There is a deep peace inside my Meeting House, in the hearts of my Friends. We here are not an old Meeting, not like the 15th Meeting in NYC, where I went to school with the Quakers for 14 years. That schoo, Friends Seminary, had been a school before George Washington was president. Its walls were imbued with the spirit and the silence of the Elders. There we were treated according to the Quaker priniciple that "there is that of God in everyone" so that teachers addressed students with the respect that is due another divine being.
I had no idea how radical the education had been until I went to college - first to Middlebury, in Vermont, bastion of the privileged white class, where I nearly suffocated in two years, had it not been for a few Jewish friends and artists whom I met. Then on to CUNY where the diversity of the students more suited my mindset. But in both those colleges, I met bright, powerful students who had been trained already into submission to some "party line" or other. Few had open inquiring minds.
For the brilliant training that I recieved, I will always be grateful to the Quakers. They rescued me from a dim and drearly life, from isolation and affluence, into the powerful world of service and spirit.
I am extremely pleased to learn that the George School is now the most heavily endowed school in the nation. I hope this will encourage more Quaker Meetings to start schools.
You all just saved my life!!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Healing Dissent
It has been two months on the road now, sleeping in the guest rooms of friends and relatives (blessings on their heads) and seeing my native land. From Rhode Island to North Carolina, the cars on the road were strangely devoid of bumper stickers, an unusual silence for such a traditionally opinionated populace. Even here in Asheville,high in the mountains of North Carolina, there is a strange silence.
I sat yesterday on the porch of my friend Clare Hanrahan,a dedicated community activist. She has disconnected her land telephone line and does not give out her cell phone number so we are now forced to come and sit on the porch - an ongoing meeting. The local of the Green Party arrived and we spoke of how to envigorate the dissent: what could be done other than standing in the public square in protest every week, carrying on with the petition of impeachment, generally voicing opposition? It has been six years of steady public dissent now and even the diligent dedicated pacifists are frustrated and discouraged. What could be done?
It was good to learn that now 70% of the population of Western North Carolina is against the war. When we first started standing, both the WNC Peace Coalition and Women in Black, the number was only 15%. Yet six years into any war, the opposition will rise. It does not mean that we have tired of war - only of this war.
We spoke of a recent even in one of the mainline churches, organized by the local chapter of the Network for Spiritual Progressives and 40 local groups, at which Clare was a speaker and recieved a standing ovation. The participants, she noted, were mostly white, mostly affluent. Clare is one of the few who travels between communities, from the projects to the park to the Council chambers. There is great diversity here but the pieces of the pie try very hard not to touch each other, not to find common ground.
'
Although I certainly respect the work of Rabbi Lerner and his community, I wonder how much real peace building we can do if one of the basic tenets is "To Challenge the misuse of God & religion by the Religious Right and religio-phobia on the Left." It does not seem to be a peace building position, to begin by setting up opponents and then saying that they have misused God and Religion. It seems polarizing and divisive.
How, indeed, do we become the change that we want to see? What if the affluent Christians started feeding the homeless in the park (now closed from 10 pm to 6 am - and there are not enough shelters - but, alas, if you build shelters, one friend said, they will come. Homeless are already shipped to Asheville from other cities as we do have some services)? What if the Right and Left formed a circle around the returning veterans and said to them, "we are greatful that you answered your nation's call, even though there are those of us who object to the war. We want to help you heal and return to us whole. Tell us of what you suffered, tell us of how you still suffer, let us help heal you and perhaps you can heal us."
Perhaps we can indeed break this cycle of the endless war.
It is certainly important work. It is sad for me to see my fellow Americans so bowed down in fear.
My friends in Haiti ask for $75 a month for the salary of a teacher. That is all it will take. Two are needed for the little school.
I am looking forward to going to the Island and seeing the school upon my return.
It is odd to me that it seems an easier project to heal Haiti now than the United States.
I sat yesterday on the porch of my friend Clare Hanrahan,a dedicated community activist. She has disconnected her land telephone line and does not give out her cell phone number so we are now forced to come and sit on the porch - an ongoing meeting. The local of the Green Party arrived and we spoke of how to envigorate the dissent: what could be done other than standing in the public square in protest every week, carrying on with the petition of impeachment, generally voicing opposition? It has been six years of steady public dissent now and even the diligent dedicated pacifists are frustrated and discouraged. What could be done?
It was good to learn that now 70% of the population of Western North Carolina is against the war. When we first started standing, both the WNC Peace Coalition and Women in Black, the number was only 15%. Yet six years into any war, the opposition will rise. It does not mean that we have tired of war - only of this war.
We spoke of a recent even in one of the mainline churches, organized by the local chapter of the Network for Spiritual Progressives and 40 local groups, at which Clare was a speaker and recieved a standing ovation. The participants, she noted, were mostly white, mostly affluent. Clare is one of the few who travels between communities, from the projects to the park to the Council chambers. There is great diversity here but the pieces of the pie try very hard not to touch each other, not to find common ground.
'
Although I certainly respect the work of Rabbi Lerner and his community, I wonder how much real peace building we can do if one of the basic tenets is "To Challenge the misuse of God & religion by the Religious Right and religio-phobia on the Left." It does not seem to be a peace building position, to begin by setting up opponents and then saying that they have misused God and Religion. It seems polarizing and divisive.
How, indeed, do we become the change that we want to see? What if the affluent Christians started feeding the homeless in the park (now closed from 10 pm to 6 am - and there are not enough shelters - but, alas, if you build shelters, one friend said, they will come. Homeless are already shipped to Asheville from other cities as we do have some services)? What if the Right and Left formed a circle around the returning veterans and said to them, "we are greatful that you answered your nation's call, even though there are those of us who object to the war. We want to help you heal and return to us whole. Tell us of what you suffered, tell us of how you still suffer, let us help heal you and perhaps you can heal us."
Perhaps we can indeed break this cycle of the endless war.
It is certainly important work. It is sad for me to see my fellow Americans so bowed down in fear.
My friends in Haiti ask for $75 a month for the salary of a teacher. That is all it will take. Two are needed for the little school.
I am looking forward to going to the Island and seeing the school upon my return.
It is odd to me that it seems an easier project to heal Haiti now than the United States.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Asheville
Twenty years ago, when I first came here, you could walk down the streets of downtown at 5 PM and hardly see a moving body. Today it rumbles and bustles, a confluence of New Agers and Born Agains, homeless and affluent, artists and marketers. Trendy shops line their windows with flyers for alternative healers, and dreadlocked affluent WASP kids drumming in the park with the homeless on Friday nights, in the shadow of the spire of the Baptist Church.
It remind me now a bit of 8th Street in the Greenwich Village of my home, after it was "cleaned-up" and the artists had moved to Hoboken since they could not afford the rents and the dingy coffee shops were replaced with fern barns. The environmentalist, who pay oh so much more for their organic food, don't seem to yet be aware that Fiji Water really does come from Fiji. I wish that "green" did not look so "white".
But there is a deep spirit moving here as more and more people flock to the ideas that surface -- a model of power with rather than power over. There is so much feminine energy here that some people have dubbed it "Ashe She Ville".
There is an awareness that the road that has lead us to this point is a dead end.
We gather here. In this cul de sac.
Regroup. Rethink. Rejoin.
We have been recycling for oh so many years already.
Here I get to sit deep within the silence of my community, my Quaker Meeting, in the house on the hill by the University, finding the ground of our collective being, serene in the little island of peace created by generations of seekers.
I come back to feed my roots, to nourish my bones, and mark the passage of time.
It remind me now a bit of 8th Street in the Greenwich Village of my home, after it was "cleaned-up" and the artists had moved to Hoboken since they could not afford the rents and the dingy coffee shops were replaced with fern barns. The environmentalist, who pay oh so much more for their organic food, don't seem to yet be aware that Fiji Water really does come from Fiji. I wish that "green" did not look so "white".
But there is a deep spirit moving here as more and more people flock to the ideas that surface -- a model of power with rather than power over. There is so much feminine energy here that some people have dubbed it "Ashe She Ville".
There is an awareness that the road that has lead us to this point is a dead end.
We gather here. In this cul de sac.
Regroup. Rethink. Rejoin.
We have been recycling for oh so many years already.
Here I get to sit deep within the silence of my community, my Quaker Meeting, in the house on the hill by the University, finding the ground of our collective being, serene in the little island of peace created by generations of seekers.
I come back to feed my roots, to nourish my bones, and mark the passage of time.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Straddling Worlds
It has been a month of travelling - from DC to RI,down to the suburbs of NYC, back to the Maryland countryside and now down in the mountains outside of Asheville, NC.
On Saturday in downtown Asheville there was an organic food festival - as there is always a festival now in Asheville on the weekends- with a chair massager- ah luxury.
Was I local?,she asked. I used to be, I answered. But now I live in Santo Domingo and report from the border of Haiti. I hope to move to Haiti in the next couple of years.
"I worked in Haiti about twenty years ago for a few months- in a hunger relief program. It was very touching. The people were very sweet. I wasn't able to see much of the country as they did not let me out of the compound. When I came back to the States, I was incredibly angry for an entire year. Angry at the consumption, angry at the waste."
I thanked her profoundly not only for the massage but for naming the knot in my stomach that had been building over the last month.
While visiting my neices and nephews in a suburb 40 minutes outside NYC, I drove one day with the Mom to deliver one 11 year old to soccer camp where she could work on her "foot skills". We drove the minivan 45 minutes each way to deliver the girl into a field enclosed in a bubble - an enclosed air-conditioned bubble- where coaches from England trained about 75 suburban teens, primarily girls. The course cost $200 for the week,for 5 days of 4 hour sessions, which in NYC suburban terms was a bargin.
How can I explain Haiti to these children?
On Saturday in downtown Asheville there was an organic food festival - as there is always a festival now in Asheville on the weekends- with a chair massager- ah luxury.
Was I local?,she asked. I used to be, I answered. But now I live in Santo Domingo and report from the border of Haiti. I hope to move to Haiti in the next couple of years.
"I worked in Haiti about twenty years ago for a few months- in a hunger relief program. It was very touching. The people were very sweet. I wasn't able to see much of the country as they did not let me out of the compound. When I came back to the States, I was incredibly angry for an entire year. Angry at the consumption, angry at the waste."
I thanked her profoundly not only for the massage but for naming the knot in my stomach that had been building over the last month.
While visiting my neices and nephews in a suburb 40 minutes outside NYC, I drove one day with the Mom to deliver one 11 year old to soccer camp where she could work on her "foot skills". We drove the minivan 45 minutes each way to deliver the girl into a field enclosed in a bubble - an enclosed air-conditioned bubble- where coaches from England trained about 75 suburban teens, primarily girls. The course cost $200 for the week,for 5 days of 4 hour sessions, which in NYC suburban terms was a bargin.
How can I explain Haiti to these children?
Monday, August 13, 2007
Crossing borders
I remember when flying was a pleasure. It was exciting, it was smooth, it was pleasant. And I don't think that I am just jaded by having flown too much. We have lost the fun of it all. Inspections, pat downs, more inspections, -- is that only in the US? Perhaps.
I can't think of another way to get here as there are no hydrofoils from Florida - even though the DR is only 500 miles away. And, as we have all read, the trips on the open boats are no fun.
I am spending a lot of times telling people "No, really, the poverty is not that bad in the DR- perhaps in the batays- but it is a middle income country. They eat meast usually once a day.
And as for Haiti -It is THE PLACE WHERE THEY DO THE MOST WITH THE LEAST" -- We have a lot to learn from them.
They are going to post an economic growth rate this year for the first time in perhaps twenty years.
Things are going to just get better and better - that perhaps is the advantage of being on the bottom.
Whereas here in the States, there is the sense that things are going to get worse. Perhaps I am just imagining the fear level, but somehow, I don't think so. The mortgages are coming due and people are beginning to realize that they have a really expensive health care system that isn't even that good, that even though the banks say that they "own" their own homes, they are really just renting them from the bank.
I can't think of another way to get here as there are no hydrofoils from Florida - even though the DR is only 500 miles away. And, as we have all read, the trips on the open boats are no fun.
I am spending a lot of times telling people "No, really, the poverty is not that bad in the DR- perhaps in the batays- but it is a middle income country. They eat meast usually once a day.
And as for Haiti -It is THE PLACE WHERE THEY DO THE MOST WITH THE LEAST" -- We have a lot to learn from them.
They are going to post an economic growth rate this year for the first time in perhaps twenty years.
Things are going to just get better and better - that perhaps is the advantage of being on the bottom.
Whereas here in the States, there is the sense that things are going to get worse. Perhaps I am just imagining the fear level, but somehow, I don't think so. The mortgages are coming due and people are beginning to realize that they have a really expensive health care system that isn't even that good, that even though the banks say that they "own" their own homes, they are really just renting them from the bank.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Travelling "home"
I will be on the road for the next 6 weeks, traveling from Washington, DC to Philadelphia, New York, Rhode Island and back.
Postings will be therefore intermittent but
PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME -----
Postings will be therefore intermittent but
PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME -----
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Energy saving ideas - Sliding Scale electric bills
Electricity, the mainstay of modern life, is a new phenomenon. Here in the "developing" world (the Dominican Republic is considered a "middle income" nation in contrast to Haiti, consider one of the "least developed" nations , the majority of the population lives below the poverty level in the United States. The electric companies are mindful of their clients.
They have a sliding scale for payment based on consumption. It is a program that the United States would do well to emulate. Why not a progressive tax on electric consumption?
The bulk of the population here did not have it a generation ago. The national grid is non-existent. Electricity service 24/7 is an unexpected luxury: most new buildings or construction in the tourist areas have their own "plantas" or generators. At the very least, they will have a system of inverters, battery back up banks that will run a few lights, perhaps a fan and the refrigerator on an emergency basis for a few hours.
I live in a section of town called Gazcue, an area of former elegance of large homes and streets lined with old trees, next to the Colonial Zone, the oldest city in the Americas, est. circa 1598. A few blocks away is the National Palace so my neighborhood always has electricity.
The nation is just figuring out how to protect the electric supply, how to cut off the lines that are illegally spliced into it. In the country, you will see small wooden houses with dirt floors, and a television connected to an extension cord, connected to the house next door, and next door, leading eventually to a wire hooked into the tall electric pole. The government has just passed a law making the theft of electricity illegal. Since that was not explicit and only a fool would pay for a state provided service if there was a way not to. There are now some private electric companies which have better service but actually involve meters and bills.
After the first electric light, the Dominicans buy a "third world" washing machine, which has a tumbler for washing, another alongside for extracting. You fill the tub with soapy water, it runs and spins, then you extract the clothes, put them into the side tumbler which extracts the soapy water, then fill the tub with rinse water, load the clothes, then extract again, then hang the clothes on the nearest barbed wire fence. It is certainly more labor intensive than an American washer/dryer but certainly less so than taking them three miles down to river to beat them on rocks or washing them by hand. IIt is also a lot rougher on the clothes: holes seem to appear out of nowhere.
Here's how my April bill looked (the peso is now at 32= $1 US if you wish to convert):
Basic service 108.65
75 kWh x RD 3.12 234.00
125 kWh x RD 3.12 234.00
100 kWh x RD 4.71 390.00
100 kWh x RD 7.00 700.00
100 Kwh x RD 7.00 700.00
100 kWh x RD 7.00 700.00
69 kWh x RD 7.00 700.00
Total 3,785.65 (US 118.30)
Then the temperature started to really rise in July and I put on the old air conditioner in the middle of the day and went to the bedroom to read. Look at what happened to the electric bill.
Basic service 108.65
800 kWh x RD 8.57 7,370.20
Total 7,478.85 (US 233.71)
So you can be assured that I started rushing around changing my light bulbs to low consumption compact fluorescents, and set about to find an electrician to deal with the suspicious whirring noise that comes from my freezer, take a look at that strange plastic heating unit that is attached to the shower head which is supposed to heat the water, but doesn't.
And to solve the mystery of why I received a shock when my arm touched the metal cage outside the window surrounding the air conditioner. No mystery there, there is some sort of electrical leakage. The mystery is why the pigeons still want to nest in it.
They have a sliding scale for payment based on consumption. It is a program that the United States would do well to emulate. Why not a progressive tax on electric consumption?
The bulk of the population here did not have it a generation ago. The national grid is non-existent. Electricity service 24/7 is an unexpected luxury: most new buildings or construction in the tourist areas have their own "plantas" or generators. At the very least, they will have a system of inverters, battery back up banks that will run a few lights, perhaps a fan and the refrigerator on an emergency basis for a few hours.
I live in a section of town called Gazcue, an area of former elegance of large homes and streets lined with old trees, next to the Colonial Zone, the oldest city in the Americas, est. circa 1598. A few blocks away is the National Palace so my neighborhood always has electricity.
The nation is just figuring out how to protect the electric supply, how to cut off the lines that are illegally spliced into it. In the country, you will see small wooden houses with dirt floors, and a television connected to an extension cord, connected to the house next door, and next door, leading eventually to a wire hooked into the tall electric pole. The government has just passed a law making the theft of electricity illegal. Since that was not explicit and only a fool would pay for a state provided service if there was a way not to. There are now some private electric companies which have better service but actually involve meters and bills.
After the first electric light, the Dominicans buy a "third world" washing machine, which has a tumbler for washing, another alongside for extracting. You fill the tub with soapy water, it runs and spins, then you extract the clothes, put them into the side tumbler which extracts the soapy water, then fill the tub with rinse water, load the clothes, then extract again, then hang the clothes on the nearest barbed wire fence. It is certainly more labor intensive than an American washer/dryer but certainly less so than taking them three miles down to river to beat them on rocks or washing them by hand. IIt is also a lot rougher on the clothes: holes seem to appear out of nowhere.
Here's how my April bill looked (the peso is now at 32= $1 US if you wish to convert):
Basic service 108.65
75 kWh x RD 3.12 234.00
125 kWh x RD 3.12 234.00
100 kWh x RD 4.71 390.00
100 kWh x RD 7.00 700.00
100 Kwh x RD 7.00 700.00
100 kWh x RD 7.00 700.00
69 kWh x RD 7.00 700.00
Total 3,785.65 (US 118.30)
Then the temperature started to really rise in July and I put on the old air conditioner in the middle of the day and went to the bedroom to read. Look at what happened to the electric bill.
Basic service 108.65
800 kWh x RD 8.57 7,370.20
Total 7,478.85 (US 233.71)
So you can be assured that I started rushing around changing my light bulbs to low consumption compact fluorescents, and set about to find an electrician to deal with the suspicious whirring noise that comes from my freezer, take a look at that strange plastic heating unit that is attached to the shower head which is supposed to heat the water, but doesn't.
And to solve the mystery of why I received a shock when my arm touched the metal cage outside the window surrounding the air conditioner. No mystery there, there is some sort of electrical leakage. The mystery is why the pigeons still want to nest in it.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Aristide´s gang of drug dealers
There are some who believed that Aristide was the savior of the poor.
Others believed that he was a drug dealer, running a criminal enterprise.
This arrived, from a completely partisant, anti-Aristide source. However, I believe that the facts are the facts.
So much for the fall of Aristide.
OFFICIALS AND OTHER INDIVIDUALS SUSPECTED OF, INDICTED FOR OR
CONVICTED OF DRUG TRAFFICKING FROM HAITI TO THE US
July 20, 2007
1
AMBROISE,
Stephanie
Former director of security for American Airline at Port-au-Prince international airport
Arrested in Haiti in October 2004 and extradited to the US
on October 14, 2004 ; she is awaiting trial in Miami and is
currently out of jail on bail and confined to the Miami area; pleaded guilty on March 1, 2006. Will be sentenced in May.
2 AURELIEN,
Eddy High level drug trafficker
Extradited to US from Haiti in August 2003
3 BATRONY,
Jean Salim Businessman and high level drug trafficker
In jail in Miami
4
BAZILE,
Immacula
Former Lavalas member of the lower house** of parliament implicated in drug trafficking in Jacmel.
Disappeared at about the time of Aristide's downfall in
February 2004
5
BRILLANT,
Evens
(or Evintz)
Former head of Haitian National Police anti-narcotic brigade (Bureau de Lutte contre le Traffic des stupefiants.
Arrested in Haiti in late May 2004 and deported to US; awaiting trial; tried and found not guilty on October 7, 2005
6 CASTILLO,
Quirino Ernesto Paulino Former captain of the Dominican army and high level drug trafficking baron suspected of ties with Haitian networks.
Extradited to NYC from the DR on February 19, 2005
7 CELESTIN,
Fourel Former president of the Haitian Senate
Arrested in Haiti in late May 2004 and deported to US; currently in jail in Miami
8 CONTENT,
Wilnet Former Lavalas member of the lower house of parliament implicated in drug trafficking in Jacmel
Disappeared at about the time of Aristide's downfall in
February 2004
9
DORLEANS,
Pierre-Claudel
Arrested in Canada while trying to smuggle cocaine dissolved in cans of soft drink on February 23, 2005
10
EDOUARD, Serge
Businessman involved in the borlette (lottery) and allegedly involved in drug trafficking Arrested in the DR on April 16, 2005 and deported immediately to the US; convicted on July 22, 2005 of drug trafficking and money laundering; sentenced to life in jail late in September 2005
11
&
12
"EDOUARD," Hughes and Hubert
Half twin brothers of Serge Edouard heavily involved with him in drug trafficking The petty drug dealers criminal and thieves
Convicted in Miami ; have testified against their half brother in order to have their sentence reduced
13
ELNU,
Moïse
Former officer of the Haitian National Police
Arrested in Santo Domingo with his Spanish acolyte, Luis Felipe GarcÃa Manso Gonzales on January 12, 2007 and extradited the same day to Miami. Accused of shipping 2000 kilos of cocaine to the US.
14
FRANÇOIS,
Lavaud
Business man and drug baron based in Gonaïves Do not know the pig
Picked up in a DEA raid on July 16, 2007 , and extradited to the US on the same day.
15
GAROUTE,
Pascal
Businessman, owner of Gold's Gym in
Pétion-Ville Arrested in Fort Lauderdale on February 4, 2007, for alleged involvement in drug trafficking.
16
JASME,
Jean Eliobert
(AKA ED-One)
Former owner of a construction company and high level drug trafficker. Extradited to US from Haiti in September 2003; sentenced
on February 9, 2005 to nearly 20 years
17 JEAN, Oriel Former head of presidential/ national palace security . Only 3 years Il a vendu les autres criminels y compris Aritide
He was arrested in Canada in May 2004 and deported to US shortly thereafter. He has pleaded guilty in Miami in late May 2005. He was condemned to 3 years in jail on 11.18.05.
18 JEAN-LOUIS,
Jean-Claude Businessman suspected of having connections with drug trafficking and having financed the armed rebellion against Aristide. Escaped from the National Penitentiary on February 19, 2005 ; he was arrested in the DR and extradited to Haiti on July 10, 2005
19 JOASSAINT,
Yonel
Husband of Stephanie Ambroise and former security agent at American Airline in P-au-P Pleaded guilty with his wife in Miami on March 1, 2006; will be sentenced in May
20 KETANT,
Jacques
Beaudouin High level drug trafficker
He said to the judge upon being sentenced "One day you will sentence Aristide the drug dealer just like me. He got 25 years
Deported from Haiti to US in June 2003, convicted late in
February 2004 shortly before Aristide's overthrow and currently serving time in an American jail. At the time of his sentencing, he denounced Aristide's participation in drug trafficking. His brother, Hector, was shot dead by Rudy Thérassan on February 13, 2003
21
LAFONTANT,
Charles Maxime
High level drug trafficker
Arrested in Haiti and extradited to the US where he is in jail
22
LEONARD,
Hermione
Former commander of Haitian National Police Department of the West
In jail in the DR
23
LESTIN,
Romaine
Former head of Haitian National Police at international airport
Indicted jointly with Lucien and Thérassan and in jail in Miami ; awaiting trial there; pleaded guilty in Miami on August 23, 2005; will be sentenced on November 9, 2005
24 LOUIS, Wista Arranged transportation of drugs from Haiti to Miami; wife of Thibaud
Codefendant with Jean Eliobert Jasme.
Sentenced on February 9, 2005 to nearly 16 years.
25 LUCIEN,
Jean Nesly Former chief of Haitian National Police Indicted jointly with Lestin and Thérassan and in jail in Miami ; pleaded guilty to charge of money laundering on April 12, 2005 ; condemned to nearly 5 years on July 13, 2005
26 MARCELLUS,
Nahoum Former Lavalas member of the lower house of parliament implicated in drug trafficking in Cap-Haïtien.
Disappeared at about the time of Aristide's downfall in
February 2004
27 OVALLE, Carlos Colombian national and long time resident of Haiti in charge of coordinating drug trafficking in Haiti on behalf of the Colombian cartels
Extradited to US in September 2003; tried and convicted in Miami
28 PHILIPPE,
Guy Former high officer of the PNH long suspected of involvement in drug trafficking .
Defected Haiti under Aristide in 2001 and was one of the key leaders of the rebellion/invasion that caused the downfall of Aristide in February 2004; presidential candidate in 2006; was the target of DEA raid on his home in Les Cayes on July 16, 2007; on the run
29 PiQUION, Bernard
Aka Fizi Bwa
Picked up on May 31, 2007 in Leogane in conjunction with the consfication of 420 kilos of cocaine; deported on July 16, 2007 by DEA
30 SAINT-PIERRE
Raynald
Former army officer
In jail since November 11, 2006 ; deported on July, 2007
31 THIBAUD,
Emmanuel High level drug trafficker and husband of Wista Louis
Already serving a 141/2 year sentence for drug trafficking
32 THERASSAN,
Rudy Former head of the Haitian National Police Brigade of Research and Investigation
Arested on May 14, 2004 in Miami, indicted jointly with Lucien and Lestin and in jail in Miami; on April 20, 2005 pleaded guilty to accepting protection money from traffickers; condemned to nearly 15 years on July 13, 2005
33 VIELOT,
Jean Ronald High level drug trafficker
Arrested in Miami on January 19, 2005 where he is in jail
Others believed that he was a drug dealer, running a criminal enterprise.
This arrived, from a completely partisant, anti-Aristide source. However, I believe that the facts are the facts.
So much for the fall of Aristide.
OFFICIALS AND OTHER INDIVIDUALS SUSPECTED OF, INDICTED FOR OR
CONVICTED OF DRUG TRAFFICKING FROM HAITI TO THE US
July 20, 2007
1
AMBROISE,
Stephanie
Former director of security for American Airline at Port-au-Prince international airport
Arrested in Haiti in October 2004 and extradited to the US
on October 14, 2004 ; she is awaiting trial in Miami and is
currently out of jail on bail and confined to the Miami area; pleaded guilty on March 1, 2006. Will be sentenced in May.
2 AURELIEN,
Eddy High level drug trafficker
Extradited to US from Haiti in August 2003
3 BATRONY,
Jean Salim Businessman and high level drug trafficker
In jail in Miami
4
BAZILE,
Immacula
Former Lavalas member of the lower house** of parliament implicated in drug trafficking in Jacmel.
Disappeared at about the time of Aristide's downfall in
February 2004
5
BRILLANT,
Evens
(or Evintz)
Former head of Haitian National Police anti-narcotic brigade (Bureau de Lutte contre le Traffic des stupefiants.
Arrested in Haiti in late May 2004 and deported to US; awaiting trial; tried and found not guilty on October 7, 2005
6 CASTILLO,
Quirino Ernesto Paulino Former captain of the Dominican army and high level drug trafficking baron suspected of ties with Haitian networks.
Extradited to NYC from the DR on February 19, 2005
7 CELESTIN,
Fourel Former president of the Haitian Senate
Arrested in Haiti in late May 2004 and deported to US; currently in jail in Miami
8 CONTENT,
Wilnet Former Lavalas member of the lower house of parliament implicated in drug trafficking in Jacmel
Disappeared at about the time of Aristide's downfall in
February 2004
9
DORLEANS,
Pierre-Claudel
Arrested in Canada while trying to smuggle cocaine dissolved in cans of soft drink on February 23, 2005
10
EDOUARD, Serge
Businessman involved in the borlette (lottery) and allegedly involved in drug trafficking Arrested in the DR on April 16, 2005 and deported immediately to the US; convicted on July 22, 2005 of drug trafficking and money laundering; sentenced to life in jail late in September 2005
11
&
12
"EDOUARD," Hughes and Hubert
Half twin brothers of Serge Edouard heavily involved with him in drug trafficking The petty drug dealers criminal and thieves
Convicted in Miami ; have testified against their half brother in order to have their sentence reduced
13
ELNU,
Moïse
Former officer of the Haitian National Police
Arrested in Santo Domingo with his Spanish acolyte, Luis Felipe GarcÃa Manso Gonzales on January 12, 2007 and extradited the same day to Miami. Accused of shipping 2000 kilos of cocaine to the US.
14
FRANÇOIS,
Lavaud
Business man and drug baron based in Gonaïves Do not know the pig
Picked up in a DEA raid on July 16, 2007 , and extradited to the US on the same day.
15
GAROUTE,
Pascal
Businessman, owner of Gold's Gym in
Pétion-Ville Arrested in Fort Lauderdale on February 4, 2007, for alleged involvement in drug trafficking.
16
JASME,
Jean Eliobert
(AKA ED-One)
Former owner of a construction company and high level drug trafficker. Extradited to US from Haiti in September 2003; sentenced
on February 9, 2005 to nearly 20 years
17 JEAN, Oriel Former head of presidential/ national palace security . Only 3 years Il a vendu les autres criminels y compris Aritide
He was arrested in Canada in May 2004 and deported to US shortly thereafter. He has pleaded guilty in Miami in late May 2005. He was condemned to 3 years in jail on 11.18.05.
18 JEAN-LOUIS,
Jean-Claude Businessman suspected of having connections with drug trafficking and having financed the armed rebellion against Aristide. Escaped from the National Penitentiary on February 19, 2005 ; he was arrested in the DR and extradited to Haiti on July 10, 2005
19 JOASSAINT,
Yonel
Husband of Stephanie Ambroise and former security agent at American Airline in P-au-P Pleaded guilty with his wife in Miami on March 1, 2006; will be sentenced in May
20 KETANT,
Jacques
Beaudouin High level drug trafficker
He said to the judge upon being sentenced "One day you will sentence Aristide the drug dealer just like me. He got 25 years
Deported from Haiti to US in June 2003, convicted late in
February 2004 shortly before Aristide's overthrow and currently serving time in an American jail. At the time of his sentencing, he denounced Aristide's participation in drug trafficking. His brother, Hector, was shot dead by Rudy Thérassan on February 13, 2003
21
LAFONTANT,
Charles Maxime
High level drug trafficker
Arrested in Haiti and extradited to the US where he is in jail
22
LEONARD,
Hermione
Former commander of Haitian National Police Department of the West
In jail in the DR
23
LESTIN,
Romaine
Former head of Haitian National Police at international airport
Indicted jointly with Lucien and Thérassan and in jail in Miami ; awaiting trial there; pleaded guilty in Miami on August 23, 2005; will be sentenced on November 9, 2005
24 LOUIS, Wista Arranged transportation of drugs from Haiti to Miami; wife of Thibaud
Codefendant with Jean Eliobert Jasme.
Sentenced on February 9, 2005 to nearly 16 years.
25 LUCIEN,
Jean Nesly Former chief of Haitian National Police Indicted jointly with Lestin and Thérassan and in jail in Miami ; pleaded guilty to charge of money laundering on April 12, 2005 ; condemned to nearly 5 years on July 13, 2005
26 MARCELLUS,
Nahoum Former Lavalas member of the lower house of parliament implicated in drug trafficking in Cap-Haïtien.
Disappeared at about the time of Aristide's downfall in
February 2004
27 OVALLE, Carlos Colombian national and long time resident of Haiti in charge of coordinating drug trafficking in Haiti on behalf of the Colombian cartels
Extradited to US in September 2003; tried and convicted in Miami
28 PHILIPPE,
Guy Former high officer of the PNH long suspected of involvement in drug trafficking .
Defected Haiti under Aristide in 2001 and was one of the key leaders of the rebellion/invasion that caused the downfall of Aristide in February 2004; presidential candidate in 2006; was the target of DEA raid on his home in Les Cayes on July 16, 2007; on the run
29 PiQUION, Bernard
Aka Fizi Bwa
Picked up on May 31, 2007 in Leogane in conjunction with the consfication of 420 kilos of cocaine; deported on July 16, 2007 by DEA
30 SAINT-PIERRE
Raynald
Former army officer
In jail since November 11, 2006 ; deported on July, 2007
31 THIBAUD,
Emmanuel High level drug trafficker and husband of Wista Louis
Already serving a 141/2 year sentence for drug trafficking
32 THERASSAN,
Rudy Former head of the Haitian National Police Brigade of Research and Investigation
Arested on May 14, 2004 in Miami, indicted jointly with Lucien and Lestin and in jail in Miami; on April 20, 2005 pleaded guilty to accepting protection money from traffickers; condemned to nearly 15 years on July 13, 2005
33 VIELOT,
Jean Ronald High level drug trafficker
Arrested in Miami on January 19, 2005 where he is in jail
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Drinking the Water
I ran out of water yesterday. Not tap water as I have a good supply in my building in Santo Domingo, but drinking water. The tap water here is not potable. Sometimes when I am in the countryside here and there is a well, I will drink the local water. But here in the city, there is often a rainbow reminiscent of a an oil spill in the water in the toilet bowl. Not for drinking.
My drinking water is delivered in 5 gallon bottles which cost about $1.20 each. I must use it to drink, to cook, to fill my ice cube trays. But I am lucky here, I just pick up my cell phone, call the local colmado (our little form of the Quick Stop) and a young man brings over the ten gallons on the back of his motor bike, carrying them up the three flights of stairs. It is not as if I have to walk five miles to the well or the river. So I don't feel bad here when I buy a bottle of water.
But my neighbors across the border in Haiti do. Most of the citizens there make up part of the bottom billion, those who live on less than $1 a day. It is rare that a town in Haiti has municipal water. One statistic that is batted about is that a Haitian has diarrhea for one week a month from the water supply.
The contrast of life in Haiti and life in the States - the poorest and the richest, living 600 miles apart - is most stark in the area of water. Americans, who all have healthy, potable water running out of every faucet in their homes, still spend over $16 million a year on bottled water. That is $500,000 a year for each Haitian.
And most of that is on bottled tap water. Just like the stuff that is running out of their faucets at home. Ah imagine the luxury of it! The streets must surely be paved with gold.
My drinking water is delivered in 5 gallon bottles which cost about $1.20 each. I must use it to drink, to cook, to fill my ice cube trays. But I am lucky here, I just pick up my cell phone, call the local colmado (our little form of the Quick Stop) and a young man brings over the ten gallons on the back of his motor bike, carrying them up the three flights of stairs. It is not as if I have to walk five miles to the well or the river. So I don't feel bad here when I buy a bottle of water.
But my neighbors across the border in Haiti do. Most of the citizens there make up part of the bottom billion, those who live on less than $1 a day. It is rare that a town in Haiti has municipal water. One statistic that is batted about is that a Haitian has diarrhea for one week a month from the water supply.
The contrast of life in Haiti and life in the States - the poorest and the richest, living 600 miles apart - is most stark in the area of water. Americans, who all have healthy, potable water running out of every faucet in their homes, still spend over $16 million a year on bottled water. That is $500,000 a year for each Haitian.
And most of that is on bottled tap water. Just like the stuff that is running out of their faucets at home. Ah imagine the luxury of it! The streets must surely be paved with gold.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
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