“The [commission] was a full-time job. For Clinton to have done a good job he would have needed to do it full time,” said Jean-Marie Bourjolly, who added that Clinton, who also had served as United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti, delegated too much to his staff. “It’s a job that demanded he man up and go fight with the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, France, Canada and everyone else who pledged money ... to force them to turn over the money.”

The recovery commission and Clinton did not escape other criticism. Though the commission’s projects were approved unanimously, the Haitian members, including Bourjolly, complained in a public letter that they were being marginalized, and some groups in Haitian society asked for the panel to be dissolved before the end of its 18-month mandate. The commission remained in place until the end of the 18 months, but Haiti did not renew it.

Other criticism centered around accusations that Clinton and his wife, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, were running a pay-to-play operation in Haiti, which the Clintons have long denied. Neither the State Department, which Hillary Clinton oversaw, or the Clinton Foundation that Bill Clinton headed, gave favorable treatment to foundation supporters in Haiti, they have said.

Lots more to say about why neither Clinton nor the Haitians are blameless. Start with the huge star role given to Cheryl Mills who was the go-to person for both Bill and Hillary. Look into Preval’s micromanaging through his loyal aide appointed to be the executive director of the commission. Examine the exclusion of Haitian expertise to the benefit of a bunch of inexperienced and unqualified assistants paid huge sums for running around. Dive into electoral manipulation to the benefit of Martelly, Lamothe and the many celebrities who found them a cool bunch to hang with while most Haitians saw them for what they were: carpetbaggers salivating at the million dollar possibilities

“It’s a job that demanded he man up and go fight with the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, France, Canada and everyone else who pledged money ... to force them to turn over the money.”

Haiti’s 2010 earthquake killed hundreds of thousands. The next one could be worse.

Ten years ago, when Haiti was hit by its worst natural disaster in more than a century, the country didn’t have its own earthquake surveillance network.

It does now. The problem is, the 10 foreign-trained quake monitors who work there can’t stay in the building that houses the unit overnight because it is not earthquake resistant, and even if it were, there isn’t enough money to pay anyone to spend the night.

When the ground shakes again, they’ll have to run out of the facility’s only exit.

U.S. Embassy Statement

 Today we join Haitians and their partners around the world in honoring the thousands of lives lost and forever altered by the devastating earthquake of January 12, 2010.

 We remember, with awe and gratitude, the extraordinary efforts of Haitians during relief, recovery, and rebuilding.  We remember how in the most difficult of circumstances, Haitians put all differences aside and worked together to help rescue their fellow citizens and reclaim their country from destruction.

 Those efforts, together with the work of the international community, resulted in one of history’s most significant humanitarian responses: heroic rescue efforts; thousands of surgeries and medical interventions; and the largest emergency urban food distribution ever, feeding more than 4 million people. As a longstanding partner and friend of Haiti, the United States through USAID, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Coast Guard, the USNS COMFORT, FEMA, and other agencies worked tirelessly alongside Haitians to save lives and start the process of rebuilding.

 As we reflect on the past, the United States remains committed to a safe, secure, and prosperous Haiti. May the lessons learned from this day serve as inspiration to all to renew efforts to contribute to a better future for the Haitian people.

PUERTO RICO

Puerto Ricans Left Homeless After Biggest Quake in Century

Nearly 750 people were staying in government shelters in the island’s southwest region as Gov. Wanda Vázquez declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard

By Danica Coto AP Associated Press

Cars, cots and plastic chairs became temporary beds for hundreds of families who lost their homes in southwest Puerto Rico as a flurry of earthquakes struck the island, one of them the strongest in a century. The magnitude 6.4 quake that struck before dawn on Tuesday killed one person, injured nine others and knocked out power across the U.S. territory. More than 250,000 Puerto Ricans remained without water on Wednesday and another half a million without power, which also affected telecommunications.

Another strong aftershock of a 4.7-magnitude struck on Wednesday near the island's southern coast at the same shallow depth as Tuesday's earthquake. No serious damage was immediately reported.

More than 2,000 people were staying in government shelters in the island’s southwest region as U.S. President Donald Trump declared an emergency and Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez activated the National Guard.

"The magnitude of this event is so serious that the state government and the municipal governments of Puerto Rico do not have the capacity to respond effectively,” she said as she praised Trump's decision.

The hardest hit municipality was the southwest coastal town of Guánica. More than 200 people had taken shelter in a gymnasium after a quake on Monday, only for the latest shake to damage that structure — forcing them to sleep outside.

Among them was 80-year-old Lupita Martínez, who sat in the dusty parking lot with her 96-year-old husband by her side. He was sleeping in a makeshift bed, a dark blue coat covering him.

“There's no power. There's no water. There is nothing. This is horrible,” Martínez said.

MILLIONS went to rebuild Haiti’s churches. So why is Notre Dame Cathedral still in ruins?

By Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald

Unlike the Notre-Dame de Paris, the cathedral in France that attracted worldwide attention after a fire broke out in April, the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de l’Assomption in Port-au-Prince has largely been forgotten. There has been no billionaire bailout, and its estimated cost of rebuilding — $50 million — would have taken up all of the money donated by U.S. Catholics to help Haiti reconstruct its fallen houses of worships and other religious structures after the quake.

Still, as Haiti prepares to mark the 10th anniversary of the tragedy Sunday, the new archbishop of Port-au-Prince, Max Leroy Mesidor, is giving a lot of thought to the twin tower historic landmark that was constructed between 1884 and 1914. Its reconstruction plans once attracted 250 architects from around the world collaborating to submit 134 designs in a blind judging competition sponsored by the University of Miami, the Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince and Faith and Form magazine.

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 21 janvier 2020

 Bernard Diederich passes at the age of 94

Respected and wellknown New Zealand author, journalist, and historian Bernard Diederich passed away Tuesday, Jan. 14 at the age of 94 in Port-au-Prince. Diederich is considered to be an authority on Haitian history and journalism. Politician and filmmaker Arnold Antonin states he did extraordinary work as a historian in Haiti, and his work is essential to understanding the country.”

University Hospital in Haiti Earns Global Accreditation for Medical Education Programs

University Hospital in Mirebalais, Haiti, received formal accreditation from an international oversight group this week, affirming that the hospital’s medical education and residency programs meet the highest global standards—and causing Dr. Paul Farmer to reach for a seat.

“There’s a Haitian expression—news that demands a chair,” said Farmer, Partners In Health co-founder and chief strategist. “Usually it’s bad news, but this is truly exceptional. I have no way to express my gratitude and admiration to the Zanmi Lasante team. They have been tireless.”

PIH was founded in Haiti more than 30 years ago and is known in Haiti as Zanmi Lasante. The team opened University Hospital in Mirebalais in 2013, in collaboration with Haiti’s Ministry of Health. The 300-bed teaching hospital is home to residency programs in internal and family medicine, pediatrics, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, neurology, nurse anesthetists, and emergency medicine.

ACGME-I, the international arm of the U.S.-based Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, notified PIH of the institution’s accreditation this week, after a multi-year process and extensive analysis by its International Review Committee. University Hospital joins internationally accredited facilities in just seven other countries and is the second such facility in the Western Hemisphere, along with the University of Panama.

Dr. Sterman Toussaint, director of medical education at University Hospital for Zanmi Lasante, emphasized that distinction.

“This is a big achievement,” he said. “Most of the time, institutions in high-and middle-income countries get access to accreditation—not institutions in low-income countries like Haiti. This is a reflection of the commitment of PIH and Zanmi Lasante to education.”

Toussaint noted that the accreditation application was due in September, during the height of recent political unrest in Haiti that essentially shut down the country.

“Despite all of that, we have been able to meet the standards,” he said. “PIH is committed to meeting the standards that everyone is meeting around the world.”

Dr. Edward Hundert, dean for medical education at Harvard Medical School and an advisor to PIH, praised the milestone.

“This achievement of the internationally recognized highest standard for the educational programs at University Hospital, represents a truly wonderful validation of the years of hard work to build these programs, and of the outstanding quality of training that they represent,” he said. “This is exciting news not just for the hospital and the people who made it happen, but ultimately for all of the patients who will be cared for by the clinicians who train in these now ACGME-I accredited programs.”

Port-au-Prince to host 2020 national carnival

With the theme, Ann pote kole pou Ayiti dekole (Let’s work together for Haiti to emerge), the national carnival is scheduled for Feb. 23 - 25, 2020. Jean Michel Lapin, Minister of Culture and Communication officially announced the festivities and wished everyone a great carnival.

One Entrepreneur’s Quest to Beautify Florida’s Little Haiti

(haitiantimes.com)

On a Saturday morning around 10a.m. last month, Alain McGuffie found himself on the corner of Northeast Third Ave and NE 58th Terrace in Little Haiti in Miami, Florida, picking up trash with the City of Miami’s Solid Waste Department. They’ve been there for at least an hour, throwing out big black garbage bags, debris and random pieces of abandoned furniture. But this partnership isn’t an organic one; it is part of a promise the city made with McGuffie, a Haitian entrepreneur, to essentially begin paying extra attention to the area and dispose of the garbage that often populates the streets of Little Haiti, home to thousands of Haitian and Caribbean immigrants.

The corner they’re cleaning is identical to several streets in Little Haiti, and it’s a daily eyesore that McGuffie noticed the moment he stepped foot in Miami.

“I always come to Little Haiti but we always drive through the main streets, where we see the cultural center and the church, but I never drive through the inner city and see what is going on,” says McGuffie, owner of Wish In A Bottle, a business that brings resources like backpacks filled with school supplies to Haitian children. “Recently, I said let me take a ride before I move here and see what I am about to get myself into. That’s when I started noticing piles of garbage on every street that I turned.”

He saw what is always on the streets: large garbage bags tied up, or ripped with its strewn rotting contents on the streets, dirty mattresses and broken furniture decorating the curbs or patches of unkempt grass.

Dismayed at the state of a beloved neighborhood filled with vibrant culture and community, he brought his complaint to anyone who would listen. The residents in the area told him people often come from outside of Little Haiti, even from one or two neighborhoods away, to drop off garbage on the street, believing that the large trash bags will be picked up there quicker than where they live. But when he spoke to Commissioner Keon Hardemon, who oversees Little Haiti, he gave a different theory. He told McGuffie on the phone, and later repeated this at a commission meeting, that the trash is put there by residents, those he believes, don’t value their own neighborhood, and opt to throw their trash anywhere on the curbs, rather than the designated pickup zones.

“The people there feel like they are being neglected, so I said, why are you making it easy for them?” McGuffie said. “It brings down the property value when the area is dirty. If the place is well taken care of, then developers will pay top dollar for it.”

Many of the people there are hurting and unsure of the future as talks of developmental projects start and restart. But can Little Haiti residents count on their local officials to clean the area at the very least? It seems to be moving in that direction. Two days after McGuffie’s speech at the commission meeting, the Twitter account for Miami Solid Waste posted a photo of a small group in Little Haiti picking up trash with McGuffie that Saturday morning. “Small groups can make a big impact,” the tweet reads. “Thanks to our volunteers for helping us #KeepMiamiBeautiful. Join us next month for our next cleanup.”

As for, McGuffie, he doesn’t plan on waiting for officials to maintain cleanliness in his neck of the woods.

“The main thing that I am going to do is keep monitoring it, making sure they continue to clean the place,” said McGuffie. “I notice people here don’t want to come talk to the commissioners, so I want to bring other people to these meetings to raise their voice and be heard.”

Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser.

JANUARY 12, 2020 06:00 AM 

Haiti Earthquake: A Decade of Aftershocks

On Jan. 12, 2010, Haiti was struck by a massive earthquake. The disaster claimed 316,000 lives, left 1.5 million homeless and another 1.5 million injured. As the anniversary approaches, the Miami Herald, in partnership with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, will look at questions around aid and rebuilding over the past decade in the series Haiti Earthquake: A Decade of Aftershocks. We invite our readers to share with us how the Haiti earthquake impacted their lives. Your comments may be used in future stories.

PORT-AU-PRINCE

Ten years ago, when Haiti was hit by its worst natural disaster in more than a century, the country didn’t have its own earthquake surveillance network.

It does now. The problem is, the 10 foreign-trained quake monitors who work there can’t stay in the building that houses the unit overnight because it is not earthquake resistant, and even if it were, there isn’t enough money to pay anyone to spend the night.

When the ground shakes again, they’ll have to run out of the facility’s only exit.

“Am I scared? Well, that’s the job. I have to do it,” said Claude Prépetit, 68, Haiti’s foremost earthquake expert and as close as the country gets to having an in-country seismologist. “The conditions are not ideal ... but we have to do it. We have an entire nation that’s waiting on us to give them information.”

of Haiti’s Bureau of Mines and Energy, and supervises the small seismic monitoring team inside the one-story structure in the city of Delmas. The city is part of the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area that was decimated by the catastrophic magnitude 7 earthquake on Jan. 12, 2010.

Before the quake, Haiti had to consult the global U.S. Geological Survey for information on earthquakes larger than magnitude 4. Since Prépetit set up the network in 2011, Haiti now receives information broadcast via satellite from solar-powered seismic stations dotted around the country, and via internet from a network of seismometers that record tremors in real time. The seismic team analyzes the data and issues bulletins on quake occurrences and the potential for future earthquakes.

PROGRESS, BUT...

The 2010 quake caused more than 100,000 structures to crumble and created enough rubble to fill five football stadiums. At the time, Haiti had no quake-resistant building codes or in-depth understanding of its vulnerability. There are four major fault lines and many secondary ones crossing the country, which sits on two tectonic plates. As the plates slowly move past one another over time, stress builds up. The Léogâne fault that caused the 2010 quake was previously unknown.

Since the devastation, there has been progress, though. There is Prépetit’s seismic surveillance network, as well as active-fault and hazard maps, tsunami evacuation routes in the northern region and the first class of students soon to graduate with a master’s degree in geoscience from the State University of Haiti in Port-au-Prince. There is also considerably more knowledge about how the country’s various soil types, when combined with the effect of an earthquake, can liquefy and cause the ground to behave like quicksand in certain regions.

But for every bit of progress, there is plenty that has not been done to prevent a repeat of the cataclysmic disaster that claimed more than 300,000 lives and left 1.5 million people injured and another 1.5 million homeless.

“We do not have a national disaster risk management plan. We do not have a national plan to reduce the seismic vulnerabilities,” Prépetit said. “There is not a plan that says it is mandatory that they do awareness in all the schools and teach them what to do before, during and after. All of these are weaknesses that we have, which means that the next earthquake, if it’s of a high magnitude, well, the damages will be considerable.”

At best, the progress has been halting, he said, pointing out that $9 million worth of earthquake-related studies approved by the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission, co-chaired by former U.S. President Bill Clinton, has been collecting dust in drawers because there is no money or political will to confront the looming problem.

Nowhere is this more profound than inside Prépetit’s Seismology Technical Unit, where they recorded 301 tremors in 2019.

‘IT’S NOT NORMAL’

When a Miami Herald team visited in mid-November, Prépetit was the only one at work. The unit’s employees and staffers assigned to the mining bureau were home due to a countrywide lockdown, prompted by an ongoing political crisis. At the same time, the seismic station in Hinche was broken. There was no fuel for the generator, so the equipment was operating on a backup battery.

Weeks earlier, the United Nations Development Program had to cut a check for $7,500 because there was no money to pay for the satellite connection after the bill came due on Oct. 31.

“It’s not normal for a country that’s functioning, that’s doing seismic surveillance,” Prépetit said. “There should be a minimum budget. It should get a minimum of attention.”

Sophia Ulysse, who works with Prépetit in the seismic unit, said she and the other monitors do try to track quake activity from home, but “sometimes we try to connect and we can’t,” she said. “What is ideal is to have around-the-clock surveillance.”

Because the building that houses the seismic unit is not quake resistant, Ulysse said, “if an earthquake were to happen and the building isn’t able to resist, then all of the efforts we have made since Jan. 12, 2010, risks collapsing in a matter of seconds.“

Reginald DesRoches, the dean of engineering and incoming provost at Rice University in Houston, who traveled to Haiti to help after the quake, said there is no question that Prépetit and his team need adequate funding and support.

But that’s not their only challenge, said DesRoches, who is of Haitian descent and counts among his PhD students at Rice a young Haitian man who plans to return to Haiti to teach and work in seismic-resistant design.

“The biggest challenge that Haiti faces is the lack of an infrastructure and framework to enforce earthquake-resistant design standards,” he said. ”It is meaningless to have a [building] code if you have no way to enforce it. Over 90 percent of the buildings in Haiti are informal or non-engineered homes. ... It is very difficult to enforce proper construction practices.”

Prépetit agrees.

“It’s a rare engineer or person who builds differently, who uses [quake-resistant] construction techniques” in Haiti, he said. “The state doesn’t have the authority to say, ’No. I don’t agree.’ Things are being done the same way they were being done before January 12.”

While municipalities are responsible for issuing construction permits, they have neither the authority, capabilities, staff nor financial resources to enforce them or apply any of the recommendations from the various studies, Prépetit said.

After the 2010 disaster, the Haitian government estimated that more than 208,000 buildings were damaged, 105,000 were destroyed and 44 public buildings had collapsed, including the National Palace, the Parliament and the Supreme Court.

Since then, Haiti has had four presidents and seven prime ministers. Prépetit has had contact with them all, he said, as well as the various interior ministers whose job it is to oversee the government’s management of disaster risks.

None of them, he said, has really tried to focus on helping Haiti become earthquake-ready — or as ready as the small nation can be.

“I’ve never seen any will manifested from them to say that they consider this to be an emergency and it should be given the proper budget,” he said. ”It is the institutions that are concerned. They each have tried to do a little something. That’s why we have the progress that we have today.

“It’s like you have a band, there are several musicians, everyone is playing his own part but there is no maestro,” he said. “We don’t know where we are going.”

‘WE HAVE NO MEANS’

The Bureau of Mines and Energy, which oversees geology, mining and energy as well as earthquake surveillance, has an annual budget of just 60,000,000 gourdes — or $617,852. The amount represents just 0.04 percent of the country’s national budget, and 86 percent of it goes into salaries, Prépetit said.

“It’s 14 percent [left over] for us to function; to purchase vehicles, to purchase fuel, to purchase water, to purchase paper, ink cartridges,” Prépetit said. “We have no means.”

Money is also needed for the internet, and to replace the solar panels and batteries that are often stolen from the seismic stations around the country.

“What we do here is a Haitian effort,” he said. ‘We have a lot of will. We have the stations, we have donations, we’ve tried to install the system, but we don’t have a budget or program to really attack the problem.”

In recent years, some foreign donors have tried to provide funds to help support Prépetit’s work and help strengthen Haiti’s response structures. But the government also has to do its part, donors say.

“It remains critical to advocate for dedicated national budgetary allocations for both prevention and response capacities, and to ensure that risk awareness is mainstreamed throughout national planning processes,” said Stephanie Ziebell, the United Nations Development Program’s deputy resident representative. “This includes ensuring that those responsible for essential monitoring and analysis have the appropriate tools and facilities to enable their work.”

‘PEOPLE GOT ON THEIR KNEES’

A tall, lean man, Prépetit considers it his duty to do what he can, even with all of the challenges. Twice he could have died on Jan. 12. First, the building at the Université GOC Haiti where he taught a construction course collapsed. Luckily for him, he said, the course had been canceled that semester.

His office at the bureau of mines, which he left before the quake struck, also buckled.

“I am conscious of the fact that I am living in a country that is very vulnerable,” he said. “I know that if we have an earthquake in a country that is very vulnerable, a lot of my fellow countrymen will die. And I believe that it is through education that we have to reduce vulnerability.”

While the death estimates from the 2010 quake toll have varied — the U.N. cites 220,000; the Haitian government, 316,000 — one thing is clear: Many people died not just because of poor construction but because of ignorance.

“The earth shook and people got on their knees. They thought it was God shaking the earth. They did not understand what was happening,” Prépetit said. “There were people who were in the streets, the ground was shaking and they ran inside a house. The houses fell on them.”

Prépetit said he does have a plan for an earthquake-resistant facility to work out of. He also has a spot, an empty space in the yard of the current facility. But again, there is no money.

“A seismic surveillance system needs to operate around the clock. There should be dormitories so that even if the office closes at 4 p.m., there are personnel who remain on site throughout the night to monitor because earthquakes don’t have schedules,” he said.

Haiti was reminded of this in October 2018 when a relatively moderate 5.9 temblor struck the northwest city of Port-de-Paix and its surrounding towns. Seventeen people died, hundreds more were injured, and schools and homes collapsed. Studies have shown that the region is due to experience a major magnitude 7 or stronger quake.

“We are not yet ready,” Prépetit said. “All of the towns that were close to the epicenter were affected by a very moderate earthquake. ... If what we anticipate were to happen, the devastation would be more considerable than what happened in Port-au-Prince in 2010.”

And should another quake strike Port-au-Prince while he’s at work? Well, there is the evacuation plan. But the plan, he concedes, depends on the magnitude and where it catches him at the moment.

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 29 janvier 2020

 WYCLEF JEAN RAISES $25M TO FINANCE MUSIC PUBLISHING SERVICES In AFRICA And DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

By Tommy Williams

"The generous charitable initiatives established by three-time Grammy Award winner Wyclef Jean, in his native Haiti and other developing countries in Africa, are a significant part of his legacy. Jean hopes to see these regions continue to thrive and, more recently, has turned his attention to the fast-growing music genre of #Afrobeats, which has had a burst of commercial success globally, in 2018 and 2019. I spoke with Wyclef Jean about his newest venture Carnival World Music Group, which has just raised an impressive $25M in capital funding. The group seeks to democratize the global music marketplace for songwriters and producers in developing regions, whilst contributing to further empower dynamic women-owned businesses in the music industry.

Wyclef Jean Connects With His African Heritage

Jean, 50, is a #Haitian native who migrated to the US at the age of 9. He was always aware of his African heritage, calling Haitians “the Nigerians of the #Caribbean” and Jean, in his own words, is “almost 100% #Nigerian”, confirmed by a DNA ancestry test. His music has always been influenced by his Haitian and #African roots and, in 2004, Jean made his first trip to Africa to perform with music legend Fela Kuti’s son Femi Kuti. Jean had released a song titled “Diallo” in memory of Amadou Diallo, a 23-year-old Guinean immigrant who was shot 19 times by four New York City policemen in 1999. The song did not get much play in the US.

Kobe Bryant's Daughter Gianna, 13, Dead Alongside Father in Calabasas Helicopter Crash

The NBA legend and his daughter were both onboard the private helicopter

Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna ALLEN BEREZOVSKY/GETTY

Kobe Bryant’s daughter Gianna also died in the Calabasas helicopter crash that killed her father.

Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter, nicknamed Gigi, was also onboard the private helicopter when it went down on Sunday, reps for the former basketball player told TMZ Sports. The outlet said that Bryant’s wife, Vanessa Bryant — with whom he shares all four children — was not onboard.

Emergency personnel responded but none of the nine people onboard survived, a spokesperson for the LA county sheriff’s office said during a press conference.

Sources told ESPN that the helicopter was headed to a travel basketball game for Gianna, and that the other passengers were another player and their parent.

Bryant is survived by Vanessa, 37, and their daughters Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, 7 months.

Spokespersons for LA county sheriff’s office and LAPD did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Singer Yama Laurent, winner of La Voix 2018, soon in Haiti

Winner of the La Voix au Québec competition in 2018, Yama Laurent does not intend to savor alone the success and experience she gained after her victory. Two years later, she launched the “Miss Côte des Arcadins” contest, which recruited girls aged 17 to 27 living nearby. On site, a team is working hard. The champion will be present for the final scheduled for the end of the year.

JAZZ FESTIVAL IN PORT AU-PRINCE

Defying the crisis, international jazz made Port-au-Prince vibrate

The light rain did not prevent spectators from dancing in front of the stage, where Saturday night Canadian Dawn Taylor Watson sang. This proved that the international jazz festival of Port-au-Prince was a breath of fresh air prized in Haiti, in the midst of a socio-political crisis.

Pap Jazz, as it is regulars call it, has gained its place on the international scene at a time when the world capitals of the musical genre are shivering under negative temperatures. But this 14th edition was the most complex to implement.

"We changed the programming schedule 15 times. It was very, very complicated but we never thought for a second that we were not doing this festival, never a second," says Milena Sandler, director of the Haiti Jazz Foundation, organizer of the festival.

Inauguration of the MIDAS installation at the Directorate of Immigration and Emigration (DIE) in the official border point in Malpasse

22^nd January 2020

 On Wednesday 22^nd January 2020 the installation of the Migration Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAS) was inaugurated at the office of the Directorate of Immigration and Emigration (DIE) in Malpasse. Various personalities participated in this event, including the Director of the Ministry of Interior and Territorial Collectivities, the Director of the DIE, the United States Ambassador in Haiti, the Director of the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), the Chief of Mission of the International Organization for Migration, and the Director of the Anti-Corruption Unit. This inauguration is a very important date as the use of MIDAS marks a significant step forward in border management in Haiti.

 Developed in 2009 by IOM, the MIDAS system collects, process, store and analyses traveler information in real time. People entering and leaving Haiti are now controlled more efficiently through this new computerized system, thus contributing to increased border security. MIDAS facilitates crossing of travelers through the automatic capture of biometric information, as well as the work of DIE officers. According to information shared by the DIE, from 1st to 31st December 2019, 22,551 persons have already been registered. 

 As indicated by the Director of the DIE, Mr. Joseph Cianciulli, "the DIE no longer only produces passports, it now has full control over migration control".  For his part, the Chief of Mission of IOM Haiti, Mr. Giuseppe Loprete, stressed that "IOM's support in the installation of MIDAS at the Malpasse border point is only the beginning. As of this year, the Ouanaminthe and Belladère border points will also have MIDAS, and then potentially the international airports of Cap Haïtien and Port-au-Prince, in order to have an interconnected national migration control system". 

 The Ambassador of the United States remarked, “The inauguration of Haiti’s first MIDAS installation here in Malpasse represents an important step in modernizing the cross-border travel between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.  [It is] an excellent example of cooperation among the Haitian government, the United States government, and IOM.”

 The MIDAS system has been operational in Malpasse since 28 November 2019 thanks to funding from the US State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM).

U.N. is committed to addressing its peacekeepers’ sexual abuse of women in Haiti | Opinion

BY CATHERINE POLLARD AND JEAN-PIERRE LACROIX

JANUARY 21, 2020 05:18 PM 

 A recent report on the children fathered by U.N. peacekeepers in Haiti is deeply disturbing.

So let us be clear: Sexual exploitation and abuse by U.N. personnel is unacceptable, and we are fully committed to the secretary-general’s zero-tolerance policy. It harms victims and tarnishes the reputation of thousands of our personnel who serve with honor and distinction. It undermines the trust necessary between our personnel and the millions of people we have pledged to protect and serve.

We will do everything possible to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse, address cases when they do occur and support victims and their families — including children fathered by U.N. personnel — and ensure that paternity issues are addressed comprehensively.

The United Nations has a unique responsibility to set a global standard for preventing and responding to sexual exploitation and abuse by those with power and addressing its impact effectively and humanely. The secretary-general has put the rights and dignity of victims at the forefront of efforts to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse and respond to it should they occur.

In countries where U.N. personnel are deployed, our teams train them, raise awareness with communities and receive and respond to complaints. Teams on the ground receive reports, and community networks help victims know where to go to seek help. More people are coming forward as a result, and we are better able to respond.

Our partners on the ground provide medical, psycho-social, protection and legal support, in addition to livelihood opportunities. For example, victims have been referred to partner associations in the Central African Republic for health and livelihood support and for medical services in South Sudan. International humanitarian partners provide crucial services in many field locations.

We have established a trust fund that directly helps victims and others at risk make a living. In Haiti, for example, the United Nations and its partners enable children born of sexual exploitation and abuse go to school and help their mothers gain employment, including by opening their own businesses.

We have also established a special coordinator on improving the U.N. response to sexual exploitation and abuse by U.N. personnel, created a voluntary compact with 103 member states on our mutual commitment to prevent this scourge. By joining a Circle of Leadership, 87 heads of state and government have demonstrated their commitment at the highest political level to stand with us against this scourge.

But the United Nations cannot do it alone. We need the full cooperation of our member states to produce real results for victims. They must ensure that the uniformed personnel they contribute are selected and trained in a way that embed an understanding of zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse. They must act quickly on credible allegations and put the required legislation and processes in place so perpetrators can be held to account and victims receive effective remedies. For the sake of the victims and communities, and to promote greater transparency, the United Nations needs to be informed about the results of their actions. Our contractors must also demonstrate that they have mechanisms in place to ensure their employees are trained and that they receive reports and discipline offenders.

We encourage all who become aware of cases of sexual exploitation and abuse to refer victims and witnesses to U.N. offices and their partners on the ground for assistance and follow-up. It is our duty to hear them.

All of us have a joint commitment to the victims and all those who believe in the U.N. Charter to honor its values. We cannot let them down.

Catherine Pollard is U.N. undersecretary-general for management strategy, policy and compliance. Jean-Pierre Lacroix is undersecretary-general for peace operations.

U.S. demands firm date for next round of elections in Haiti | Miami Herald

BY JACQUELINE CHARLES AND

NORA GÁMEZ TORRES

JANUARY 23, 2020 05:03 PM 

Secretary Pompeo discusses need for elections in Haiti

el Nuevo Herald / Miami Herald reporter Nora Gámez Torres asks U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about the situation in Haiti where President Jovenel Moïse is ruling the country by decree. BY EMILY MICHOT

Haiti must set a firm date for the next round of elections, U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo says.

“That is the most important thing,” Pompeo said in an exclusive interview Thursday with the Miami Herald. “We need to have the elections. That is important.”

The Trump administration’s position comes as Haiti President Jovenel Moïse seeks to use his recently obtained power to rule by executive order to reform the country’s constitution, a controversial move that some fear could delay the holding of elections and plunge Haiti deeper into already protracted political crisis.

Moïse first called for constitutional reform during the Jan. 12 commemoration of Haiti’s 2010 earthquake. He soon followed up with a statement from his office. The statement said he was working on delivering a unity government that would be empowered to pass a budget, pass laws enabling elections and equally, would “propose constitutional changes to address flaws in the 1987 text, which have contributed to a decades-long cycle of political crises.”

He also said that political parties and international partners, in discussions, all agree “on the need to amend the 1987 constitution to enable our government to function.”

But some see the push for constitutional reform as a stalling tactic, and said the president will need to choose.

Pompeo, meanwhile, is adamant. He said the administration believes that “within the Haitian government, they have the capacity and the capability and the lawful right to do that.”

Pompeo said he raised the elections matter with Haitian Foreign Minister Bocchit Edmond on the sidelines of a round-table discussion this week in Jamaica with a select group of Caribbean ministers. “We urge them to set a timetable; set a firm date for those elections,” Pompeo said.

Moïse’s statement did not say how he planned to change the constitution. Some close to him have suggested by referendum, while others have said through a political agreement. Both avenues pose problems, even among those who support constitutional changes.

The constitution, itself, outlines when and how it can be modified and that window closed last year when the president of the Lower Chamber of Deputies, Gary Bodeau, and the presidential palace, failed to approve recommendations by a legislative special commission in charge of constitutional reform that had spent two years working on proposed amendments. Proposed amendments to the constitution would have had to be done at the close of the last regular session of the legislative year, which was Sept. 9.

“A constitutional reform should be part of a global political agreement where all political and civil society actors agree on a road map containing key objectives leading to elections. It can’t be a separate project,” said Jerry Tardieu, the ex-lawmaker who chaired the special constitutional reform commission.

“Changing the constitution requires a large consensus among Haiti’s political and civil society forces. We are far from there,” he added. “He can’t even find a consensus to form a government let a lone touch the constitution.”

Haiti has been without a legal government since the lower chamber fired Prime Minister Jean Henry Céant in March. Attempts by Moïse to ratify two other choices were blocked in the Senate where he controlled a majority, but a small group of opposition lawmakers used various tactics to block the hearings.

Some question whether Haiti can hold elections in the current security and political environment. Though the protests that paralyzed the country last year have dissipated and life has returned somewhat to normal, the issues that triggered the economic and political crises remain, observers stress.

The country is seeing a worrying resurgence in kidnappings with Haiti police registering 15 since the beginning of this year. There is also a rise in gang-related insecurity. On Wednesday, residents and merchants not too far from the Parliament building, along with government workers assigned there, were forced to flee amid a gang-on-gang shootout.

Parliamentary and local elections in Haiti were due in October. The country’s failure to hold them meant that Parliament became dysfunctional on Jan. 13, ushering in Moïse’s one-man rule.

He announced the end of Parliament in an early morning post on Twitter, saying that the legislative terms of the entire 119-member Lower Chamber of Deputies had expired along with that of two-thirds — 19 out of 29 — of the Senate. The tweet ended speculation about whether 10 or 19 senators would be dismissed, but triggered a new controversy.

Six of the 19 senators are contesting their dismissal and are accusing the president of violating the constitution and the 2015 electoral law under which they ran. Their six-year mandate, they argue, began in January 2016 and runs until the second Monday of January 2022.

The group has filed a grievance with the provisional elections body, and sent a letter address to nine international parliamentarian associations, pleading for help. Representatives of the public relations firm Mercury, which represents Moïse, did not respond to the Herald’s request for comment on the criteria used by the president to dismiss the senators, or their accusations against him.

In the letter, the ex-senators, which include the only elected female and a supporter of Moïse, accuse the president of trying to be a dictator. They note that on Jan. 14, they were blocked by Haitian police from accessing their offices at the Parliament.