Jazz Café hosts Souls United for Haiti event

It has been eightmonths since Haiti’s entire infrastructure was torn into pieces. News reports of the traumatic earthquake have slowly dissipated. In Boston, On August 8, with very few sitting, over 60 Haitian leaders, artists and supporters—stood alongside the walls of the Jazz Café and Bar in Roslindale, to support the Soul for Haiti: “We Can’t Forget” benefit.

President Wyclef Jean? Mixed reactions from local Haitians

If I was president, I'd get elected on Friday, assassinated on Saturday, and buried on Sunday.

Fafa GiraultThese are words to the song “If I Was President” written by Wyclef back in 2004. Six years later, he announces (tonight) on CNN's "Larry King Live" that he intends to run for president of Haiti in the country's Nov 28 election. The 37-year-old Grammy award winner has always given back to Haiti. The recording artist and now politician has been a goodwill ambassador for Haiti since 2007. Like many, I always saw Wyclef as a world wide representativefor Haiti. He put Haiti on the map and made being Haitian cool for many of us. All of a sudden Haitian people who denied they were Haitian came out the woodwork— some wearing Haitian flags even. Classic.

Children of the Quake learn to learn in a new land

Sherline Gustave: One of many Haitian nationals now studying in the Boston Public School system, she survived the Jan. 12th earthquake and moved to Boston last February. She is pictured above in a classroom at Hyde Park High. Photo by Tara W. MerriganSherline Gustave, 18, slept on the streets of Port-au-Prince for weeks after January’s earthquake leveled her family’s home. “I felt the house shaking and it crumbled just as my family and I got outside,” said Gustave in her native Haitian Creole—translated to English by her teacher, Evelyn Prophete. “We [Gustave and her family members] were sleeping out in the street in the sun and even in the rain. Hoping to find a better life, Gustave and her sisters emigrated from Haiti to Boston in February. Gustave, who resides in Brighton, is one of 159 students who have entered the Boston Public Schools (BPS) system since the earthquake devastated Haiti on Jan. 12. They are among the thousands of Haitian nationals who have either traveled to the U.S. since the disaster or who moved here in the months prior to the quake and have been granted temporary protected status (TPS) by the U.S. government.

Feds extend window for TPS applicants by six months

The federal government has extended the deadline for Haitian nationals to apply for "Temporary Protected Status" or TPS, a relief program launched in response to the Jan. 12 earthquake. The new registration deadline is Jan. 18, 2011. The TPS designation applies to Haitians who have continuously resided in the United States since January 12, 2010, when the earthquake occurred; Haitian nationals who first entered the United States after that date are not eligible. The director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the news in a press conference this morning.

Alleged sexual misconduct sidelines Mattapan priest

The Archdiocese of Boston has taken disciplinary action against a well-known Haitian priest — Rev. Gabriel Michel— after it learned of allegations of "adult sexual misconduct." Fr. Michel, who has been ministering in Boston since 2002, has been suspended from his duties as a priest and the Boston Archdiocese says it "has notified the Most Reverend Louis Kebreau, SDB, Archbishop of Cap-Haitien concerning this matter." He has served most recently as a parochial vicar at St. Angela's Parish and as Coordinator of the Archdiocese of Boston's Haitian Apostolate.

Inside the refugee camps, resilient people leave an indelible impression

Quang TruongOne month after my trip to Haiti, I am discovering that I possess more memories about the trip than I knew I had. I keep recalling a woman from a refugee camp that showed me the inside her home. Cramped and sweltering, her tiny area was bathed in a faint blue, emanating from the tarps that made up her walls. Her roof was nothing more than bed sheets held up with stakes, and two bare mattresses, one used by her and the other for her three children, were the only furniture to speak of. This was the entirety her life and the lives of her children – just bed sheets, 2 mattresses and the faint blue glow from the tarps.

Church group strains to meet needs of hungry in Mattapan

Rev. Dr. Pierre Zephir: "We've seen a big, big increase since the earthquake."A hum of Kreyol rose softly from the tiny room at the Greater Boston Nazarene Compassionate Center on River Street as local residents filed in early on a rainy Wednesday morning. Soon, I am standing nearly shoulder-to-shoulder with more than 100 people waiting eagerly for their share of the bounty of food piled high on a couple of tables inside. The church has been running a food bank on River Street for nearly 14 years. On Wednesday mornings starting around 10 a.m., volunteers distribute parcels of food to neighbors. Most days, the center is packed long before distribution begins. According to GBNCC's Executive Director, Rev. Dr. Pierre Zephir, the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti in January has sent the food bank into overdrive due to its mainly Haitian demographic.

Nancy Rousseau is a woman on the go

Nancy RousseauSoon after an earthquake devastated Haiti in January, three thousand people packed Hibernian Hall in Roxbury. The high turnout, with only a few days notice, was in part thanks to Mattapan resident Nancy Rousseau and several others who organized the event. “It was challenging to pull off that event in such a short time and be the anchor of the event on that day,” says Manolia Charlotin, Rousseau’s friend and colleague. “She was so calm. It really impressed me that she could maintain that level of calm on such a hectic day. I suppose that’s because for Nancy her work is about the people she’s helping. It keeps her focused.”

St. Fleur delivers emotional farewell address to House of Representatives

State Rep. Marie St. Fleur: Will not seek re-election to the House of Representatives this year.State Rep. Marie St. Fleur — the first Haitian-born state official elected in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts— resigned from her Fifth Suffolk district seat that she'd held since 1999 on Friday, June 11. St. Fleur this week started a job in the Menino administration as its chief of advocacy and strategic investment. Today, she delivered a customary farewell address to members of the House of Representatives in Boston's State House. Below is a summary of her remarks as reported by the State House News Service. Via the Dorchester Reporter's Lit Drop:

New cafe and bakery Belle Epoque opens doors in Brockton

Belle Epoque Grand Opening: Brockton Mayor Linda M. Balzotti cut a ceremonial ribbon at the grand opening of the new Haitian-American restaurant and bakery Belle Epoque on Saturday, June 12. Brockton's latest Haitian-American owned business celebrated its grand opening on Saturday with encouragement from city and state leaders who turned out to welcome Belle Epoque to its new home in the Massasoit Plaza on Crescent Street. The business— which features both table and take-out service— is operated by the Devaris family, which already boasts a large client base through its catering business of the same name. Pictured above, left to right, at the ribbon cutting are Brockton City Council member Dennis DeNapoli, Mayor Balzotti, Andrew Calixte, Djennan Devaris-Calixte, owner-chef Mrs. Carolle Devaris, Kenson Calixte and his son Matthew, Brockton state Rep. Christine Canavan, State Rep. Linda Dorcena Forry and Cathy Auguste. The restaurant and cafe specializes in a wide range of culinary tastes with a Haitian flair. Mrs. Devaris is an accomplished baker with a specialty in custom designed cakes. The cafe also features a menu of Haitian-American lunch and dinner favorites. Belle Epoque is located at 793 Crescent Street, Brockton. The phone number is 508-580-0020.

Boston Haitian Reporter