Tag Archive for ‘haiti’
HAITI AT A CROSSROADS
Five months after a devastating earthquake struck Haiti on January 12, 2010, leading to the deaths of approximately 230,000 people and the displacement of millions, there are worrisome signs that the rebuilding process in Haiti has stalled. Haiti is at a significant crossroads, with limited time to enact key policies and programs that will allow the country to build a more sustainable and prosperous future.
Haiti: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Today, May 18 marks the 207th anniversary of an event that sealed for good the fate of the French Empire in North America. On this day, the seeds of an independent Haiti were planted when blacks and colored, former slaves and free people of color, vowed to life free in a land that they controlled or they would die trying. These men and women proved to the world then that they were the equal of others in all aspects. How did the pearl of the Antilles turn 200 years later into the poorest country in the western hemisphere? And can it rise from the most devastating earthquake so far this century?
Washington Post Profiles Patrick Gaspard
Gaspard, the highest-ranking Haitian American in the Obama administration, has quietly assumed the role of liaison to distraught Haitian American leaders, even as his job requires him to focus on Tuesday’s crucial Massachusetts special election, upon which hangs President Obama’s health-care overhaul and much of the domestic agenda for the foreseeable future. …. Gaspard, a… Read More ›
Apocalypse revisits Haiti
Damage to the Country’s Political and Economic Infrastructure Enormous, Yet Haiti Can Rise Again from the Rubble Statement of Haitian-Americans United for Progress, reprinted with permission from www.haupinc.org New York, January 14, 2009 – Haiti suffered a major blow when a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Port-au-Prince, the capital city and several other cities to south… Read More ›
Haiti Quake: A Personal Note and a Professional Request
Dear Friends, Since the magnitude 7.4 earthquake hit Haiti with devastating force, many have expressed sorrow for the dead, and the physically and the emotionally traumatized. They have also asked themselves what can be done for immediate relatives and friends as well as for the country as a whole. Many have been shocked into paralysis,… Read More ›
I am Haiti too!
Six months of meticulous research, planning, preparation, coordination, partnerships and team building led to an exceptionally well-organized and fruitful conference under the able hands of the Jean Robert Cadet Restavec Foundation and The Maurice Sixto Foundation.
Will Internationalism be the new US Mantra?
The United States will no longer shun the United Nations Human Rights Council. The Obama Administration announced today that it will seek a seat on the Council. More importantly, according to the Washington Post, New Zealand has offered to step aside in order to ensure that should the US bid for a seat on the… Read More ›
Harry Belafonte, Most Charming Revolutionary
Over the last twenty years, I occasionally shared the limelight with Harry Belafonte, in the early 1990s in particular, as the campaigns on behalf of Haitian refugees denied asylum in the United States and democracy in Haiti joined to tilt the Clinton Administration’s hand towards democracy and human rights in Haiti. Belafonte spoke with the wisdom of a man who had seen his share of injustice and faced them with the conviction that comes from a place deep within.
What Haitian Leaders Should Take Away from Obama’s Inaugural Speech
In his inaugural speech on January 20, Barack Obama addressed mainly the expectations of the American people, but he had a few choice words for allies and foes abroad. What should Haitian leaders take away from his words? Two things: a warning and a promise.
Bush to Haitians: Nyet on TPS
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff dispatched a letter to President René Préval of Haiti telling him that after carefully considering his request for the granting of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians living under the color of law in the United States, he would deny it. Chertoff signed the letter on December 19, but the letter was not sent to Haiti until 11 days later on December 30, according to reliable sources.
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