HI gentle readers.... looking over my last post, I do not see a by line but I ASSURE you that I did not write that piece and it was supossed to be credited to the very fine journalist who did write it..
I am, as of last week, preparing for a three month teaching assignment in Haiti, on the southern border, in natural medicine and healing.
visitors welcome
find your way through the Baltimore Friends Meeting
Meet you there.
e
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
A peaceful country- Haiti
"It's a big myth," says Fred Blaise, spokesman for the UN police force in Haiti . " Port-au-Prince is no more dangerous than any big city.You can go to New York and get pickpocketed and held at gunpoint. The same goes for cities in Mexico or Brazil ."Haiti's negative image has devastated its economy, whose once-booming tourism industry is now limited largely to aid workers, peacekeepers,and diplomats.
But UN data indicate that the country could be among the safest in the region.According to the UN peacekeeping mission, there were 487 homicides in Haiti last year, or about 5.6 per 100,000 people. A 2007 jointUN-World Bank study estimated the Caribbean's average murder rate at 30 per 100,000, with Jamaica registering nearly nine times as many murders – 49 homicides per 100,000 people – as those recorded by the UN in Haiti .
In 2006, the Dominican Republic notched more than four times as many homicides per capita than Haiti – 23.6 per 100,000, according to the Central American Observatory on Violence."There is not a large amount of violence [in Haiti ]," argues Gen. Jose Elito Carvalho Siquiera, the Brazilian former commander of the UN force in Haiti . "If you compare the levels of poverty here with thoseof São Paolo or other cities, there is more violence there."**************************
Eyeing tourism , Haiti battles its violent reputation
Once a popular destination, it sees few tourists despite UN data that indicate country is among the region's safest.By Reed Lindsay Contributor to The Christian Science Monitorfrom the June 19, 2008 editionPortAuPrince, Haiti -
Kidnappings, gang violence, drug trafficking,corrupt police, flaming road blockades.The reports out of the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere are enough to keep the most adventurous traveler away.But according to security experts and officials from the UnitedNations peacekeeping mission in Port-au-Prince , Haiti is no more violent than any other country in Latin America ."It's a big myth," says Fred Blaise, spokesman for the UN police force in Haiti . " Port-au-Prince is no more dangerous than any big city.You can go to New York and get pickpocketed and held at gunpoint. The same goes for cities in Mexico or Brazil .
"Haiti's negative image has devastated its economy, whose once-booming tourism industry is now limited largely to aid workers, peacekeepers,and diplomats.But UN data indicate that the country could be among the safest in the region.According to the UN peacekeeping mission, there were 487 homicides in Haiti last year, or about 5.6 per 100,000 people. A 2007 jointUN-World Bank study estimated the Caribbean's average murder rate at 30 per 100,000, with Jamaica registering nearly nine times as many murders – 49 homicides per 100,000 people – as those recorded by theUN in Haiti .In 2006, the Dominican Republic notched more than four times as many homicides per capita than Haiti – 23.6 per 100,000, according to theCentral American Observatory on Violence."There is not a large amount of violence [in Haiti ]," argues Gen.Jose Elito Carvalho Siquiera, the Brazilian former commander of the UNforce in Haiti .
"If you compare the levels of poverty here with thoseof São Paolo or other cities, there is more violence there."The UN peacekeeping mission, known as Minustah, arrived in June 2004,three months after US troops whisked former President Jean-BertrandAristide into exile in Africa amid an armed rebellion.The de facto interim government, propped up by the UN, the United States , France , and Canada , launched a repressive campaign against Mr. Aristide's supporters, igniting two years of gunfights in Port-au-Prince' s slums among gangs, Haitian police, and UN peacekeepers.
Meanwhile, a wave of kidnappings raised tensions, with Minustah registering 1,356 in 2005 and 2006."The kidnappings shocked everyone because they hadn't happened in the past," says Mr. Blaise. "Still, when you compare the number of kidnappings here, I don't think it's more than anywhere else."Last year, security improved markedly as the number of kidnappings dropped by nearly 70 percent, part of an overall improvement insecurity under President René Préval, elected in a landslide inFebruary 2006. But earlier this month, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in Port-au-Prince to protest an increase inkidnappings. At least 160 people have been kidnapped this year,according to Haitian and UN police, Reuters reports.
In all of 2007,237 people were kidnapped, the report said.And in April, thousands of people took to the streets to demand lower food prices, sending images of burning tires and rock-throwing protesters around the world.Still, gunshots are now seldom heard in Port-au-Prince , and attacks on foreigners are few. In recent months, American Airlines flights from Miami have been packed with Christian missionaries.Some observers say even when the instability was at its worst,violence was usually limited to a few Port-au-Prince slums.
"If you compare Haiti to Iraq , to Afghanistan , to Rwanda , we don'teven appear on the same scale," says Patrick Elie, a former defense secretary who heads a government commission on the possible creation of a new security force."We've had a tumultuous history, one characterized by political instability," says Mr. Elie. "But except for the war that we had towage to obtain our freedom and independence from the French, Haiti has never known a level of violence comparable to that which has been waged in Europe, in America, and the European countries in Africa and Asia."Viva Rio, a Brazilian-based violence reduction group that came to Haiti at the request of the UN, managed in March 2007 to convince warring gangs in Bel Air and neighboring downtown slums to abstain from violence in exchange for youth scholarships. "This would be unthinkable in Rio ," says Rubem Cesar Fernandes, Viva Rio's director.Unlike in Brazil , he says, Haiti 's slum-based gangs have little involvement in the drug trade.
"Right now in Haiti there is more interest in peace than war," he says. "[T]here is this prejudice that associates Haiti with danger, above all it seems, in the United States. Haiti seems to provoke fear from white North Americans."Katherine Smith is one American who is not afraid. The young ethnographer has been coming here since 1999 to research voodoo and travels to poor neighborhoods using public transportation."The worst that has happened was being pickpocketed during Carnival,but that could happen anywhere," said Ms. Smith. "How little I've been targeted is remarkable given how visible I am."But many aid workers, diplomats, and other foreigners live behind walls and concertina wire.And except for émigrés visiting from abroad, tourism is near nonexistent.
"It's so frustrating," says Jacqui Labrom, a former missionary who has organized guided tours of Haiti since 1997.She says street demonstrations are easily avoided and rarely result in violence. "In the '50s and '60s, Haiti taught Cuba , Jamaica , the Dominican Republic how to do tourism.... If we didn't have such bad press, it would make such a difference."
But UN data indicate that the country could be among the safest in the region.According to the UN peacekeeping mission, there were 487 homicides in Haiti last year, or about 5.6 per 100,000 people. A 2007 jointUN-World Bank study estimated the Caribbean's average murder rate at 30 per 100,000, with Jamaica registering nearly nine times as many murders – 49 homicides per 100,000 people – as those recorded by the UN in Haiti .
In 2006, the Dominican Republic notched more than four times as many homicides per capita than Haiti – 23.6 per 100,000, according to the Central American Observatory on Violence."There is not a large amount of violence [in Haiti ]," argues Gen. Jose Elito Carvalho Siquiera, the Brazilian former commander of the UN force in Haiti . "If you compare the levels of poverty here with thoseof São Paolo or other cities, there is more violence there."**************************
Eyeing tourism , Haiti battles its violent reputation
Once a popular destination, it sees few tourists despite UN data that indicate country is among the region's safest.By Reed Lindsay Contributor to The Christian Science Monitorfrom the June 19, 2008 editionPortAuPrince, Haiti -
Kidnappings, gang violence, drug trafficking,corrupt police, flaming road blockades.The reports out of the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere are enough to keep the most adventurous traveler away.But according to security experts and officials from the UnitedNations peacekeeping mission in Port-au-Prince , Haiti is no more violent than any other country in Latin America ."It's a big myth," says Fred Blaise, spokesman for the UN police force in Haiti . " Port-au-Prince is no more dangerous than any big city.You can go to New York and get pickpocketed and held at gunpoint. The same goes for cities in Mexico or Brazil .
"Haiti's negative image has devastated its economy, whose once-booming tourism industry is now limited largely to aid workers, peacekeepers,and diplomats.But UN data indicate that the country could be among the safest in the region.According to the UN peacekeeping mission, there were 487 homicides in Haiti last year, or about 5.6 per 100,000 people. A 2007 jointUN-World Bank study estimated the Caribbean's average murder rate at 30 per 100,000, with Jamaica registering nearly nine times as many murders – 49 homicides per 100,000 people – as those recorded by theUN in Haiti .In 2006, the Dominican Republic notched more than four times as many homicides per capita than Haiti – 23.6 per 100,000, according to theCentral American Observatory on Violence."There is not a large amount of violence [in Haiti ]," argues Gen.Jose Elito Carvalho Siquiera, the Brazilian former commander of the UNforce in Haiti .
"If you compare the levels of poverty here with thoseof São Paolo or other cities, there is more violence there."The UN peacekeeping mission, known as Minustah, arrived in June 2004,three months after US troops whisked former President Jean-BertrandAristide into exile in Africa amid an armed rebellion.The de facto interim government, propped up by the UN, the United States , France , and Canada , launched a repressive campaign against Mr. Aristide's supporters, igniting two years of gunfights in Port-au-Prince' s slums among gangs, Haitian police, and UN peacekeepers.
Meanwhile, a wave of kidnappings raised tensions, with Minustah registering 1,356 in 2005 and 2006."The kidnappings shocked everyone because they hadn't happened in the past," says Mr. Blaise. "Still, when you compare the number of kidnappings here, I don't think it's more than anywhere else."Last year, security improved markedly as the number of kidnappings dropped by nearly 70 percent, part of an overall improvement insecurity under President René Préval, elected in a landslide inFebruary 2006. But earlier this month, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in Port-au-Prince to protest an increase inkidnappings. At least 160 people have been kidnapped this year,according to Haitian and UN police, Reuters reports.
In all of 2007,237 people were kidnapped, the report said.And in April, thousands of people took to the streets to demand lower food prices, sending images of burning tires and rock-throwing protesters around the world.Still, gunshots are now seldom heard in Port-au-Prince , and attacks on foreigners are few. In recent months, American Airlines flights from Miami have been packed with Christian missionaries.Some observers say even when the instability was at its worst,violence was usually limited to a few Port-au-Prince slums.
"If you compare Haiti to Iraq , to Afghanistan , to Rwanda , we don'teven appear on the same scale," says Patrick Elie, a former defense secretary who heads a government commission on the possible creation of a new security force."We've had a tumultuous history, one characterized by political instability," says Mr. Elie. "But except for the war that we had towage to obtain our freedom and independence from the French, Haiti has never known a level of violence comparable to that which has been waged in Europe, in America, and the European countries in Africa and Asia."Viva Rio, a Brazilian-based violence reduction group that came to Haiti at the request of the UN, managed in March 2007 to convince warring gangs in Bel Air and neighboring downtown slums to abstain from violence in exchange for youth scholarships. "This would be unthinkable in Rio ," says Rubem Cesar Fernandes, Viva Rio's director.Unlike in Brazil , he says, Haiti 's slum-based gangs have little involvement in the drug trade.
"Right now in Haiti there is more interest in peace than war," he says. "[T]here is this prejudice that associates Haiti with danger, above all it seems, in the United States. Haiti seems to provoke fear from white North Americans."Katherine Smith is one American who is not afraid. The young ethnographer has been coming here since 1999 to research voodoo and travels to poor neighborhoods using public transportation."The worst that has happened was being pickpocketed during Carnival,but that could happen anywhere," said Ms. Smith. "How little I've been targeted is remarkable given how visible I am."But many aid workers, diplomats, and other foreigners live behind walls and concertina wire.And except for émigrés visiting from abroad, tourism is near nonexistent.
"It's so frustrating," says Jacqui Labrom, a former missionary who has organized guided tours of Haiti since 1997.She says street demonstrations are easily avoided and rarely result in violence. "In the '50s and '60s, Haiti taught Cuba , Jamaica , the Dominican Republic how to do tourism.... If we didn't have such bad press, it would make such a difference."
Friday, June 20, 2008
Haitian American Peace Corps Project
June 12, 2008: U.S. Representatives Alcee Hastings, Barbara Lee, and Eliot Engel Introduce the Next Steps for Haiti Act WASHINGTON, DC -
U.S. Representative and Co-Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Taskforce on Haiti Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL) and U.S. Representatives Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Eliot Engel (D-NY) today introduced the Next Steps for Haiti Act 2008. The bill encourages and provides incentives to Haitian Americans and other experts in the United States to return to Haiti and help the country recover and grow in key fields and industries. WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Representative and Co-Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Taskforce on Haiti Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL) and U.S. Representatives Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Eliot Engel (D-NY) today introduced the Next Steps for Haiti Act 2008.
The bill encourages and provides incentives to Haitian Americans and other experts in the United States to return to Haiti and help the country recover and grow in key fields and industries."The Next Steps for Haiti Act is mutually beneficial for Haiti and Haitian Americans, providing both with the tools needed to successfully further their development. This innovative U.S.-Haiti partnership program reaffirms our commitment to putting Haiti on a sustained path to development, " said Representative Hastings. "I commend my colleagues Barbara Lee and Eliot Engel for their work on this significant legislation and look forward to working with them and others in the House to ensure its passage."
The Next Steps for Haiti Act establishes a professional program which will place Haitian Americans and other United States experts directly into positions within the Haitian education, health, infrastructure, and engineering sectors.
The program would provide vital technical assistance to Haitian government agencies and ministries to facilitate the country's growth and development in industries identified collectively by the U.S. and Haitian government and Haitian civil society. Participants in the program receive compensation for their work and are eligible to receive student loan repayments for their service.
"The increasingly desperate situation at home has forced Haitians to risk their lives and flee their homeland for the promise of a better life in the United States. We have a responsibility to help lift Haiti, the poorest nation in our Hemisphere, out of its impoverished state," Representative Hastings added. "The programs authorized under this bill will go a long way to getting this done."
Representative Hastings has long been a leader on numerous issues relating to Haiti. Last month, he led a bipartisan group of 45 House Members in calling on President Bush to provide emergency humanitarian and food assistance to Haiti. In April, he authored an amendment to the Jubilee Act for Responsible Lending and Expanded Debt Cancellation. The amendment calling for the immediate cancellation of Haiti's international debt unanimously passed the House of Representatives. He is also the author of the Haitian Protection Act, legislation which would designate Haitian nationals in the United States as eligible for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----Next Steps for Haiti Act of 2008 (Introduced in House)
HR 6255 IH
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H . R . 6255
To provide for professional exchanges with Haiti, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 12, 2008
Ms. LEE (for herself, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. ELLISON, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. WEXLER, Ms. CLARKE, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. RUSH, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. CUMMINGS, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. MEEK of Florida, Ms. WATERS, Mr. HONDA, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. WATSON, Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. DELAHUNT, and Mr. HINOJOSA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
A BILL
To provide for professional exchanges with Haiti, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Next Steps for Haiti Act of 2008'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Haiti is the world's first black-led republic and the first Caribbean country to achieve independence.
(2) Since its independence on January 1, 1804, the Government of Haiti has struggled to meet the promise of freedom and democracy expressed in the Preliminary Declaration of its 1805 Constitution, which reads: `The Citizens of Haiti are brothers at home; equality in the eyes of the law is incontestably acknowledged, and there cannot exist any titles, advantages, or privileges, other than those necessarily resulting from the consideration and reward to liberty and independence. '.
(3) According to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), following the end of the 29-year Duvalier dictatorship in 1986, the people of Haiti have suffered over a dozen government turnovers, including six military regimes, three appointed transition governments, and four elected presidencies.
(4) The government changes, accompanied with ongoing violence, have limited the government's capacity to provide security for its citizens as well as an environment conducive for the development of infrastructure to take root.
(5) Since the return of Haiti's democracy, the country has taken steps to achieve a relative measure of stability. However, the recent 40 percent rise in global food prices and subsequent 50 percent rise in the cost of Haiti's staple foods since mid-2007 has threatened Haiti's security and the capacity of Haiti's economy to prosper.
(6) According to the Department of State, workforce unemployment and underemployment are rampant. Estimates suggest that two-thirds of the country's 3,600,000 workers are without consistent work. The minimum wage of 70 gourdes per day (U.S. $1.70) undermines Haiti's ability to attract the skilled labor necessary to expand its economy. Reports indicate that Haitians are migrating to neighboring countries, mostly to the Dominican Republic to find work. Moreover, the 500,000 Haitians living in New York City and the 380,000 in Miami represent a loss of skills and expertise that Haiti has been unable to replace.
(7) Despite a strong social demand for education among Haitian families, the education sector in Haiti is characterized by a weak state capacity to provide and regulate educational services. According to USAID, Haitian families pay 15 percent of their household income for schooling. Yet, there is an adult literacy rate of 52 percent and a primary school enrollment rate of 67 percent. Less than 30 percent of the children who enter primary school will reach the 6th grade.
(8) According to the World Bank, approximately 500,000 children aged 6-11 do not attend school of any kind, and only about half of all six year olds enroll in first grade. Eighty percent of all primary level students attend nonpublic schools financed by parents, religious associations, NGO's, and other sources. Haiti continues to face severe obstacles in education due to access, equity, quality, and institutional capacity.
(9) According to the Department of State, in terms of health, Haiti has poor sanitation systems, poor nutrition, and inadequate health services. Eighty percent of Haiti's population lives below the poverty line. Less than half of the population has access to clean drinking water and 28 percent have access to adequate sanitation.
(10) Only 43 percent of the target population receives the recommended immunizations. Haiti, thus, has a life expectancy at birth of 53 years and a mortality rate of 12.2 deaths per 1,000 in population.
(11) There are 25 physicians and 11 nurses per 100,000 in population. Only one-fourth of births are attended by a skilled health professional.
(12) Haiti has the highest incidence of HIV/AIDS outside of Africa, with a national prevalence rate of 4.5 percent of the population.
(13) In terms of the environment, USAID reports that Haiti is ill equipped for the aftermath of tropical storms. The country lacks adequate management plans for natural disasters. Severe deforestation has left it vulnerable to flooding from the most moderate rainfall. Over 90 percent of the country's forests have been cleared for fuel, thus flash floods and mudslides across the country have damaged farmland and contributed to increased poverty.
SEC. 3. THE NEXT STEPS FOR HAITI ACT OF 2008.
(a) Program Authorized- The Director of Foreign Assistance, in consultation with the democratically elected Government of Haiti and Haitian civil society organizations, is authorized to establish a professional exchange program in Haiti, to be known as the `Haiti Professional Exchange Program' (in this Act referred to as the `Exchange Program'). At all phases of the Exchange Program, including establishing the Exchange Program's priorities, identifying the most appropriate skills for Exchange Program participants, and selecting and supervising Exchange Program participants, the democratically elected Government of Haiti and Haitian civil society organizations shall be consulted.
(b) Purpose- The purpose of the Exchange Program is to assign qualified Haitian Americans and others to provide technical assistance to help Haiti improve in areas vital to its growth and development, which may include education, energy, environment, healthcare, infrastructure, security, transportation, and disaster preparedness.
(c) Coordination- In carrying out the Exchange Program, the Director of Foreign Assistance shall negotiate an agreement with the democratically elected Government of Haiti to--
(1) provide technical assistance in areas vital to Haiti's growth and development as provided under subsection (b); and
(2) identify, in accordance with Haitian needs and priorities, the sectors or professional fields to which Exchange Program participants may provide technical assistance and the objectives to be achieved, including specific projects or programs.
(d) Consultation With Haitian Civil Society Organizations- The democratically elected Government of Haiti should consult with Haitian civil society organizations to identify the needs and priorities of Haiti to outline the sectors or professional fields to which Exchange Program participants may provide technical assistance and the objectives to be achieved, including specific projects or programs.
(e) Selection of Individuals for Participation in the Exchange Program- The Director of Foreign Assistance shall establish a selections committee, consisting of representatives of the democratically elected Government of Haiti and Haitian civil society organizations, to identify criteria that should be met by individuals who wish to participate in the Exchange Program. In addition, the selections committee shall review potential eligible applicants who wish to participate in the Exchange Program to ensure that they can act as experts.
(f) Outreach Program To Encourage Applicants To Participate in the Exchange Program- The Director of Foreign Assistance shall establish an outreach program to encourage eligible applicants to participate in the Exchange Program, who, as a requisite, shall meet the following requirements:
(1) Are citizens of the United States or lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States.
(2) At a minimum, should possess--
(A) fluency in Kreyol or are working towards a proficiency in Kreyol, or willing to undertake intensive Kreyol training, to the satisfaction of the selection committee; or
(B) fluency in French or are working towards a proficiency in French, or willing to undertake intensive French training, to the satisfaction of the selection committee.
(3) Any other criteria, skills, or expertise identified by the selections committee as necessary to provide technical assistance in one of the areas identified pursuant to subsection (c)(2).
(g) Terms of Participation for Individuals in the Exchange Program-
(1) ORIENTATION REQUIRED FOR INDIVIDUALS IN THE EXCHANGE PROGRAM- Participants shall attend an orientation outlined by the Director of Foreign Assistance, in consultation with the selection committee. The orientation shall consist of workshops and seminars designed to prepare participants for their stay in Haiti. Topics addressed shall include the following:
(A) A review of the Exchange Program's goals and intentions.
(B) A review of Haiti's different approaches to the country's development needs.
(C) A review of the potential cultural and behavioral barriers individuals may face while participating in the Exchange Program.
(2) LENGTH OF SERVICE IN EXCHANGE PROGRAM-
(A) 27 MONTHS- Individuals may participate in the Exchange Program for not longer than 27 months.
(B) EXCEPTION- If a participant would like to extend the duration of time of participation in the program, an application for such an extension shall be subject to approval of the Director of Foreign Assistance, in consultation with the democratically elected Government of Haiti. Upon approval, individuals may participate in the Exchange Program for one additional year.
(C) COMPENSATION AND READJUSTMENT ALLOWANCE-
(i) COMPENSATION- An individual who participates in the Exchange Program shall receive monthly compensation equal to the average monthly salary of such individual's professional Haitian counterpart.
(ii) READJUSTMENT ALLOWANCE- At the end of an individual's participation in the Exchange Program, the Director of Foreign Assistance shall provide to such individual a readjustment allowance in an amount equal to the number of months such individual participated in the Exchange Program multiplied by $250.
(3) ENACTMENT, NOTICE, AND COOPERATION-
(A) ESTABLISHMENT- The Exchange Program shall be established not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(B) NOTICE- Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Director of Foreign Assistance establishes the Exchange Program under subsection (a), the Director shall--
(i) provide notice thereof to Congress; and
(ii) submit to Congress information on the Exchange Program that contains the agreement governing the scope of work negotiated with the democratically elected Government of Haiti, a recruitment plan for participants, and a description of the qualifications and other appropriate information relating to individuals who are to be recruited to participate in the Exchange Program, including the needs that the individuals are expected to fill under the Exchange Program.
(C) COOPERATION- The Director of Foreign Assistance, in cooperation with the democratically elected Government of Haiti, shall report to Congress annually on the implementation of the Exchange Program, including as to--
(i) the selection of projects or activities in which individuals will be involved under the Exchange Program; and
(ii) the manner in which the Exchange Program will be made known to the public in the United States and Haiti.
(4) DEFINITIONS- In this section:
(A) CIVIL SOCIETY- The term `civil society' means voluntary civic and social organizations and may include registered charities, grassroots organizations, coalitions and advocacy groups, and professional associations.
(B) EXPERT ADVISORS- The term `expert advisors' means individuals who possess extensive experience in fields which will benefit Haiti that may include education, energy, environment, healthcare, infrastructure, security, transportation, and disaster preparedness.
(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS-
(A) IN GENERAL- There are authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2014 such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.
(B) SENSE OF CONGRESS- It is the sense of Congress that at least $3,000,000 should be made available for each of the fiscal years specified in subparagraph (A) to carry out this section.
(h ) Reports-
(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Director of Foreign Assistance shall submit to Congress a report regarding the Exchange Program.
(2) CONTENTS- The reports shall include information relating to the following:
(A) Individuals and organizations selected to participate and receive funds and a detailed breakdown of the uses of such funds, including purpose, locations, and results.
(B) The potential for expansion of the Exchange Program.
(C) The number of individuals recruited to participate in the Exchange Program, their countries of origin and their current residences, and the ministry or agency and the locality in which each individual is placed.
(D) A statement of financial accounting.
SEC. 4. LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR EXCHANGE PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS.
(a) Program Established-
(1) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED- The Secretary of State, in cooperation with the Secretary of Education, shall establish and implement a program to cancel the obligation of loan borrowers to pay the principal and interest on student loans for program participants, during their service in the Exchange Program under section 2.
(2) METHOD OF REPAYMENT- The Secretary of State shall carry out such program by repaying in accordance with subsection (b) the principal and interest, not to exceed a total of $10,000, on a loan made under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) for a borrower who--
(A) has obtained an undergraduate or graduate degree;
(B) is selected to participate in the Exchange Program under section 2 of this Act;
(C) is a United States citizen or permanent legal resident; and
(D) is in repayment status on such loan and is not in default on a loan for which the borrower seeks forgiveness of principal and interest payments.
(b) Terms-
(1) PROMISE TO COMPLETE SERVICE REQUIRED FOR PAYMENT- Any application for payment under subsection (a) shall contain an agreement by the applicant that the applicant will continue in a qualifying service described in subsection (a)(2)(B) for not less than 1 complete year, or will, upon a failure to complete such year, repay the United States the amount of the principal and interest repaid by the Secretary under subsection (a), at a rate and schedule, and in accordance with regulations, prescribed by the Secretary. Such regulations may provide for waiver by the Secretary of such repayment obligations upon proof of economic hardship as specified in such regulations.
(2) PAYMENT IN INSTALLMENTS- After a borrower has been selected as a participant of the Exchange Program under section 2, the Secretary shall make payments under this section while the borrower is in loan repayment status and continues as a participant of such program. The Secretary shall repay a portion of a borrower's outstanding loan, not to exceed a total of $10,000, in the following increments:
(A) Up to $2,000, or 20 percent of the borrower's outstanding loan balance, whichever is less, at the completion of the first year of such service.
(B) Up to $2,500, or 25 percent of the borrower's outstanding loan balance, whichever is less, at the completion of the second year of such service.
(C) Up to $5,000, or 50 percent of the borrower's outstanding loan balance, whichever is less, at the completion of the third and final year of such service.
(c) Regulations- The Secretary of State is authorized to issue such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this section. Such regulations shall establish procedures by which borrowers shall apply for loan repayment under this section.
U.S. Representative and Co-Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Taskforce on Haiti Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL) and U.S. Representatives Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Eliot Engel (D-NY) today introduced the Next Steps for Haiti Act 2008. The bill encourages and provides incentives to Haitian Americans and other experts in the United States to return to Haiti and help the country recover and grow in key fields and industries. WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Representative and Co-Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Taskforce on Haiti Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL) and U.S. Representatives Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Eliot Engel (D-NY) today introduced the Next Steps for Haiti Act 2008.
The bill encourages and provides incentives to Haitian Americans and other experts in the United States to return to Haiti and help the country recover and grow in key fields and industries."The Next Steps for Haiti Act is mutually beneficial for Haiti and Haitian Americans, providing both with the tools needed to successfully further their development. This innovative U.S.-Haiti partnership program reaffirms our commitment to putting Haiti on a sustained path to development, " said Representative Hastings. "I commend my colleagues Barbara Lee and Eliot Engel for their work on this significant legislation and look forward to working with them and others in the House to ensure its passage."
The Next Steps for Haiti Act establishes a professional program which will place Haitian Americans and other United States experts directly into positions within the Haitian education, health, infrastructure, and engineering sectors.
The program would provide vital technical assistance to Haitian government agencies and ministries to facilitate the country's growth and development in industries identified collectively by the U.S. and Haitian government and Haitian civil society. Participants in the program receive compensation for their work and are eligible to receive student loan repayments for their service.
"The increasingly desperate situation at home has forced Haitians to risk their lives and flee their homeland for the promise of a better life in the United States. We have a responsibility to help lift Haiti, the poorest nation in our Hemisphere, out of its impoverished state," Representative Hastings added. "The programs authorized under this bill will go a long way to getting this done."
Representative Hastings has long been a leader on numerous issues relating to Haiti. Last month, he led a bipartisan group of 45 House Members in calling on President Bush to provide emergency humanitarian and food assistance to Haiti. In April, he authored an amendment to the Jubilee Act for Responsible Lending and Expanded Debt Cancellation. The amendment calling for the immediate cancellation of Haiti's international debt unanimously passed the House of Representatives. He is also the author of the Haitian Protection Act, legislation which would designate Haitian nationals in the United States as eligible for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----Next Steps for Haiti Act of 2008 (Introduced in House)
HR 6255 IH
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H . R . 6255
To provide for professional exchanges with Haiti, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 12, 2008
Ms. LEE (for herself, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. ELLISON, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. WEXLER, Ms. CLARKE, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. RUSH, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. CUMMINGS, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. MEEK of Florida, Ms. WATERS, Mr. HONDA, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. WATSON, Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. DELAHUNT, and Mr. HINOJOSA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
A BILL
To provide for professional exchanges with Haiti, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Next Steps for Haiti Act of 2008'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Haiti is the world's first black-led republic and the first Caribbean country to achieve independence.
(2) Since its independence on January 1, 1804, the Government of Haiti has struggled to meet the promise of freedom and democracy expressed in the Preliminary Declaration of its 1805 Constitution, which reads: `The Citizens of Haiti are brothers at home; equality in the eyes of the law is incontestably acknowledged, and there cannot exist any titles, advantages, or privileges, other than those necessarily resulting from the consideration and reward to liberty and independence. '.
(3) According to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), following the end of the 29-year Duvalier dictatorship in 1986, the people of Haiti have suffered over a dozen government turnovers, including six military regimes, three appointed transition governments, and four elected presidencies.
(4) The government changes, accompanied with ongoing violence, have limited the government's capacity to provide security for its citizens as well as an environment conducive for the development of infrastructure to take root.
(5) Since the return of Haiti's democracy, the country has taken steps to achieve a relative measure of stability. However, the recent 40 percent rise in global food prices and subsequent 50 percent rise in the cost of Haiti's staple foods since mid-2007 has threatened Haiti's security and the capacity of Haiti's economy to prosper.
(6) According to the Department of State, workforce unemployment and underemployment are rampant. Estimates suggest that two-thirds of the country's 3,600,000 workers are without consistent work. The minimum wage of 70 gourdes per day (U.S. $1.70) undermines Haiti's ability to attract the skilled labor necessary to expand its economy. Reports indicate that Haitians are migrating to neighboring countries, mostly to the Dominican Republic to find work. Moreover, the 500,000 Haitians living in New York City and the 380,000 in Miami represent a loss of skills and expertise that Haiti has been unable to replace.
(7) Despite a strong social demand for education among Haitian families, the education sector in Haiti is characterized by a weak state capacity to provide and regulate educational services. According to USAID, Haitian families pay 15 percent of their household income for schooling. Yet, there is an adult literacy rate of 52 percent and a primary school enrollment rate of 67 percent. Less than 30 percent of the children who enter primary school will reach the 6th grade.
(8) According to the World Bank, approximately 500,000 children aged 6-11 do not attend school of any kind, and only about half of all six year olds enroll in first grade. Eighty percent of all primary level students attend nonpublic schools financed by parents, religious associations, NGO's, and other sources. Haiti continues to face severe obstacles in education due to access, equity, quality, and institutional capacity.
(9) According to the Department of State, in terms of health, Haiti has poor sanitation systems, poor nutrition, and inadequate health services. Eighty percent of Haiti's population lives below the poverty line. Less than half of the population has access to clean drinking water and 28 percent have access to adequate sanitation.
(10) Only 43 percent of the target population receives the recommended immunizations. Haiti, thus, has a life expectancy at birth of 53 years and a mortality rate of 12.2 deaths per 1,000 in population.
(11) There are 25 physicians and 11 nurses per 100,000 in population. Only one-fourth of births are attended by a skilled health professional.
(12) Haiti has the highest incidence of HIV/AIDS outside of Africa, with a national prevalence rate of 4.5 percent of the population.
(13) In terms of the environment, USAID reports that Haiti is ill equipped for the aftermath of tropical storms. The country lacks adequate management plans for natural disasters. Severe deforestation has left it vulnerable to flooding from the most moderate rainfall. Over 90 percent of the country's forests have been cleared for fuel, thus flash floods and mudslides across the country have damaged farmland and contributed to increased poverty.
SEC. 3. THE NEXT STEPS FOR HAITI ACT OF 2008.
(a) Program Authorized- The Director of Foreign Assistance, in consultation with the democratically elected Government of Haiti and Haitian civil society organizations, is authorized to establish a professional exchange program in Haiti, to be known as the `Haiti Professional Exchange Program' (in this Act referred to as the `Exchange Program'). At all phases of the Exchange Program, including establishing the Exchange Program's priorities, identifying the most appropriate skills for Exchange Program participants, and selecting and supervising Exchange Program participants, the democratically elected Government of Haiti and Haitian civil society organizations shall be consulted.
(b) Purpose- The purpose of the Exchange Program is to assign qualified Haitian Americans and others to provide technical assistance to help Haiti improve in areas vital to its growth and development, which may include education, energy, environment, healthcare, infrastructure, security, transportation, and disaster preparedness.
(c) Coordination- In carrying out the Exchange Program, the Director of Foreign Assistance shall negotiate an agreement with the democratically elected Government of Haiti to--
(1) provide technical assistance in areas vital to Haiti's growth and development as provided under subsection (b); and
(2) identify, in accordance with Haitian needs and priorities, the sectors or professional fields to which Exchange Program participants may provide technical assistance and the objectives to be achieved, including specific projects or programs.
(d) Consultation With Haitian Civil Society Organizations- The democratically elected Government of Haiti should consult with Haitian civil society organizations to identify the needs and priorities of Haiti to outline the sectors or professional fields to which Exchange Program participants may provide technical assistance and the objectives to be achieved, including specific projects or programs.
(e) Selection of Individuals for Participation in the Exchange Program- The Director of Foreign Assistance shall establish a selections committee, consisting of representatives of the democratically elected Government of Haiti and Haitian civil society organizations, to identify criteria that should be met by individuals who wish to participate in the Exchange Program. In addition, the selections committee shall review potential eligible applicants who wish to participate in the Exchange Program to ensure that they can act as experts.
(f) Outreach Program To Encourage Applicants To Participate in the Exchange Program- The Director of Foreign Assistance shall establish an outreach program to encourage eligible applicants to participate in the Exchange Program, who, as a requisite, shall meet the following requirements:
(1) Are citizens of the United States or lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States.
(2) At a minimum, should possess--
(A) fluency in Kreyol or are working towards a proficiency in Kreyol, or willing to undertake intensive Kreyol training, to the satisfaction of the selection committee; or
(B) fluency in French or are working towards a proficiency in French, or willing to undertake intensive French training, to the satisfaction of the selection committee.
(3) Any other criteria, skills, or expertise identified by the selections committee as necessary to provide technical assistance in one of the areas identified pursuant to subsection (c)(2).
(g) Terms of Participation for Individuals in the Exchange Program-
(1) ORIENTATION REQUIRED FOR INDIVIDUALS IN THE EXCHANGE PROGRAM- Participants shall attend an orientation outlined by the Director of Foreign Assistance, in consultation with the selection committee. The orientation shall consist of workshops and seminars designed to prepare participants for their stay in Haiti. Topics addressed shall include the following:
(A) A review of the Exchange Program's goals and intentions.
(B) A review of Haiti's different approaches to the country's development needs.
(C) A review of the potential cultural and behavioral barriers individuals may face while participating in the Exchange Program.
(2) LENGTH OF SERVICE IN EXCHANGE PROGRAM-
(A) 27 MONTHS- Individuals may participate in the Exchange Program for not longer than 27 months.
(B) EXCEPTION- If a participant would like to extend the duration of time of participation in the program, an application for such an extension shall be subject to approval of the Director of Foreign Assistance, in consultation with the democratically elected Government of Haiti. Upon approval, individuals may participate in the Exchange Program for one additional year.
(C) COMPENSATION AND READJUSTMENT ALLOWANCE-
(i) COMPENSATION- An individual who participates in the Exchange Program shall receive monthly compensation equal to the average monthly salary of such individual's professional Haitian counterpart.
(ii) READJUSTMENT ALLOWANCE- At the end of an individual's participation in the Exchange Program, the Director of Foreign Assistance shall provide to such individual a readjustment allowance in an amount equal to the number of months such individual participated in the Exchange Program multiplied by $250.
(3) ENACTMENT, NOTICE, AND COOPERATION-
(A) ESTABLISHMENT- The Exchange Program shall be established not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(B) NOTICE- Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Director of Foreign Assistance establishes the Exchange Program under subsection (a), the Director shall--
(i) provide notice thereof to Congress; and
(ii) submit to Congress information on the Exchange Program that contains the agreement governing the scope of work negotiated with the democratically elected Government of Haiti, a recruitment plan for participants, and a description of the qualifications and other appropriate information relating to individuals who are to be recruited to participate in the Exchange Program, including the needs that the individuals are expected to fill under the Exchange Program.
(C) COOPERATION- The Director of Foreign Assistance, in cooperation with the democratically elected Government of Haiti, shall report to Congress annually on the implementation of the Exchange Program, including as to--
(i) the selection of projects or activities in which individuals will be involved under the Exchange Program; and
(ii) the manner in which the Exchange Program will be made known to the public in the United States and Haiti.
(4) DEFINITIONS- In this section:
(A) CIVIL SOCIETY- The term `civil society' means voluntary civic and social organizations and may include registered charities, grassroots organizations, coalitions and advocacy groups, and professional associations.
(B) EXPERT ADVISORS- The term `expert advisors' means individuals who possess extensive experience in fields which will benefit Haiti that may include education, energy, environment, healthcare, infrastructure, security, transportation, and disaster preparedness.
(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS-
(A) IN GENERAL- There are authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2014 such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.
(B) SENSE OF CONGRESS- It is the sense of Congress that at least $3,000,000 should be made available for each of the fiscal years specified in subparagraph (A) to carry out this section.
(h ) Reports-
(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Director of Foreign Assistance shall submit to Congress a report regarding the Exchange Program.
(2) CONTENTS- The reports shall include information relating to the following:
(A) Individuals and organizations selected to participate and receive funds and a detailed breakdown of the uses of such funds, including purpose, locations, and results.
(B) The potential for expansion of the Exchange Program.
(C) The number of individuals recruited to participate in the Exchange Program, their countries of origin and their current residences, and the ministry or agency and the locality in which each individual is placed.
(D) A statement of financial accounting.
SEC. 4. LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR EXCHANGE PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS.
(a) Program Established-
(1) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED- The Secretary of State, in cooperation with the Secretary of Education, shall establish and implement a program to cancel the obligation of loan borrowers to pay the principal and interest on student loans for program participants, during their service in the Exchange Program under section 2.
(2) METHOD OF REPAYMENT- The Secretary of State shall carry out such program by repaying in accordance with subsection (b) the principal and interest, not to exceed a total of $10,000, on a loan made under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) for a borrower who--
(A) has obtained an undergraduate or graduate degree;
(B) is selected to participate in the Exchange Program under section 2 of this Act;
(C) is a United States citizen or permanent legal resident; and
(D) is in repayment status on such loan and is not in default on a loan for which the borrower seeks forgiveness of principal and interest payments.
(b) Terms-
(1) PROMISE TO COMPLETE SERVICE REQUIRED FOR PAYMENT- Any application for payment under subsection (a) shall contain an agreement by the applicant that the applicant will continue in a qualifying service described in subsection (a)(2)(B) for not less than 1 complete year, or will, upon a failure to complete such year, repay the United States the amount of the principal and interest repaid by the Secretary under subsection (a), at a rate and schedule, and in accordance with regulations, prescribed by the Secretary. Such regulations may provide for waiver by the Secretary of such repayment obligations upon proof of economic hardship as specified in such regulations.
(2) PAYMENT IN INSTALLMENTS- After a borrower has been selected as a participant of the Exchange Program under section 2, the Secretary shall make payments under this section while the borrower is in loan repayment status and continues as a participant of such program. The Secretary shall repay a portion of a borrower's outstanding loan, not to exceed a total of $10,000, in the following increments:
(A) Up to $2,000, or 20 percent of the borrower's outstanding loan balance, whichever is less, at the completion of the first year of such service.
(B) Up to $2,500, or 25 percent of the borrower's outstanding loan balance, whichever is less, at the completion of the second year of such service.
(C) Up to $5,000, or 50 percent of the borrower's outstanding loan balance, whichever is less, at the completion of the third and final year of such service.
(c) Regulations- The Secretary of State is authorized to issue such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this section. Such regulations shall establish procedures by which borrowers shall apply for loan repayment under this section.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Growing insecurity in Haiti
Went to Haiti to cover a demonstration against kidnapping. Read my report, here
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Puerto Rico and The Election
Puerto Rico and the American Commonwealth
I do not know why Democratic Party gave 55 delegates to the associated free state of Puerto Rico when only Puerto Ricans who reside inside the territorial United States can vote in the Presidential election.
But listening to Hillary's acceptance speech, I certainly know how she got the votes. She promised the Puerto Ricans - whatever their decision on Statehood might be- the right to vote, Medicare, Medicaid and other federal program. Nice going. Just promise anything.
Puerto Rico is already a huge recipient of Federal largesse while paying nothing into the US Federal treasury.
While they do pay taxes, all their taxes are paid to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
My figures are not current, but based on the figures in 2002. At that time, Puerto Rico was the third largest recipient of HUD (Federal Housing Authority) money, the second largest recipient of FEMA (Emergency management- hurricane relief) funds, and received an additional $12 billion dollars in unrestricted funds. Much of that money was simply distributed to its low income people, distributed into their checking accounts with no restrictions, no embarrassing food stamps, and no lines at the unemployment center.
All this was in return for keeping Puerto Rico safely tucked under the US flag, at the entry to the Caribbean, particularly during the wars of the last century.
I know Puerto Rico quite well, having served on the Vieques witness for four years, alongside those who were intent on stopping the use of that inhabited island as a bombing range.
Puerto Rico has a peculiar status with the United States. Taken from the Spanish during the Spanish American War in 1898, Puerto Ricans were granted United States citizenship under the Jones Act of 1917, in an appeal both to recruit more men for the armed forces and to secure land for navy and military operations.
The United States used Vieques and Culebra as bombing ranges for 6O years, practicing air and sea landings, using live ammunition, and renting out the facilities to other foreign nations who might not have a convenient little bombing range - albeit inhabited. The people of Culebra, through non violent protest and resistance, closed that island to bombing in 1979. Twenty years later, in 1999, the people of Vieques occupied the bombing range on Vieques for a year, halting all Navy bombing operations. After 1700 of us crossed into the bombing range during Navy exercises and were arrested and went to jail, the US government agreed to halt the bombing of Vieques. They also threatened to close their Navy base on the mainland, Roosevelt Roads, the largest US Navy base in the world, which they did.
The US tried an unsuccessful "conquest" of this Spanish island during the 50's. We banned the use of the Spanish language in schools. We forbad the flying of the Puerto Rican flag; The Americans started "Operation Bootstrap" which was a prelude to our building our factories along the Mexican border, in China, etc, etc, etc. Now those factories lie most of them abandoned leaving behind them all the rivers polluted. But we also introduced potable water, good and decent roads, good public housing, sound banking, the US post office, and US federal law.
Puerto Rico now has an autonomy which it would lose if it were to become a state. I think that most Puerto Ricans would be shocked at the changes. Currently, Puerto Ricans have full control over their educational system, conducted completely in Spanish. They keep all of their tax money. Only last year did Puerto Rico impose a sales tax, at a modest 6%, when it was clear that the government would not have enough money to support itself.
Hillary won the Statehood vote. But the Statehood vote has never won in Puerto Rico. Every year, the vote for independence grows stronger - up from 6% in 2001 to 20% in the last election. Commonwealth status, which they have now, always just ties with Statehood.
Puerto Rico has 500 years of Spanish history.
They do not educate their children in English. There is no English radio station. There is no American music played. They are a deeply Catholic and religious nation. They are very much opposed to the death penalty, which is imposed on them under Federal law. One can be a fully qualified attorney in Puerto Rico without speaking English. Only an attorney who wishes to practice in Federal court needs to speak English.
As a state, of course, Puerto Rico would have to comply with Federal education standards, in English, would have to pay Federal income tax, would have to completely comply with United States law.
Puerto Rico uses Dominicans for agriculture workers. Puerto Ricans will not work for $5 an hour just as Dominicans here will not work for the $10 a day which the Dominican agricultural industries pay the Haitian workers.
Unlike the rest of the Hispanic voters in the United States, Puerto Rico does not have to face the immigration issue, does not have to worry about green cards or quotas, and does not have to worry about how many times they may be allowed home. They already have the blue passport.
To my great dismay, a recent survey here in the Dominican Republic stated that 57% of the population would immigrate if they were given the chance. This is only for economic reasons and, in my opinion, a direct result of the failure of successive governments to invest in education, for without education, there is little hope of rising out of poverty.
If there were a poll taken in Haiti, I am sure the results would be closer to 80% of the people would immigrate.
So rather than talking about Statehood for Puerto Rico, perhaps what the United States might want to consider is a great Caribbean-American Commonwealth for her nearest neighbors- including the DR and Haiti, at least.
Don't misunderstand - I am not suggesting that the DR should actually lose her hard won independence - which she has had since 1868. Don’t want to turn it into a strip mall, like, well, Florida.
But.... well.... a little more help other than loans from the World Bank, etc which now has the country paying out 45 % of its tax revenues in debt service, or DR-CAFTA which puts the local agriculture at a huge disadvantage against America's agro- industries.
Both Dominicans and Haitians are enormously successful as immigrants. A report two years ago said that 60% of the second generation Dominicans in the US have completed college. Collectively, the 3 million strong Haitian diaspora sent home 1.6 billion dollars - about $535 per person in the diaspora and $200 per Haitian.
There are only 16 million people here. And this is a really really beautiful piece of land, full of fantastic beaches, great natural resources, and a wonderful climate
Plenty of room left. Huge. Much bigger than Puerto Rico. Great climate.
Nicer really than Florida since we have mountains, as well.
Florida, if one remembers, was discovered by Ponce de Leon, who was born, incidentally, here. I just walked by his house last week.
Face it, Florida is almost full.
If the US would just allow Medicare to extend to foreign doctors, to the hospitals down here--- as it does to Puerto Rico --- we could start a really BOOMING retirement and eldercare business here.
Think about it. Really.
I do not know why Democratic Party gave 55 delegates to the associated free state of Puerto Rico when only Puerto Ricans who reside inside the territorial United States can vote in the Presidential election.
But listening to Hillary's acceptance speech, I certainly know how she got the votes. She promised the Puerto Ricans - whatever their decision on Statehood might be- the right to vote, Medicare, Medicaid and other federal program. Nice going. Just promise anything.
Puerto Rico is already a huge recipient of Federal largesse while paying nothing into the US Federal treasury.
While they do pay taxes, all their taxes are paid to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
My figures are not current, but based on the figures in 2002. At that time, Puerto Rico was the third largest recipient of HUD (Federal Housing Authority) money, the second largest recipient of FEMA (Emergency management- hurricane relief) funds, and received an additional $12 billion dollars in unrestricted funds. Much of that money was simply distributed to its low income people, distributed into their checking accounts with no restrictions, no embarrassing food stamps, and no lines at the unemployment center.
All this was in return for keeping Puerto Rico safely tucked under the US flag, at the entry to the Caribbean, particularly during the wars of the last century.
I know Puerto Rico quite well, having served on the Vieques witness for four years, alongside those who were intent on stopping the use of that inhabited island as a bombing range.
Puerto Rico has a peculiar status with the United States. Taken from the Spanish during the Spanish American War in 1898, Puerto Ricans were granted United States citizenship under the Jones Act of 1917, in an appeal both to recruit more men for the armed forces and to secure land for navy and military operations.
The United States used Vieques and Culebra as bombing ranges for 6O years, practicing air and sea landings, using live ammunition, and renting out the facilities to other foreign nations who might not have a convenient little bombing range - albeit inhabited. The people of Culebra, through non violent protest and resistance, closed that island to bombing in 1979. Twenty years later, in 1999, the people of Vieques occupied the bombing range on Vieques for a year, halting all Navy bombing operations. After 1700 of us crossed into the bombing range during Navy exercises and were arrested and went to jail, the US government agreed to halt the bombing of Vieques. They also threatened to close their Navy base on the mainland, Roosevelt Roads, the largest US Navy base in the world, which they did.
The US tried an unsuccessful "conquest" of this Spanish island during the 50's. We banned the use of the Spanish language in schools. We forbad the flying of the Puerto Rican flag; The Americans started "Operation Bootstrap" which was a prelude to our building our factories along the Mexican border, in China, etc, etc, etc. Now those factories lie most of them abandoned leaving behind them all the rivers polluted. But we also introduced potable water, good and decent roads, good public housing, sound banking, the US post office, and US federal law.
Puerto Rico now has an autonomy which it would lose if it were to become a state. I think that most Puerto Ricans would be shocked at the changes. Currently, Puerto Ricans have full control over their educational system, conducted completely in Spanish. They keep all of their tax money. Only last year did Puerto Rico impose a sales tax, at a modest 6%, when it was clear that the government would not have enough money to support itself.
Hillary won the Statehood vote. But the Statehood vote has never won in Puerto Rico. Every year, the vote for independence grows stronger - up from 6% in 2001 to 20% in the last election. Commonwealth status, which they have now, always just ties with Statehood.
Puerto Rico has 500 years of Spanish history.
They do not educate their children in English. There is no English radio station. There is no American music played. They are a deeply Catholic and religious nation. They are very much opposed to the death penalty, which is imposed on them under Federal law. One can be a fully qualified attorney in Puerto Rico without speaking English. Only an attorney who wishes to practice in Federal court needs to speak English.
As a state, of course, Puerto Rico would have to comply with Federal education standards, in English, would have to pay Federal income tax, would have to completely comply with United States law.
Puerto Rico uses Dominicans for agriculture workers. Puerto Ricans will not work for $5 an hour just as Dominicans here will not work for the $10 a day which the Dominican agricultural industries pay the Haitian workers.
Unlike the rest of the Hispanic voters in the United States, Puerto Rico does not have to face the immigration issue, does not have to worry about green cards or quotas, and does not have to worry about how many times they may be allowed home. They already have the blue passport.
To my great dismay, a recent survey here in the Dominican Republic stated that 57% of the population would immigrate if they were given the chance. This is only for economic reasons and, in my opinion, a direct result of the failure of successive governments to invest in education, for without education, there is little hope of rising out of poverty.
If there were a poll taken in Haiti, I am sure the results would be closer to 80% of the people would immigrate.
So rather than talking about Statehood for Puerto Rico, perhaps what the United States might want to consider is a great Caribbean-American Commonwealth for her nearest neighbors- including the DR and Haiti, at least.
Don't misunderstand - I am not suggesting that the DR should actually lose her hard won independence - which she has had since 1868. Don’t want to turn it into a strip mall, like, well, Florida.
But.... well.... a little more help other than loans from the World Bank, etc which now has the country paying out 45 % of its tax revenues in debt service, or DR-CAFTA which puts the local agriculture at a huge disadvantage against America's agro- industries.
Both Dominicans and Haitians are enormously successful as immigrants. A report two years ago said that 60% of the second generation Dominicans in the US have completed college. Collectively, the 3 million strong Haitian diaspora sent home 1.6 billion dollars - about $535 per person in the diaspora and $200 per Haitian.
There are only 16 million people here. And this is a really really beautiful piece of land, full of fantastic beaches, great natural resources, and a wonderful climate
Plenty of room left. Huge. Much bigger than Puerto Rico. Great climate.
Nicer really than Florida since we have mountains, as well.
Florida, if one remembers, was discovered by Ponce de Leon, who was born, incidentally, here. I just walked by his house last week.
Face it, Florida is almost full.
If the US would just allow Medicare to extend to foreign doctors, to the hospitals down here--- as it does to Puerto Rico --- we could start a really BOOMING retirement and eldercare business here.
Think about it. Really.
Peace March in Port au Prince
On Wed, June 4th starting at 9 AM,
a group of citizen activist groups in Haiti
will hold a non violent demonstration
dressed all in white or black,
from the Church of Sacre Couer
to the Palais of Justice
in support of nation
in which everyone may live
Saying no to kidnapping
Saying no to human trafficing
Saying no to bloodshed and pain
At high noon, they will emit a cry of pain, a concert of banging of pots and pans, a concert of car horns.
They ask that we join them in solidarity
JOURNEE NATIONALE DE MANIFESTATIONS CONTRE LE KIDNAPPING
NOTE DE PRESSE
La Lutte Nationale Contre le Kidnapping (LUNAK),
le Groupe de Citoyens Concernés (GCC) et un ensemble d'associations et de personnalités de la société civile appellent tous les secteurs de la société civile à participer, le mercredi 4 juin 2008, à une journée pacifique pour dire:
NON au kidnapping
NON au commerce des êtres humains
NON à l'argent du sang et de la douleur
Nous devons faire un barrage:
Pour que CESSE ce FLEAU
Pour CONSTRUIRE un pays où tout le monde puisse vivre
Cette journée pacifique débutera par une marche silencieuse qui partira devant l'Église du Sacré Cœur de Turgeau, à 9:00am.
Parcours de la marche:Eglise du Sacré-cœurAvenue Charles Summer –
Arrêt devant le Ministère de la JusticeAvenue MagnyRue CapoisRue Légitime –
Arrêt devant le Commissariat de Port-au-PrinceAvenue Magloire AmbroiseRue St. HonoréRue Mgr. GuillouxArrêt et Fin devant le Palais de JusticeConsignes:Pour les participants à la marche et aussi pour ceux qui ne peuvent pas y assister-
Se Vêtir de noir ou de blanc pendant toute la journée-
Emettre un cri de douleur sur tout le territoire à Midi pile-
Préparer des pancartes en noir et blanc et à caractère non violent pour la marche-
concert de casseroles à Midi pile-
Appuyer sur l'avertisseur de votre véhicule à Midi pile
Les organisateurs de la marche se réservent le droit de saisir toutes pancartes portant des thèmes violents et non conformes à l'esprit de cette marche pacifique, parce-que nous manifestons pour la vie.
Les organisateurs interdisent aussi toutes paroles de violence.
Signataires:-
Lutte Nationale contre le Kidnapping (LUNAK)-
Groupe de Citoyens Concernés (GCC)-
APROSIFA- Coordination Syndicale Haitienne (CSH)- CRESFED- ISC-
Association Nationale des Médias Haitiens (ANMH)- ISC- RNDDH- Kay Fanm- EnfoFanm- KONAP- GRIEAL- Mouvement Ti Payzan (MOPA)- Confédération Nationale des Vodouisants Haitiens – ATI- Fédération Protestante d'Haiti- KSIL- Fondation Culture Création- Centre Oecuménique des Droits Humains- Droits et Démocratie- Université Quisqueya- Haïti Solidarité Internationale (HIS)- Groupe Croissance- JILAP (pour l'Église Catholique)- Centre Pétion Bolivar- Korejèn- Fondation Héritage- Université d'Etat d'Haiti- Commission Citoyenne pour l'Application de la Justice (CCAJ)- Rassemblement Femmes Vaillantes du Bel Air (RA.FA.VA.B)- ANADIPP
a group of citizen activist groups in Haiti
will hold a non violent demonstration
dressed all in white or black,
from the Church of Sacre Couer
to the Palais of Justice
in support of nation
in which everyone may live
Saying no to kidnapping
Saying no to human trafficing
Saying no to bloodshed and pain
At high noon, they will emit a cry of pain, a concert of banging of pots and pans, a concert of car horns.
They ask that we join them in solidarity
JOURNEE NATIONALE DE MANIFESTATIONS CONTRE LE KIDNAPPING
NOTE DE PRESSE
La Lutte Nationale Contre le Kidnapping (LUNAK),
le Groupe de Citoyens Concernés (GCC) et un ensemble d'associations et de personnalités de la société civile appellent tous les secteurs de la société civile à participer, le mercredi 4 juin 2008, à une journée pacifique pour dire:
NON au kidnapping
NON au commerce des êtres humains
NON à l'argent du sang et de la douleur
Nous devons faire un barrage:
Pour que CESSE ce FLEAU
Pour CONSTRUIRE un pays où tout le monde puisse vivre
Cette journée pacifique débutera par une marche silencieuse qui partira devant l'Église du Sacré Cœur de Turgeau, à 9:00am.
Parcours de la marche:Eglise du Sacré-cœurAvenue Charles Summer –
Arrêt devant le Ministère de la JusticeAvenue MagnyRue CapoisRue Légitime –
Arrêt devant le Commissariat de Port-au-PrinceAvenue Magloire AmbroiseRue St. HonoréRue Mgr. GuillouxArrêt et Fin devant le Palais de JusticeConsignes:Pour les participants à la marche et aussi pour ceux qui ne peuvent pas y assister-
Se Vêtir de noir ou de blanc pendant toute la journée-
Emettre un cri de douleur sur tout le territoire à Midi pile-
Préparer des pancartes en noir et blanc et à caractère non violent pour la marche-
concert de casseroles à Midi pile-
Appuyer sur l'avertisseur de votre véhicule à Midi pile
Les organisateurs de la marche se réservent le droit de saisir toutes pancartes portant des thèmes violents et non conformes à l'esprit de cette marche pacifique, parce-que nous manifestons pour la vie.
Les organisateurs interdisent aussi toutes paroles de violence.
Signataires:-
Lutte Nationale contre le Kidnapping (LUNAK)-
Groupe de Citoyens Concernés (GCC)-
APROSIFA- Coordination Syndicale Haitienne (CSH)- CRESFED- ISC-
Association Nationale des Médias Haitiens (ANMH)- ISC- RNDDH- Kay Fanm- EnfoFanm- KONAP- GRIEAL- Mouvement Ti Payzan (MOPA)- Confédération Nationale des Vodouisants Haitiens – ATI- Fédération Protestante d'Haiti- KSIL- Fondation Culture Création- Centre Oecuménique des Droits Humains- Droits et Démocratie- Université Quisqueya- Haïti Solidarité Internationale (HIS)- Groupe Croissance- JILAP (pour l'Église Catholique)- Centre Pétion Bolivar- Korejèn- Fondation Héritage- Université d'Etat d'Haiti- Commission Citoyenne pour l'Application de la Justice (CCAJ)- Rassemblement Femmes Vaillantes du Bel Air (RA.FA.VA.B)- ANADIPP
Monday, May 26, 2008
Saludos Brooklyn- Gracias Emily
We had a rare elegant evening out, two of my friends of mine and me. Yesterday was the 125th birthday of the Brooklyn Bridge. A local pape even down here in Santo Domingo ran an article on it. Someone called to tell me about it, it being one of my ancestral contributions to the world and she mentioned that she was going to the Georgian State Ballet (former Soviet Union) performing at the National Theater here in Santo Domingo. By chance a friend was en route to town and we managed to meet.
It was a stunning, acrobatic, and dramatic performance in an elegant setting, worthy of New York. We drank a toast to the Bridge.
My thoughts are with the Bridge today and the great procession of ancestors who live on in my heart. I am humbled and weeping a bit in their memory, as they have left great and heavy imprints on the earth and blessed me with a life of privilege and extraordinary opportunity and great depth.
I was married from the house of my great uncle, John Augustus Roebling II, grandson of the designer of the Brooklyn Bridge. The mantilla which I wore had belonged to his mother, the great Emily Warren Roebling, without whom the Great Bridge would never have been built. The lace around my sleeves and hem was the lace she wore at her presentation at Queen Victoria's Court. Since Emily had neither daughter nor granddaughter, I was the only other woman to ever wear her lace.
Her husband Washington had been crippled by the bends, nitrogen narcosis, from being one atmosphere below sea level in the Brooklyn caisson fighting a fire that had been raging in for weeks. The work of digging out the river bottom, sending the sand and rocks up by buckets, while sinking the structure lower and lower as the construction of the great stone Brooklyn tower was built on top of it, was done by torch light which started the fire in the wooden structure.
It was the first time in history that such work at such depths had been undertaken and no one knew of the illness that was to attack.
It was Emily, who already had a law degree and then completed a degree in engineering, who carried her husband’s directives down to the engineers on the Bridge and back up to him. For fourteen years, Washington did not leave his brownstone. In the end, he recovered from the bends and outlived his wife, remarried and retired in Trenton.
It was Emily who who was the first person to cross the bridge, riding across it in a carriage, holding a rooster.
On the 75th anniversary of the Bridge, I was there with my family as they unveiled a plaque dedicating the bridge to Emily. I remember it mostly from the black and white photo of it, but remember my delight in the large straw hat with the ribbon down the back which had been brought to me from a family friend all the way from Italy for the occasion. I would have been ten years old.
Washington Roebling had taken over the engineering of the bridge when he 30 when his father died suddenly from tetnus.- like his father- held to the adage that he would not ask his men to do something that he was unwilling to do himself.
His father, John Augustus, had immigrated to America at an early age, bringing with him an entire village to settle in Pennsylvania. A graduate of engineering college, he was convinced that suspension bridges were the soundest form of construction but knew that the engineering establishment in Germany would not allow him to fulfill his dreams.
Once in America, he set about to fulfill them, having always in his mind the vision of a great bridge across the East River, to unite the then separate cities of New York and Brooklyn. In order to do that, he had to first design and build the steel cable which would be needed for the bridges. He set up his factory in Trenton, New Jersey, avoiding the South because of what he called "the anathema of slavery" and set about building suspension bridges of increasing length to demonstrate their strength.
No Roebling bridge has ever collapsed.
John Roebling was a believer in natural medicine and the force of human will. From his diaries, I read of his actions in Trenton when a cholera epidemic overtook Trenton. One of the doctors had already died and Roebling made the rounds with the remaining doctor. He wrote of the night when he first felt the symptoms of cholera coming on him. He would not allow himself to sleep, knowing that if he did so, the disease would take hold. Instead, he remained awake, drinking pure water all night, pacing back and forth in his room until the sun rose and felt himself free of the clutches of the illness.
I was not born to the Roeblings, being a mere niece of his second wife, my grandmother's sister, Helen Price Roebling. We were the family of his old age as they married when he was 60 and she was 40, when he had already lost two of his three sons. Uncle John had, at the time, only one grandson. My grandmother's family had ten sisters and one brother, and five were unmarried. By marrying one, Roebling got a large and adoring family who came to live in various cottages around his estate in New Jersey - complete with four more grandchildren, my two brothers, my cousin and myself.
He died when I still very young. I have only vague memories of the kind man who wore starched collars and sneakers who sent for me every afternoon to muss with my hair and give me a chocolate. My brother said that he could recite Humpty Dumpty in Chinese. He was also an engineer, designing his own homes, and, along with his son Donald, the amphibious landing craft which made the Normandy invasion possible.
He had a tradition that we would always follow, of having to recite a poem at the table between courses. I spent my summers playing in his home, under the watchful eyes which followed me from full length oil portraits of his parents - Emily in her presentation gown and Washington working at his desk, overlooking the Bridge.
I was left with their legacy as follows: 1. To carry on the Roebling name. 2. To have a dream and hold fast to it. 3. To be a greatful and faithful attender at Church and a contributing member of the community.
When I was fifty, having decided that they would be reasonably pleased with the path that I had walked, I legally added the Roebling name.
I am, on this day, most gratefully, their great-great-great niece
`
Namaste
Monday, May 19, 2008
Declaration of Pierre Pierre, Ex Prime Minister Desingate
DECLARATION OF PIERRE ERICQ PIERRE,EX-PRIME MINISTER DESIGNATED(Port-au-Prince, May 15, 2008)
1. I would like to thank president René Préval who, in two occasions, has proposed me to occupy the post of Prime Minister of my country. I also thank the Senators, Deputies, the political parties and organizations of the civil society who have publicly honored me of their confidence.
I extend these thanks to journalists of the spoken, written and the televised press that have accompanied me during the whole process and who have proven me of an objectivity that honors them. I thank a special way my colleagues who have, voluntarily, accepted to accompany me and to follow to the letter my instructions. I congratulate members of the “Concertation des Parlementaires Progressistes (CPP)” (Progressive Members’ Meetings of the Parliament) for their victory. I also wish them good luck.
2. My complete name is Pierre Ericq Pierre. This is the name appeared on my birth certificate, on my passports and on my official documents. I am Haitian, and I have never renounced my nationality; also, I have never obtained nor solicited the residence in any foreign country. If some parliament members consider that I am not Haitian of origin, they refer, without doubt, to some criteria that they themselves are able to define.
3. I have accepted to be designated for the post of Prime Minister, and to put my more than 40 years of integrity at the service of my country, because I was persuaded that, in addition to the experience and competence, our country has an urgent need to place, at the shaft of matters, honest men and women, foreigners at the scheming and capable of gaining height to work with success toward improving the existing conditions of the Haitian people. I have said that, to affront multiple challenges called out to us, one should have abandoned the politicians’ politics, have faith in the capacity of our compatriots - those in the country as well as those in Diaspora. From a general governing point of view, I have said that the absolute priority of my government would be to restore confidence, to help my compatriots regain confidence in themselves and in the common homeland.
4. But, since the beginning of the process, I have hurt myself at the forces of corruption. My refusal to conclude a pact with them costs me today to be kept at a distance by the Lower House. The words “home land” or “the country’s interest” have never been present in the messages of emissaries who were pressuring me to negotiate in favor of their protégés some ministerial posts, some envelops with money or projects that can facilitate their re-election. I have always professed that I would not accept to be Prime Minister at any type of price. And I could not either become involved in things that would mortgage the Public Treasury’s resources even before even entering the primacy. I also wanted to play cards on the table by refusing to enter the game of those who think they could hide behind an anti-neoliberal mask.
5. I don’t live the decision of the Lower House as a personal drama. After my meeting with members of “Concertation des Parlementaires Progressistes” (CPP) who have accepted to meet with me, upon the request of Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis who himself has agreed to a request by the president of the Republic; I was convinced that the CPP was not going to support me - unless the President of the Republic or the Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis succeed in persuading the members of the political platform LESPWA who have joined the CPP to vote in my favor. This did not happen, and I don’t want to speculate on what took place.
6. One of the reasons that has also led me to accept the designation is because I’ve witnessed very painfully the events at the beginning of April : the demonstrations against the high cost of living, the violence, the pillage and the absence of public powers. I had the impression of attending a rehearsal for a tragic play. Politics don’t need to be a game of massacre. I’ve said that it should have, at all price, avoided this type of situation and lies to those - Haitians and foreigners who profess of nothing good, nothing great and nothing nice can come out of Haiti. Me, on the contrary, I persist to say to anyone who wants to listen to me in the international community that the problems of my country are certainly great, but the Haitian people are greater than these problems.
7. As head of the government, I was going to impose myself on clear requirements, of simplicity as well as those of strictness. I was getting ready to do fast and well concrete things. Of my point of view, the politics of all government should be easy to understand : by parliament members who should approve it and to appropriate it, by ministers who should apply it, by the private sector that should be a privileged partner, by association of socioprefessionals, popular organizations, the unions, workers, students, peasants and by the great public that should benefit from their consequences.
8. I was ready to explain, explain again, explain always. A requirement of truth was going to preside over the politics of communication of my government. This requirement would be translated by the transparency of its agenda. The programs of actions would be known by everyone. And the calendars of implementation would have been published also, as well as detailed reports of the Republic’s budget. In case of unexpected changes in the calendar, public opinion would have been informed of the causes of these changes. In addition to the traditional media, the new technologies of information and of communication would be available to make these information available quickly. The government would, in this way, make regular assessment of its action and would, openly, publish this assessment, taking into account the slow progresses and the possible errors.
9. The moralization of public life would have been reinforced. The Law on patrimony allowing the verification of the transparency of patrimony of elected officials, high government employees, members of the government, of their immediate entourage and members of the Parliament who would have been involved in it fully. Also, the abuses linked to political blackmailing, the use of bribes, under deserved privileges, traffics of influence and sexual harassment would have been suppressed.
10. Despite of the limitations of the Document of the National Strategy of Growth and Reduction of Poverty (“Document de Stratégie Nationale de Croissance et de Réduction de la Pauvreté (DSNCRP”) because a consensus seems to have founded to make it the document of reference of the government, we estimate that travel warrant of the governmental team was simple enough. Here is why, after the analysis of these three pillars having priority and of multiples domains included in this document, we have obtained six axs from it outlined as follow:
(i). - Fighting the high cost of living (This ax is not really included in the DSNCRP, but we estimate that it was decisive for the government’s credibility.)
(ii). - Assuring the stimulation of employment and of the national production of goods and services.
(iii).- Relaunching the agricultural production and the protection of the environment. (iv).- Modernizing the Government.
(v).- Pursuing and increasing the effort for education and health.
(vi). -Assuring the good functioning of justice and fight insecurity.
11. We were proposing to implement everything to accelerate the execution of projects and establish to that end some criteria of performance for the evaluation of the ministries’ activities and organisms that are involved in fulfilling these works. I, in fact, consider that it’s not normal while we are soliciting daily some new resources of our international partners, we’d not succeed in using, in reasonable deadlines, resources that are already available to us then our communities cry famine and that unemployment has a great influence.
12. We were thinking of taking some measures to coordinate effectively the international cooperation, to go deeper and institutionalize the relationships with the Dominican Republic, and define a travel warrant in sight of a better cooperation with MINUSTAH.
13. I was then prepared to make a difference, and I was going to ask my colleagues of the government to avoid that their compassion for the poor people does not transform neither in indifference for those who are less poor nor in hatred for those who are rich. But, I admit that I have underestimated the weight of the forces of corruption. However, I remain confident that my compatriots, women and men, young and younger, of the interior and of the Diaspora, will not get intimidated forever by the said forces.
14. We must maintain political stability and reinforce the social cohesion. This implies a real engagement from all actors of the national life.
P.S M. Pierre has read this preliminary declaration during a press conference at Montana Hotel in Pétion-Ville.[Translated from French to English by Emmanuel W. Védrine
1. I would like to thank president René Préval who, in two occasions, has proposed me to occupy the post of Prime Minister of my country. I also thank the Senators, Deputies, the political parties and organizations of the civil society who have publicly honored me of their confidence.
I extend these thanks to journalists of the spoken, written and the televised press that have accompanied me during the whole process and who have proven me of an objectivity that honors them. I thank a special way my colleagues who have, voluntarily, accepted to accompany me and to follow to the letter my instructions. I congratulate members of the “Concertation des Parlementaires Progressistes (CPP)” (Progressive Members’ Meetings of the Parliament) for their victory. I also wish them good luck.
2. My complete name is Pierre Ericq Pierre. This is the name appeared on my birth certificate, on my passports and on my official documents. I am Haitian, and I have never renounced my nationality; also, I have never obtained nor solicited the residence in any foreign country. If some parliament members consider that I am not Haitian of origin, they refer, without doubt, to some criteria that they themselves are able to define.
3. I have accepted to be designated for the post of Prime Minister, and to put my more than 40 years of integrity at the service of my country, because I was persuaded that, in addition to the experience and competence, our country has an urgent need to place, at the shaft of matters, honest men and women, foreigners at the scheming and capable of gaining height to work with success toward improving the existing conditions of the Haitian people. I have said that, to affront multiple challenges called out to us, one should have abandoned the politicians’ politics, have faith in the capacity of our compatriots - those in the country as well as those in Diaspora. From a general governing point of view, I have said that the absolute priority of my government would be to restore confidence, to help my compatriots regain confidence in themselves and in the common homeland.
4. But, since the beginning of the process, I have hurt myself at the forces of corruption. My refusal to conclude a pact with them costs me today to be kept at a distance by the Lower House. The words “home land” or “the country’s interest” have never been present in the messages of emissaries who were pressuring me to negotiate in favor of their protégés some ministerial posts, some envelops with money or projects that can facilitate their re-election. I have always professed that I would not accept to be Prime Minister at any type of price. And I could not either become involved in things that would mortgage the Public Treasury’s resources even before even entering the primacy. I also wanted to play cards on the table by refusing to enter the game of those who think they could hide behind an anti-neoliberal mask.
5. I don’t live the decision of the Lower House as a personal drama. After my meeting with members of “Concertation des Parlementaires Progressistes” (CPP) who have accepted to meet with me, upon the request of Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis who himself has agreed to a request by the president of the Republic; I was convinced that the CPP was not going to support me - unless the President of the Republic or the Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis succeed in persuading the members of the political platform LESPWA who have joined the CPP to vote in my favor. This did not happen, and I don’t want to speculate on what took place.
6. One of the reasons that has also led me to accept the designation is because I’ve witnessed very painfully the events at the beginning of April : the demonstrations against the high cost of living, the violence, the pillage and the absence of public powers. I had the impression of attending a rehearsal for a tragic play. Politics don’t need to be a game of massacre. I’ve said that it should have, at all price, avoided this type of situation and lies to those - Haitians and foreigners who profess of nothing good, nothing great and nothing nice can come out of Haiti. Me, on the contrary, I persist to say to anyone who wants to listen to me in the international community that the problems of my country are certainly great, but the Haitian people are greater than these problems.
7. As head of the government, I was going to impose myself on clear requirements, of simplicity as well as those of strictness. I was getting ready to do fast and well concrete things. Of my point of view, the politics of all government should be easy to understand : by parliament members who should approve it and to appropriate it, by ministers who should apply it, by the private sector that should be a privileged partner, by association of socioprefessionals, popular organizations, the unions, workers, students, peasants and by the great public that should benefit from their consequences.
8. I was ready to explain, explain again, explain always. A requirement of truth was going to preside over the politics of communication of my government. This requirement would be translated by the transparency of its agenda. The programs of actions would be known by everyone. And the calendars of implementation would have been published also, as well as detailed reports of the Republic’s budget. In case of unexpected changes in the calendar, public opinion would have been informed of the causes of these changes. In addition to the traditional media, the new technologies of information and of communication would be available to make these information available quickly. The government would, in this way, make regular assessment of its action and would, openly, publish this assessment, taking into account the slow progresses and the possible errors.
9. The moralization of public life would have been reinforced. The Law on patrimony allowing the verification of the transparency of patrimony of elected officials, high government employees, members of the government, of their immediate entourage and members of the Parliament who would have been involved in it fully. Also, the abuses linked to political blackmailing, the use of bribes, under deserved privileges, traffics of influence and sexual harassment would have been suppressed.
10. Despite of the limitations of the Document of the National Strategy of Growth and Reduction of Poverty (“Document de Stratégie Nationale de Croissance et de Réduction de la Pauvreté (DSNCRP”) because a consensus seems to have founded to make it the document of reference of the government, we estimate that travel warrant of the governmental team was simple enough. Here is why, after the analysis of these three pillars having priority and of multiples domains included in this document, we have obtained six axs from it outlined as follow:
(i). - Fighting the high cost of living (This ax is not really included in the DSNCRP, but we estimate that it was decisive for the government’s credibility.)
(ii). - Assuring the stimulation of employment and of the national production of goods and services.
(iii).- Relaunching the agricultural production and the protection of the environment. (iv).- Modernizing the Government.
(v).- Pursuing and increasing the effort for education and health.
(vi). -Assuring the good functioning of justice and fight insecurity.
11. We were proposing to implement everything to accelerate the execution of projects and establish to that end some criteria of performance for the evaluation of the ministries’ activities and organisms that are involved in fulfilling these works. I, in fact, consider that it’s not normal while we are soliciting daily some new resources of our international partners, we’d not succeed in using, in reasonable deadlines, resources that are already available to us then our communities cry famine and that unemployment has a great influence.
12. We were thinking of taking some measures to coordinate effectively the international cooperation, to go deeper and institutionalize the relationships with the Dominican Republic, and define a travel warrant in sight of a better cooperation with MINUSTAH.
13. I was then prepared to make a difference, and I was going to ask my colleagues of the government to avoid that their compassion for the poor people does not transform neither in indifference for those who are less poor nor in hatred for those who are rich. But, I admit that I have underestimated the weight of the forces of corruption. However, I remain confident that my compatriots, women and men, young and younger, of the interior and of the Diaspora, will not get intimidated forever by the said forces.
14. We must maintain political stability and reinforce the social cohesion. This implies a real engagement from all actors of the national life.
P.S M. Pierre has read this preliminary declaration during a press conference at Montana Hotel in Pétion-Ville.[Translated from French to English by Emmanuel W. Védrine
PREVAL ON THE VERGE OF RESIGNATION
News posted on the French Yahoo list serve follows. Preval is on the verge of resigning due to international pressure to resubmit the name of Pierre for Prime Minister, constant strong disagreements within his political party, Lespwa, and the urging of his family who want him to retire to Marmelade, far away from the political life, doubting that he will be able to manage the country during increasing violent demonstrations against hunger.
DERNIERE HEURE:
De sources très sérieuses (Intelligence Agencies) , Le Président René Préval serait prêt à remettre sa démission comme Président de la République pour les raisons suivantes :
1) pressions incessantes de la communauté internationale pour la redésignation de M. Ericq Pierre comme Premier Ministre
2) contradictions trop fortes au sein de la nébuleuse politique L’Espwa
3) Pressions familiales croissantes pour un retrait de la vie politique compte tenu de la perspective de plus en plus probable de nouvelles émeutes de la faim encore plus violentes, d’une convocation subséquente au Parlement pour crime de haute trahison, et de son incapacité patente de gestion des structures politiques et économiques du pays. Sa mère et son père ont toujours honnêtement douté de sa capacité de gérer le pays : deux personnages des plus respectables.
4) nostalgie profonde de la ville de Marmelade, une ville sans pressions politiques.
Préval déjà envisagé ce scénation pendant les émetues de la faim de début avril 2008.
DERNIERE HEURE:
De sources très sérieuses (Intelligence Agencies) , Le Président René Préval serait prêt à remettre sa démission comme Président de la République pour les raisons suivantes :
1) pressions incessantes de la communauté internationale pour la redésignation de M. Ericq Pierre comme Premier Ministre
2) contradictions trop fortes au sein de la nébuleuse politique L’Espwa
3) Pressions familiales croissantes pour un retrait de la vie politique compte tenu de la perspective de plus en plus probable de nouvelles émeutes de la faim encore plus violentes, d’une convocation subséquente au Parlement pour crime de haute trahison, et de son incapacité patente de gestion des structures politiques et économiques du pays. Sa mère et son père ont toujours honnêtement douté de sa capacité de gérer le pays : deux personnages des plus respectables.
4) nostalgie profonde de la ville de Marmelade, une ville sans pressions politiques.
Préval déjà envisagé ce scénation pendant les émetues de la faim de début avril 2008.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Haiti Exasperata
While there are ample cries of "unfair trade, foreign imperialism" to account for the current state of Haiti, the DR, which - like Haiti- was both colonized, invaded and occupied (twice by the US, once by Haiti) and subject to the same unfair globalization and dumping - has posted the highest economic growth in the Caribbean for the third year in a row. The last president actually had rice fields here burned since he had an "in" with the imported cheap rice coming in from Haiti.
Bare with me now as I make some politically incorrect remarks destined to push the buttons and raise the ire of both friends and foes.
Some say that Haiti stopped producing rice (concrete, steel, cement, sugar, flour, shoes, pots and pans and eggs) because of "neoliberal globalization and economic dumping" , also known as "capitalism", a system in which businesses must remain adaptable and competitive.
We will pause for a moment to weep for the poor buggy whip manufacturers.
Haitians, having somehow gathered enough money from "other sources" such as remittances, selling their “cause” in the States and Canada, drug dealing, stealing from the public coffers, begging and scamming through various international NGOs and missionaries, have somehow been able to find enough money to buy their goods cheaper from the international market and abandoned their internal production. (EXCEPTIONS- Barbencourt Rum- the ORGANIC MANGOS -- Some of the ART... WHAT ELSE?)They have become dependent on foreign rice and frozen imported chicken. The people are now at the complete mercy of the international global food market dependent on the rise of petroleum prices.
There is also a valid argument to be made that Haiti stopped producing things like....etc/ etc... not only because of "neoliberal globalization and economic dumping" but because the merchant and political and clerical ( uppper and middle) classes just took and took and did not reinvest in their own country.
They did nothing to reforest even after they had ample knowledge of the devestation that it was causing. They did nothing to even educate the peasants to soak the beans overnight to reduce the cooking time to conserve charcoal. They thought only of their own comforts.
With the aid of the Church, (both Catholic and Episcopal at the least), they perpetuated a structured class system, divided by language, enforced by education. Only the elites spoke French. Only the elites could read and write. Only the elites would find employment, run the nation.
They did not support public education, just educated their own children, sent those who could make it safely abroad. They did not industrialize their agriculture but held to a sharecropping system. When the opportunity presented itself, they abandoned their land, abandoned their peasant workers, who have now flooded into Port au Prince looking for non- existant work.
Throughout the history of Haiti, they have enslaved their own people,giving over and taking in , children into restavec slavery who now number at 300,,000 and whose ranks are daily growing.
Rather than having created the “second oldest independent nation in the Western Hemisphere” Haitians have created a nation which has never been freed from slavery, one born in blood and violence. It is now and always has been a predatory state whose officials have consistently abused the citizens.
The diaspora sends home guilt money in the form of remittances which allowed their relatives to survive without working. In the final act of turning their backs on their own nation, they allowed their country to write a constitution which disenfranchised themselves and their children. While continuing to send home money to support their own families, they have allowed the rest of the nation to become a ward of the international community.
Those Haitian public officials who have raped the public treasuries are exempted from prosecution, time and again - paving the way, perhaps, for the next gang of thieves. Duvalier is still entertained in France, Aristide is still interviewed in South Africa and revered by the American Left, and those who left the Embassies coffers empty in various posts are never prosecuted.
In the end, this ongoing victim mentality only serves to manifest more poverty. I winced when I heard my Haitian friend - college educated, speaking four languages- saying in a matter of fact tone - "Haiti will not succeed because the United States does not want it to" OH, I said-- perhaps that was true 100 years ago - perhaps even 50 years ago -
But now--- Well -- GO OBAMA!!
Tears rolled down my cheeks when I heard the young Haitians on the border sing the lullaby "The rich get richer and there is nothing for the poor." For certainly, surely, your dreams will absolutely come true.
I try to keep an eye on both these countries with a NY point of view. How are they recovering from the brutal dictatorships that we helped subjected them to? (Shame on us, but it was war and we were frightened). Haiti is twenty years behind the DR- coming out of the Duvalier's in 1986 while Trujuillo fell in 1965. There were similar armed interventions by the US in both countries - to a better result here in the DR perhaps in which the forces of the merchant "right" rather than the populist “left” took over the running of business and stability and development.
It was sad to read how Preval, in his first term, in 1996, redistributed farm land from private landlords to the peasants but did not give them tools or fertilizer or seed or transport, thus creating a net loss in food production. This seems odd since he himself has a successful bamboo farm and certainly knew what was needed! Although perhaps not since evidently the Taiwanese have some agreement with the government over the bamboo production in Haiti in return for the continuing vote to support Taiwan in the United Nations. So it may in fact be Taiwanese who are doing the farming for Preval.
Now Haiti, evidently having signed a contract with Venezuela which precludes purchasing oil from other sources, is short on diesel oil.
Contrary to the United States, which could perhaps feed the entire world, Cuba does not produce enough to feed its population. Why is that, in a climate in which everything grows? Puerto Rico is even worse - with iceberg lettuce coming in from California. The DR is a net food exporter - perhaps soon Puerto Rico will have some of the lovely curly lettuce from here.
The current Haitian government is in crisis over an argument about economic development and the minimum wage. A very odd argument to be having, it seems to me, in a nation with over 70% unemployment. Particularly in a nation which is listed as third most corrupt in the world. (PROGRESS -up from the MOST Corrupt Country in the WORLD -- Get the T Shirt MADE) In which it takes 192 days to start a business due to government regulations.(I risk crossing into satire here......)
To help with the perspective on the wages for Haiti - whether it is reasonable for the Ministry of Social Affairs to propose 150 gourdes a day as a new minimum wage while the minimum that the business community finds acceptable is 78, - I share the following.
The DR has no minimum hourly wage. Hourly work and day wages are paid as the worker is willing to accept.The minimum wage here in the DR, for monthly salaried workers jobs, is 4400 pesos (US$130) a month for a 40 hour week. In relation to the dollar -The peso is now at 34.xx to the dollar. Assuming 4.25 weeks a month, we arrive at the number of 170 hours a month. And then 25.88 pesos or 78 cents an hour or (207.04 pesos) $6.28 a day. Note that five years ago, the peso was at 50 to a dollar and the wages were lower so the daily wage was closer to $4 a day. The peso trades a little higher than the gourde against the dollar now.
These workers also have other legal benefits such as a month's extra pay for Christmas, paid holidays, some government health services - doctors but no pharmaceuticals-, protection against unreasonable termination, mandated severance pay, workers rights and other protections. By law, a business must employ at least 70% Dominicans in the labor force.
It is difficult to make more than $1000 a month as a salaried worker here - that is a good teacher's wage - in an English school in the Capital. Doctors in the State system went on strike to demand more than the 58.000 pesos which they are now paid. Maids work for 3 to 4,000 pesos. These days there are Haitians-particularly on the border- who are taken in by Domincan families as restavecs.... working for food.
The presence of the more that 600,000 Haitian immigrants, with an ongoing inflow, makes it difficult for the workers on the bottom of the ladder to organize and demand any sort of wage increases. However there is a strong transport workers union and an active social forum and in the past three years, I have witnessed two general strikes protesting the high cost of living, one of which shut down the entire nation into silence. Gandhi would have been proud.
Anyone who really makes any money here does so with owning a business or working in a family business. Lots of the population makes do with day labor, selling fruit or cell phone cards or their bodies or the growing business of crack and cocaine transport and human trafficking.
Or --- for the really BIG money- they go into politics. Since there is no independent civil service, all the government jobs go to political appointees, although there does seem to be some level of competence involved.
Haitians here are primarily employed at construction and agriculture. Some of the big hotels have full gangs of hundreds of Haitian workers who go from one construction site to another. They are usually paid about 300 pesos (less than $10) a day. They are often worked for 24 days straight and then paid. They are not fed. In at least one place the local Dominican picketed, saying that they wanted the jobs but at 600 pesos.
Conan Bohan of the HELP project says that the best jobs for COLLEGE grads in Haiti are with NGOs and pay $600 a month. But few NGOs really work to get the poor out of poverty. On the contrary, they make their living off the poor. (Of course- foreign NGO workers, like US Embassy workers recieve BONUS pay for working there - sort of like Iraq ) They themselves live on charity so how could they teach people to get on their feet? Fonkoze and ORE and Lait Agro go being the notable exceptions that I know of. Do the donors of rice know how to help the food producers? Are they interested in doing so?
So - Once again, I call on the Haitian Diaspora to rise up and deliver a plan for the restoration of the nation of Haiti. Since, clearly, the people whom you have left behind have proved themselves unable to manage your nation.
I ask that you demonstrate your concern for your once reknowned and respected and feared republic by calling for a constitutional reform allowing dual citizenship.
I ask that you not let your nation remain a ward of the international community.
A plan, if you please. Some internet petitions. Some leadership. Some bright minds moving forward.
Enough already with the conferences at the Montana and Kaliko Beach and the courses in Kreyole in Kansas and the newspapers in Massachusetts and the chic cocktail gatherings of “Haitian Professionals” in my nation’s capital.
Why not have some gatherings of Haitian Professionals in your own nation’s capital?
Surely you must be ASHAMED and ENRAGED right now.
I know that I am and I am only Haitian by affinity.
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