Cape Ann Forum speaker to assess aid to Haiti

Posted Feb. 17, 2016 at 8:55 PM
GLOUCESTER
Essex philanthropist and human rights activist Karen Ansara will share her experiences, both good and bad, with relief and development in Haiti since a devastating earthquake hit the island nation six years ago at the first Cape Ann Forum of 2016 on Sunday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. at Gloucester City Hall. The event is free and open to the public.

The January 2010 earthquake wreaked havoc across the country, the Caribbean’s poorest, and left 220,000 dead, 300,000 injured, and two million homeless. Schools and hospitals were destroyed, the main air and sea ports were badly damaged, and debris blocked access to the worst hit areas.

The human needs and challenges were enormous. Donations poured in along with thousands of volunteers in a chaotic and often disorganized relief effort. Many lives were saved, but money was wasted and opportunities were missed. Six years later, much remains to be done.

Karen Keating Ansara, who with her husband Jim Ansara launched a Haiti Fund within hours of the disaster and remained engaged throughout the years since then, now asks what lessons can would-be donors and volunteers take from Haiti and apply to other disasters when they happen.

She boils her takeaways down to three:
• Focus on partners, not plans.
• Focus on empowerment, not impact.
• And focus on depth, not breadth.

“I care far less about measurable impact and much more about signs of empowerment,” says Ansara. “Have our grants helped Haitians find their own voices? Have we enabled and ennobled grassroots leaders to articulate their own visions and celebrate their own collective assets? Have we held these leaders and their organizations to the highest standards of ethics, professionalism, and practice—and given them the tools, training and trust needed to achieve their greatest aspirations for themselves and their communities?”

“I have learned to peel off the layers of the onion in a local context instead of trying to go quickly to scale—because poverty is undeniably multi-layered,” she adds. “It’s not just about lack of income, lack of infrastructure, lack of education, lack of health care, or lack of any particular resource.
“Poverty may also be perpetuated by entrenched social norms, by structural and internalized oppression, by lack of a political voice or right to hold one’s government accountable.
 I have seen that all of these layers must be addressed for an individual or a community to move forward.”
In 2008, Ansara co-founded New England International Donors, a network of 115 donors, grantmakers, social investors, and advisors affiliated with the Boston Foundation, to promote more innovative and effective global philanthropy. She and her husband Jim cofounded the Haiti Fund at the Boston Foundation in 2010, a five-year project to make grants in Haiti and in Boston’s Haitian community, and support anti-poverty efforts in Nepal, another impoverished country recovering from a powerful earthquake.

She is an advisor to the emerging Haiti Development Institute and the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti and a member of the board of MCE Social Capital in California, the Leadership Council of Oxfam America, the Steering Committee of the Opportunity Collaboration, and the board of Wheelock College in Boston. She recently served on the boards of Partners in Health, Essex County Community Foundation, and Harborlight Community Partners, an affordable housing organization. Ansara holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Wellesley College, a master’s in Divinity from Andover Newton Theological School, and an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters from Salem State University.

Future Cape Ann Forums will feature Boston-based author and policy analyst Steven Walt on Sunday, April 3, on whether the United States should or can manage the Middle East, with journalist and commentator Christopher Lydon acting as a respondent; and West Point grad and career-officer-turned-security-analyst Andrew Bacevich on Sunday, May 15 on the challenges, opportunities and limits the U.S. faces on the global stage in the years ahead.

All events are at Gloucester City Hall. For more information, visit www.capeannforum.org.
http://gloucester.wickedlocal.com/news/20160217/cape-ann-forum-speaker-to-assess-aid-to-haiti/?Start=2

Creole Connection: SWFL Haitian Football Stars

Haitian-born running back was one of the most
sought-after  recruits in the SEC.

Southwest Florida is home to thousands of immigrants from Haiti, and their children are making quite the impact on the football field.
In Collier County, the language of football isn’t just english – it’s also Creole.
Several of the area’s biggest football stars are of Haitian descent and speak the country’s native language.
“It’s like a code that only we know,” said Naples running back and Tennessee signee Carlin Fils-Aime.
Fils-Aime was born in Haiti and moved to Naples at age 7 with his father.
“When I lived with him he would always tell me about his struggles in Haiti,” said Fils-Aime.
“What he went through, and and how he doesn’t want me to go through the same thing. How he raised enough money to bring me here – so I could make something out of myself” Mackensie alexander and his twin brother Mackenroe are still the pride of Immokalee.
They helped the Indians reach the state championship game in 2012. Mackensie played for a national championship at Clemson. Mackenroe is currently training to play at South Florida.
“I feel like our parents, when they came to this country, didn’t have much. So we do our best to represent them and all our people in Haiti,” said Mackenro Alexander.
Lely High School starting running back Calerb D’Haiti is one of many Haitians on the Lely football team.
“It’s like a family,” said D’Haiti. “because we’re all trying to make it out of the struggle we were raised in.”
For Haitian football players, speaking Creole is a way to connect.
“It’s awesome,” said Fils-Aime.
It’s also a way to remember.
“Because you don’t want to forget where you came from,” said D’Haiti.
And it’s also a source of pride.
“I am proud to be Haitian,” said Fils-Aime, “and no one can take that away from me.”
http://www.winknews.com/2016/02/17/creole-connection-swfl-haitian-football-stars/

Friends and Neighbors: Haiti Jewish Refugee Project honors Holocaust survivor

- Plaza Construction Golf Invitational to again benefit Miami’s Voices For Children Foundation
- “Around The World in 80 … Minutes!” concert Sunday at the Banyan Bowl in Pinecrest Gardens
- Moonlight Garden Tour at Vizcaya Museum and Gardens on Wednesday, Feb. 24.
BY CHRISTINA MAYO
christinammayo@gmail.com

Miriam Klein Kassenoff was awarded a Tikkun
 Olam Award for her work educating teachers
 about the Holocaust.
 Photo provided to the Miami Herald

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/community-voices/article60814861.html#storylink=cpy

Miriam Klein Kassenoff has made her life’s work teaching about the Holocaust. She learned her own first lessons as a child survivor who fled Nazi Europe with her parents.
Since then she has trained thousands of teachers as an educational specialist of Holocaust Studies for the University of Miami’s School of Education and Human Development and Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
For her passionate work, Klein Kassenoff recently received an important Tikkun Olam Award from the Haiti Jewish Refugee Legacy Project.
“I am humbled by every award that I have received,” Klein Kassenoff said in a release. “But this one took me by surprise. It shows that if you do the work you love rewards will come to you.”
The award is named for a Jewish principle that translates to “repairing the world.” The honor is given to individuals who have made a considerable contribution to do just that.
It is granted by Bill and Harriet Mohr, who are founders and publishers of the Haiti Jewish Refugee Legacy Project, which was established after the 2010 earthquake to gather information about Haiti’s Holocaust history.
Bill Mohr and his family were among 300 Jews who were given refuge by Haiti during the Holocaust.
“We wanted to recognize the outstanding contributions of a wide range of individuals who are working to raise awareness of important issues that need to be addressed in the context of Tikkun Olam,” said Bill and Harriet Mohr in a written statement. “They have moved forward to ‘repair the world’ and from their perspective, take action in ways that have beneficial results for society and can positively impact the general welfare of humanity.”
HELPING CHILDREN
Miami’s Voices For Children Foundation will again be the recipient of a corporate giving event by Plaza Construction, Miami. Last year, the company’s annual Golf Invitational at La Gorce Country Club in Miami Beach raised $150,000 to help abused, abandoned and neglected children in Miami-Dade County.
Plaza Construction’s Southeast Regional President Brad Meltzer presented the check in 2015 to the nonprofit organization. Last year, more than 110 Plaza Construction staff members, clients, subcontractors, and industry leaders played in the tournament, according to the company website.
This year, the Feb. 29 event will mark the 10th annual Golf Invitational and the second year that Voices For Children has been the beneficiary.
The foundation allows the Miami-Dade Guardian ad Litem Program to recruit, train and support volunteers who serve as “Voices” for children in dependency court proceedings. Voices For Children also helps with the children’s medical, educational and social needs.
Plaza Construction dedicates time to helping local and national organizations. Previous recipients of the annual golf tournament have included the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund and the National Multiple Sclerosis Foundation. The company also has sponsored corporate events for the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center through its participation in the Dolphin Cycling Challenge.
To learn how to become a volunteer with the Guardian ad Litem Program, visit www.weareguardians.org and to help Voices For Children, visit http://beavoice.org/.
CONCERT OF WORLD MUSIC
Enjoy a grand selection of music from around the world at the next Greater Miami Symphonic Band concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 21, at the Banyan Bowl in Pinecrest Gardens, 11000 Red Rd.
Bring friends and family members to the “Around The World in 80 … Minutes!” concert featuring classical and popular music from England, France, Korea, Ireland, Italy, Lebanon, Norway, Russia, Spain and more.
Tickets are $15 for adults, and $5 for students and children over age 5. Buy advance tickets online at www.gmsb.org/ticketsconcerts.html or at the box office day of the show. Admission includes admittance to the gardens one hour before the concert. South Florida-based musicians started the GMSB in 1979. The mission of the group is to keep alive the great American tradition of community concerts, and “to provide audiences with high quality symphonic band music, to highlight the diversity of wind band repertoire in performance, and to give regional musicians a gratifying artistic experience.”
STARGAZING AT VIZCAYA
Here’s your chance to see the stars from Vizcaya’s “backyard” following the museum’s next scheduled Moonlight Garden Tour on Wednesday, Feb. 24. The tour starts at 6:30 p.m. and the Southern Cross Astronomical Society members will have their high-tech equipment set up on the bayside plaza starting at 7 p.m.
You can experience Vizcaya at night only four times a year through a Moonlight Garden Tour. Tickets are $20 for nonmembers and $15 for members, students and seniors, and are available on-site only from 6 to 8 p.m. on the evening of the program. Note: the main house is not open during these tours.
Vizcaya Museum and Gardens is at 3251 S. Miami Ave. For more go to http://vizcaya.org/programs-moonlightgarden-tours.asp
The Astros also have a free family fun night scheduled for 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26, at Fruit & Spice Park, 24801 S.W. 187th Ave., Homestead.
Enjoy moonlight tram rides, and a campfire. SCAS members will set up their high-tech telescopes to focus on the brilliant winter night sky in the dark outback of the park. Bring chairs and blankets, and your own binoculars and telescopes. Bug repellent is recommended. Call 305-247-5727.
WALK FOR THE ANIMALS
Remember to get out for a fun time to support our furry friends at the next big event hosted by the Humane Society of Greater Miami. More than 3,000 animal lovers gather, with and without their dogs, to help the homeless and abandoned animals of our community.
Registration for the Walk For The Animals starts at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, at Miami’s Bayfront Park, 301 Biscayne Blvd. The one-mile stroll begins at 10 a.m.
You will enjoy a morning filled with fun activities, entertainment and yummy snacks. There also will be the Adoption Center where local rescue groups will bring their puppies, kittens, dogs and cats to help them find a forever home.
To register online for this caring event, go to www.humanesocietymiami.org or call 305-749-1822.
GROWING HERBS
Tropical Fruit & Spice Park is offering a class “Growing Herbs in South Florida” conducted by Carolyne Coppolo, owner of Red-Land Herb Farm. The class is 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, at 24801 SW 187 Ave. Cost is $25.
The class will give tips on winning the battle of heat, humidity, pests and diseases using organic methods. Learn about soil mixtures, fertilizers, and pesticides to use on herbs. A large selection of herbs will be on display and can be purchased after the class. To register, call 305-247-5727 or call Coppolo at 305-246-5825 or email redlandfarm@bellsouth.net.
If you have news for this column, please send it to Christina Mayo at christinammayo@gmail.com.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/community-voices/article60814861.html#storylink=cpy

JOCELERME PRIVERT PRESIDENT PROVISOIRE

Ce scénario est écrit à l’haïtienne ! C’est une vraie haïti-ânerie !
Un parlement issu des élections contestées signe un pacte de résolution de crise avec le président sortant. Le parlement et seul le parlement - en excluant un autre pouvoir qui sert de base au fonctionnement du pays – propose et approuve sa solution de sortie de crise au détriment des autres propositions des autres secteurs de la vie nationale.
Dans cette proposition il est prévu la nomination d’un président provisoire. En fait pas une nomination sinon une élection avec appel à candidatures et dépôts de dossiers. Le président de ce sénat (contesté) se porte candidat. Et bien entendu ce parlement composé de mal-élus fait le choix de celui qui avait signé le pacte de sortie de crise avec Martelly.
Henry Namphy n’aurait pas mieux fait
! Les forces armées d’Haïti avaient fait la même chose mais avec d’autres artifices.
A chaque phase le parlement a eu l’occasion de gagner un petit peu de légitimité. Mais les sénateurs et les députés ont préféré le coup d’état.
Après 1991 on revient au temps des coups d’état. Le parlement a fait le choix de la crise en appliquant la politique du pire !

7 FEVRIER 2016

Ce dimanche 7 février 2016, je n’écrirai pas sur la fin du régime de Michel Martelly qui se décline plutôt en queue de poisson. Je ne fais pas partie de ceux qui suivent sur les médias locaux la retransmission du discours d’adieu du président sortant.

Ces situations viennent toujours avec leurs mots de circonstances et leurs formules clichés.

Comme autour de l’épopée des élections présidentielles avortées, il était difficile de commenter prévoir et se projeter sur le futur car en Haïti les évènements se succèdent comme par hasard sans savoir qui mène ou qui fait quoi. Impossible d’utiliser des éléments comme  LOGIQUE  et COHERENCE pour expliquer et comprendre les faits , les positions et  les comportements des différents acteurs.

Donc je resterai assez attentiste. Je prendrai le temps de savourer cette défaite de la communauté internationale qui, l’espace de ces élections aura compris que si les haïtiens toujours remarquables par leur résilience et leur aptitude à tout gober le veulent, ils peuvent faire avancer les choses.

L’avenir n’est certes pas plus radieux.

Les maîtres du pays tenteront par tous les moyens de récupérer la main mais, ce qui est fait est fait.

Le constat est là. Il faudra déplorer cette carence criante de Leadership. Ces anciens dirigeants et leaders populaires qui se referment dans un silence complice.

La population comprend qu’il faut agir. Mais la direction à prendre ne se dessine pas aussi clairement que le voudrait l’urgence de la situation.

La route sera donc très longue !

Haïti a encore le temps.

Haïti n’a que 214 ans !

Haiti urgently needs international help overcoming its political crisis

A supporter of presidential candidate Jovenel Moise
waves a Haitian national flag during a march to demand
elections be reinstated, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti,
on Feb. 2. (Dieu Nalio Chery/Associated Press)

By Editorial Board February 3

AFTER MONTHS of mounting instability and political violence, Haiti now is days away from a full-bore leadership crisis. The way out of the impasse is unclear. What is clear is that the current, failed president, Michel Martelly, must go.

Under Haiti’s constitution, Mr. Martelly, who took office in 2011, must step down when his term ends Sunday. However, a runoff election to choose his successor was canceled amid street protests and political upheaval last month, leaving no alternate date for a vote and no plan for a democratic transition.

Now Mr. Martelly is suggesting that he may remain in office if there is no consensus on replacing him. That should be a non-starter, given his record of thuggish conduct, mismanagement and poor governance, his contempt for democratic processes, and his complicity in leading the country into its current dead end. Should Mr. Martelly be permitted to retain power, there is every reason to fear that Haiti, with its history of political turmoil, would be in danger of bloody upheaval. The international community cannot allow that to happen.

There are a number of conceivable exits from the stalemate. None of them would be easily arranged in the absence of strong institutions and trusted legal bodies in Haiti. Any chance of a peaceful resolution will require timely and assertive diplomacy by the Organization of American States, the United States and other influential international actors.

One way forward would be the formation of an interim government — ideally chosen by the National Assembly, not by Mr. Martelly — charged with promptly overseeing new elections. Such a transition might be led by a Haitian Supreme Court justice, by Senate President Jocelerme Privert, by former president René Préval or by another respected figure, and would need to reorganize Haiti’s discredited electoral commission so the country can proceed to a new vote.

Granted, no such interim government would enjoy complete constitutional legitimacy, and there are precious few public figures in Haiti who enjoy broad public backing. Unfortunately, Mr. Martelly is not among them.

If an interim government is constituted, its sole task should be to organize elections as quickly as possible. That would be a difficult job given that six of Haiti’s nine electoral council members have resigned. Moreover, the country’s contentious political culture, poisoned by the autocratic Mr. Martelly, is ill-suited to compromise.

That’s why a strong international hand is required, one that can encourage or, if necessary, coerce the country’s political, civic and business leaders to come to terms on a Haitian resolution.
The history of international intervention in Haiti’s affairs is mixed, at best, and it is undeniable that many Haitians distrust outside meddling. Still, the uncomfortable truth is that Haiti, the hemisphere’s poorest and in some ways most dysfunctional nation, seems ill-equipped for now to manage a transparent democratic transition of leadership on its own. The risk of a vacuum of power is real, and the economy, beset by inflation and a weak currency, is teetering. The country desperately needs an effective government and international help in arranging elections that produce one.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/haiti-urgently-needs-international-help/2016/02/03/8c643c74-c930-11e5-ae11-57b6aeab993f_story.html

OAS mission chief says Haiti deal is near

- Haitian politicians are close to finding a solution for the country after Feb. 7
- President Michel Martelly will step down by this weekend
- The Organization of American States tells Haitians it’s not the enemy

Haitians dressed as bananas to show their support for organic banana
 farmer and presidential candidate Jovenel Moise, from the PHTK
party, march to demand elections be reinstated, in Port-au-Prince on
Tuesday. Haiti had been scheduled to hold a presidential and legislative
runoff Jan. 24. But the now-splintered provisional electoral council
canceled it for a second time amid the protests and suspicion that the
 first round was marred by widespread fraud favoring Moise,
President Michel Martelly's chosen candidate. Dieu Nalio Chery AP

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article58452173.html#storylink=cpy

BY JACQUELINE CHARLES
jcharles@miamiherald.com
The head of an Organization of American States special mission to Haiti says he’s confident that all sides will reach a solution in the coming hours on how Haiti will be governed after President Michel Martelly steps down this weekend.
Still, Ronald Sanders, the Antiguan diplomat who is leading the mission and chairs the 35-nation OAS permanent council, concedes that “every day, the goal posts seem to change.”
“There is a different story about what settlement they’re going to reach, as to how they go forward after Feb. 7,” he said. “It’s been a volatile situation.”
On Thursday, Haitian lawmakers finally opened the 50th legislature. And while Senate President Jocelerme Privert, who also served as president of the National Assembly, acknowledged the imminent presidential vacuum, no decision was taken on how to address it. That could happen Saturday.
The OAS mission arrived in Haiti on Sunday at the request of Martelly, who asked the OAS to authorize a special mission following the indefinite suspension of a runoff election to choose a successor before the Feb. 7 constitutional deadline for him to leave office. Martelly also made the same request to the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, which authorized a smaller mission that flew in and out of Haiti over two days to meet with the president, his presidential pick Jovenel Moïse, and leaders of parliament.
Despite the delicate nature of the discussions, Sanders said he was hopeful a peaceful settlement would soon be reached.
“I am as confident as one can be in these circumstances that the deal that is now on the table will probably come to fruition on Feb. 7,” Sanders told the Miami Herald in an interview from Port-au-Prince. He is scheduled to leave Haiti Friday.
Current negotiations focus on an interim president taking the reins, with current Prime Minister Evans Paul staying until he is either ratified by parliament or a new consensus prime minister is chosen to lead a caretaker government until the runoff is held.
Martelly will leave office by Feb. 7. That point was stressed both by Sanders in private talks with the president, and by OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro, who took to Twitter this week to stress the point. Some members of the president’s entourage have suggested that he could remain in office until May 14, the date he was sworn in five years ago.
Who will be interim president and how that will be decided remains up in the air.
While Haiti’s constitution doesn’t provide a clear road map for the current situation, Sanders said both leaders of parliament have told him and the other members of the OAS special mission they are going to “try and get to as close as they can to the constitution” for a solution.
“As they said to me, and I accept, ‘This is an exceptional situation requiring an exceptional solution,’ ” Sanders said. “What I am pleased about is that it is they who are finding the solution. They are working together, desperately trying to get to a solution and that is the best thing that can happen. It is not a solution that anyone imposes on them; it is one that they devised, formulate, and it will be up to them to implement it.”
But while an agreement would take Haitians and the international community over the immediate emergency, there is still the issue of the presidential and partial legislative runoffs. The vote was supposed to happen on Jan. 24, but was postponed amid fraud allegations that sparked violent street protests and a boycott by opposition presidential candidate Jude Célestin.
An opposition alliance of eight presidential candidates, of which Célestin is part, refused to meet with the OAS. Sanders, however, said he has met privately with some members to get their view of the crisis.
Prior to the mission’s arrival, the alliance had said that it was not welcomed in the country and not needed to “meddle” in Haiti’s affairs. Sanders stressed that the role of the mission is not to interfere in the internal affairs of Haiti but support Haitians finding “a Haitian solution” to the crisis.
He said he used his meetings with senators, business leaders, and others to try to correct “a lot of false ideas” about the OAS and its role in the disputed 2010 presidential vote. That election was also marred by allegations of fraud in favor of then government-backed candidate, Célestin. The OAS was called in to verify the vote count, and Martelly was moved into the runoff spot in lieu of Célestin.
Whoever is put in charge of Haiti’s caretaker government will have to find a way to address the electoral crisis in order to allow for the vote to happen by April 14, and a new president to be sworn in by May 14, under the agreement being discussed.
A poll released Wednesday by the Brazil-based Igarape Institute, an independent research group, says despite deep voter disenchantment, most Haitians would vote if they had confidence that elections were fair. The poll was conducted prior to the scheduled Jan. 24 runoff and surveyed 1,766 randomly chosen adults across Haiti. It had a margin of error of about three percentage points.
Sanders said he doesn’t believe anyone can stop the anti-election protests, noting that “people who have a vested interest in running for the presidency will try and take advantage of any vacuum to continue their campaigns. That is going to happen anyway.”
“People who are in a political fight, struggle, they are going to remain in it,” he said. “This country is ready for an election. The people of this country want an election to put an end to this matter so that their lives can continue. At the moment, it’s dominated by the election.”
“Everybody recognizes that the sooner the election can be held, the better,” he said.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article58452173.html#storylink=cpy

MARTELLY...LE PROBLÈME ET NON LA SOLUTION!

Les rumeurs vont rebondir comme des ballons lancés en l'air. Après Guy Philippe et son projet de détachement de la Grande-Anse du pouvoir central, le décaissement de fortes sommes d'argent pour appuyer des manifestations contre les manifestants de l'opposition , il est question d'un président qui veut rester au pouvoir pour gérer le chaos qu'il a lui-même façonné.
On ne saura lui demander de voir plus clair puisque tout le monde a toujours été conscient de ses limites.
On découvre cependant que ses conseillés ne sont pas plus avisés que lui. Tous ceux qui se retrouvent rassemblés à la même table se ressemblent dira-t-on.

Lors de la mascarade passée avant de sortir du chapeau la solution CLINTON/MARTELLY, l'ONU avec la MINUSTAH avait sorti la carte de démission de René Préval.

Aujourd'hui il est carrément ubuesque de penser que l'impasse dans laquelle s'est embourbé le pays sous la houlette d'un président dans sa version DICTATURE 2.0 et un gouvernement carrément mis à l'écart par une augmentation de salaire contre un engagement silencieux et aveugle, s'éclaircirait par une prolongement inconstitutionnel du mandat présidentiel.

Le tremblement de terre de 2010 et la catastrophe provoquée n'avaient pas suffit à légitimer cette tentative qui a trottiné un temps dans la tête de René Préval.

Michel Martelly est aujourd'hui le bouchon qu'il faut absolument faire sauter pour évacuer les pressions et revenir à un semblant de normalité.

Que ses amis et ses conseillés le lui disent pour qu'il s'en parte animer le cortège carnavalesque et que le pays reprenne un sentier plus sérieux!
Dr Jonas JOLIVERT Marseille 29/01/2016

Haven hosts fifth annual Haiti Ball to celebrate Haiti Week

Haven Ambassador and rugby international Paul O’Connell
 and Haven co-founder Leslie Buckley, with Sister Patricia
Dillon Sister Jacqueline Picard, at the fifth annual Haiti Ball to
celebrate Haiti Week. Photo: Fergal Phillips. 

Irish rugby legend Paul O’Connell attended the fifth Annual Haiti Ball in Dublin tonight where two inspiring women were presented with a prestigious award.
The sports star, who is an ambassador for the Haven charity, was at the Intercontinental Hotel, Dublin to celebrate Haiti Week, which has raised vital funds to help the people of Haiti.
Haven, the leading Irish charity working on the ground in Haiti, hosted the ball.
The prestigious William Jefferson Clinton Goodwill for Haiti Award was presented to Sister Jacqueline Picard and Sister Patricia Dillon.
Sr. Patricia Dillon, an American native, has been serving in Gros Morne since 1998.
She came to Haiti with a background as an educator and a community organiser, and works with local leaders and co-ordinates any development project that would help improve the lives of the Haitian people.
Sr. Jacqueline Picard, also an American native, has been working tirelessly in Gros Morne for the past 18 years.
A registered nurse, Sr. Jackie has worked with Alma Mater Hospital for the past 14 years, and managed a program for malnourished children.
Leslie Buckley, Haven Founder and Chairman said: “The award recipients, Sister Jackie and Sister Pat, have dedicated their lives to the people of Haiti and we are delighted to have them here to collect their award.”
“Haiti Week is an opportunity for Ireland to celebrate the rich and vibrant culture of Haiti while also raising vital funds for Haven’s work on the ground in Haiti.”
“Thanks to the wonderful assistance of our donors and supporters since the launch of Haiti Week almost five years ago, Haven’s long term Sustainable Development Programmes in Haiti continues to provide access to; clean water, safe and structurally secure shelter and opportunities to participate in Income Generation Workshops,” he said.
Meanwhile, Paul O’Connell said “I am delighted to be here tonight to support the work Haven is doing in Haiti.”
“Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world with over a quarter of its population living on less that €1.50 a day. It is incredible to think that over 10 million people live in Haiti yet it practically the same size as Munster.”
Haven has amalgamated with Soul of Haiti, an Irish charity established by a group of business people to apply their entrepreneurial skills and resources to create a positive impact on the lives of the people of Haiti.
Haiti remains the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
Haven has provided permanent shelter for over 19,800 people, and training for over 60,000 people in areas such as hygiene promotion, adult literacy and financial management, as well as skills- training in sewing and boat building.
Online Editors
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/haven-hosts-fifth-annual-haiti-ball-to-celebrate-haiti-week-34390787.html

Haïti: l'opposition réclame la démission du président après le report des élections

Des milliers de personnes ont défilé samedi à Port-au-Prince pour réclamer le départ du président Michel Martelly, au lendemain du report du second tour de l'élection présidentielle pour "raisons de sécurité".
"Nous exigeons désormais le départ de Michel Martelly et (du Premier ministre) Evans Paul et la formation d'un gouvernement de transition avant le 7 février pour faire aboutir le processus électoral en cours", a affirmé Assad Volcy, un responsable politique de l'opposition.
Le candidat à la présidentielle soutenu par le gouvernement, Jovenel Moïse, a quant à lui appelé à une "rapide" reprogrammation du second tour.
Il a estimé que "le peuple était prêt pour voter Jovenel Moïse en foule" lors du scrutin qui devait se dérouler dimanche, en même temps que des législatives partielles.
Vendredi, à moins de 48 heures de l'ouverture des bureaux de vote, le président du Conseil électoral provisoire (CEP) a annoncé le report des scrutins, sans qu'aucune date de remplacement ne soit formulée.
Le président du CEP a justifié ce report "pour des raisons évidentes de sécurité". Une douzaine de bureaux électoraux ont été incendiés ou attaqués dans la nuit de jeudi à vendredi.
Au premier tour du scrutin présidentiel le 25 octobre, Jovenel Moïse avait recueilli 32,76% des voix, contre 25,29% pour Jude Célestin, qui avait qualifié ces scores de "farce ridicule".
L'opposition a multiplié les manifestations pour dénoncer "un coup d'Etat électoral" fomenté par le président Martelly. Jude Célestin, qui n'a pas fait campagne, refusait de participer au second tour.

Manifestation à Port-au-Prince, le 23 janvier 2016, en Haïti
pour réclamer le départ du président Michel Martelly après le
report du 2e tour de la présidentielle © HECTOR RETAMAL 

 Il s'agit du deuxième report des scrutins, qui devaient initialement être organisés le 27 décembre.
- Violences -

Les mobilisations contre le pouvoir en place qui ont rassemblé, vendredi et samedi, plusieurs milliers de personnes à Port-au-Prince se sont achevées par des incidents violents. Une personne a été blessée par balle, trois voitures ont été incendiées et plusieurs vitrines de magasins brisées vendredi à proximité du siège du CEP.
Samedi, le cortège de l'opposition, qui multipliait les petites barricades de pneus enflammés sur son parcours, a essuyé quelques jets de pierres isolés. Les manifestants ont répliqué immédiatement par de nombreux jets de pierres et de bouteilles.
Arrivée sur la place du Champ de Mars, la foule a pris pour cible un marché. L'agent de sécurité protégeant le lieu a tiré à balles réelles en l'air à deux reprises, suscitant un regain de colère des manifestants, a constaté un journaliste de l'AFP.
La police, présente en nombre pour assurer la protection du palais présidentiel à quelques mètres de là, a ramené le calme et dispersé la foule en utilisant des camions lanceurs d'eau irritante.
Evel Fanfan, avocat de l'un des premiers partis d'opposition, justifie les violences qui ont plongé la capitale haïtienne dans la panique.

Manifestation à Port-au-Prince, le 23 janvier 2016, en Haïti
Pour réclamer le départ du président Michel Martelly après le
report du 2e tour de la présidentielle © HECTOR RETAMAL 

"Quelle est la plus grande violence quand un gouvernement a tenté de voler la volonté du peuple ? Quand un président de la République essaie de provoquer, d'humilier tout un peuple ? Quand la violence est le résultat de la violence pour la liberté, pour la démocratie, je dirais que c'est la bonne violence", a-t-il déclaré à l'AFP lors de la manifestation de samedi.

- Inquiétude de la communauté internationale -
Le chef de l'Etat Michel Martelly n'a fait aucune déclaration publique depuis l'annonce par le CEP de l'annulation des élections de dimanche. Une adresse présidentielle à la nation avait été annoncée pour vendredi soir mais a été annulée sans explication.
Le secrétaire général des Nations unies Ban Ki-moon appelle la classe politique haïtienne à "travailler sans tarder à la conclusion du processus électoral de manière pacifique, en trouvant une solution consensuelle qui permettra au peuple d'Haïti d'exercer son droit de vote pour élire un nouveau président ainsi que les représentants restants du nouveau Parlement".
Appelant à "un dialogue raisonnable et consensuel", la mission d'observation électorale déployée en Haïti par l'Organisation des Etats américains (OEA) "condamne fermement tous les actes de violence, incluant ceux dirigés contre les observateurs de l'OEA durant leur déploiement".
L'Union européenne "regrette" aussi "la détérioration de l'environnement" et "souligne la nécessité de respecter les résultats électoraux du scrutin du 25 octobre 2015".
24/01/2016 10:50:33 - Port-au-Prince (AFP) - Par Amelie BARON - © 2016 AFP
http://www.lepoint.fr/monde/haiti-l-opposition-reclame-la-demission-du-president-apres-le-report-des-elections-24-01-2016-2012322_24.php

Haïti dans l'incertitude après le report de dernière minute de la présidentielle

Des manifestations de joie ont été réprimées vendredi en Haïti, après l'annonce par le président du conseil électoral provisoire (CEP) d'un nouveau report de l'élection présidentielle prévue dimanche pour "des raisons évidentes de sécurité".
Le report de dernière minute vendredi 22 janvier de l'élection présidentielle controversée prévue dimanche en Haïti a plongé une nouvelle fois le pays dans l'incertitude politique. Les milliers de manifestants, qui avaient à nouveau pris les rues vendredi midi pour contester la tenue des scrutins, se sont réjouis à l'annonce de l'annulation, mais la liesse a été de courte durée. Devant le siège du conseil électoral, étape prévue dans son parcours, la foule a été violemment dispersée par les policiers qui ont lancé des grenades lacrymogènes.
Des tirs à balles réelles ont aussi été entendus par les journalistes de l'AFP. La panique a alors gagné la commune de Pétionville, où se situe le siège du CEP. Une personne a été blessée par balle, trois voitures ont été incendiées et plusieurs vitrines de magasins brisées dans cette banlieue aisée de l'aire métropolitaine de Port-au-Prince.
Plus tôt dans l'après-midi, invoquant des questions "évidentes de sécurité", le président du conseil électoral provisoire (CEP) en charge de l'organisation des scrutins en Haïti, avait annoncé le report des élections prévues ce dimanche sans donner de nouvelle date. Pierre-Louis Opont, le président du CEP, a justifié l'annulation du vote, décidée à moins de 48 heures du scrutin, par l'"ensemble d'incidents et d'actes violents sur l'ensemble des infrastructures du conseil". Depuis les résultats du premier tour de l’élection, l'opposition a multiplié les manifestations pour dénoncer "un coup d'État électoral" fomenté par l’actuel président Michel Martelly. Plusieurs bureaux électoraux avaient notamment été incendiés en province dans la nuit de jeudi à vendredi.
Silence de la présidence
Lors du premier tour du scrutin présidentiel le 25 octobre, le candidat du pouvoir, Jovenel Moïse, avait recueilli 32,76 % des voix, contre 25,29 % pour Jude Célestin, qui avait qualifié ces scores de "farce ridicule". Après l'annonce de l'annulation de l'élections, Jude Célestin a expliqué qu'il considérait cela comme "une solution sage". "Tardive certes, car nous avons dépensé des sous que nous n'avions même pas, ce qui montre l'irresponsabilité de nos dirigeants. Mais mieux vaut tard que jamais", a-t-il réagi. Pour le candidat de l'opposition, "c'est une victoire pour la démocratie, pas seulement pour moi, car je n'étais pas le seul à combattre cette 'sélection'".
En revanche, aucune réaction ou commentaire du candidat du pouvoir n'a pu encore être recueillie. Son équipe de campagne a seulement précisé que Jovenel Moïse "est en réunion".
Le président du CEP a expliqué aux journalistes lors d'un point de presse qu’il attendait "la réaction de l'exécutif pour discuter du problème avec lui, car notre interlocuteur immédiat en matière électorale, c'est l'exécutif". Or, depuis l’annonce du report des élections, le gouvernement haïtien s’est terré dans le silence. Le président Michel Martelly devait prononcer, depuis le palais national, un discours à la nation vers 21 h GMT, mais cette allocution a été annulée sans explication.
La possibilité d'un gouvernement intérimaire
Après un premier report des scrutins présidentiel et législatifs en raison des contestations de l'opposition, ce nouveau report plonge à nouveau Haïti dans l'incertitude. Respecter la date constitutionnelle du 7 février pour la passation du pouvoir présidentiel semble impossible. Un gouvernement intérimaire pourrait prendre en charge la gestion des affaires courantes après cette date et organiser la tenue d'élections d'ici avril, d’après des sources diplomatiques.
Depuis la fin de la dictature des Duvalier en 1986, Haïti connaît une crise démocratique émaillée de coups d'État et d'élections contestées qui fragilisent le développement économique du pays, encore marqué par le terrible séisme de janvier 2010 qui a fait plus de 200 000 morts.

Haïti: l'opposition réclame le départ immédiat du président Martelly

(Belga) Plusieurs milliers de manifestants ont défilé samedi dans les rues de Port-au-Prince pour réclamer le départ immédiat du président Michel Martelly, au lendemain de l'annulation pour "des raisons de sécurité" des élections prévues dimanche.
"Nous exigeons désormais le départ de Michel Martelly et (du Premier ministre) Evans Paul et la formation d'un gouvernement de transition avant le 7 février pour faire aboutir le processus électoral en cours", a affirmé Assad Volcy, un responsable politique de l'opposition.

Vendredi, à moins de 48 heures de l'ouverture des bureaux de vote, le président du conseil électoral provisoire (CEP) a annoncé le report du second tour de la présidentielle et des législatives partielles initialement prévues dimanche.
Le président du CEP a justifié ce report sine die par "des raisons évidentes de sécurité". Une douzaine de bureaux électoraux ont été incendiés ou attaqués en province dans la nuit de jeudi à vendredi.
Au premier tour du scrutin présidentiel le 25 octobre, le candidat du pouvoir, Jovenel Moïse, avait recueilli 32,76% des voix, contre 25,29% pour Jude Célestin, qui a qualifié ces scores de "farce ridicule".
Après un premier report des scrutins en raison des contestations de l'opposition, cette nouvelle annulation plonge Haïti dans l'incertitude. (Belga)
http://www.lavenir.net/cnt/dmf20160124_00769184

Haiti elections scheduled for Sunday have been canceled

- The CEP said safety could not be guaranteed
- Opposition candidate calls cancellation a victory
-
Negotials have been ongoing since early Thursday
BY JACQUELINE CHARLES
jcharles@miamiherald.com
PORT-AU-PRINCE
Haitian elections officials Friday afternoon abruptly canceled Sunday’s planned elections amid escalating protests and violence around the country.
Moments earlier, the officials had halted the distribution of voting materials and began recovery of those that had already gone out.
Elections officials said at a news conference that safety could not be guaranteed for voters or poll workers.
The cancellation is “a victory for all of the democratic sector,” said Jude Célestin, the main opposition candidate in Sunday’s election.
“This isn’t just about me. It’s also about all the people who supported me and who fought for us to arrive here,” he told the Miami Herald.
The electoral commission’s about-face came after the international community said it is leaving the door open for Haitians to find a political consensus that could lead to the postponement of Sunday’s partial legislative and presidential runoff.
Six foreign ambassadors along with the representative of the Organization of American States and the head of the U.N. peacekeeping stabilization mission said Friday that while they still want to see the conclusion of the electoral process, they support efforts “aimed at finding a way forward that ensures the democratic renewal of state institutions.”
The statement makes no mention of a Jan. 24 presidential runoff or a Feb. 7 constitutional end of President Michel Martelly’s term, two dates that the international community had been insistent on Haiti maintaining. But they softened their stance Friday as Célestin continued to boycott the runoff and tires and cars burned in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area. Also, reports trickled in that schools doubling as voting bureaus were being burned.
For days, members of the private sector and Roman Catholic Cardinal Chibly Langlois have been trying to find a solution to the country's electoral crisis, which was triggered by allegations of fraud in the Oct. 25 presidential runoff and Célestin declaring his non-participation. The negotiations had stalled but as of Friday, they were back on track as both the executive and the opposition worked on their own separate proposals.
Sources familiar with the talks, say the sticking point remains Feb. 7, and who would govern Haiti afterward. Martelly supporters say he should be allowed to remain in power until a new president is elected. The opposition, including a majority of senators, want him gone.
While Martelly has been insistent on his desire to leave at the end of his presidential term, he has said that he has an obligation to hand over power to another elected president. This, however, has been a rare occurrence in Haiti's turbulent history where former President Rene Préval became the first president to not face prison, death or exile after he transferred power to Martelly in 2011.
Less than 24 hours after Martelly called on Haitians to head to the polls in a national address, Prime Minister Evans Paul said in an interview on Vision 2000 that “everyone sees that there is a problem with the 24th of January...even President Martelly when he says elections ‘straight ahead.’ ”
Despite that government-backed candidate Jovenel Moïse continued with the campaigning spending Friday, doing media rounds in the capital after holding a rally the evening before in Ouanaminthe.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/article56092280.html#storylink=cpy Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/article56092280.html#storylink=cpy

ET NOTRE DIASPORA DANS TOUT ÇA ?

Les opinions des gens avisés font constamment l’éloge de l’immense potentialité de la population haïtienne résidant en dehors des frontières du pays. Se basant sur les transferts d’argent pour les besoins de leurs familles et le nombre de professionnels formés et exerçant dans leurs pays d’accueil, les espoirs de développement du pays devraient inclure obligatoirement une participation des haïtiens du dehors.
Cependant, l’activité de la diaspora haïtienne reste définitivement insuffisante malgré des velléités sporadiques et des actions adaptées à des moments clé de la vie nationale à travers lesquelles certains membres de ce groupe veulent affirmer une existence qui peine à s’affirmer.
Il faut admettre que les facteurs qui conditionnent et qui configurent les caractéristiques de cette diaspora sont multiples. Souvent on évoque la mise en place d’un verrou tenu par les acteurs locaux qui cultivent une peur ancestrale de se voir supplanter par des compatriotes ayant vécu à l’extérieur considérés bien souvent à tort comme dotés d’une formation beaucoup plus solide.
Il est clair que des mesures légales facilitant l’intégration de la Diaspora dans la vie nationale pêchent par leurs raretés.
Mais, mieux que ces facteurs extrinsèques, l’émancipation de ce groupe est perturbée par des éléments qui lui sont propres, des aspects qui expliqueraient certaines modalités d’un comportement qui ressemble beaucoup à celui qui est reproché à une grande franche de la population d’haïtiens de l’intérieur.
Les battements d’ailes timides dans des circonstances de mode ou à la mode n'en font point un corps vivant utile et qui compte.
Loin de se regrouper, de s'organiser pour se renforcer, notre Diaspora s'enferme dans des modèles identiques à ceux qui traînent entre néant et nihilisme en Haïti, sans apporter les changements comportant les solutions aux problèmes diagnostiqués depuis deux siècles.
Plusieurs cherchent des vitrines pour s'exprimer ou se faire voir; d'autres agissent comme des donneurs de leçons parce que détenteurs de titres, de diplômes et de savoir.
Dans les moments spécieux ou l'attention se porte pour une raison ou une autre sur Haïti, elle prise dans une effervescence dont l'obsolescence reste programmée dans le court terme jusqu'à la nouvelle actualité.
Après le tremblement de terre de janvier 2010 les rencontres et les débats fusèrent de toute part faisant croire que la Diaspora aurait son mot à dire et une participation effective dans ce rêve de reconstruction qui entrevoyait Haïti repartir sur de nouvelles bases.
Aujourd'hui, six ans plus tard le constat est à la fois amer et brûlant: rien n'a été fait avec la Diaspora à qui on a justement légué le droit de demander où est donc passé l'argent de la reconstruction du pays.
Nos compatriotes de l'extérieur ont aussi rêvé de vivre comme tout haïtiens les moments forts des élections nationales. Alors que peu de voix se lèvent pour exiger le droit de vote, elle a voulu exister et se faire entendre.
Les débats présidentiels les plus animés comptent parmi leur participation à cette aventure électorale.
Elle est encore allée plus loin car sur la liste longue et invraisemblable de candidats à la présidence se sont ajoutés des représentants ou des membres de la communauté haïtienne de l'extérieur. Leurs scores sensiblement supérieur à zéro laissent de l'espace à des conjectures autour de leurs motivations à assumer une telle décision qui termine dans le ridicule et dans le discrédit.
Les organisateurs du dernier forum d'un des groupes se voulant l'un des plus influents, s’enorgueillissaient de réunir plusieurs ex premiers ministres. Même si parmi eux on dénombrait un dont le gouvernement a été éphémère et l'autre un premier ministre de vitrine placé à côté du président pour insuffler un soupçon de légitimité démocratique aux décisions machiavéliques du Président devenu tout puissant avec le parlement mis volontairement hors jeu.
Une plaque de reconnaissance lui a été décernée!
Cependant voici Haïti encore une fois placée à un pas du gouffre dans cette conjoncture de crise électorale. La Diaspora comme la société civile en Haïti, comme une bonne frange de la population haïtienne fait profil bas.
Aucune position officielle!
Aucune sollicitude dans la recherche de solutions!
Pourtant jamais une implication des haïtiens de l'extérieur n'aurait été plus utile que dans la conjoncture actuelle.
On sait très bien que le pays vit sous tutelle depuis bon nombre d'années.
Toutes les grandes décisions sont dictées par la fameuse communauté internationale qui finance nos élections.
L’actuel président du CEP a reconnu que notre président de la République n'a pas été élu mais choisi. Et comme exception culturelle haïtienne -empruntée par atavisme à la France- il est encore le grand artificier de cette situation de crise qui paralyse la nation et qui hypothèque son avenir.
Un des éléments qui empêchent le dénouement logique de la crise électorale est justement la volonté de cette communauté internationale de faire respecter son agenda. Suivant le principe du « celui qui paie décide", elle fait fi de tout bon sens pour pousser le directeur du CEP à foncer contre toute logique vers un mur qui va déboucher sur une longue période d'incertitude et d'instabilité.
La définition étrangère et tutélaire de stabilité est qu'un président remet le pouvoir à un autre le 7 février tous les cinq ans. Les moyens pour arriver au pouvoir pour l'instant importent peu.
Sinon comment justifier la présence des soldats de L'ONU et leur fameuse mission en Haïti!
La diaspora haïtienne regorge de personnalités publiques et privées à succès dans les pays qui pilotent les décisions. Constamment les médias rapportent le succès d'un haïtien ou d'un descendant d' haïtiens dans des domaines variés aux USA, en France et au Canada. Ces nations sont les pays décideurs par excellence de tout ce qui se passe -d'important- en Haïti.
Des instances, des médias et des personnalités publiques de ces pays là questionnent la procédure électorale. Comme exemple un éditorialiste du Washington Post a rendu responsable de la crise, l'intervention américaine.
Un autre exemple se trouve dans ce courrier envoyé au ministre des affaires étrangères américaines par un élu (sénateur) pour demander plus de transparence dans la participation américaine dans notre processus électoral.
Ceci démontre que la crise haïtienne ne laisse pas indifférent. Et les gouvernements qui tirent les ficelles de nos marionnettes en Haïti ne sont pas des régimes totalitaires. La cause haïtienne si elle cherche des alliés, pourra très facilement les trouver car dans ces pays là, Haïti compte de vrais amis.
C'est à ce niveau que la Diaspora aurait dû intervenir en portant un message plus sérieux et différent de ceux que colportent les décideurs qui alimentent à des desseins inconnus la revue à la baisse des standards et le nivellement par le bas.
Aujourd'hui il est clair que l'ennemi du progrès l'entrave au progrès pour Haïti est un adversaire coriace multi Céphale dont la portion de cerveau la plus influente agit depuis l'extérieur.
Donc cette phase, le combat doit être mené par les patriotes de l'extérieur.
Il faut croire que de bonnes leçons auront été tirées de cette crise électorale et que tous les haïtiens comprendront les caractéristiques de leurs responsabilités face à l'histoire et qu'ils agiront en conséquence.
Les membres de la Diaspora devraient revoir la hiérarchie de leurs priorités pour configurer différemment leurs actions vers une efficacité réelle pour le pays.
Dr Jonas JOLIVERT
8/01/2016
Marseille, France

Six Years

Much has happened during the last six years.
Hundreds of thousands of Haitians were crushed to death in the earthquake six years ago this afternoon. The victims included women huddled together watching a popular Dominican soap opera around little televisions at 4:53 PM. The ground shook for 35 seconds, and for many of them, it was their last show.
Haiti’s most powerful Catholic prelate fell to his death from a seminary as the earthquake crushed his cathedral nearby.
Bodies were scooped up for days like pieces of heavy debris, thrown in dump trucks, and buried in a pauper’s field just north of the capital.
And I learned that earthquakes don’t really kill people, bad buildings do.
After the earthquake 13 billion dollars of money was pledged to Haiti from all over the world. However, pledged money does not mean money given. And money that was given was given to whom? And for what?
Non-government organizations were crucified relentlessly for trying to help in Haiti but not really creating sustainability.
Cholera would hit Haiti at the end of 2010 and Haiti, the land of extremes, became home to the largest and most deadly cholera outbreak in the world. The UN would not take responsibility for cholera and words like “immunity” and “impunity” still confuse me. But I do understand “shock” and “death” from extreme loss of bodily fluids.
Hillary would pick the newest Haitian president in 2011 and he would “rule by decree”.
In early 2014, I examined four-month-old baby Princess in Port. She had complex congenital heart disease but her eyes focused very clearly. Princess died after surgery but she sent a song of sympathy directly from Heaven shortly after she left us.
Chikungunya virus hit Haiti in 2014 and made millions of Haitians quite ill. And now Zika virus (from the same mosquito vector) is sickening Haitians but we have to be quiet about it right now. And nine months from now someone may need to explain the number of Haitian babies being born with small heads and brains and intellects.
One-third of Haitians are food insecure or starving now and we can’t blame this on Syria’s Bashar al-Assad or his barrel bombs.
Daughters of Charity Sisters (and also very dear friends of ours) were burglarized in their own home in Port-au-Prince last year and beaten by the bandits…the very people they serve. Insanity rules.
In June of 2015 people with Haitian blood (some who only speak Spanish) went running and screaming from the Dominican Republic after they were told they were no longer welcome in the sugar cane fields. These folks and their children are now “stateless” and tens of thousands of them are camped on the Haitian-Dominican border in a desert existing in cardboard huts. Neither Dominican or Haitian governments act like they exist and they have no civil rights. Cholera and malnutrition and lack of hope are picking these people apart.
And Haitian politics and elections and the omnipresent corruption are an embarrassment for Haiti as 2016 comes tumbling in. People manifest in the streets almost every day because they can’t live another six years like this.
www.haitianhearts.org
http://blogs.pjstar.com/haiti/2016/01/12/six-years/

Haiti earthquake victims still homeless, struggling to rebuild six years after disaster

Haitians have paused to mourn the 200,000 people killed six years ago in a devastating earthquake that left the country with wounds that have yet to heal.
Almost 60,000 people are still homeless and living in camps, and the common struggle to rebuild has done nothing to close Haiti's deep political divisions.
"Six years on and we still don't know the exact number of our dead, nor all their names," feminist collectives Kay Fanm and Solidarite Fanm Ayisyen (Haitian Women's Solidarity) said.
"Six years in which families have struggled to grieve because they still don't know the fate of those who have not been seen since that tragic day."
President Michel Martelly, who will be replaced next month if Haiti manages to hold the second round of a delayed election, tried to brush off controversy.
We did not build well, we were not well-prepared, and people were not secure enough to avoid this catastrophe.
Haiti's President Michel Martelly "It's easy to criticise, but I ask that everyone look to themselves and ask themselves what they can do to help build the new Haiti," he said.
On Tuesday, Mr Martelly joined Prime Minister Evans Paul to lay a wreath at a memorial just outside the capital over a mass grave holding tens of thousands.
Flags flew at half-mast across Haiti, the western half of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, bleakly notorious as the poorest country in the Americas.
"We're here to pay respect to all those we've lost," Mr Martelly said, pushing his theme that it is time for Haiti to work together.
"But especially we are here to reflect on the fact that we share responsibility for what happened.
"We did not build well, we were not well-prepared, and people were not secure enough to avoid this catastrophe."
Political turmoil hampers reconstruction efforts
On January 12, 2010, shortly before 5:00pm, a magnitude-7 quake destroyed more than 300,000 buildings in downtown Port-au-Price and across southwest Haiti.
Aside from the dead trapped in the tangled webs of steel and cement formed by pancaked concrete homes, more than 1.5 million were left homeless.
The scale of the horror triggered international sympathy and unprecedented pledges of aid, much of which was swallowed up in emergency relief.
Longer-term reconstruction has been hampered by political chaos and by a cholera epidemic credibly blamed on poor hygiene at a UN peacekeeping unit.
Haiti's international partners now hope that a new chapter may begin after January 24, when voters will be called to cast ballots in a presidential run-off.
Mr Martelly's favored successor Jovenel Moise emerged ahead of challenger Jude Celestin in a first round that the opposition alleges was marred by fraud.
AFP
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-13/haiti-struggles-to-rebuild-6-years-after-earthquake/7085174

Are Haitian Picket Signs a Terrorist Threat?

[COMMENTARY] On a cold New York afternoon, heavily armed police stood suspiciously close to people who weren’t scary

The most peculiar thing took place in midtown Manhattan Tuesday – peculiar and unnecessary.
Fewer than a dozen people, most of them seemingly middle aged or older, stood on a sidewalk on Avenue of the Americas right across the street from Radio City Music Hall. They brandished picket signs protesting what they say is mismanagement of funds that were supposed to go to the victims of Haiti’s devastating earthquake in 2010.
They passed out fliers, spoke to passersby, chanted, but really didn’t seem to be disturbing the normal ebb and flow of a typical busy New York afternoon.
A few feet away, behind metal barricades stood four NYPD officers, three of which were wearing protective armor and armed with automatic assault rifles.
It gave me pause as I happened upon the scene because I couldn’t help but think of the many times I’ve seen demonstrations of all types on this very street over the years.
I’ve seen hundreds march the street in pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrations. The Free Tibet movement has also been a regular fixture there, as well as countless environmental protests, Greek austerity demonstrations, people shouting down the occupation of the Ukraine by Russia. If there’s an issue in this world, rest assured people have marched on this street to make their voices heard.
But at none of them, not one, not the loudest most raucous, most disruptive to the progression of northbound and southbound foot traffic, have I ever seen militarized police holding assault weapons as if ready to open fire if the demonstrators got out of line.
These Haitian protestors did not seem very threatening and their goal was to remind people of the still-devastating consequences of the disaster, which killed more than 200,000 people.
So why did those people need to have a group of cops nearby? I could be wrong, but it didn’t seem like the purpose was to protect them.
An NYPD spokesperson told me that the detail could have been posted there for any number of reasons, including the officers being posted in front of the Time-Life building on an unrelated issue and the protestors were there coincidentally. But there was no specific, threat he said.
It’s true that Avenue of the Americas (which non-tourists call Sixth Avenue) is a heavily trafficked street and safety precautions are and should be taken there, if anyplace in the city. But if these people were not brandishing weapons of their own and not threatening people, then why could they not stage peaceful protests (the same as everyone else does) without such heavily armed police nearby?
Mind you, this is the same police department that booted me from the subway system two days before Christmas because I refused to let them search my shoulder bag. It makes you wonder if non-threatening Black people are that much of a threat to the NYPD.
“We are the original terrorists,” one gentleman told me in a Kreyol accent, as he passed out flyers. “Because we demanded our freedom years ago.”
He explained that the demonstrators did have a permit to be there and that they were breaking no laws. I asked him how he felt about having those cops there, if it made him feel any safer. He just laughed and shook his head. I left before the demonstration broke up, unsure how many people had been reached by their message. The brisk afternoon was moving fast and like everyone else passing by, I had to get back to work.
But will the next protest on this avenue necessitate assault-ready cops? Will all small groups of not very loud people spur an order from a police captain to have Emergency Service Unit officers ready with AR-15s?
Maybe the subliminal message from the NYPD is this: Don’t hold peaceful demonstrations. And if you do, make sure you’re not a group of middle aged Haitians. Apparently, they are almost as much of a threat as ISIS.
Madison J. Gray is Managing Editor of Ebony.com. Follow him on Twitter @madisonjgray
Read more at EBONY http://www.ebony.com/news-views/are-haitian-picket-signs-a-terrorist-threat-333#ixzz3x7p3XET9 Follow us: @EbonyMag on Twitter | EbonyMag on Facebook Read more at EBONY http://www.ebony.com/news-views/are-haitian-picket-signs-a-terrorist-threat-333#ixzz3x7oq4orq Follow us: @EbonyMag on Twitter | EbonyMag on Facebook

12 JANVIER 2010 - 12 JANVIER 2016....HAÏTI SIX ANS APRÈS

Les médias ne se bousculent plus.
Haïti ne fait plus recettes. Le tremblement de terre et l’une des plus grandes catastrophes humanitaires ont déjà six ans.
Qui plus est, depuis 2010, Haïti en a connu d’autres :
- Le Choléra importé du Népal par les membres de la Minustah qui a fait près de 8.000 morts
- Pour certains, l’arrivée de Michel Martelly imposé par les amis d’Haïti avec son cortège de crises et de mesures antinationales.
Pendant cinq ans les journalistes animés de bonne foi et de l’illusion romanesque de voir jaillir de terre la nouvelle Haïti comme un phénix naissant de ses cendres ont attendu le 12 janvier avec impatience et une frénésie rentrant dans la démesure de la dimension des grands rêves.
Pendant cinq ans, devant l’absence affligeante de chantiers de reconstruction caractérisant les différents bilans, ils se sont posés les mêmes questions c’est-à-dire ou en est la reconstruction du pays et où sont passés les milliards récoltés à ces fins.
Pendant ces cinq années révolues les questions ont des réponses claires et nettes. L’assistance portée à Haïti à genou sous la baguette de Bill Clinton et cette commission de notables issus des pays du «Core Group» a été mortelle.
Dans la répartition des contrats juteux Haïti et les haïtiens n’ont eu que le rôle d’observateurs.
Rien ou très peu de choses ont été reconstruites.
L’argent donné à Haïti n’a pas résolu des problèmes haïtiens.
La commission pour la Reconstruction du futur « premier homme » des USA, a échoué.
Ce, au grand désespoir des utopistes qui avaient à tort vu les problèmes séculaires entravant le projet d’Haïti-Nation disparaître sous les tonnes de décombres.
On ne pose plus les questions puisque les réponses sont très dérangeantes surtout pour les plus concernés.
Comment accepter et dire au monde que les haïtiens ne sont en rien responsables des mauvais résultats de la reconstruction du pays quand celui qui dirigeait les opérations est l’époux de la future présidente de la superpuissance américaine ?
Comment expliquer que l’administration haïtienne reconnue de façon endémique comme corrompue n’a presque pas été conviée au festin de la répartition, de la gestion et de l’attribution des fonds ?
Vaut mieux continuer à évoquer notre incapacité et cette corruption pour expliquer l’état déplorable du pays six ans et des millions de dollars plus tard. Le monde a appris ce qu’il fallait savoir sur ce sujet.
Il ne sert plus à grand-chose de demander aux dirigeants de la croix rouge américaine comment ont-ils pu réaliser l’exploit de construire six maisonnettes avec près de 500.000 000 de dollars. Comme il ne sert à rien de demander pourquoi une autre branche de cette même organisation a pu rentrer en possession d’un terrain qu’elle aurait cédé ou vendu pour la construction d’un établissement hôtelier.
Certaines informations dures à avaler se perdent toujours dans une marée de rumeurs fondées et farfelues tandis que d’autres capables de provoquer l’indignation ne sont l’objet d’aucune enquête.
Aujourd’hui Haïti se trouve en proie à son énième crise politique devant les effectifs de la Minustah payés et entretenus pour garantir un transfert de pouvoir à la fin de chaque terme présidentiel.
La tutelle internationale qui finance les élections et une grande partie du budget de l’état a encore une fois revu à la baisse les standards pour faire accepter en Haïti ce qui serait inimaginable ailleurs.
L’un des grands acteurs de cette situation de crise si ce n’est l’acteur principal est lui aussi un cadeau post sismique de l’administration Obama portée par les puissants Clinton.
On ne parlera que très peu d’Haïti ce 12 janvier 2016, six ans après le violent tremblement de terre de peur que les fouilles trop profondes n’éclaboussent en dommages collatéraux les sentiers qu’empruntent les grands pour atteindre les sommets. Même si les auras se gagnent et s’obtiennent en faisant la courte échelle ou en piétinant les autres.
12/01/2016
Dr Jonas JOLIVERT
Pour :
http://www.jonasjolivert.net

Commentary: Two hundred years ago, Haiti received Simon Bolivar with open arms

Published on January 4, 2016
 By Jean H Charles
 December 28, 2015, marked the 200th anniversary (December 28, 1815) of the visit by Simon Bolivar to Les Cayes, Haiti, seeking assistance from Alexander Petion, president of Haiti, in his quest to liberate Latin America from Spain colonial rule and its world order of slavery. He had been all over the world, especially in England, seeking assistance, but to no avail.

 Only Haiti came forward with arms, munitions, fresh troops and advice to continue the battle and win the independence for the entire Latin America (4,000 guns, 15,000 pounds of powder, a press machine, three boats, food and soldiers). In return, Petion asked nothing from Bolivar only that he should free the slaves in the lands that he liberates. He did so and, at the end, Bolivar said, “Let later future generations know that Alexander Petion is the true liberator of my country.”

Born into wealth on July 24, 1783, in Caracas, Venezuela, of a Creole family whose fortune was made in plantation and copper mine, Bolivar was sent to study in Spain where he became a scholar erudite in the teaching of the philosophers like Montesquieu, Hobbs, Spinoza, Montesquieu and Rousseau.

Around that time, Napoleon Bonaparte was pursuing his goals of a global empire, by sequestering the King of Spain and naming his brother Joseph Napoleon king of Spain, hastening the disintegration of the Spanish colonies in Latin America. On Bolivar’s return from Europe, he found a fertile land for revolt and enrolled in the resistance movement against Spanish rule and soon took command of the movement. Bolivar, in his first defeats by the Spanish troops that were now returned to the Royal hands with the defeat of Napoleon in France and Spain, sought exile in Jamaica. It was from there that he traveled to Haiti for help.

The assistance from Haiti contributed to defeat the Spanish forces and create the nation of Venezuela, and from there he went on to liberate the nations of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, incorporated in the Gran Colombia of which he became president in 1821.

The idea of a nation was novel. There were only two exceptions, the United States that became a nation in 1776 and Haiti that became the first black nation in 1804. Bolivar encountered difficulties in maintaining all these different countries in one nation like the United States. Intrigues and the need for some countries like Venezuela to maintain its slave system circumvented the bold idea of the Gran Colombia.
Bolivar’s speeches and exhortation, as the one of February 15, 1819, has resonance in today’s world: “Slavery is the daughter of darkness; there are those who simon_bolivar.jpg take license for liberty, treachery for patriotism and vengeance for justice.”

Bolivar died on December 17, 1830, of tuberculosis leaving a work in progress. Like Toussaint Louverture, he was a liberator who left a legacy of nation builder. His name should remain a precursor for the Abraham Lincolns, the Nelson Mandelas and the Nehrus of later years.

 Jean H Charles LLB, MSW, JD,
was a candidate in the last Haitian presidential election.
He can be reached at jeanhcharles@aol.com
and followed at Caribbean News Now/Haiti 

This essay is an attempt to build a memory lane for the solidarity gesture of the people of Les Cayes in particular and the Haitian people in general towards the people of Latin America. Haiti, after 212 years of independence is in distress. Its children are jumping ship to find a hospitable land in the Dominican Republic, where they are being driven back minus their belongings. They are now trying the long trek towards Brazil.

My wish this year is to see one of the countries of Latin America, Colombia perhaps, taking the lead in helping the southern part of Haiti in the city of Les Cayes to have a university campus similar to the one given by the Dominican Republic to the northeast of Haiti through funding from the European Community. The future Simon Bolivar University of Haiti would represent a friendly gesture from Latin America that would go a long way in cementing the tradition of helping started by one of Haiti’s founding fathers, Alexander Petion.

A small step but a giant image that hopefully will be framed on December 28, 2016, a year after the Jubilee 200; the Dominican Republic was on target one year after the earthquake that destroyed 300,000 people. Simon Bolivar and Alexander Petion would applaud that magnificent portrait with both hands from their grave!
http://www.caribbeannewsnow.com/headline-Commentary%3A-Two-hundred-years-ago,-Haiti-received-Simon-Bolivar-with-open-arms-28851.html

Haiti presidential vote plagued by irregularities, report finds

- Haiti’s Electoral Commission issued a probe of the Oct. 25 presidential vote
- The Provisional Electoral Council must be changed to salvage elections
- One member of the commission failed to sign off on the report

BY JACQUELINE CHARLES
jcharles@miamiherald.com
A commission charged with evaluating Haiti’s Oct. 25 presidential and legislative elections has found that egregious irregularities and a high presumption of fraud plagued the vote, while the electoral machine requires sweeping changes in order to hold a postponed runoff.
According to official results, government-backed candidate Jovenel Moïse received 32.76 percent of the votes while Jude Célestin, the former head of the state construction agency, garnered 25.29 percent. Célestin, however, called the results a “ridiculous farce” and refused to campaign.
Alleging vote-rigging and ballot-stuffing, Célestin and other opposition candidates called for an independent Haitian-led commission to probe the disputed balloting. The commission was created by President Michel Martelly on Dec. 22, five days before the postponed second round. On Sunday morning, members issued their findings, which critics say do not resolve the political crisis despite pointing out a series of major systemic problems besieging Haitian society.
For one, the report, which acknowledged problems with the electoral machine, does not call for a postponement of the second round. Both Martelly and Prime Minister Evans Paul have indicated that it must take place on Jan. 17 if Haiti is to have a new president take office by its Feb. 7 constitutionally-mandated deadline.
Instead, the report calls for greater transparency including a national dialogue, an extensive analysis of the vote to determine the real extent of the irregularities and fraud, and changes in the electoral machine. The council, known as the CEP, “no longer has the credibility to permit it to continue with the process without plunging the country into a more serious crisis,” the report says.
During a meeting with the commission, the CEP recognized the weakness in its preparation. For example, more than 60 percent of poll workers were not able to properly perform the required work. The result was “many poorly written minutes, with erasures, errors of calculation or counting,” the report says.
“The commission is in fact saying that legitimate elections are impossible by Jan. 17. If elections were to take place under current conditions, they would not resolve the existing political impasse but instead would plunge the country into a deeper crisis,” said Robert Fatton, a Haiti expert and political science professor at the University of Virginia.
Some had hoped the commission’s probe would unblock the political impasse and move the electoral process along. But some believe that its findings risk deepening the impasse. The report, for example, pointed out that voters’ signatures or fingerprints were missing from 57 percent of the audited documents. Meanwhile, voter registration numbers were missing from 31 percent of the partial voting list and were written incorrectly on another 47 percent.
Meanwhile, 60 percent of voters were allowed to vote by proxy, and the commission noted that 43 percent of the tally sheets had been modified.
While commission members visited the vote-tabulation center to audit documents, the commission’s work is more an evaluation of the electoral process rather than a verification of the 1.5 million ballots cast. As a result, the report stops short of saying who benefited most from the irregularities or fraud, a conclusion that requires more technical expertise and analysis, the commission notes.
Commission member Gedeon Jean who represents the human-rights sector, did not sign the report.
The government on Sunday acknowledged receipt of the report but did not say officially whether the runoff will still take place Jan. 17. Martelly instead “urged the relevant actors involved in the electoral process,” to work toward a reasonable solution to the crisis. This includes promoting political stability by respecting the constitutionally-mandated dates of Feb. 7 for the handover of power to a newly elected president, and Jan. 11 for the start of the 50th Legislature. Haiti has been without a functioning parliament since Jan. 11, 2015.
“Ultimately, the commission failed to make the logical recommendation that its findings lead to: a new election with a new CEP. On the other hand, how can we guarantee, given past history, that a new CEP will indeed be able to organize new elections without major fraud?” Fatton said. “The commission did not want to go there because it was haunted by the specter of its own investigation and previous elections. In short, the report does not bring us any closer to a resolution of the current crisis, it merely exposes the underbelly of the beast.”
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article52872785.html#storylink=cpy