The Front Porch of the Hotel Oloffson

To Richard Morse, Advisor to President Martelly of Haiti

From Elizabeth Roebling, Regent to the Queen of Quiskeya

Just to report that there are now a 2 million Haitians here in the Dominican Republic. Add to those numbers about 15% of the Dominican population which has no papers – some , many of Dominican Haitian descent. So this numbers more than 10% of the population on this island. Who have no state papers Therefore, we are going to offer them all temporary papers under the Fundacion Zile, run by Edwin Paraison, so that they can be Quiskeyans. Or, Kikans, if you will We have decided to be ruled by a queen who will be elected by the children and the dogs  (I have been lobbying for the dogs to have two votes but the cats have very rightly point out that then should have three—this seems just to me since there are so very few cats here. Most have been eaten. But this is just to show you that there are election problems all over. However, we have found out now that both the dogs and the Haitians here are psychic  as are we... so things should move on a lot faster now) The grandmothers will chose the chieftans We are declaring the waters surrounding this sacred island as a Marine Sanctuary And are hereby banning spear fishing I ask for your personal assistance in this matter.       We may be hungry but we are not stupid. Our coral reefs are our main tourist attraction. No more coral jewelry. No more spear fishing I do hope that you will make some sort of very public announcement on this -- something cool at Cayman Bois with the conch... and that you will come visit me at my beach place in Las Terrenas, Samana which is on the front (or hind) flipper of the Great Turtle, I would also love to see some very high end beach towels made here at the ONLY certified sweat shop free CERTIFIED factory in the world - at Altagracia.. A map that shows the ENTIRE ISLAND ARCHIPELAGO,please. since we only have maps of our side of the island.. may have to take to small boats for outlying islands and make camps over there with y'all. My happiest memories are from your front porch Hugs Kembe la e

The Winding Road

Back from a week up in on the coast in Las Terrenas... met with 20 representatives of the now form association of Haitian Workers in Las Terrenas - who are now composing a letter of intent.

Of the twenty who were assembled, none has a job.

There are now five Haitian congregations in Las Terrenas.. an estimated 5 to 7 thousand Haitians in a town of 30,000. Most do not have papers to be here - no passports, no visas, children with no official birth certificates.

Finally the DR has started a program for work permits for Haitian workers here. Already, the big Dominican companies have registered over 350,000 Haitians. Since the Dominican companies have to register the workers, the buik of the Haitians who are here - who are informal workers - will not be touched.

The President of Haiti has called for the Haitians in the DR to come home

The majority of the Haitians in LT wish to go home.

Just as it seemed that Way was Opening.... a huge boulder fell down in the middle of the opening. The wife of the young man, Dieudonne Braveus, who has been working on the organizing for the last 6 months .. fell very ill and asked to return to Haiti.

I gave them the last few hundred dollars that I could spare. Over the last months I have given him $40 or $50 and large jars of peanut butter but he had supported himself. But two months ago, he took a job laying tiles and was owed $10,000 pesos which the boss did not pay.. so Dieudonne lost his house.

I did speak to the members of the Association -- that it was up to them to help one another.. that they should go with him to see the Dominican who had not paid.

But it is too late now. Dieudonne left another man in charge but I am afraid that I have perhaps made matters worse and not better..... and am wary lest I feed hungry people promises of stones.

I will be getting some of the baskets from Haiti by the end of the month..to start to sell them to use the funds to support the project..But perhaps that is just a small business ,, not enough..

and perhaps there are friends who will help to find Dieudonne a space in northern Haiti.. since it certainly would be great to have someone on the other side who could scout out projects and send for workers from the Quiskeya Corps.

but I am disheartened. And wondering if I should continue...

or if I will be allowed to lay this witness down.

So I am here, on a narrow path on the edge of the cliff, peering around the boulder.

There is a Quaker adage

I am a Quaker.. in case of emergency;, please stay silent

The Donate Button

I've put a donate button up on the blog.

So why should you send me money?

Good question.

At first, I put up a post about paying off the debt that I have been carrying for the Vieques witness here

but that is ancient history now.. and no one forced me to go into debt for it. There were lots of folks ready to perform at a concert for me in Asheville but my Quaker Meeting had not consensed on a pass through fund so I declined.

Now the subject of donations came on up the local list serv here in the DR after I published the stuff on Narcotrafficing.. about how one guy was going to put a tip jar to buy my guitar.. which was on my Amazon wish list that I had posted.

My Taylor, which was the best guitar that I had ever owned, was stolen from me in a confrontation against the crack dealers in Las Terrenas seven years ago. I had felt compelled to hurl a rock through the plate glass window of the Belgian realtor who had first started the cocaine trade into Las Terrenas. I spent New Year's Eve in the police station. The Belgians refused to press charges after they interviewed me extensively in French and found me sober-- and I just kept asking them "why would I do that?" .. They have left town now.

Then there was the $6000 that I spent over the last six months in feeding the Haitians here in the DR. Three thousand for the food and another three for the gas and the rental car.. the only rental car that we had for the organizing of the 5000 Haitians.

But how am I, who has lived off a family trust all my life, going to accept money from someone who has, for instance, punched a clock all their lives?

Well, ok. That is a big one. Will I accept money, no. Can you buy me a beer? Absolutely! But I am not a big beer drinker so can I just put it towards the guitar?

Now when I was imbedded with the Interpol guys there were lots of folks who PROMISED to buy me a beer. So you guys owe me.

And I am reasonably sure that the Embassy or someone with deep pockets and a black budget promised to pick up the tab for all that driving around that I did == showing you what I knew about Pedernales and Constanza. So I believe that $6000 is on you.

And since Quakers are meticulous about money.. some would say cheap .. some would say hung up ,. but we will not labor the point.. let me tell you what I would do should the absolute best outcome happen

if I receive donations of #27,000, I can retire my debt entirely

I now pay $486 on this debt, with no hope of reducing the principal since I have friends who do not have enough to eat.

Now if I had $486 a month, I would hire Manu Emmeleat, a Frenchman who lives in Las Terrenas, who is a local construction expert,here

This would only be part time for him but Manu would be able to ORGANIZE the Quiskeya Corps, get the guys their references and papers, talk to various builders, help us get things rolling on the ground. Since he is French and knows all of the builders in town and lots in Santiago and Santo Domingo.. has a completely LEGAL business in the DR.. he would be invaluable in both making contacts with Dominicans and helping us get aid from France.

I already have an apartment up there that we can use for an office. Ditto my big computer that I can take up there.

So...

can I use your money well?

I believe that I can.

Please Donate.

The Quiskeya Corps

In June of last summer I went up to Las Terrenas, on the crook of the left flipper of the Great Turtle here. It is a small international beach town where I lived when I first arrived here. My best friends are there and I consider it "home".

When I got there, I called my good friend Charlie Simon who is a Dominican Haitian artist and he came over -- looking like a skeleton of his former self. I was shocked. He must have lost 30 pounds and he was always thin. He had called me over the winter but -- as I had not had any money for another of his paintings-- he is one of the best artists in LT who routinely used to sell his paintings for $600 to $1000 each- I had not called him back. But I was ashamed of myself when I saw him. Because I had not known that a friend had actually not had enough to eat.

Within two days, I saw a Haitian with his hair turning red. This is kwashikoor, which is a protein deficiency. The hair turns red in a line, starting from one ear and going to another. Since Las Terrenas is one of the richest towns here in the DR, I was shocked. Again. Particularly since there were regular large tour buses bringing hordes of folks through town every day.

I went a bit nuts. Those of you who know me personally can attest to my capacity to go nuts.

I went screaming up at the tour buses... "would you like me to have some of my Haitian friends die for you on the street? Would you find that entertaining?"

I whipped out my American Express Card and started a few feeding station drop offs.. rice, beans, oil, peanut butter, cooking chocolate, oatmeal, sugar, condensed milk.

One day as I went passed the police station, there were over 50 Haitians assembled at the fence. A young Dominican had killed his Haitian girlfriend. He had confessed. He was in custody. The Haitians were afraid that he would be released.

I walked around the fence line.. addressed them in my few words of Kreyole.. I speak French and Spanish so the Haitians here in the DR can always understand me...and said that we should have a meeting.

So we had meetings.

We had meetings every week for six weeks, every Sunday. We even changed the venue a couple of times. We had no fliers. We did not make any calls. They all just talked to one another and every week 100 Haitians showed up.

It took them a while to understand that I was not an NGO nor did I have Bill Clinton's cell phone number.. All I said was that I was friends with their Minister of the Diaspora, Edwin Paraison, and that I knew the head of the Border foundation, Max Antoine and that they would .. at the very least... take my calls.

So what did these Haitians want?

They want to go home, they said.

There is no work for them here in the Dominican REpublic. They are homesick. And now they are beginning to starve. They are trained builders -- masons, electricians, finish carpenters, plumbers, assistants.. they speak Spanish ... they are ready to go home and help build Haiti.

We now have over 250 of them registered with the Association of Haitian Workers in Las Terrenas.

We are in the process of writing up a budget and a grant proposal.

Basically, we are hoping to send in the FIRST team -- of about 35 to 50 workers -- their World Cup Team-- with a work contract for one year and a tool bag full of tools. Every one of them has agreed that they will be very happy with that offer.

However, many of these men --we do have about a dozen women registered as well but it is mostly men- have children. Few of these children have any papers other than a registration of birth which has not been filed with any governmental authority.

Since this is a fragile population, we will have to proceed with care.