Haiti

Part one Armageddon, two years on…. Haiti’s conventional image rarely extends beyond succinct summations of a corrupt, dangerous, impoverished and unstable place plagued by a litany of tragedies: man-made and nature-engineered. Perhaps then, it should surprise no one that the tarnished image prevailed, even two years after the cataclysmic devastation. The reconfigured political landscape some […]

Pat Anthony, Charlotte Healthy Living Examiner January 1, 2012 As many Charlotte residents continue to be concerned about the health of those in Haiti, Haitian Heritage and Friends of Haiti has an event planned in Charlotte on January 12th, 2012 local residents may want to attend. The event, Remembrance & Reflection of January 12th, 2010 […]

Dancing for the cameras, bulldozed behind them “Mayor Wilson Jeudi has just bulldozed the entire camp,” recounted Connie Watson, CBC Radio’s Correspondent in Haiti. “He showed up with the police at 6 o’clock this morning, stormed through with machetes and clubs, slicing all the tents and knocking down their springy supports.” Watson witnessed the early […]

“Here I am in Gonaives this morning after 26 years, answering your invitation, which provoked memories that are not necessarily pleasant,” declared former president-for-life Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier to the graduating class of Gonaives’ Faculty of Law. “Indeed,” continued the honorary speaker, “I’m referring to Jean-Robert Cius, Michaelson Michel and Daniel Israel, fallen almost at […]

As iconic personalities Oprah Winfrey and Robert Deniro traveled to Haiti on parallel humanitarian and business missions, growing insecurity stole the headlines, threatening to crush the spine of Martelly’s administration, and the spirit of Christmas with it. Merely 15 days into December, two officers of the Haitian National Police (PNH  French acronym) succumbed to assassins’ […]

“In much of the world, and especially in our region, the military has been the source of the most thankless collective memories,” read a letter addressed to Haitian President Michel Martelly from former Costa Rican President Oscar Arias Sánchez, who advised his Excellency to reevaluate his military plans through a historical lens. “In the best […]

“The Venezuelan cooperation is now number one,” said President Michel Martelly shortly before boarding his plane to Caracas, land of Hugo Chavez. “It gives most grants and aids to Haiti,” added the president at Toussaint Louverture airport’s diplomatic room ahead of his first official trip to Venezuela as a member of the Community of Latin […]

Haitians began 2011 with heavy hearts as they approached the first anniversary of the Jan. 12 earthquake that crippled their homeland and crushed 316,000 lives. Haitian leaders watched a steady stream of nongovernmental organizations (NGO) invade the country, carrying a $1-billion purse collected on behalf of the victims. Meanwhile the population remained on edge, following […]

“Haiti is a country that supported the fight for freedom in Latin America, a country that terrified slave owners across America and is now subjugated to foreign occupation that has nothing to do with humanitarian purposes, as proposed,” said Julio Turra, president of Unified Confederation of Workers (CUT French acronym). “It’s embarrassing,” added Turra during […]

President Michel Martelly took his first official trip to Cuba on Tuesday Nov. 15, 2011, a diplomatic mission he hoped would strengthen bilateral relations and traditional cooperation between Haiti and Cuba while identifying new avenues of cooperation. “That does not make sense,” said Martelly, talking about U.S.’s embargo against Cuba. “Haiti pleaded the cause of […]

Facing his first major judicial-political crisis sparked on Thursday Oct. 27 following the unconstitutional arrest and overnight detention of Deputy Arnel Belizaire, Prime Minister Garry Conille created a three-member commission to help uncover the incident’s hierarchical authors and diffuse escalating tensions. The “Belizaire Affair,” as it is now known, directed the national dialogue for more […]

Accompanied by wife Rosalynn, US Ambassador to Haiti Kenneth Merten and Haiti’s Public Health Minister Florence Duperval Guillaune, Former US President Jimmy Carter launched National Initiative to Eliminate Filariasis on Sunday Nov. 7, 2011, a massive $1.5 million medication distribution campaign to help eradicate Lymphatic Filariasis in Haiti. Also known as elephantiasis, lymphatic Filariasis infected […]