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Tag Archive for ‘haiti’

Darwin, Lincoln and…Haiti?

Was there a relationship between Lincoln and Darwin? In the 19th century, both the scientist and the anti-slavery president were near-mythical figures. With the theory of evolution and the Civil War, each touched off a revolution that changed the world. Coincidentally (but do coincidences exist?) they shared a birthday. What is the Haitian connection?

Haiti: The Phantom State Strikes Again

The Haitian state has consistently failed to provide basic minimum standards of safety, including access to food, clean water, safe roads and buildings, along with adequate schooling and health care. One of my Haitian friends says that Haiti is not a failed state, rather it is a “phantom state.” Yet this phantom is fatal.

BET Jams to feature Sounds of Jakmel for one year

The BETJ series, When the Walls Talk, will air Sounds of Jakmel twice a month from December 2008 to November 2009. Featured will be performances by Emeline Michel, RAM, Tabou Combo, Sunpie & the Sunspots, as well as interviews from many involved with the Jacmel Music Festival

Honor Your Children Today!

November 20 is known as Universal Children’s Day. It is the day when the United Nations adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child in 1959 and 30 years later in 1989 the Convention on the Rights of the Child. I truly hope that President Barack Obama will direct his administration to do what none of the American Presidents since 1989 have been willing to do: proclaim that the US will not only ratify the Convention but champion its observance throughout the world with meaningful policy initiatives.

Hurricanes’ Toll on Haiti: Massive!

This is a disaster that calls on all people of good will, Haitian and non-Haitian alike, to help Haiti recover from this nightmare that could not have come at a worse time as the global economy is rocked by the near collapse of the US financial system.

What do we do as individuals in response to distress calls?

I have been in communications with many friends and colleagues who naturally wanted to spring into action at the news that Haiti had indeed weathered great damage following the battering by tropical storms Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike. As in 2004, Gonaives became a muddy lake that trapped more than 250,000 people in a deathly grip.

Hello, Tamara… Please Don’t Let Me Down!

Fond des Blancs activists Canes and Marie-Therese Maignan who have been involved with the county’s children’s rights committee have been deeply affected by the storms that battered Haiti in the country’s south. It’s hard to imagine that a worse fate could have fallen onto their shoulders as they were barely unable to make ends meet while struggling for social change in their community.

Children in Servitude, the Poorest of Haiti’s Poor – NYTimes.com

On this site, I have called attention to Haiti’s dirty little secret, the fact that tens of thousands of minds are literally being wasted, because they are cast-offs as slaves, nothing but slaves. Several reports describe the utter despair that Haitians are experiencing as the result of the wreck that is now Haiti after being… Read More ›

ANALYSIS-Deadly storms a big setback for impoverished Haiti | Reuters.com

The sight of the Haitian port city of Gonaives sitting in a slick of polluted water is only the most visible symbol of the damage done to the Caribbean nation of 9 million by four consecutive storms this summer.

Hurricanes and Haiti – Los Angeles Times

Human poverty is hugely susceptible to nature’s depredations, and Haiti, one of the world’s poorest countries, has again and again been the victim of demonically destructive wind, rain and flood.

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