There’s a lot to love about the newest hotel to open in Haiti.
The Marriott Port-au-Prince is sophisticated and yet firmly connected to roots culture, with handcrafted Vévé flags and Croix-des-Bouquets crafted ironwork that adorn the public spaces and guest rooms. Even the drink menus at the swanky La Sirene Bar and Restaurant—now a choice meeting spot in the capital city— accentuate Ayiti.
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Sen. Forry with President Michel Martelly: The two leaders met at a Port-au-Prince reception on June 18.
State Sen. Linda Dorcena Forry returned to Haiti for the first time since she was a child last week. Forry and her husband, Reporter publisher and editor Bill Forry, traveled on JetBlue’s inaugural direct flight to Haiti from Boston last Wednesday after the senator participated in a ribbon cutting to mark the new service.
Following the four-hour and 15-minute flight, Haitian-American Dorcena Forry made a whirlwind series of appearances that included meetings with Haitian Tourism Minister Stephanie Villedrouin, whom Forry hosted in Boston two weeks ago, to discuss boosting tourism trade between the two countries.
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Constructive visit: Minister of Tourism Stephanie Villedrouin visited Senator Linda Dorcena Forry at the Massachusetts State House on June 3.Stephanie Villedrouin, Haiti’s dynamic Minister for Tourism and Creative Industries, made a stop in Boston this month to spread the good news about Haiti’s burgeoning travel and hospitality trade. Already buoyed by an 11 percent increase in tourist visits over the last year (2013-2014), Minister Villedrouin carried more good news to Haitian-American community leaders and media, many of whom turned out to a Brockton country club for an evening presentation on June 3.
“We are on the right path and all stars are aligned for Haiti to be successful in the tourism field,” Mrs. Villedrouin told the Reporter in an interview. “We’ve got a lot more diaspora coming back to Haiti and new people intrigued about Haiti.”
Villedrouin was joined in her visit by a team of Haitian hoteliers, including Charles Fombrun, owner of the popular Moulin Sur Mer Beach Resort in Montrouis and Christian Fombrun, Food and Beverages Director for Kinam Hotel on Pétion-Ville.
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June 2015 editionThe latest edition of the Boston Haitian Reporter is now in circulation across Greater Boston!
The June edition is packed with new stories on travel and tourism, Senator Linda Dorcena Forry's recent visit to Haiti and the upcoming Gold Cup match between USA and Haiti.
Other features include:
• An interview with Haiti's dynamic Minister for Tourism and Creative Arts Stephanie Villedrouin, who visited Boston this month;
• An interview with Digicel founder Denis O'Brien, who discusses his vision for the new Marriott Port-au-Prince, which he owns;
• A report on how the new Marriott Port-au-Prince is recruiting and training Haitians and Haitian-Americans to run the hotel;
• Inside the beautiful, new-and-improved Kinam Hotel in Pétion-Ville, which is at the top of its class in Haiti's increasingly competitive tourism market;
• A visit to the spectacular Moulin Sur Mer beach resort, where you can soak up the sun and Haitian history at the same time.
Plus: The latest reports on the situation facing people of Haitian descent in the Dominican Republic.
This— and much more— in the Boston Haitian Reporter.
Read moreA nine-foot-tall statue of abolitionist Frederick Douglass, the first such tribute to Douglass in Europe, was on exhibit in Boston last week and on display at the Museum of African American History on Beacon Hill at an event aimed at building awareness f
Read moreSANTO DOMINGO— Haitians and other non-citizens stood in long lines across the Dominican Republic on Monday in last-minute bids to secure legal residency, hurrying to beat a looming paperwork deadline along with the threat of possible quick deportation.
Read moreDENVER (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton said Wednesday that if his wife is elected president he will stop giving paid speeches and, if she asks, step down from the foundation that bears his name and has fueled attacks against her during her nascent campaign.
The Clintons have been criticized for raking in millions of dollars from paid speeches since they left government service, as well as for letting foreign countries and companies with interests before Hillary Clinton's State Department give money to their foundation.
Read morePORT-AU-PRINCE— Haiti's electoral council has released a final list of presidential candidates allowed to participate in the upcoming general elections.
Officials released the list of 58 names on Friday after rejecting 13 candidates.
Read moreThe United States National soccer team with host Haiti at Gillette Stadium on Friday, July 10 at 8:30 p.m. as part of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football Gold Cup doubleheader.
Read moreCombining modern dance technique, Haitian folkloric dance, and live percussion, Jean Appolon Expressions’ full length production of Angaje will be held at Seven Hills Park in Somerville this Saturday (June 13) as part of the Somerville Arts Council’s third annual Dancing in the Streets Festival.
The performance, set the music of Haitian musical icon Toto Bissainthe and directed by founder Jean Appolon, is inspired by the struggle against homophobia and the power of Haitian folkloric culture in the fight for justice.
The performance begins at 8:30 p.m. and is free.
Read moreCARACOL, Haiti— Only little fish are pulled from the coastal waters off Haiti.
Read moreMonsieur Bonhomme, 105 years old, a small microphone clipped beneath the collar of his shirt, sits facing our cameras and lights.
He listens to me bombard him with questions about the United States Occupation of Haiti nearly a century ago; it is for our then untitled documentary. But old age has taken a toll on his hearing and his mind is not up the grueling task of plucking up days from long bygone decades.
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Constructive visit: Minister Stéphanie Villedrouin with State Senator Linda Dorcena Forry.Haiti's Minister of Tourism and Creative Industries Stéphanie Balmir Villedrouin visited Boston and Brockton on Wednesday, June 3 as part of a national tour aimed at boosting the tourism trade in Haiti from the United States.
Mrs. Villedrouin, accompanied by a team of tourism officials and hoteliers, made a presentation to a room of Haitian American activists at the Thorny Lea Country Club in Brockton on Wednesday evening. In her remarks, Villedrouin pointed to significant progress in the numbers of visitors to Haiti over the last two years, with an 11 percent increase posted between 2013-2014 seasons.
Her visit to Boston comes at an auspicious time, as JetBlue prepares to launch its first-ever direct flights between Boston and Port-au-Prince on June 17. The new gateway has been hailed as a milestone moment for travel and commerce between Boston and Haiti.
Earlier in the day, Minister Villedrouin was a guest of honor at the Massachusetts State House, where State Senator Linda Dorcena Forry met with her in the Senate Reading Room.
Read moreA judicial panel in Haiti has recommended that former Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe be barred from running for president.
Read moreFORT PIERCE, Fla. — A Haitian man is facing U.S. prison time after pleading guilty to illegally smuggling migrants aboard a boat from the Bahamas. Veronel Charles faces between three and 10 years in prison when he is sentenced in August in Fort Pierce federal court. Charles pleaded guilty to two alien smuggling counts last week.
Read morePORT-AU-PRINCE— Joseph-Marc Carel knows the danger of ferrying passengers on his small motorbike, sometimes two at a time, as tides of the buzzing vehicles cut through the chaotic Haitian capital. He has a prosthetic leg to prove it.
Read moreA 18-year-old Dorchester teenager was struck and killed while riding his bicycle along Talbot Avenue last Tuesday. The unlicensed driver whom authorities say caused the fatal collision— and then fled the scene on foot— was ordered held on high bail after his arraignment in Dorchester Court.
The victim was identified as Fritz Philogene, a Haitian-born student at West Roxbury Academy who was riding his bike near the intersection with Norwell Street just after 10 p.m. when the incident took place.
Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said that the responsible driver was Gregory McCoy, 27. McCoy was reportedly driving a friend’s white Cadillac on Norwell Street when he struck a silver BMW driven by a 33-year-old Dorchester man. Both cars then careened through the Talbot Street intersection, where Philogene was struck and suffered fatal injuries.
Read moreThe St. Mary of the Hills School community came together on May 18 for the fourth annual "Walk for Haiti." The event drew around 150 people, 20 of which were former SMH students and alumnae. The walk consisted of a new 5 mile route around the town of Milton. The money raised from the walk went directly to The Haiti-Micah Project. The Haiti-Micah Project is celebrating it's 10th anniversary since beginning the foundation. Haiti-Micah supports the poor children in Haiti whom are in severe need of clean water, medical attention, food, and shelter. This need increased immensely after the devastating 2010 earthquake.
Since the founders (Thalia Etienne, Jacob Martens, and Janelle Saint Eloi) of the Walk for Haiti have all now graduated from St. Mary's and moved on to private high schools, the walk is now run by SMH's National Junior Honor Society with faculty advisors Mrs. Alexia Etienne and Mrs. Pam Vasta. This year St. Mary's raised $3,000 to support children in Haiti.
Read morePop queen Beyonce has paid a visit to Haiti to look at the progress made since an earthquake devastated the country five years ago. Haiti U.N. mission spokeswoman Sophie Boutaud de la Combe said Saturday that Beyonce also was able to "meet some of the people who were affected by'' by the 2010 disaster in the impoverished Caribbean country.
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