Tag Archives: Haiti

Betrayal!

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Brian Wallace, Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United Nations

Rebloged from the Caribbean Empowerment website. The international news-feed is choked with the ongoing impasse between HAMAS and Israel. What about Haiti? We know the answer, it is a Black country that is of little geopolitical importance located in a region where a one foreign policy remains a pipe dream – Blogmaster

Haiti – CARICOM Deepens its Betrayal

Caribbean Organisation for Peoples Empowerment Americas, Caribbean, World October 6, 2023 4 Minutes

By A.T. Freeman

On 2 October, the US presented to the United Nations Security Council a resolution calling for the authorisation of its long planned military attack on Haiti. The resolution was adopted by 13 votes to 0 with Russia and China abstaining. The states which voted in favour of the resolution were Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, France, Gabon, Ghana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States.

Resolution 2699 that authorises the military attack on Haiti has been passed under Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter which allows for the use of violence against an individual state. A number of commentators have pointed out that, in fact, this resolution is illegal and itself violates the UN Charter since Chapter 7 focuses on defending international peace through addressing threats to the peace, breaches of the peace, and acts of aggression. Clearly, the activities of criminal gangs in an individual state do not present a threat to international peace and so are not the business of the UN Security Council and definitely not an issue that can be addressed by the use of Chapter 7.  Not surprisingly, the drafters of the resolution do not explain how the situation in Haiti presents a threat to international peace. It is ironic that this resolution is being used to facilitate an act of unprovoked aggression against a member state, something that Chapter 7 is supposed to deter.

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Haiti – Another United States Invasion Scheme

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The aim is to stabilise this government, which facilitates the US plunder of the country, by suppressing the opposition of the Haitian people to it.

Reposted from Caribbean Empowerment Blog.

By A.T. Freeman

United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin signs a defense pact with his Kenyan counterpart, Aden Duale, Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Defence.

Speaking at the 78th session of the United Nations General assembly on 19 September, President Biden called on the UN Security Council to immediately authorise the planned US invasion of Haiti. This demand made by Biden from  the podium of the UN underlines how determined the US is to launch its invasion and demonstrates that the occupation of Haiti and the plundering of its resources, including its rare earth iridium deposits,  are of the utmost importance to the US corporations and the US government which represents them.

From December 1914, when US marines invaded Haiti and literally stole its gold reserves from the national bank, to 2004 when they kidnapped the elected president Jean Bertrand Aristide and 2010 when it once again sent its troops into Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake, the USA has given Haiti no peace, invading it time and again.

The current planned US/UN invasion is no different. Despite the lying propaganda that the US and its media outlets are spreading that, allegedly, the invasion is intended to benefit the Haitian people by addressing the problem of criminal gangs in that country, its real aims are clear. In reality, the US wants to invade Haiti to shore up the Ariel Henry government that it and its Core Group put in place both of which are completely rejected by the Haitian people.

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Haiti False Narrative Exposed

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Submitted by Tee White

Haiti – CARICOM caves in to US pressure

By A.T. Freeman

As had been widely predicted, CARICOM caved in to the intense and relentless US pressure on it that the regional body threw its support behind the planned US military attack on Haiti. Meeting in Trinidad and Tobago, from 3-5 July, in its 45th Heads of Government conference, which also marked the 50th anniversary of the organisation, CARICOM abandoned its months long opposition to the US assault on its fellow member state and issued a statement in support of the “immediate creation of a Humanitarian and Security Stabilization Corridor under the mandate of a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution, and agreed to seek support from international partners to help finance its establishment and the strengthening of security in Haiti”.

This change of mind on CARICOM’s part was no doubt influenced by the presence not only of a bipartisan US Congressional delegation led by Democratic politician Hakeem Jeffries but also of Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State.

Read full artcle @caribbeanempowermentblog

Kingston Talks – A Statement about Haiti

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The following link to the statement was provided by Tee White with the objective of keeping the BU family informed about matters arising from the ongoing Jamaica meeting- Blogmaster

Port-au-Prince on June 6, 2023

Meeting in Jamaica from June 11-13, 2023 of the Caribbean Community/CARICOM on #Haiti: the urgency of a great decolonized Caribbean vision.

Mr. Philip Brave DAVIS

Chairman CARICOM Conference of Heads of Government

Mr. Chairman of the Conference,

We acknowledge receipt of your correspondence and thank you for inviting us to participate in this summit on the Haitian crisis scheduled for June 11-13. We congratulate CARICOM as a community of which Haiti is a member, for having expressed the will to make its contribution in the search for a solution to the serious multidimensional crisis cynically maintained that threatens to collapse or plunge our country into absolute chaos.

Allow us to formulate, under the circumstances, some general observations and certain reservations concerning in particular the minimum conditions to be met to ensure the success of such an initiative, reservations stemming from the observation of a certain inadequacy between the objective and how to proceed. Indeed, this meeting on Haiti in Jamaica raises a number of relevant considerations and reservations.

Let us underline them one by one:

1- THE ADMISSION OF HAITI AS A MEMBER STATE OF CARICOM

CARICOM was created on July 4, 1973 by the Treaty of Chaguaramas and Haiti joined the Caribbean organization as a provisional member on July 4, 1998 and became a full member in 2002, 29 years after its creation. The Treaty attached to the annex creating the common market was ratified by the Haitian Parliament on May 13, 2002.

2- RELATIONS OBSERVED BETWEEN CARICOM AND HAITI SINCE ITS ADMISSION AS A MEMBER STATE

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Haiti – US not abandoning invasion scheme

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By A.T. Freeman

Having failed, so far, to strong-arm enough CARICOM member states to act as a fig leaf behind which it could launch an invasion of Haiti, the US is doubling down on its efforts. In early May, it was reported that Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the United Nations had visited Brazil to press the recently elected president, Lula da Silva to agree to Brazil leading the invasion force against Haiti.

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OPEN LETTER TO CARICOM HEADS OF GOVERNMENT

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Please find attached an English translation of a recent statement from a number of Haitian civil society organisations on the looming threat of a Canadian invasion of that country.  I hope you will be able to publicise this statement as it gives the people of the wider Caribbean an opportunity to hear what people in Haiti think about this planned invasion.

Thanking you in advance for your support.

Submitted by Tee White with the above cover note:

The Caribbean must not remain the sounding board of former colonial powers and slaveholders that have now become imperialist powers

Honourable Heads of Government of the following States:

Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent & The Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos,

We, the signatory Haitian organisations, have learned that the 44th Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) will be held in Nassau, Bahamas, on February 15 and 16. This Conference will be marked by the presence of the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, as a special guest and that of Ariel Henry, the much maligned de facto Prime Minister imposed on the Haitian people by the Core Group*.

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Haitian Gangland: All about control

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Submitted by Steven Kaszab
Gang-related violence has displaced more than 19,000 Haitians in recent months, according to the UN – Source: Al Jazeera

The historic violence Haitians are experiencing today can find its foundation in various groups trying to control essential commodities such as oil, gas, kerosene and diesel. When a national or economic crisis happens, those who control the means of energy and food sources control the population. Haiti has never been able to escape its exhaustion caused by continual natural and climatic disasters over the years. Unable to nationally and economically heal, Haiti had looked to the world for help, realising that assistance from outsiders has a cost. Haiti’s natural resources and production fall into that category. 

The population reeled at the assassination of Haiti’s President about one year ago. There is no well-established government to name or rely upon. The Gangs of Haiti are many, allied to certain governmental and political parties, these gangs are fighting over gas stations, production facilities of anything energy focused, all in an effort to gain control and profit from Haiti’s on-going bad luck.

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The Grenville Phillips Column – Cry For Haiti Again

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After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, I volunteered for over 12 deployments where I interacted with persons at almost all levels of responsibility.  Therefore, any opinion I have on Haiti is an informed one.

When our Prime Minister announced that Barbados would remove our visa requirement for Haitians, I was surprised at the daring offer.  But I had assumed that our Prime Minister’s advisors were far more informed than I, so I kept silent.  Now that Barbados has restored the visa requirement, it is important that this type of error never happen again.

Haiti is a politically unstable country of over 11 million people.  Many of them live in poverty, fear of violence, and hopelessness.  Visa requirements prevent most Haitians from travelling by air.  Therefore, many risk illegal travel by sea, an have drowned in their desperate search for a better life.

Almost 20% of Haitians live in: the United States, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Canada, Brazil, Chile, Bahamas, France, and Jamaica.  Many in Haiti depend on funds sent to them from their family and friends who successfully made it out.

Barbados gave Haiti the most generous visa requirement of all countries on this planet.  The next generous visa requirements were offered by: Israel, Rwanda, Benin, Gambia, and South Korea.  These countries are all outside of the Caribbean region, and outside of the Western Hemisphere.  Therefore, Barbados’ offer was the most attractive, safest, and the most realistic legal hope for desperate Haitians.

I was in Haiti after the Prime Minister’s announcement, and can confirm that Barbados’ invitation to Haitians, who were desperate for any glimmer of hope, was excitedly known.  We have now crushed that hope with the sorry excuse that too many Haitians were coming.  What else did we expect a desperate people to do?  Who advised our Prime Minister to remove the visa requirement in the first place?

Why would Barbados, with a land area that is 1.5% of Haiti’s, and a population that is 2.5% of Haiti’s, and an economy that is smaller than Haiti’s, and a debt-to-GDP profile that is worse than Haiti’s, invite Haitians to Barbados without a visa restriction?

Why would Barbados, that: has defaulted on its foreign debt, has a major unemployment problem, has long wait-times for limited public services, and is in a severe IMF austerity program, invite Haiti’s desperate millions to unnecessarily expense themselves with their precious limited funds, to travel to Barbados in search of work that even Barbadians cannot find?  It seems a most cruel joke of false hope, to play on a people who least deserve it.  So why did we do it?

We are accustomed to our politicians making impossible promises to get elected.  We are accustomed to our Members of Parliament practising their ‘Public Relations Economics’ of giving and taking away.  If they promise to reduce taxes in one part of our lives, then they will certainly increase taxes in another part, so that we always pay more.  But Haitians were not accustomed to this type of broken promise from us.

When the Government of Barbados attends regional or international meetings, our politicians do not represent their political parties or their base supporters – they represent all of us.  Therefore, any promises made at these meetings should not be like their campaign promises that they dismissively break at will.  Instead, these promises should be properly thought out.

It is almost impossible to develop well thought out policies if dissenting opinions are not considered.  For this reason, Solutions Barbados’ policy was that each Minister must have an advisory committee, not of loyal party supporters, but of experts in their fields.  This committee would carefully consider public opinions.  Had our Prime Minister been advised by such a committee, then it is unlikely that she would have made such a reckless promise to our Haitian brothers and sisters.

Grenville Phillips II is a Chartered Structural Engineer and President of Solutions Barbados.  He can be reached at NextParty246@gmail.com

THE ARISTIDE FOUNDATION – Progress Taking Place in Haiti

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Dear Colleague,

Please download and view the attached VIDEO of a March 2019 interview between MILDRED ARISTIDE (wife of former Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide) and Barbadian- American journalist, MARGARET PRESCOD, on the 2019 Graduation Ceremony of the UNIVERSITY OF THE ARISTIDE FOUNDATION in Haiti. The 2019 graduating class consisted of 153 Medical Doctors, 34 Nurses, 19 Lawyers, and 8 Physiotherapists.

It is important that we know about some of the positive and progressive self-help work that is taking place in our fellow CARICOM state of HAITI.

Regards,

David Comissiong

The Grenville Phillips Column – Empty Promises

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I am scheduled to be deployed to Haiti shortly to assist them in their recovery efforts.  However, the recent social unrest, which resulted in deaths, property damage and flights into Haiti being suspended, may put those plans in jeopardy.  With the Government awaiting the IMF’s directives, Haiti’s experience is relevant to Barbados at this time.

The IMF directed the Haitian government to implement severe austerity, which included an almost doubling of fuel prices.  When the fuel increases were announced, the people rioted.  It should be remembered that the IMF also directed the Guyana’s government to double the income taxes on the Guyanese.

Having had over 10 deployments to Haiti following the earthquake in 2010, including during their elections, I do not think that the increase in fuel prices is the root cause of this crisis.  They know that sacrifices have to be made to improve their economy, and they have made them in the past.  However, after suffering for so long, the Haitian people hate being tricked.

Their political candidates promised to address mismanagement and corruption if they were elected.  The people expected improvements in government efficiency, and arrests of those accused of corruption, before being targeted for austerity.  However, to have austerity forced on them, without the promised efficiency and arrests, appeared to be too much for the people to bear from a Government that promised to be different.

As we canvassed during the recent elections, people wanted to know what Solutions Barbados would do about the gross corruption in which both established political parties have repeatedly accused the other of engaging.  We promised the most effective policy to address corruption.  Both payers and receivers of bribes would have to pay a fine of 10 times the value of the bribe, and whistle-blowers would be rewarded with the full value of the bribe.

Surprisingly, most people were not satisfied with this response.  They wanted the guilty politicians imprisoned.  However, our policy was not to imprison non-violent offenders, but to fine them.  So while we understood what the people wanted, and could have positioned ourselves to benefit from the 26% swing away from the DLP, we were unwilling to damage our reputations by promising what we were unwilling to deliver.

We promised Barbadians prosperity without austerity because it was possible – and it still is.  We promised to improve efficiency and reduce wastage in the public sector, by implementing the customer-focused international quality management standard, ISO 9001, because we could.  We promised to effectively address corruption in the most effective manner possible because we could.  However, the people wanted ‘blood’, and those skilled in political public relations gave them exactly what they were accustomed to receiving from politicians – empty promises.

It is very easy to simply ask people what they want, and then promise them what they have asked for with no intention of ever fulfilling those promises.  Any Solutions Barbados candidate who engaged in that sort of behaviour would likely be voted out of the party at our next meeting.

The public were led to believe that savings from the proper management of the public service would fund their expensive manifesto promises, and not increased taxes.  The public were also led to believe that the arrest and imprisonment of corrupt politicians would immediate follow the general election.  If the BLP and DLP are indeed the same political party, governed by the same prime directive to protect each other from scrutiny, then no arrests should be expected.

Grenville Phillips II is a Chartered Structural Engineer and the founder of Solutions Barbados.  He can be reached at NextParty246@gmail.com

Thanks Jehovah Haiti is on the Rebound

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Submitted by the Mahogany Coconut Watchdog Group and Think Tank

Coat_of_arms_of_HaitiFive years after the devastating earthquake, that would have totally destroyed most other Caribbean countries, our Haitian brothers and sisters are slowly, and we are convinced surely, rebuilding their society. As always, the aid promised has not all be forthcoming and the spectre of corrupt practices still looms, but we hasten to add that these maladies are not unique after such destruction and chaos. There will always be those humans and organizations, both private and public, who will exploit human suffering for their own greed and nefarious ambitions.

Not to be overwhelmed by these negatives, we are witnessing the great resilience of the Haitian people as they press ahead with nation rebuilding. Our sources in New York reliably inform us, that some commodities are already reaching the market place with the proud stamp: Made in Haiti. We are also reliably informed that: manufacturing, mining, agriculture and fisheries are getting some assistance and creating new jobs. The telecom company DIGICEL, has poured one billion dollars into the telecom infrastructure. Haitian workers are now producing/making computer tablets at an encouraging pace! The tourism planners are moving swiftly to tap into the 25 million tourists who visit the Caribbean annually.

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The World Community Cheats Haiti

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Buried in the news is the egregious reality that 50% of the money pledged to Haiti by the global community triggered by the earthquake which devastated the capital Port-au-Prince remains outstanding. Some continue to ask what has this country which symbolizes so much for the free world done to suffer such disrespect. BU will be chided by some for pulling the race card but what else can it be? There is no country in the world which should command the attention of France, USA and other G8 countries given its history.

Those involved in the humanitarian effort in Haiti must be frustrated at the snail pace life-changing activities are being rolled out.    The recent election of President Michel Martelly will not dissuade the cynics who believe Haiti finds itself in a very bad place which cannot be turned around in the near future by Martinelli, Baby Doc or even Aristide. This is a country which is a prime example of what a gulf between the haves and the haves not look like. The ‘families’ who have exploited Haiti through the years is well documented. So wither Haiti?

In good conscience BU wanted to used blog space to remember Haiti, as a people and a predominantly Black country how can we ever forget what it has given to us.

Haiti, do not give up the fight!

Do We Hate Thee Haiti?

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Submitted by islandgal246

 

The embassy of the United States of America  here in Barbados is responsible for issuing visas to  citizens of several of the Caribbean islands and this includes nationals of Haiti.  Many of these Haitian nationals reside in the French Territories of Martinique and Guadeloupe must come here  to apply for a US visa.  They are required to obtain Barbados visas at the cost of $50.00 USD which was paid on arrival at the airport. They then have to stay in Barbados overnight depending on the appointment time at the US Embassy. I went to the Barbados Foreign Service website to get  information on visas requirements. Recently I learned  they were told that they could not travel to Barbados as usual because they must now obtain their Barbados visas at the British Consulate in their respective countries of residence.

There is nothing on the website stating this sudden change of venue. I am asking why? Why is the Barbados Government penalizing Haitians whom we so want to help? Why can’t Haitians be given a visa waiver when they come to get their US visas? Aren’t they not part of our Caribbean brothers and sisters?  Don’t they observers status in Caricom?   They have to pay the departure tax when they leave so they are contributing for the use of the airport. They  use taxis and hotels when they come here so they are contributing to Barbados’ economy. Why are we doing this to them?  Citizens from neighbouring countries can come freely without restrictions.

I am disappointed at the Government’s policy towards Haiti  and its citizens.

A Pact With The Devil? The United States And The Fate Of Modern Haiti

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Reproduced from Origins Website, by Leslie Alexander

 

Haiti's National Palace, the president's official residence, stands in ruins following the January 12, 2010 earthquake. The palace symbolizes a tumultuous history, in which Haitians won independence and freedom from slavery in 1804 only to suffer continuing diplomatic isolation, debt, foreign occupation, and political turmoil. Eventually completed under U.S. occupation, its construction in 1914 followed the destruction of two previous residences at the site.(Logan Abassi/UNDP Global)

One year ago, on January 12, 2010, a devastating earthquake struck the island nation of Haiti. The following day, as tens of thousands of the dead and dying lay beneath the rubble and remains of their homes and communities, American televangelist Pat Robertson stated that the earthquake occurred because Haiti and its people are cursed. The curse, he claimed, was the result of a “pact” that the Haitian people made with the Devil centuries ago to gain their freedom from the French.

At the same time, other news outlets were reporting on the extreme poverty in Haiti. The mantra that “Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere” was repeated incessantly, by nearly every media source, until it started to sound both like a chant and an accusation, rather than a statement of fact.

And then, just two weeks after the earthquake, a blog posting appeared, in which the author proudly declared that he had not (and would not) donate a single penny to Haitian relief because, as he put it, why should he give money to people “who got themselves in such a predicament in the first place?”

He further argued that the lack of economic resources and infrastructure—and the failure of the Haitian government to adequately respond—were an indication of the fact that Haitian people could not be trusted to take good care of themselves. So why, he wondered, should he give such people any of his money?

The blog took the internet by storm; it was splashed across the news, and the blogger, Paul Shirley, a former NBA basketball player and ESPN commentator, was later fired by ESPN for his comments.

However inaccurate or inhumane, each of these comments—Pat Robertson’s veiled reference to the Haitian revolution, the mantra about Haiti’s poverty, and the blogger’s frustration with Haiti’s internal problems—represent the most powerful and widespread beliefs about Haiti.

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An Inside Look At Haiti’s Business Elite, Interview with Patrick James

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In the coming days BU will be reproducing and writing about Haiti. It seems Barbadians and others in the region have become numb to the plight of the Haitians. The article reproduced from 1995 is still relevant and required reading to understand a little about Haiti.

“Patrick James is the alias of a U.S. businessperson who previously lived and worked in Haiti. This interview was conducted prior to the negotiated ouster of the illegal Haitian military government and the restoration of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, but it remains relevant and timely for the insights it provides about class divisions, power, exploitation and human rights in Haiti.

Multinational Monitor: How would you characterize the Haitian business class as a community?
Patrick James: The interconnectedness of the Haitian business community is amazing. I worked for a company and the guy right across the hallway from me, one of the partners, was General Cedras’s brother; the other was a European businessman. My company had one partner whose sister is married to the European businessman, who’s in business with Cedras’s brother. The elite are somehow interconnected or related. Basically they have to work together in order to keep their power intact.
You can imagine what kind of pressure that must be when you know that there are six million peasants that basically could rise up and tear your house down some night, which, also, I experienced. I’ve witnessed what they call dechoukage where they just basically firebomb, loot and gut a house. Its a terrifying thing.
This is always in the mind of the elite Haitians. They ride around in their armored vehicles, they have their Uzis in their house. It’s not uncommon to hear machine gun fire when you’re in Port-au-Prince just because there’s a thief trying to break in somewhere. And you’d better believe these rich people have got machine guns. The poorest Haitians cannot rise up. I mean there will not be a revolution in Haiti because you cannot fight these machine guns with sticks and rocks and machetes. Thereís only so far you can fight.

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If Duvalier Can Travel On An EXPIRED Haitian Passport, Why Can't President Aristide Do The Same?

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Reproduced from the Ezili’s Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network


Ousted President of Haiti Jean-Bertrand Aristide

Dr  Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Former President of Haiti
19 January 2011

I would like to thank the government and the people of South Africa for the historic hospitality, deeply rooted in Ubuntu, extended to my family and I Since my forced arrival in the Mother Continent six and a half years ago, the people of Haiti have never stopped calling for my return to Haiti.  Despite the enormous challenges that they face in the aftermath of the deadly January 12, 2010 earthquake, their determination to make the return happen has increased.

As far as I am concerned, I am ready.  Once again I express my readiness to leave today, tomorrow, at any time.  The purpose is very clear: To contribute to serving my Haitian sisters and brothers as a simple citizen in the field of education. The return is indispensable, too, for medical reasons: It is strongly recommended that I not spend the coming winter in South Africa’s because in 6 years I have undergone 6 eye surgeries.  The surgeons are excellent and very well skilled, but the unbearable pain experienced in the winter must be avoided in order to reduce any risk of further complications and blindness.

So, to all those asking me to return home, I reiterate my willingness to leave today, tomorrow, at any time.  Let us hope that the Haitian and South African governments will enter into communication in order to make that happen in the next coming days.

United to the Haitian people, once again my family and I express our sincere gratitude to the government and the people of South Africa.

Barbadians Quibble About TOMAS While Haitians, St. Lucians, Vincentians Suffer

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A man carries a child while wading across a flooded street during the passing of Hurricane Tomas in Leogane, Haiti, 05 Nov 2010 - APPhoto

There is a lot we could write about who is to be blamed for the late notification of Storm TOMAS which wreaked havoc on Barbados last weekend. Funny enough the other islands to the North have had more time to prepare but it did not seem to have prevented lives and property from being loss. What was easily ascertained from listening to and observing Barbadians before, during and after Storm TOMAS was the high level of lethargy, complacency, even ignorance demonstrated. The ready excuse must be that Barbados has not experienced any significant weather system since Janet 1955. The folly of such a position would have been exposed two weeks earlier when heavy rains precipitated significant flooding in Barbados. Perhaps, just perhaps TOMAS would have served as a wake-up call for Barbadians who have become fat and lazy caused by a mindset ‘dah cyan happen hey’.

The fact that perennial sufferer Haiti was spared the brunt of Hurricane TOMAS is little consolation. “Haitian officials say before Tomas weakened into a tropical storm, hurricane rains triggered flooding and mudslides that killed at least six people.” Barbadians may also want to understand the plight of St. Lucians who as far as we are aware have had no running water for the past week because of significant damage to a Dam. People also perished and hundreds of houses have been damaged or destroyed. St. Vincent has also been badly affected. Some Barbadian organizations have mobilized to provide relief to our neighbours.

Back to Haiti which is known to be the poorest country in the world if measured in economic terms. In January 2010 Haiti was hit by a devastating earthquake which has seen over a million people living in Tent Cities and many others displaced. As a consequence of the inevitable unsanitary conditions over two hundred and fifty Haitians died of Cholera last month. This is a people who know suffering.

What has been difficult to accept by BU about the Haitian Saga post-earthquake has been the failure of the international relief bodies to effectively and efficiently distribute the aid which was freely given by the world all those months ago. The suffering is too much.

The CARICOM initiative which saw former Prime Minister of Jamaica the Most Hon PJ Patterson appointed to draft a report on the way forward seems to have suffered from the accustomed CARICOM malady. In a recent address Patterson outlined the reconstruction effort  but what about the suffering NOW?

Contrast what Patterson is saying to what NGO people are saying on the ground.

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Wyclef Jean: Our Destiny Is Not Written For Us But By Us

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Submitted by Austin

Wyclef Jean - Photo credit Reuters

Wyclef Jean is expected to launch a bid to lead his troubled homeland, Haiti. After decades of paying the price for overthrowing it’s colonial rulers, and a devastating earthquake that killed an estimated 300,000, Wyclef has embarked on a monster and noble task.

In the words of President Barack Obama, “our destiny is not written for us, but by us…”, my prayers and admiration are with Wyclef as he leaves the comforts of the entertainment life to help his motherland stand on it’s feet again. As a believer in the wisdom of God which often surpasses our own earthly understanding, Wyclef’s journey in life may have lead him to this exact “moment” where one man could have an opportunity to do so much for so many.

The true measure of a man is not what he does in times of comfort and ease, but what he does in times of challenge and controversy. We known that Wyclef has no political career to speak off and has lived in the US for many years while returning to Haiti often, however what is most important at “this time” is that he has demonstrated “love for country and humanity as a whole” on the world stage, attributes that cannot be easily measured by the intentionally broken political systems that exist throughout the Caribbean.

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Local Engineer Back From Haiti And Is Forced To Ask Some Hard Questions

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Grenville Phillips, Structual Engineer

I recently returned from a 4-week deployment in Haiti. My principal assignment was to train Haitian engineers to evaluate the safe structural condition of buildings, so that they could be occupied or abandoned. I also trained them in effective and economical repair and strengthening measures. I completed my assignments, returned home, and tried to forget the ugly side of the Haitian relief effort … but I could not. This is my story.

1.  Why have none of the UN agencies, international funding agencies, or aid organisations (except HfH) deployed any of the structural engineering volunteers in the Caribbean region, for a disaster which has occurred in the Caribbean.

2.  Why have the UN agencies, international funding agencies, and aid organisations that have contracted structural engineers, contracted them from outside of the Caribbean.

3.  Why was the lone structural engineer that was deployed from the Caribbean, discouraged from training Haitian engineers, and from inspecting any critical facilities?

4.  Why were none of the Caribbean based structural engineers deployed to evaluate any of the 5,900 schools that needed to be urgently evaluated?

5.  Why does UNOPS appear to be threatened by a group of Caribbean based structural engineers who were willing to volunteer their services?

6.  Why was UNOPS’s training so sub-standard.

I will attempt to answer some of these questions.  However, if anyone can provide a different interpretation of the evidence, then I will happily engage them in a discussion.

1.  If Caribbean based Structural Engineers volunteered their services, then there would be less work for the Engineers contracted by UNOPS to do.

2.  If the Engineers procured by UNOPS do less work than they expected, then they would not be required to be in Haiti for as long as they had estimated.  Therefore, they would receive commensurately less fees for their services.

3.  If Caribbean based Engineers gain experience in evaluating critical facilities, then UNOPS may see them as competitive threats.

4.  If Caribbean based Structural Engineers are well trained, then UNOPS may see them as potential competitive threats.

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And The Rich Shall Get Richer: What About the Poor?

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The recent catastrophic earthquake which rocked Haiti has exposed one of the weaknesses of modern civilization; the failure to narrow the gap between rich and poor countries. Haiti is a country which has languished at the bottom of the ladder using any yardstick which measures economic and human development. During the period of struggle being experienced by Haiti its regional and international counterparts have failed to advance its economic and other infrastructural development.

Yesterday in the news reference was made to the richer nations (G8) failing to honour pledges made at the 2005 Gleneagles Summit recorded in the Gleneagles Agreement. Total aid pledged was $107bn (£68bn) in 2010 against 2005 pledged of $128bn, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has forecast. A recent study released by the OECD has tabulated the shortfall in pledges at 21 billion dollars. Countries expected to be most affected by the shortfall are those located on the African continent. As much as we hate to write it Blacks and non-Whites represent the bulk of the population of Africa.

Is it unreasonable to link the economic stagnation which exist in the world to race?

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Haiti And The Blacks!

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by Loose Canon (Reproduced from Botswana’s Sunday Standard)

Click image to watch - Nelson Mandela anniversary: ANC march to mark the release of Mandela

I hope black people will learn a lesson from the earthquake that hit Haiti.
If they don’t learn anything from it, then I throw up my hands in despair and give up.

Let’s start with a few basic facts.

Until the earthquake, I never knew there was a place called Haiti. I was taught geography at school but I cannot remember a time when the mistress told us about Haiti. It must have been one of those insignificant countries that we had no reason to know about.

I was fairly good at geography because I knew which country was on which continent. I also knew many capital cities. But as for Haiti I was clueless.

Now the whole world, including myself, knows about Haiti. I heard news of the earthquake on the radio. I wondered where Haiti was and what sort of people lived there.

Finally, when I switched on the television, I was informed that Haiti is an island out in the Caribbean. Television pictures revealed a place populated by black people.

From the non-stop television coverage of the earthquake, I got to learn about the history of Haiti. It was not a good history lesson. It would seem throughout its existence Haiti has suffered a series of natural calamities. In the process it has sunk even deeper into poverty and deprivation.

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What About The Haitian Children?

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For the past three weeks the world has remained horrified at the news coming out of Haiti. Much has been stated about the untold suffering which has been visited on Haiti throughout the years. The images beamed across the world by a Western press has exposed the destruction of Port au Prince now rubble, over one hundred thousand dead, over one hundred thousand people relegated to amputee status, and over one million people homeless.

As if the horrific scenes unfolding on a nightly basis was not enough to make grown men cry – delivered courtesy of CNN’s Anderson Cooper and Doctor cum journalist Sanjay Gupta – we have had to witness another horrific event although not being reported as such. How many Black children have been adopted, in the process of being adopted, or simply stolen from Haiti during this period of uncertainty and distress in Haiti? The images of Black children being taken legally or otherwise by White people from Haiti has been troubling to BU.

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The Reconstruction And Transformation Of Haiti: A Global-Moral Imperative

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Submitted by Crusoe (as a comment on the Haiti We Are Sorry blog

You list some good ideas for the structural retransformation of Haiti [Responding to Commenter Dictionary on the Haiti We Are Sorry blog]. Each in of themselves they do not depend on improved education but do depend on improved technical training (farming etc). However, for all, the long-term success of those initiatives individually and collectively leading to a successful Haiti will certainly also depend on improved education, if as we have been informed, the literacy level is so low.

This has two implications.

Firstly, immediately after initial search, rescue, medical, temporary (short and medium term) and security issues have been addressed as priority, the early reformation must include an immediate education programme, for adult and youth, such that  the transformation of Haiti can begin with the active participation of her people, not as ‘serfs’ but as active individuals and communities with an understanding of the reasoning behind the methods and the aim of the methods.

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Those Who Dared Not To Be Slaves: Haiti And A Coalition Of Dishonour

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Submitted by Yardbroom

La citadelle (Haiti)

The earth trembled and people who were already poor felt its fury.  Haiti was in the news again, the good stories from that place rest only in the hearts of their ancestors. Nations responded, it is true, from near and far the willing came.  There were planes loaded with supplies and concerned Governments sent parcels, medical items and the expertise of their sons and daughters.

Then incaution was thrown to the wind and someone said they – Haitians – were paying for their pact with  the devil/satan; retribution was being unleashed for their satanic practices.  God in his wisdom had demonstrated his power.

Dare I ask, or should I stay silent?  but I will ask, was this the same God who was not concerned – or did not demonstrate – over the millions of black slaves who were shackled, did he turn away from those whose gnarled bodies felt the lash, or who for hundreds of years knew no mercy.  Why did he not vent his wrath on Nations, Governments and countries who filled their larders and built edifices from the labour of slaves?

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Regional Leaders Fighting To Define Role For Caricom In Haiti Relief Effort

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Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive - tpetionnouvelgaye

A few months ago the Caribbean would have been embarrassed by the report:  The judge who’ll head the new British Supreme Court says Caribbean and other Commonwealth cases are taking up too much time of the Privy Council. The statement would have come against the background that only Guyana and Barbados have signed onto the Caribbean Court of Justice as  the final civil and criminal appellate court for the Caribbean.

In the aftermath of one of the worst natural tragedies in world history and for a second time our regional leaders have been the target of disrespect by the so called First World. A Caricom mission which included three Caricom Prime Ministers were declined permission to land in Haiti as part of a regional first response to the disaster in Haiti. Whether the reason was US authorities in charge of the airport were forced to prioritize air traffic because of limited apron space. Whether the other reason circulating that US authorities are trying to keep Venezuela and Cuban involvement out of the relief effort, it doesn’t matter – REFUSING THE CARICOM MISSION PERMISSSION TO LAND IN HAITI WAS UNACCEPTABLE.


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USA Government Extends Temporary Asylum To Illegal Haitian Immigrants

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Submitted by Rickford Burke

President Barack Obama

The Obama administration announced Friday that it will allow an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 Haitians living in the United States illegally to stay and work in the country for 18 months as part of its response to Tuesday’s earthquake, but warned Haitians that leaving the country now “will only bring more hardship to the Haitian people and nation.”

Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said the decision to grant Temporary Protected Status to illegal immigrants from Haiti who were living in the United States as of January 12 was a gesture of compassion and an attempt to ensure that the flow of remittances and economic support to their devastated homeland continue.

“This is a disaster of historic proportions,” Napolitano said in a 5 p.m. conference call, “Providing a temporary refuge for Haitian nationals who are currently in the United States and whose personal safety would be ended by returning to Haiti as part of this administration continue effort to support Haiti’s recovery.”

However, Napolitano coupled that message with a caution to Haitians now seeking refuge outside their country. While she declined to specify the consequences for those caught trying to enter the U.S. illegally, she said, “At this moment of tragedy in Haiti, it is tempting for people suffering in the aftermath of the earthquake to seek refuge elsewhere, but attempting to leave Haiti now will only bring more hardship to the Haitian people and nation.”

NY Caribbean Institute Calls For Haitians Injured In Quake To Be Medevaced To Caricom States

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Submitted by Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK: The President of the New York based Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy, Rickford Burke, on Friday called on the United Nations (UN), US State Department, Organization of American States (OAS) and the Caribbean Community (Caricom), “to evacuate Haitians who have been injured in Tuesday’s devastating 7.0 earthquake to sister Caribbean States in the region for medical treatment, so as to avert further humanitarian catastrophe and to free-up resources and congestion in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital.”

Burke specifically called on Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrits of the neighboring Island of Dominica and Prime Minister Bruce Golding of Jamaica,  to “step up and help the Haitian people in this hour of crisis, and allow some of the wounded to be treated in their country.” He also endorsed a call for some injured Haitians as well as some who would become refugees, to be temporarily resettled in the South American sister Caricom State of Guyana, located along the Atlantic Ocean.

Burke said that “Guyana is a country that is 83,000 square miles large with a population of only 650,000, who are mainly concentrated along the Atlantic coastline, occupying only about 40% of the country.” Noting that “More Guyanese live outside of Guyana, with approximately one million living in North America and the Caribbean alone, he observed that with about 60% of Guyana uninhabited, that country can easily accommodate a large number Haitians, and that the international community will be obligated to help the Guyana government manage that process.

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Haiti We Are Sorry

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The recent earthquake in Haiti which devastated the capital Port-au-Prince has sent shockwaves across the globe. In an era of instant communication, the horrific pictures of the carnage afflicted on Haiti has been emotional for many who have witnessed it. Some say hundreds of people are dead or injured, others say hundreds of thousands. Only time will tell the extent of the injuries and damage to humans and property. The devastation has been enough to force many to ask, why Haiti. This is a country which has had to endure perennial suffering whether manmade or acts of God.

BU is heartened by the global response to the cry for help by Haiti. In the past similar humanitarian relief efforts have been hampered by corruption in the distribution efforts of aid. We hope that those responsible in administering the relief efforts in Haiti will do what is right.

Now is an opportunity for the Caricom region to respond as a region to what is required to effectively help Haiti. It is good we have a few regional Prime Ministers flying into Haiti to see and hear for themselves what is required to support the humanitarian effort. Is this a PR exercise done to satisfy our obligations to a regional member? Time will tell!

Already the catastrophe in Haiti has revealed how religion can expose the ignorance of some people. It has been reported that Pat Robertson who is an American Christian televangelist has blamed Haiti’s pact with Satan as the cause for its suffering. We are flabbergasted that a man of such influence and suggested intellect would be driven to spout such bovine excrement.

On behalf of the BU household we hope and pray that those behind the relief effort will be able to mobilize quickly and to do what is required to relieve the suffering to those who are alive and to bring dignity to those who have died so tragically.

Haiti I am Sorry – David Rudder