New Haiti Diary series: I have been posting Haiti news Updates in Black Kos comments since Haiti's devastating Earthquake. After many suggestions to make diary,
Haiti News Updates on Wednesdays and Fridays at 5:00 Pacific time.
For past News Update diaries here (tag Haiti News Update)
- Evictions, Landownership: More information on eviction and housing here.
- Hundreds of Displaced Families Face Violence and Threats of Unlawful Eviction in Port-au-Prince | CCR:
One story was especially striking in its illumination of the objectives of the “landowner.” Upon approaching one resident’s tent, the purported landowner recognized the inhabitant as the motorcycle-taxi driver who had helped him on the day of the earthquake. Rather than thanking him or showing compassion, however, the purported landowner and his men humiliated him, calling him and his fellow camp residents “dogs,” and promising to destroy all the camp’s tents on July 29 without giving “even one gourde” compensation to anyone. If people were still in the tent camp when the purported landowner returned, they would “beat” residents. Other camp residents reported that the intruders threatened to return next time with a tractor to destroy their camp and “throw them into the ocean.”...
- Haitian government offers cash to move camp dwellers from national stadium parking lot -
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — A Haitian official says the government has started moving families out of a stadium parking lot where they have lived since last year’s earthquake.
Presidential adviser Pierre-Richard Duplan says the government is paying families $250 each to move from the National Stadium parking lot. The government wants the lot available for stadium events.
- Background
- Land Ownership at the Crux of Haiti's Stalled Reconstruction by Kim Ives; Democracy Now! interview here.
Of course, seizing the ruling class' land would exacerbate the already simmering class war, of which Ganthier is just an opening skirmish. "The landowners say if they're not compensated, the 'new Haiti' in Corail-Cesselesse will end up making the violent slums of pre-quake Port-au-Prince look tame," Katz wrote. "Every squatter seems to have had an encounter with gangsters they believe are sent by landowners."
The need was there before, but the earthquake made it even more crying. Haiti needs a social revolution where the land of the rich is transferred to the ownership of the poor - that is, nationalized, as it was under Dessalines - so that it can serve not just as a means of production but also to build shelters from the coming storms.
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- Land Reclamation in Haiti
BACKGROUND
After Haiti gained independence from France in 1804, Haitian independence leader Jean-Jacques Dessalines nationalized substantial tracts of land and granted ownership to the privileged who happened to be residing on it. The first post-independence Coup d’Etat rose up in large part as an over-heated dispute over land tenure. The descendents of these counter-revolutionaries now own much of the land that was obtained through outright intimidation, theft, or falsification of papers. To this date, the system of land tenure in Haiti is largely based on a class-based and racist division of land assets. Patrick Elie, a Haitian democracy activist explains, “Land tenure in Haiti is total chaos. This is the result of the behavior of the Haitian elites over centuries. They have expropriated land and, especially after independence and the end of slavery, they appropriated vast tracts of land... Now there is a lot of discussion about who owns what piece of land.”
POST-EARTHQUAKE
In the months after the January 12 earthquake, the Haitian parliament voted to cede power to the Interim Commission to Reconstruct Haiti (IHRC), comprised of foreign bankers and governments along with 13 members of Haiti’s elite. The IHRC has the right to seize land and redistribute it, and can do so without any prior consultation with Haitian Civil Society or impacted communities. Kim Ives, of Haiti Liberté explains, “The bourgeoisie has been put in charge of re-settling the squatter camps. They have the best land in suburban Port-au-Prince, large tracts of land very suited to building new cities.” Rather than using the elite-owned tracts of land, which are large and ideal for relocation, the interim commission is taking away land from working people. The placement of new residences is part of a haphazard process; according to Mayor Ralph Lapointe of Ganthier and many other mayors, both judicial authorities and the police are collaborating with the Commission, but have failed to communicate with the peasant communities that are directly affected (Democracynow.org 7/14/2010).
- Martelly's disturbing Prime Minister pick
- Elite petition Haiti Senator to lean on the 16 Senators who rightly oppose the appointment of Gousse as PM-
After the meeting, representatives of the Forum have asked to the Senator Lambert, to try to convince the Group of 16 Senators, opposed to the ratification of the Prime Minister-designate, Me Bernard Gousse to reassess their position. The Senator has promised to the Forum to deliver the message, but has indicated that the sectors concerned would be better to start to think to a perspective of "the after Gousse."
- Meet Gousse:
- Press Release: Human Rights Lawyers File Petition Against President Martelly’s Pick for Prime Minister
Prime Minister Gerard Latortue’s dictatorship following the 2004 coup d’état murdered thousands and illegally detained hundreds of political dissidents. Mr. Gousse served as the architect of the campaign of political repression, whose victims included Catholic priest and political activist, Father Gerard Jean-Juste. When Judge Jean-Sénat Fleury threw out the false charges against Father Jean-Juste, Mr. Gousse forced Judge Fleury off the bench, flagrantly disrespecting Haiti’s separation of powers.
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- WikiLeaks Haiti on Bernard Gousse: Cables Testify to PM Nominee’s Repressive Past | Ansel Herz & Kim Ives:
“Everyone, including his backers in the [Haitian] private sector, agreed that Gousse had been a complete failure both on the security and justice fronts,” wrote then U.S. Ambassador James Foley in a Jun. 3, 2005 diplomatic cable.
Gousse’s nomination for premier already seems doomed. On Jul. 8, 16 out of Haiti’s 30 Senators signed a resolution saying they would not ratify him. The Senators, who are likely to be joined by other parliamentarians, said in their resolution that Gousse was unacceptable for the “repression, arbitrary arrests and killings in the neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince” that were carried out under his auspices in 2004 and 2005.
- Haiti law firm files for probe against PM pick
They allege he is guilty of false imprisonment and being an accomplice to murder during his time as justice minister in the interim government that took office after a violent rebellion in 2004 drove Aristide out of Haiti.
- Martelly and Lavalas Senators
- Haiti - Politic : Steven Benoît suggests to the Head of State to dialogue with Lavalas
If today someone needs these votes, it is necessary to talk with leaders of Fanmi Lavalas [...] As I want that the President Martelly to succeed, my advice is that he speaks with all the leaders who have control of a parliamentary bloc of Deputies and /or Senators"
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- Not Likely Considering:
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- Martelly: Haiti's second great disaster Haiti's new president is a friend of coup-plotters, fascists, and armed right-wing groups in his country and abroad.
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Still, some disturbing “Sweet Micky” outbursts bubbled up towards the end of the campaign – troublesome YouTube moments that might have doomed a presidential contender in the United States. In one, apparently recent, video, Martelly was filmed surrounded by a small group of friends at a club. “All those shits were Aristide’s faggots,” he shouts in kreyol in the candid video, while pulling his T-shirt up and rubbing his belly. “I would kill Aristide and stick a dick up his ass.” This was followed by an audio recording –also posted on YouTube, accompanied by a photo of Martelly in a suit – in which the candidate denounced Fanmi Lavalas: “The Lavalas are so ugly. They smell like s*t. Fk you, Lavalas. F*k you, Jean-Bertrand Aristide.”
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- Here is the video: Why Michel Martelly hates President Aristide so much?
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- And look who is calling for impartial commission:
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- Haiti - Politic : Youri Latortue claims an impartial commission Meet Latortue: “Mafia boss... drug dealer... poster-boy for political corruption” : U.S. Embassy Cables portray Senator Youri Latortue and Part II:
- Haiti - Politic :Offensive anti-Gousse on all fronts
- Recover effort
- Haiti - Reconstruction : Important communication effort of the IHRC
The Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC) and the Haiti Reconstruction Fund (HRF) held this Wednesday, July 13, 2011, on the Hotel Montana an important meeting with key government liaison officers from the IHRC. The meeting including various workshops, aimed to strengthen the ties already existing between the experts of the IHRC and those of ministries involved in reconstruction. The various leaders of the IHRC and of HRF were able to present the key processes of the functioning of the Commission and of Fund, including the cycle of analysis and approval of projects and the funding mechanisms of HRF. The team also used this meeting to clarify its role in relation to key sectors with which it interacts, including the private sector and NGOs, in partnership with the Coordinating Unit of NGO activities in the Ministry of Planning and External Cooperation (MPCE). The Office of Performance and fight against corruption has presented the methodology used to make the inventory of projects approved by the IHRC, report that will be released at the next meeting of the Board of Directors on July 22. Finally, a reminder of the figures on external aid to Haiti has been made.
Clinton Foundation Accused of Sending Haiti Shoddy, Toxic Trailers in Earthquake Aid
- CHOLERA: returns to Haiti and NGOs Are Out of Money: More articles here; Cholera links
- As Cholera Surges In Haiti, Aid Withers Away
In 11 largely rural communities, Shots has learned, cases nearly quadrupled between April and June, from 3,932 to 14,425. Cholera hospitalizations in these areas went up nearly six-fold.
Meanwhile, health workers say the international support that came to Haiti's aid during the peak of the cholera epidemic last fall and winter has withered....
Untreated, cholera can kill within eight hours from overwhelming fluid loss. Timely treatment with rehydration is cheap and life-saving.
The Partners in Health clinic in Boucan Carre had been aware of a cholera outbreak in Petite Montagne because dehydrated patients had been arriving by stretcher, carried for hours by family members over the rutted road. In the past two weeks, the group realized it had to get more help to the mountain town.
- I noticed the article says UN likely brought cholera to Haiti, but links to article that says UN DID bring cholera to Haiti. Until UN admits they brought cholera to Haiti media will report UN talking points instead of the truth.
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- Democratising politics, regionalising governance Norman Girvan: Norman Girvan examines the politics of the Caribbean through the life of CLR James, the influential Afro-Trinidadian historian, journalist, socialist theorist and essayist.
‘CLR James was arguably, one of the outstanding personalities of the 20th century. In a life that spanned nine of the century’s decades he embraced most of its great social movements with passion, eloquence, and brilliant insights. His impact extended far beyond his native Trinidad and Tobago to the entire Caribbean, Britain, the Soviet Union, the United States and Africa.
‘To some, CLR is best known for his tireless struggles against, colonialism, imperialism, racism and Stalinism; inspired by an overarching and infectious vision of the possibilities of establishing a just, human and participatory society. Others will remember him for the scope of his knowledge and appreciation of literature and philosophy, and for his ability to illuminate their relationship to politics and the worker day world. No one exposed to him or his work is ever quite the same again.’
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- Haiti's new tax on money sent to relatives sparks outrage in Brooklyn community
Reliable Haiti Sources
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Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti:
IJDH Does amazing work in Haiti. I donate to them whenever I can. Please support IJDH's work.
IJDH draws on its founders’ internationally-acclaimed success accompanying Haiti’s poor majority in the fields of law, medicine and social justice activism. We seek the restoration of the rule of law and democracy in the short term, and work for the long-term sustainable change necessary to avert Haiti’s next crisis.
"I believe that IJDH, as small as it is, offers something important to Haitians who continue, amazingly, to believe in and struggle for genuine democracy and for human rights that are meant for all humans. To build a justice system that works for the Haitian poor rather than against them will require precisely the sort of pragmatic solidarity embraced by IJDH" — Paul Farmer, Co-Founder, Partners in Health
Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti:
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Twitter AP Reporter:
@KatzOnEarth Jonathan M. Katz
[Edwidge]Danticat: To make a difference support grassroots women's organizations ... that deal with gender violence including FAVILEK & @IJDH
6 Jul via web Unfavorite Undo Retweet Reply
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The Aristide Foundation for Democracy (AFD) was created in 1996 by former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide (the first democratically elected president of Haiti) with a simple principle in mind: "The promise of democracy can only be fulfilled if all sectors of Haitian society are able to actively participate in the democratic life of the nation."
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Haiti Emergency Relief Foundation(HERF) :
Haiti’s grassroots movement – including labor unions, women’s groups, educators and human rights activists, support committees for political prisoners, and agricultural cooperatives – are funneling needed aid to those most hit by the earthquake. They are doing what they can – with the most limited of funds – to make a difference. Please take this chance to lend them your support. All donations to the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund will be forwarded to our partners on the ground to help them rebuild what has been destroyed.
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Partners in Health When the earthquake struck Haiti on January 12, 2010, ZL resources were in place to deliver aid. In addition to providing care to the hundreds of thousands who fled to Haiti’s Central Plateau and Artibonite regions, ZL established health outposts at four camps for internally displaced people in Port-au-Prince. ZL also supported the city’s General Hospital (HUEH) by facilitating the placement of volunteer surgeons, physicians and nurses, and by aiding the hospital’s Haitian leadership. In March 2010, PIH/ZL announced a 3-year, $125 million plan to help Haiti build back better.
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Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods(SOIL) is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting soil resources, empowering communities and transforming wastes into resources in Haiti. We believe that the path to sustainability is through transformation, of both disempowered people and discarded materials, turning apathy and pollution into valuable resources. |
This is our book list so far:
NEWS ORGANIZATIONS: