Haiti is known around the world as a troubling, godforsaken place where troubling, godforsaken things happen. Its poverty and state-sponsored violence are well-known, while the international policies which have contributed to them are not. The January 12 earthquake is just the latest disaster to befall this country.
URGENT ACTION: FAMILIES AT RISK OF FORCED EVICTION IN HAITI Alert from Amnesty International
Hundreds of families living in a camp for internally displaced people in Carrefour, in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince, are being harassed and intimidated and are at imminent risk of forced eviction.
In honor of Earth Day, we run an interview with Yves-André Wainright, who discusses ways that poor governance and the role of foreign donors have contributed to the country’s environmental catastrophe. He also lays out a blueprint for what could turn the situation around, effectively mobilizing both government and the population to begin restoring the environment. Yves-André Wainright served twice as Haiti’s Minister of Environment. Trained as an agronomist, Yves-André’s work has focused on environmental management, especially management of natural resources and waste.
When police and the landowner commanded Michelène Pierre to vacate her tent on a Sunday afternoon so that they could light it on fire, she responded: “If you want to light me on fire along with this entire camp, go ahead. I’m not leaving.” The police bypassed her tent, but continued to threaten other residents of Camp Kozbami, setting flame to six tents.
Camp Kozbami is the fifth camp to be arsoned in two months. As landowners and the government push to close camps inhabited by those displaced by the earthquake that rocked Haiti 26 months ago, a reported 94,632 individuals are facing forced eviction.
“As activists, we commemorate this as a day of struggle, a day to make our voices heard until someone pays attention and helps provide solutions to our problems." Facing the Haitian parliament with a throng of banner-waving and singing women at her back, Rachelle Fondechaine of Women Fighting for the Development of Haiti continued, "Today is March 8th! It's a day when women workers in New York first took to the streets in to demand their rights in 1857. This day is marked in our memories, and as women in Haiti, we have no support, we are left in the street, our children don't have access to school...”
The images of devastation in Alabama and surrounding states as a result of last week’s tornadoes have sincerely touched Haitians that are still recovering from the effects of the January 2010 Haiti earthquake.
The following message of solidarity from the Haitian housing coalition, FRAKKA, goes out to all those who have been affected by the storms in the US:
February 15, 2012 Contact: Mark Schuller, mschuller@york.cuny.edu
A newly published survey indicates that a majority of residents of Haiti’s capital have a negative opinion of UN troops stationed in Haiti. The survey of over 800 households throughout Port-au-Prince shows that less than a quarter of respondents considered that the presence of the U.N. Stabilization Mission in Haiti (or MINUSTAH) is a “good thing” while a majority feel that the troops aren’t providing adequate security. A large percentage (43.9%) of respondents believed that MINUSTAH agents are or have been engaged in criminal activities such as violence, theft and rape.
Cross-posted from the Christian Science Monitor. Original article here.
Haiti may be over 5,000 miles away from Africa, but there are cultural, historical, and economic ties that make it more a part of Africa than the Americas, says guest blogger Ovetta Sampson.
February 29, 2012 by Deepa Panchang and Beverly Bell “I am optimistic that in 18 months, yes, we will be autonomous in our decisions. But right now I have to assume... that we are not.”[i] With these words, Haiti’s Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive watched a swath of his government’s decision-making power shift into foreign hands in early 2010.
As Americans were gearing up for last week’s Super Bowl championship, Haiti’s president Michel Martelly was on a plane to the World Economic Forum to recruit players interested in what one businessman dubbed “the Super Bowl of Disasters” – Haiti’s devastating 2010 earthquake.[1] The Irish-owned cell phone company Digicel footed his trip there, and hosted a regional business tour complete with a gala ball before his return to a country still reeling from crisis conditions in housing, jobs, and basic rights.[2]
Haiti is known around the world as a troubling, godforsaken place where troubling, godforsaken things happen. Its poverty and state-sponsored violence are well-known, while the international policies which have contributed to them are not. The January 12 earthquake is just the latest disaster to befall this country.
Interview by Beverly Bell and Alexis Erkert
By Alexis Erkert
by Alexis Erkert, photos by Ben Depp
