Martelly’s Bittersweet Challenges

Jocelyn McCalla President Michel “Sweet Micky” Martelly faces daunting challenges and high expectations as he prepares to preside atop a dysfunctional government. Amongt his challenges are a newly minted parliament that seeks to score high early on. First, the positive: Martelly has staked part of the success of his administration on its ability to make primary school education universal and real. Few in Haiti believe that he can pull it off, given the costs of building an entirely new structure, the estimated 500,000 school children denied the opportunity since time immemorial and the paucity of trained teachers and school administrators. Yet education is perhaps the most effective weapon against chronic poverty and Haiti remaining an international charity case. By making schooling a priority, at the very least Martelly sends a strong signal that he’s willing to try. However, meeting domestic and international expectations is another story. In principle, democracy disallows arbitrary rule, forcing the Executive to argue, battle and perhaps compromise with the legislature. While Haiti’s parliament appears to be dominated by INITE party members, in reality it is quite fragmented. The party was cobbled together in 2010 when then President René Préval was deemed to have the upper hand: many rent-seekers hedged their bet by running for office under INITE’s umbrella. They are likely to not act in unison but as an eclectic group of elected officials that will shift and play musical chairs in accordance with the prevailing winds.

Boston–based project to improve kids’ literacy in Haiti

Haitian children living in the United States are fortunate to be able to go to a library or bookstore and find children’s books. Children in Haiti are not that lucky. Whether or not their parents can afford to buy them, it’s difficult to find children’s books. That’s why the pediatric literacy project, Timoun Annou Li (Haitian Creole for ‘Children, Let’s Read), is a godsend for kids in Haiti.

From Independence, Betrayal, to Civil War

Patrick Sylvain “The Haitian Revolution was accomplished on the one hand by slaves who were fighting primarily for the right to own themselves; and on the other by men, half free, who were contending primarily for the other half of freedom—their rights as French citizens. …They found themselves under the necessity of forming a political organization before they had grown into social being or had developed the consciousness of national life. Their consciousness was purely military, and the army was with them the nation.” — Theophilus G. Stewart, 1914 The Haitian revolution, while notable for its accomplishment of defying the supremacy of racial injustice, also brought forth the notion that human beings should have the right to live as they so desire. It shattered the concept of total control imposed from without that had been situated within the European dominated system of Atlantic Slavery. At the same time however, the Haitian revolution revealed the contradictions espoused by a systematically and brutally oppressed people who themselves sought power and self-rule. It clearly showed how the sword could serve as an instrument to both oppress and to liberate.

After outcry, forced evictions halted in tent camps ... for now

Melinda Miles At the Place St. Pierre there are considerably fewer families living under tarps then there were only a couple of months ago. The Mayor of Petionville’s program of offering each family 20,000 Haitian gourdes (about $500 US) to leave the park has led to a thinning of the camp. Even though $500 will not get a family into a safe housing situation, desperation has led many to accept the funds (which they use for immediate health, food or tuition needs) and then find an equally or even more precarious place to live. After more than twenty-four hours of rain, the Place St. Pierre smells like something there are no words to describe. Overflowing portable toilets, garbage that floats down during the rains from the homes and businesses in the mountains above, and hundreds of people still living in the mud and fetid puddles. One breath of the air outside the camp is enough to convince anyone that people would never voluntarily choose to remain in the camp if they had any other alternative. Last week the Mayor of Delmas, Wilson Jeudy, took a different approach. Instead of offering money to homeless earthquake survivors, he simply showed up with agents from his office and Haitian National Police and without warning began to destroy the tarps and tents of families at the intersection of the Delmas and Airport Roads (Kafou Ayopò). Several hundred people living in the park were evicted without warning and without a relocation plan. Piles of tarps donated by the American Red Cross and USAID were strewn amongst the few possessions these families had. These forced evictions are taking place in the midst of the rainy season. Homeless families are now without even the most rudimentary shelter and have nowhere else to go.

Gov Patrick opts against joining Secure Communities program

The Patrick administration has opted against signing onto the federal Secure Communities initiative, citing a “lack of clarity” and inconsistent implementation of a national program that uses locally gathered fingerprinting information to verify the immigration status of those arrested in Massachusetts. “The Governor and I are dubious of the Commonwealth taking on the federal role of immigration enforcement. We are even more skeptical of the potential impact that Secure Communities could have on the residents of the Commonwealth,” Public Safety Secretary Mary Beth Heffernan wrote in a letter dated Friday to Acting Secure Communities Director Marc Rapp, informing the Department of Homeland Security that Massachusetts would not sign a memorandum of understanding for participation. Since the start of the Secure Communities program in 2008, the information sharing capability between local law enforcement agencies and ICE has been expanded to 1,331 jurisdictions in 42 states. According to the Department of Homeland Security, 151,590 convicted criminal aliens have been booked into ICE custody through March 31, 2011, and 77,160 have been deported.

Report questions official Haiti quake death toll

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Far fewer people died or were left homeless by last year's devastating earthquake than claimed by Haitian leaders, a report commissioned by the U.S. government has concluded — challenging a central premise behind a multibillion-dollar aid and reconstruction effort.

Mattapan forum puts focus on changes to TPS

TPS forum at HAPHI on May 23, 2011On Monday, the Association of Haitian Women in Boston (AFAB) helped to coordinate a forum about the recent Temporary Protected Status (TPS) extension granted to Haitians by the United States. A panel of public officials and immigration experts gathered at the new offices of the Haitian American Public Health Initiative (HAPHI) in Mattapan to present further details to the Haitian community about this extension. Panelists included Dennis Riordan from US Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS) , State Rep. Linda Dorcena Forry, Matt Maiona from American Immigration Lawyers Association and Carline Desire, executive director of AFAB. On May 17, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced the extension of TPS for roughly 48,000 Haitian nationals who currently have the designation. The extension will be effective July 23, 2011 and allows Haitian beneficiaries to remain in the U.S. an additional 18 months - through Jan. 22, 2013.

U.S. extends TPS for another 18 months

Haitians who received "Temporary Protected Status" — or TPS— from the U.S. government last year got good news today: They can stay in the U.S. for an additional 18 months, per the order of the Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano. She announced the extension today and it will be effective July 23, 2011— meaning that Haitian beneficiaries can remain in the United States through Jan. 22, 2013. Roughly 48,000 Haitian nationals have received TPS designation.

Martelly wants business leader as next prime minister

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) _ Haiti's new president wants a business leader to serve as his prime minister, a government official said Sunday. The official announcement that President Michel Martelly wants Daniel-Gerard Rouzier to be the country's No. 2 official comes one day after Martelly, a charismatic pop star known as ``Sweet Micky'', was sworn in as Haiti's next leader in back-to-back ceremonies at a makeshift Parliament and on the lawn of the National Palace, which collapsed in last year's crippling earthquake. Parliament must still ratify Rouzier to the post.

Boston Haitian 'pioneers' honored at Reporter luncheon

More than 300 people were on hand this afternoon for the first-annual Boston Haitian Honors awards luncheon, hosted by the Boston Haitian Reporter to mark its tenth year of publication. The event included keynote remarks by Dr. Paul Farmer, co-founder of Partners in Health, which has provided critical health services to the people of Haiti for more than 25 years.

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