Le débat qui devrait avoir lieu maintenant en Haïti ou ailleurs c’est de démontrer combien il est difficile, voire impossible de réaliser des élections présidentielles avec plus d’une cinquantaine de candidats.
On discuterait de la mise en œuvre d’une politique avec un train de mesures efficaces visant à diminuer considérablement ce nombre qui pousse carrément à rire. Si rien est fait pour les élections à venir, le nombre de candidats connaîtra une croissance exponentielle. Car c’est dans l’air du temps d’être candidat à la présidence.
Comme le joueur de lotto qui se perd dans ses rêves qui s’émiettent après le tirage, beaucoup s’excitent et se grisent en se laissant appeler « président » par leurs partisans conditionnels.
Des élections avec un nombre aussi important de candidats est matériellement impossible. Haïti détient déjà le record dans ce domaine donc il faut absolument arrêter ce déferlement de candidats qui s’abat sur le pays comme la pire des diarrhées !
Ceux qui se lancent dans l’organisation de débats présidentiels feront bien d’expliquer comment organiser un débat sérieux avec 54 candidats !
Si par la magie des organisateurs cette liste a été réduite à un nombre plus décent et manipulable cela aurait voulu dire que le principe de neutralité n’est pas respecté et que les organisateurs s’éloignent de l’objectivité et influencent le sens des votes.
Une confrontation entre les élus qui se seraient extraits de cette mêlée en obtenant leurs tickets pour le second tour serait incontournable. Ce, même au niveau de la Diaspora !
Combattre c’est bien quand on sait choisir le bon combat. Se monter sur les fronts juste pour se montrer n’est d’aucune utilité !
lundi 28 septembre 2015
LE PAPE, CE MONDE... SON CALVAIRE
Je me suis donné comme principe d'éviter le culte de la personnalité pour la simple et bonne raison de me garder d'encenser quelqu'un que je ne connais que partiellement.
Au lieu d'attribuer des caractéristiques trop dithyrambiques à quelqu'un que j'assimilerais à un ange, je préfère me dire que tout être humain est capable de vices et de vertus.
J'applaudis avec une ferveur égale au dédain mis en jeu quand je critique le comportement d'un être humain.
J'ai suivi avec un intérêt certain l'euphorie montée comme une vraie mayonnaise autour de la visite du Pape à Cuba et aux USA.
Le patron du Vatican n'a cessé d'étonner le monde catholique et les autres par ses prises de position et ses actes qui l'éloignent souvent du monde dogmatique conservateur et pincé de l'église catholique.
Souvent il tient tellement compte de l'humain au détriment du pur religieux, que j'oublie qu'il est le plus haut placé de la hiérarchie de l'église catholique.
Il me fait l'impression d'un humain imbu d'une sagesse universelle mise au service du bien-être de tous les hommes de la terre.
Souvent je me dis qu'il s'en fout des dogmes et que pour la première fois l'église est dirigée par un pape athé !
Plusieurs images sympathiques ont ponctué la visite très médiatisée du souverain pontife. On peut retenir en lieu et place de la papa mobile la petite fiat 500 faisant un drôle d'effet perdu dans les cortèges des grandes cylindrées.
Un ami à posté sur une page de réseau social une vidéo montrant le pape escalader seul un escalier le conduisant vers un avion.
Les commentaires tournaient autour du fait que le pape était tout seul et que le protocole aurait pu prévoir un accompagnement rapproché pour le au cas où.
J'ai pris du temps pour observer cette montée accidentée de l'escalier du chef de l'église.
J'ai eu l'impression que le pape faisait face à un vent qui soufflait assez fort et qui propulsait des éléments de son habillage vers son visage gênant ainsi sa vue et sa vision. Il trébucha une première fois sans tomber ni se lasser. Il poursuivit son ascension en trébuchant une deuxième fois…
Cette scène me rappela singulièrement celle de Jésus portant sa croix.
Aujourd'hui être chef d'église est loin d'être une charge facile dans un monde en ébullition ou le sacré entre en conflit avec l'évolution de la pensée humaine et se trouve dans un carrefour en pente glissante.
Cet homme âgé coiffé de ce grand titre et des responsabilités qui vont avec effectue constamment malgré lui une ascension difficile pour essayer de porter son message et sa voix vers l'humain dans son essence et dans sa souffrance.
Comme tout bon homme de Dieu dans la conception la plus humaine, il mérite respect et considération.
Jonas Jolivert
http://jonasjolivert.wix.com/dr-jonas-jolivert-1#!LE-PAPE-FRANÇOIS-CE-MONDESON-CALVAIRE/c1q8z/56086dce0cf2f0ed7a242c39
Au lieu d'attribuer des caractéristiques trop dithyrambiques à quelqu'un que j'assimilerais à un ange, je préfère me dire que tout être humain est capable de vices et de vertus.
J'applaudis avec une ferveur égale au dédain mis en jeu quand je critique le comportement d'un être humain.
J'ai suivi avec un intérêt certain l'euphorie montée comme une vraie mayonnaise autour de la visite du Pape à Cuba et aux USA.
Le patron du Vatican n'a cessé d'étonner le monde catholique et les autres par ses prises de position et ses actes qui l'éloignent souvent du monde dogmatique conservateur et pincé de l'église catholique.
Souvent il tient tellement compte de l'humain au détriment du pur religieux, que j'oublie qu'il est le plus haut placé de la hiérarchie de l'église catholique.
Il me fait l'impression d'un humain imbu d'une sagesse universelle mise au service du bien-être de tous les hommes de la terre.
Souvent je me dis qu'il s'en fout des dogmes et que pour la première fois l'église est dirigée par un pape athé !
Plusieurs images sympathiques ont ponctué la visite très médiatisée du souverain pontife. On peut retenir en lieu et place de la papa mobile la petite fiat 500 faisant un drôle d'effet perdu dans les cortèges des grandes cylindrées.
Un ami à posté sur une page de réseau social une vidéo montrant le pape escalader seul un escalier le conduisant vers un avion.
Les commentaires tournaient autour du fait que le pape était tout seul et que le protocole aurait pu prévoir un accompagnement rapproché pour le au cas où.
J'ai pris du temps pour observer cette montée accidentée de l'escalier du chef de l'église.
J'ai eu l'impression que le pape faisait face à un vent qui soufflait assez fort et qui propulsait des éléments de son habillage vers son visage gênant ainsi sa vue et sa vision. Il trébucha une première fois sans tomber ni se lasser. Il poursuivit son ascension en trébuchant une deuxième fois…
Cette scène me rappela singulièrement celle de Jésus portant sa croix.
Aujourd'hui être chef d'église est loin d'être une charge facile dans un monde en ébullition ou le sacré entre en conflit avec l'évolution de la pensée humaine et se trouve dans un carrefour en pente glissante.
Cet homme âgé coiffé de ce grand titre et des responsabilités qui vont avec effectue constamment malgré lui une ascension difficile pour essayer de porter son message et sa voix vers l'humain dans son essence et dans sa souffrance.
Comme tout bon homme de Dieu dans la conception la plus humaine, il mérite respect et considération.
Jonas Jolivert
http://jonasjolivert.wix.com/dr-jonas-jolivert-1#!LE-PAPE-FRANÇOIS-CE-MONDESON-CALVAIRE/c1q8z/56086dce0cf2f0ed7a242c39
Obama Sends Merten Back to Haiti as New Election Crisis Looms
Georgianne Nienaber Become a fan
Writer and author
U. S. Presidents will sometimes scheme to preserve a legacy, but the media is strangely silent on the Obama administration's latest move in Haiti. With little fanfare from our shores, Kenneth Merten was appointed as the Haiti Special Coordinator in August 2015. Merten served as the United States Ambassador to Haiti from 2009 to July 2012. Why President Obama and John Kerry would want to return Merten to Haiti is anyone's guess, since his tenure as Ambassador did little to lift Haiti from the hell of the 2010 earthquake or the corruption that followed.
During Merten's time in Haiti, the country also faced allegations of a rigged Presidential election and misappropriation of earthquake relief funds. The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs attributed some of the most egregious waste to USAID in blistering testimony: "Haiti: Is U.S. Aid Effective?" Included is a Government Accountability Office (GAO) analysis of failures at the Caracol Industrial Park development, and other "programs that have been slowly implemented, more costly than planned, and of questionably lasting impact." Caracol is the creation of Hillary Clinton, her former chief of staff Cheryl Mills, and the Clinton Foundation.
Now, Merten returns to Haiti in the middle of another election crisis and an 18 percent August voter turn-out, which some observers think might be closer to 4-5 percent. The country's Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) has not yet released the final results from the August 9 legislative elections. The official website lists the population of each Department (similar to a province) and the number of votes cast, but no vote count by political party. The Haitian press has released "preliminary" results, but these have not been officially confirmed.
Last week, fifty of the more than 120 political parties and groups registered with the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) attended a meeting to determine why the CEP had not yet released a final vote tally. The meeting turned into a heckling fest, with attendees calling for the ouster of CEP President Pierre Louis Opont. According to a source with knowledge of the meeting, Opont has lost all credibility.
Merten is a predictable choice to defend U.S. interests in the Haiti Parliamentary elections, since he was Ambassador to Haiti during the 2010-11 Haiti Presidential election cycle that installed musician "Sweet Mickey" Martelly. Results obtained by the CEP and the European Union-backed National Observation Council's (CNO) were switched, removing Jude Celestin from the runoff and advancing Martelly. It was essential to US interests that Martelly, and not Celestin, participate in the runoff.
In July 2015 CEP President Pierre Louis Opont said that the Unites States rigged the 2010 elections. As director general, Opont gave the official recount results to the international observers. He charged that Cheryl Mills, the Chief of State for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and the observers from the Organization of American States (OAS) then gave results different than what were passed to them. People are angry that Opont did not speak up at that time and fear that he may once again be functioning as a puppet of the United States until "satisfactory" election results are obtained.
2015-09-27-1443387199-3062507-DSC_00111.jpg
Election posters in October 2010, Port-Au-Prince (Photo Nienaber)
The release of emails from Hillary Clinton's private email server lends credence to Opont's story about 2010.
An email thread between Hillary Clinton and her Chief of Staff Cheryl Mills (Case No. F-2014-20439 Doc No. C05777664) was copied to Merten. In it, the Secretary of State participated in a heavily redacted discussion of a draft statement by the State Department on the elections. It appears that a defense was crafted that explained why the initial results released by the State Department were changed.
This is the statement we released late last night. Election results order Manigault, Celestin, Martielly (sic). May be good to have Tom Adams give you a quick update today.
In the email thread, on Tuesday December 7, 2010, Cheryl Mills instructs a staffer to "print the traffic" on a draft embassy statement that discusses something the "tabulation center" did not show in their first statement which quoted the CEP tabulations.
Current events are echoing the 2010 Presidential election under Merten's tenure while Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State. Describing the August 2015 polling, the Miami Herald said, "Around the country, polling stations were attacked and ballots were stuffed after candidates and their partisans thought they were losing. Polls also opened late and political parties had problems getting credentials for their observers."
Haiti has been desperately seeking fair and credible elections since her formation, but meddling in elections has been a part of U.S. policy towards Haiti since at least 1915. At that time, forces opposed to his close ties with the United States assassinated Haitian President Vilbrun Guillaume Sam. Sam had ordered his predecessor Oreste Zamor and 160 or so of his allies executed in Port-au-Prince.
U.S. Marines then took over the harbors in what amounted to a military invasion. The Haitian legislature was in session during this crisis and about to proceed to the election of a new president, when Admiral William B. Caperton, under orders from the U.S. State Department, "twice induced the Chambers to postpone the election." See "The Seizure of Haiti by the United States; A report on the military occupation of the Republic of Haiti and the history of the treaty forced upon her."
The State Department, "by the instruction of the President," requested the Navy Department to send a sufficient force of marines to control the situation absolutely, and Caperton was instructed that the United States favored the election of [Sudre] Dartiguenave.
History shows that U.S. "favored" elections are a sine qua non of Haitian election cycles.
The current President, Martelly, who cannot run for re-election, has dozens of candidates running throughout the country under his Haitian Tet Kale (Bald Headed) Party (PHTK).
The United States and others in the international community provided $38 million to the CEP to organize the August 9, 2015 elections. This amount is more than four times the amount spent by nations of similar to greater populations and circumstances, according to the Haiti Sentinel.
Election fixing is closely tied to USAID failures in Haiti.
Rewind the reels of history to November 2011 when Ambassador Merten stood with Bill Clinton, representatives from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and Korean apparel manufacturer Sae-A Co. Ltd., as they officially laid the foundation stone for the Caracol Industrial Park. Their protégée, the new Haitian President Michel Martelly, infamously said, "Haiti is open for business."
Merten hailed the Caracol Industrial Park and Sae-A's investment in Haiti as "a great victory" and said, "Investment is the real key to making the Haitian people more prosperous, which in turn will make the Haitian nation more independent and sovereign."
A lot has not happened at Caracol since 2011 when Merten claimed a "great victory" for the industrial park. The 2013 GAO analysis of failures there under Merten's tenure is epic and shows the folly of unaccountable USAID and Clinton Initiative programs in a region of Haiti that was untouched by the earthquake of 2010. A third or more of earthquake reconstruction funding was allocated to the industrial park, a power plant to run it, and a port facility to service the park.
Meanwhile Port-Au-Prince was rubble.
The 2015 GAO Report is not much improved from 2013. As of September 30, 2014, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) had allocated $1.7 billion to the Haiti reconstruction effort, but has dispersed only 54 percent or $911 million.
Merten has not said a word about the failure of USAID, but seems to be focusing on the unfolding election debacle. He urged "all parties to work together to solve the shortcomings observed during the elections on 9 August, to ensure that the elections of 25 October and 27 December next are conducted peacefully and credibly."
If it does not work out to his liking, Merten can always steal a page from history and request that the U.S. send in the Marines (again).
Follow Georgianne Nienaber on Twitter: www.twitter.com/nienaber
MORE: Haiti Haiti Earthquake Usaid Kenneth Merten Hillary Clinton Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Clinton Initiative Foreign Policy Usaid Policy
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/georgianne-nienaber/obama-sends-merten-back-t_b_8204364.html
Writer and author
U. S. Presidents will sometimes scheme to preserve a legacy, but the media is strangely silent on the Obama administration's latest move in Haiti. With little fanfare from our shores, Kenneth Merten was appointed as the Haiti Special Coordinator in August 2015. Merten served as the United States Ambassador to Haiti from 2009 to July 2012. Why President Obama and John Kerry would want to return Merten to Haiti is anyone's guess, since his tenure as Ambassador did little to lift Haiti from the hell of the 2010 earthquake or the corruption that followed.
During Merten's time in Haiti, the country also faced allegations of a rigged Presidential election and misappropriation of earthquake relief funds. The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs attributed some of the most egregious waste to USAID in blistering testimony: "Haiti: Is U.S. Aid Effective?" Included is a Government Accountability Office (GAO) analysis of failures at the Caracol Industrial Park development, and other "programs that have been slowly implemented, more costly than planned, and of questionably lasting impact." Caracol is the creation of Hillary Clinton, her former chief of staff Cheryl Mills, and the Clinton Foundation.
Now, Merten returns to Haiti in the middle of another election crisis and an 18 percent August voter turn-out, which some observers think might be closer to 4-5 percent. The country's Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) has not yet released the final results from the August 9 legislative elections. The official website lists the population of each Department (similar to a province) and the number of votes cast, but no vote count by political party. The Haitian press has released "preliminary" results, but these have not been officially confirmed.
Last week, fifty of the more than 120 political parties and groups registered with the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) attended a meeting to determine why the CEP had not yet released a final vote tally. The meeting turned into a heckling fest, with attendees calling for the ouster of CEP President Pierre Louis Opont. According to a source with knowledge of the meeting, Opont has lost all credibility.
Merten is a predictable choice to defend U.S. interests in the Haiti Parliamentary elections, since he was Ambassador to Haiti during the 2010-11 Haiti Presidential election cycle that installed musician "Sweet Mickey" Martelly. Results obtained by the CEP and the European Union-backed National Observation Council's (CNO) were switched, removing Jude Celestin from the runoff and advancing Martelly. It was essential to US interests that Martelly, and not Celestin, participate in the runoff.
In July 2015 CEP President Pierre Louis Opont said that the Unites States rigged the 2010 elections. As director general, Opont gave the official recount results to the international observers. He charged that Cheryl Mills, the Chief of State for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and the observers from the Organization of American States (OAS) then gave results different than what were passed to them. People are angry that Opont did not speak up at that time and fear that he may once again be functioning as a puppet of the United States until "satisfactory" election results are obtained.
2015-09-27-1443387199-3062507-DSC_00111.jpg
Election posters in October 2010, Port-Au-Prince (Photo Nienaber)
The release of emails from Hillary Clinton's private email server lends credence to Opont's story about 2010.
An email thread between Hillary Clinton and her Chief of Staff Cheryl Mills (Case No. F-2014-20439 Doc No. C05777664) was copied to Merten. In it, the Secretary of State participated in a heavily redacted discussion of a draft statement by the State Department on the elections. It appears that a defense was crafted that explained why the initial results released by the State Department were changed.
This is the statement we released late last night. Election results order Manigault, Celestin, Martielly (sic). May be good to have Tom Adams give you a quick update today.
In the email thread, on Tuesday December 7, 2010, Cheryl Mills instructs a staffer to "print the traffic" on a draft embassy statement that discusses something the "tabulation center" did not show in their first statement which quoted the CEP tabulations.
Current events are echoing the 2010 Presidential election under Merten's tenure while Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State. Describing the August 2015 polling, the Miami Herald said, "Around the country, polling stations were attacked and ballots were stuffed after candidates and their partisans thought they were losing. Polls also opened late and political parties had problems getting credentials for their observers."
Haiti has been desperately seeking fair and credible elections since her formation, but meddling in elections has been a part of U.S. policy towards Haiti since at least 1915. At that time, forces opposed to his close ties with the United States assassinated Haitian President Vilbrun Guillaume Sam. Sam had ordered his predecessor Oreste Zamor and 160 or so of his allies executed in Port-au-Prince.
U.S. Marines then took over the harbors in what amounted to a military invasion. The Haitian legislature was in session during this crisis and about to proceed to the election of a new president, when Admiral William B. Caperton, under orders from the U.S. State Department, "twice induced the Chambers to postpone the election." See "The Seizure of Haiti by the United States; A report on the military occupation of the Republic of Haiti and the history of the treaty forced upon her."
The State Department, "by the instruction of the President," requested the Navy Department to send a sufficient force of marines to control the situation absolutely, and Caperton was instructed that the United States favored the election of [Sudre] Dartiguenave.
History shows that U.S. "favored" elections are a sine qua non of Haitian election cycles.
The current President, Martelly, who cannot run for re-election, has dozens of candidates running throughout the country under his Haitian Tet Kale (Bald Headed) Party (PHTK).
The United States and others in the international community provided $38 million to the CEP to organize the August 9, 2015 elections. This amount is more than four times the amount spent by nations of similar to greater populations and circumstances, according to the Haiti Sentinel.
Election fixing is closely tied to USAID failures in Haiti.
Rewind the reels of history to November 2011 when Ambassador Merten stood with Bill Clinton, representatives from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and Korean apparel manufacturer Sae-A Co. Ltd., as they officially laid the foundation stone for the Caracol Industrial Park. Their protégée, the new Haitian President Michel Martelly, infamously said, "Haiti is open for business."
Merten hailed the Caracol Industrial Park and Sae-A's investment in Haiti as "a great victory" and said, "Investment is the real key to making the Haitian people more prosperous, which in turn will make the Haitian nation more independent and sovereign."
A lot has not happened at Caracol since 2011 when Merten claimed a "great victory" for the industrial park. The 2013 GAO analysis of failures there under Merten's tenure is epic and shows the folly of unaccountable USAID and Clinton Initiative programs in a region of Haiti that was untouched by the earthquake of 2010. A third or more of earthquake reconstruction funding was allocated to the industrial park, a power plant to run it, and a port facility to service the park.
Meanwhile Port-Au-Prince was rubble.
The 2015 GAO Report is not much improved from 2013. As of September 30, 2014, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) had allocated $1.7 billion to the Haiti reconstruction effort, but has dispersed only 54 percent or $911 million.
Merten has not said a word about the failure of USAID, but seems to be focusing on the unfolding election debacle. He urged "all parties to work together to solve the shortcomings observed during the elections on 9 August, to ensure that the elections of 25 October and 27 December next are conducted peacefully and credibly."
If it does not work out to his liking, Merten can always steal a page from history and request that the U.S. send in the Marines (again).
Follow Georgianne Nienaber on Twitter: www.twitter.com/nienaber
MORE: Haiti Haiti Earthquake Usaid Kenneth Merten Hillary Clinton Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Clinton Initiative Foreign Policy Usaid Policy
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/georgianne-nienaber/obama-sends-merten-back-t_b_8204364.html
Haiti, Indonesia join this year's International Folk Festival
Posted: Sunday, September 27, 2015 11:37 pm By Paige Rentz Staff writer Fred and Nanoushka Sylvain just wanted to get their feet wet with their first booth at the International Folk Festival, and this was the weekend to do it.
"We did literally," said Nanoushka Sylvain from behind a table of bright arts and crafts handmade in Haiti. Her traditional Haitian dress had a rain-soaked ring of darker blue from spending Sunday afternoon in the misty Festival Park Plaza.
Fred, decked out in the red and blue of his nation's flag, celebrated his 36th birthday at the Fayetteville festival that is one year older than him.
The couple, both natives of Port-au-Prince, have lived in Fayetteville for 12 years and have been dedicated attendees. But their schedules always got in the way of making sure their own country was represented.
"This year we decided we're going to do it," he said.
The Sylvains said they want to make sure people see a side of Haiti other than the poverty and post-earthquake devastation often association with the Caribbean nation.
"A lot of people aren't seeing the beauty in Haiti, and this was the perfect opportunity to showcase that," Fred Sylvain said.
When people stopped by the booth, Nanoushka was ready to explain the cultural significance of every item and how it was made, from beaded purses with Voodoo symbols to painted houses representing the country's colonial era. This pride and collective spirit is what the festival is all about, said Bob Pinson, operations manager at the Arts Council, which organizes the event.
"Obviously the attendance was drastically impacted because of the weather," he said, adding that he didn't yet have an attendance estimate.
But from his standpoint, the event accomplished its goal.
"It's all about diversity and bringing the community together," he said.
The weather created plenty of opportunity for that. With the wind and rain after setup on Friday, vendors and staff arrived Saturday to find tents blown across the park, even into the creek.
Vendors stepped up to help their own competition, restaking tents or solving other problems.
"Just that whole spirit of cooperation and working together really drove home what this festival is all about," he said.
With all the work that goes into putting on the festival, it's certainly preferable to have the 100,000-plus crowds, he said.
The festival has grown over the years from a Sunday afternoon food event on Hay Street to the weekend-long celebration featuring about 35 countries performing on stage, marching in the parade, selling authentic food or wares, or some combination of them all.
Indonesia stepped up its participation this year, marching in the parade for the first time.
Dance instructors Krina Armstrong and Liza Soeryanto led a group of women in a dance to celebrate the harvest, native to Armstrong's region of Sumatra.
"Next year we're going to try a different island," said Soeryanto, adding they want to help people understand the great diversity of the nation with more than 17,000 islands and hundreds of languages.
The expansion will likely continue for both countries, as they look into offering food next year.
"We know the rain had a little impact on attendance, but people still showed up, and we've been getting a lot of support, people coming to congratulate us," Fred Sylvain said.
"It was nice," Nanoushka added, "just if God would grant us no rain, it would be better."
Staff writer Paige Rentz can be reached at rentzp@fayobserver.com or 486-2728.
http://www.fayobserver.com/news/local/haiti-indonesia-join-this-year-s-international-folk-festival/article_3e4cbf7c-ec20-585b-8428-da17742d6959.html
Elections in Haiti: OAS mission urges actors to work together
Published on September 28, 2015
PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti -- The chief of the electoral observation mission of the Organization of American States (EOM/OAS) in Haiti, the former foreign minister and minister of defence of Brazil, Celso Amorim, has urged all actors in the electoral process to work together ahead of the upcoming presidential elections on October 25.
oas_logo.jpg "These elections can be a historic moment for Haiti," said Amorim, who last week visited the country on a preliminary mission that concluded on Saturday.
"For that to happen, all the actors -- government, political parties, electoral authorities and the population -- must help to overcome the existing obstacles and to create the conditions that will allow for the political, social and economic development of Haiti," he said.
During his visit, Amorim met with President Michel Joseph Martelly, who was accompanied by the minister of foreign relations, Lener Renauld, and the minister delegate for the elections, Jean Fritz Jean Louis; with the prime minister, Evans Paul; with the minister of justice, Pierre-Richard Casimir; and with the president of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), Pierre-Louis Opont.
In addition, he held working meetings with the presidential candidates, with the representative of the secretary general of the United Nations, Sandra Honoré, and with the director general of the National Police, Godson Orélus, as well as with civil society organizations and the international community.
The EOM/OAS was able to deepen its understanding of the obstacles encountered during the first round of legislative elections, held on August 9, and to exchange ideas on the corrective measures needed to overcome them, so make the presidential elections inclusive and to ensure they take place in an atmosphere of peace and tranquility.
In this sense, the mission underlined the importance of guaranteeing conditions of trust between all the participants.
The security of the voters during the election and the protection of the electoral process are also issues to which the EOM/OAS has paid particular attention in its meetings with authorities and political parties.
Several actors highlighted the incidents of violence in the past elections. The EOM emphasizes the importance of having adequate security during the presidential elections in October, which will help lend credibility to the electoral process. The continuity of the process according to the law and to established timetables, in an atmosphere of peace and trust, is essential to attaining political stability and the consolidation of democratic institutions.
PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti -- The chief of the electoral observation mission of the Organization of American States (EOM/OAS) in Haiti, the former foreign minister and minister of defence of Brazil, Celso Amorim, has urged all actors in the electoral process to work together ahead of the upcoming presidential elections on October 25.
oas_logo.jpg "These elections can be a historic moment for Haiti," said Amorim, who last week visited the country on a preliminary mission that concluded on Saturday.
"For that to happen, all the actors -- government, political parties, electoral authorities and the population -- must help to overcome the existing obstacles and to create the conditions that will allow for the political, social and economic development of Haiti," he said.
During his visit, Amorim met with President Michel Joseph Martelly, who was accompanied by the minister of foreign relations, Lener Renauld, and the minister delegate for the elections, Jean Fritz Jean Louis; with the prime minister, Evans Paul; with the minister of justice, Pierre-Richard Casimir; and with the president of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), Pierre-Louis Opont.
In addition, he held working meetings with the presidential candidates, with the representative of the secretary general of the United Nations, Sandra Honoré, and with the director general of the National Police, Godson Orélus, as well as with civil society organizations and the international community.
The EOM/OAS was able to deepen its understanding of the obstacles encountered during the first round of legislative elections, held on August 9, and to exchange ideas on the corrective measures needed to overcome them, so make the presidential elections inclusive and to ensure they take place in an atmosphere of peace and tranquility.
In this sense, the mission underlined the importance of guaranteeing conditions of trust between all the participants.
The security of the voters during the election and the protection of the electoral process are also issues to which the EOM/OAS has paid particular attention in its meetings with authorities and political parties.
Several actors highlighted the incidents of violence in the past elections. The EOM emphasizes the importance of having adequate security during the presidential elections in October, which will help lend credibility to the electoral process. The continuity of the process according to the law and to established timetables, in an atmosphere of peace and trust, is essential to attaining political stability and the consolidation of democratic institutions.
Helping Haitian Futures
A focus on healthBy Kenny Moise
Op-Ed Contributor
Across the globe, the number of migrants has risen in the recent years. This phenomenon is exacerbated by the growing poverty in regions like Sub-Saharan Africa and wars in others like Syria. We can recall the images of Aylan, the 3-year-old Syrian boy drowned in the Mediterranean sea while his family attempted to flee their war affected country. Closer to us, the story of Sonia has been related, fleeing deportation threats and intimidation in the Dominican republic where she lived.
She was not alone on her journey. As of July 2015, a significant number of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent fled the Dominican Republic for similar reasons. A large part gathered in cardboard-made tents, at Anse-a-Pitres, southeastern commune of Haiti. With a minimal assistance, these migrants are left vulnerable to important health risks in a hostile environment, considering the promiscuity, lack of resources and medical assistance. Let’s go around some of these health risks.
In Haiti, the rainy season extends from April to November. As the millimeters of rain accumulate, the risks of cholera outbreaks also rise since this infectious disease is evolving towards an endemic one in the country. At the Anse-a-Pitre’s camp, an adequate sanitation system to prevent the occurrence and spread of a cholera outbreak is definitely nonexistent, thus an exacerbated risk. However, cholera is not the only infectious disease to take into account as a health threat in this particular situation.
Tuberculosis- also endemic in Haiti- is spread by the means of promiscuity and enhanced by a poor nutritional state. In reference to the testimonies of Etant Dupain and Roxane Ledan, this describes precisely the catastrophic living conditions of the migrants. The context of promiscuity and lack of preventive medical care, also stands as a large ground for the occurrence of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections.
Simultaneously, potential women’s health issues can develop. In general, the pregnant women are exposed to countless pregnancy-related illnesses like anemia because an appropriate medical examination during the pregnancy is minimal, nay, totally unavailable. Plus, the context is favourable to high-risk delivery since an adequate medical equipment is absent.
On another side, unwanted pregnancies may result from the absence of birth control initiatives in the camp, such as an adequate education coupled with effective contraceptive tools. In the worst cases, women may arrest their pregnancy, in precarious conditions as it is often the case in Haiti where voluntary interruption of pregnancy is not supported by the law. These women’s health issues are not isolated from the risks of infectious diseases discussed above. They might come also in interactions with other health risks or propel their occurrence.
Among them, depression and substance abuse are rarely emphasized. No matter the cause of migration, whether forced or voluntary as for Aylan’s family and Sonia, the process remains traumatizing. The migrant or deported status itself carries a pejorative connotation, impairing the dignity of the person. For many, the current situation may appear like a defeat or a torturing humiliation, especially if the process involved the separation of family members or loss of material goods. This emotional pain is opportune for the development of neurosis and abuse of drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and sleep inducing medication. As consequences, violence against girls and women may occur and infections may be sexually transmitted, perpetuating the vicious circle. Unfortunately, the living conditions at the migrant camp, can only worsen the risks of mental ailments.
Despite this alarming situation, these health risks ultimately refer to the future, even if it means the next minute, hour or day. Therefore, they give us the possibility to act upon them. As organized social groups, as the government, let us come together to reinvent the future of a growing number of Haitians, desperate and abandoned. A safe environment where food, water, adequate shelter and medical assistance are available is a must to begin with. Based on these assets, an oriented and appropriate education should pave their way into a complete integration of the social life. In the face of this mighty challenge, we are left with little choice but unity and compassion.
Follow Kenny Moise on Twitter at @kennymoise
Note: the opinions expressed in Caribbean Journal Op-Eds are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Caribbean Journal.
http://caribjournal.com/2015/09/27/helping-haitian-futures/#
Everyday Heroes: A Home in Haiti
Not the family she lives with in their Southeast Portland two-story, but her other family in Haiti.
Sarah was adopted when she was just 18 months old.
“My parents didn’t have enough money to take care of us, because they have like 10 kids or something,” Sarah said.
Her Portland mom, Kim Callahan, adopted Sarah from Haiti a decade ago.
“Since she was young, my nickname for her is Little Buddha because the wise and beautiful things that’ve come from her are just amazing,” Callahan said.
Even though Sarah, 12, has no memory of her birth parents, she’s been working for years to raise enough money to buy them land down in Haiti and build them a small house.
Sarah sews and sells hats and scarves, does extra work around the house, and puts on garage sales to earn the money.
She’s even started a GoFundMe page to try and crowdsource some funding.
Recently, she sent her birth parents $1,200 for land, and said she only needs $5,000 total to build them a small house.
Sarah hopes to go to Haiti personally next summer to see her parents again, help them build the house and give them a message more than a decade in the making.
“That I love them and thank you for letting me have the best future I could have.”
Who is your Everyday Hero? Nominate them here or message Brian Wood and we may feature them on KATU News.
Source: http://www.katu.com/news/local/Everyday-Heroes-A-Home-in-Haiti-329602021.html?tab=video&c=y
Sarah was adopted when she was just 18 months old.
“My parents didn’t have enough money to take care of us, because they have like 10 kids or something,” Sarah said.
Her Portland mom, Kim Callahan, adopted Sarah from Haiti a decade ago.
“Since she was young, my nickname for her is Little Buddha because the wise and beautiful things that’ve come from her are just amazing,” Callahan said.
Even though Sarah, 12, has no memory of her birth parents, she’s been working for years to raise enough money to buy them land down in Haiti and build them a small house.
Sarah sews and sells hats and scarves, does extra work around the house, and puts on garage sales to earn the money.
She’s even started a GoFundMe page to try and crowdsource some funding.
Recently, she sent her birth parents $1,200 for land, and said she only needs $5,000 total to build them a small house.
Sarah hopes to go to Haiti personally next summer to see her parents again, help them build the house and give them a message more than a decade in the making.
“That I love them and thank you for letting me have the best future I could have.”
Who is your Everyday Hero? Nominate them here or message Brian Wood and we may feature them on KATU News.
Source: http://www.katu.com/news/local/Everyday-Heroes-A-Home-in-Haiti-329602021.html?tab=video&c=y
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