OPERATION "HOPE" IN MARTISSANT AND BEL AIR
(Haiti Libre) -
From October 25 to 28, military troops of the United Nations Mission for Stabilization in Haiti (Minustah), police officers and formed police units (FPU) of the component of the United Nations Police (UNPOL) have supported the Haitian National Police (PNH) in the anti-crime joint operation, "HOPE" in the neighborhoods of Martissant and Bel Air, in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. This operation was followed by civil-military activities in favor of people of these neighborhoods.
In support of the staff of the PNH, more than 2,100 peacekeepers of the military force, 120 policemen and 480 elements (16 platoons) of the Formed Police Unit (FPU) have participated in this operation. The battalions based in Port-au-Prince have been reinforced by troops from other units across the country. The operation involved a large team of infantry and air assets of the Mission.
The purpose of the "HOPE" operation was to stop criminal activities in these areas and give a strong signal to criminals and people of Port-au-Prince that the Government of Haiti and the Minustah remain firmly committed to fighting against crime. One of the main objectives was to target known criminals and stop their activities in these areas and prevent further criminal activity to facilitate and accelerate their stabilization. The operation has enabled the Haitian authorities to apprehend seven suspects wanted for criminal activities, some of who have escaped from prison.
During the operation, in order to not disrupt the daily protection activities conducted in Port au Prince, the Formed Police Unit (FPU) of the Mission based in nearby areas were temporarily redeployed in the capital, particularly in and around IDP camps.
8,900 peacekeepers, 1,351 police officers and 2,940 elements of the Formed Police Unit (FPU) of the component of the UN police (UNPOL) are currently deployed to Haiti in support of Haitian institutions.
The Minustah will continue to support the National Police in its anti-crime actions and the Government to strengthen the rule of law in the country.
Monday, October 31, 2011
ARTICLE - CAHILY CHALA REPATRIATION
CAHILY CHALA WILL BE REPATRIATED TO HAITI
(Haiti Libre) -
Cahily Chala, 31, of Haitian origin living in the Dominican Republic, will be repatriated to Haiti in the coming hours, according to information provided by the Prosecutor's Office of the National District. Cahily Chala was arrested at the bus stop of the company "Transporte Espinal" on Paris Street by members of the Intelligence Directorate of the National Police of the Dominican Republic, while he was in possession of 5 toy guns loaded with lead, which were designed to defraud people by selling them between RD$12,000 and RD$15,000 per unit.
However, the "toys" that look identical to a 9 mm, could be used to commit a crime, according to the National District prosecutor Alejandro Moscoso Segarra, who also expressed concern over the fact that some others can exist in the country, since they are smuggled from the neighboring country, Haiti.
Also at the time of his arrest, Chala Cahily, had no cédula on him.
(Haiti Libre) -
Cahily Chala, 31, of Haitian origin living in the Dominican Republic, will be repatriated to Haiti in the coming hours, according to information provided by the Prosecutor's Office of the National District. Cahily Chala was arrested at the bus stop of the company "Transporte Espinal" on Paris Street by members of the Intelligence Directorate of the National Police of the Dominican Republic, while he was in possession of 5 toy guns loaded with lead, which were designed to defraud people by selling them between RD$12,000 and RD$15,000 per unit.
However, the "toys" that look identical to a 9 mm, could be used to commit a crime, according to the National District prosecutor Alejandro Moscoso Segarra, who also expressed concern over the fact that some others can exist in the country, since they are smuggled from the neighboring country, Haiti.
Also at the time of his arrest, Chala Cahily, had no cédula on him.
ARTICLE - EVANS PAUL - DEFUSE THE CRISIS
EVANS PAUL WANTS TO DEFUSE THE CRISIS - BELIZAIRE CASE
(Haiti Libre) -
In the arrest case of Deputy Arnel Bélizaire, Evans Paul the leader of KID (Konvasyon Inite Demokratik) thinks that it is good that deputy Bélizaire has been eleased, but it is necessary to find a way to defuse the political crisis that exists today in the country.
"...I think that it's a good thing that Deputy Bélizaire is released because he should not have been arrested. A part of the problem is resolved, but there is a second fundamental aspect of the conflict [...] between the executive and the legislative powers, which explains the reaction in each Chamber,... of the Deputies and the Senate.
I wish that the Executive plays with great elegance, ... that it has the courage to present to Parliament its' apologies. It would be a good way to defuse the political crisis that exists today in the country.
An apology does not solve everything,... an apology is a dimension of wisdom, especially if it is associated with a commitment to ensure that this type of action no longer happens. At that moment, we will not be obliged to make use of an interpellation [...]
I think that the authorities who are there now, it is not for this, that the people voted for them. They did not vote to have conflict between them. True, a serious thing occurred and we have condemned it at the level of the Alternative party, but we do not want it to become a permanent crisis, which will create a blockage and that the population will pay the consequences of this blockage.
This is what makes me ask, in addition to the release of deputy Arnel Bélizaire, that the Executive, with strength, present to the parliament its apologies [...] and the parliament, with the same strength, suspends the steps of interpellation that they are making, so that in reality the authorities take the country's priorities in hand, to meet the needs of the Haitian people."
(Haiti Libre) -
In the arrest case of Deputy Arnel Bélizaire, Evans Paul the leader of KID (Konvasyon Inite Demokratik) thinks that it is good that deputy Bélizaire has been eleased, but it is necessary to find a way to defuse the political crisis that exists today in the country.
"...I think that it's a good thing that Deputy Bélizaire is released because he should not have been arrested. A part of the problem is resolved, but there is a second fundamental aspect of the conflict [...] between the executive and the legislative powers, which explains the reaction in each Chamber,... of the Deputies and the Senate.
I wish that the Executive plays with great elegance, ... that it has the courage to present to Parliament its' apologies. It would be a good way to defuse the political crisis that exists today in the country.
An apology does not solve everything,... an apology is a dimension of wisdom, especially if it is associated with a commitment to ensure that this type of action no longer happens. At that moment, we will not be obliged to make use of an interpellation [...]
I think that the authorities who are there now, it is not for this, that the people voted for them. They did not vote to have conflict between them. True, a serious thing occurred and we have condemned it at the level of the Alternative party, but we do not want it to become a permanent crisis, which will create a blockage and that the population will pay the consequences of this blockage.
This is what makes me ask, in addition to the release of deputy Arnel Bélizaire, that the Executive, with strength, present to the parliament its apologies [...] and the parliament, with the same strength, suspends the steps of interpellation that they are making, so that in reality the authorities take the country's priorities in hand, to meet the needs of the Haitian people."
Sunday, October 30, 2011
VANESSA'S SONG
Vanessa loves to talk and joke around. Here is a short video of her. She is a lively, animated young girl. I have no idea how to rotate the picture so you are going to have to tilt your head to watch it.
HYDROCEPHALUS SURGERIES
This photo is of my nephew John. He is dressed as Wyclef Jean. His special education class at Clarke Road Secondary School held a costume party on Friday. He is a very energetic child. During the special ed assemblies he sometimes leads the program in the singing and is not shy.
Vanessa Jules is a female Wyclef Jean. Like John she is bubbly and not shy. The hydrocephalus team from the University of Miami is in Haiti performing surgeries at Bernard Mevs/Project Medishare Hospital. I have lots of photos to put on the blog of what happened in the last week and lots of things to say but it will have to wait until tomorrow. Vanessa had surgery this afternoon. Pray for her and that she will not have any post-op problems. When the doctors did their rounds yesterday afternoon they wanted to talk with her and she told them "Leave your number and I will get back to you later". She has lots of attitude!
ARTICLE - NGO'S DON'T ABANDON ZONE TOO SOON
NGO's MUST NOT ABANDON DISASTER ZONES TOO SOON
(CivilSociety.co.uk) - By Andrew Chaggar
Almost two years since the earthquake that saw Haiti crumble, the country is still reeling and in desperate need. So why are charities abandoning a country which can not yet fend for itself? Andrew Chaggar blogs from the frontline.
Last week, five months after Haiti’s President took office, the country’s new government was finally formed. As a result many will hope that the still stuttering recovery process can now finally begin in earnest. However Mr Martelly’s new government is facing a huge task.
With the second anniversary of the earthquake now less than three months away, more than 500,000 people are still living in displacement camps and 50 per cent of the original 10 million cubic metres of rubble remains to be cleared from the capital.
While the government is not alone in the on-going work there are concerns that many NGOs are withdrawing before the state is able to takeover.
Over recent months I’ve personally said goodbye to many colleagues at other organisations as they’ve either scaled back or ended their operations entirely. However, I wasn’t entirely sure if this trend was representative of the situation overall or just within the circle of NGOs I’m familiar with. To try and answer this question I recently emailed the public information department of the UN’s Office for the Coordination Office of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Their reply was startling.
Between February and September of this year the number of groups providing water, sanitation and hygiene services across Haiti overall dropped from 53 to 15. While exact numbers for other sectors are not yet available it is fair to assume that trends are similar.
As a result of these NGO withdrawals service provision is already falling. For example between March and August of this year the number of people in camps with regular access to drinking water fell from 48 per cent to 7 per cent. Many fear the situation will deteriorate further as more organisations close their doors.
With so much need remaining, many may wonder why so many charities are scaling back or ending operations?
Reasons for leaving
There are several reasons and one of the most obvious is funding. Almost two years have passed since the earthquake and the disaster has inevitably faded from people’s minds. Haiti has effectively become “old news” as more recent disasters, such as the ongoing food crisis in the Horn of Africa, have become prominent.
The subsequent lack of funding is forcing many groups to withdraw. As a result, OCHA reports that only one NGO will be working in Haiti’s most south-west department after October and that group’s funds will run out by December. This means that a population of almost 750,000 will be served by just one NGO that is itself likely to leave soon after.
Another reason for withdrawal is that some NGOs are trying to hand over projects to local partners, including the state, in the interest of long term sustainability and capacity building.
Such transfers of responsibility are a key part of reducing dependency and ultimately in the best interests of Haiti. However, while all transitions inevitably involve some short-term upheaval, if too many NGOs withdraw too quickly there is a danger that local capacity may be overwhelmed, rather than improved, by the rising demands placed on it.
This may happen if service gaps in one area start to interfere with progress made in others. For example while over 700 schools have been rebuilt or rehabilitated since the earthquake, education will still suffer if teachers or students succumb to cholera because safe water and latrines are lacking. Recovery is the sum of many interdependent parts, and if those parts are unable to work together, then recovery as a whole will fail.
Whether it is due to dwindling funds, or a genuine desire to handover responsibility, it is inevitable that NGO activity will decrease as time passes following a disaster. Generally speaking this is a good thing as dependence on charities is not a natural state of affairs.
Sadly, in the case of Haiti, the earthquake was followed by drawn out political battles which have left the nation virtually without a government until now. Only time will tell how the newly formed government responds to the challenge of rebuilding a nation but as more and more NGOs withdraw the situation for many survivors is likely to get worse before it gets better.
This varied dramatically on age with 58 per cent of 18 - 24 year olds advising they were fairly or very likely to contact a charity this way, compared to just six per cent of over 65 year olds, 19 per cent of 45-54 year-olds, 27 per cent of 35-44 year-oldsand and 44 per cent of 25-34 year olds.
(CivilSociety.co.uk) - By Andrew Chaggar
Almost two years since the earthquake that saw Haiti crumble, the country is still reeling and in desperate need. So why are charities abandoning a country which can not yet fend for itself? Andrew Chaggar blogs from the frontline.
Last week, five months after Haiti’s President took office, the country’s new government was finally formed. As a result many will hope that the still stuttering recovery process can now finally begin in earnest. However Mr Martelly’s new government is facing a huge task.
With the second anniversary of the earthquake now less than three months away, more than 500,000 people are still living in displacement camps and 50 per cent of the original 10 million cubic metres of rubble remains to be cleared from the capital.
While the government is not alone in the on-going work there are concerns that many NGOs are withdrawing before the state is able to takeover.
Over recent months I’ve personally said goodbye to many colleagues at other organisations as they’ve either scaled back or ended their operations entirely. However, I wasn’t entirely sure if this trend was representative of the situation overall or just within the circle of NGOs I’m familiar with. To try and answer this question I recently emailed the public information department of the UN’s Office for the Coordination Office of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Their reply was startling.
Between February and September of this year the number of groups providing water, sanitation and hygiene services across Haiti overall dropped from 53 to 15. While exact numbers for other sectors are not yet available it is fair to assume that trends are similar.
As a result of these NGO withdrawals service provision is already falling. For example between March and August of this year the number of people in camps with regular access to drinking water fell from 48 per cent to 7 per cent. Many fear the situation will deteriorate further as more organisations close their doors.
With so much need remaining, many may wonder why so many charities are scaling back or ending operations?
Reasons for leaving
There are several reasons and one of the most obvious is funding. Almost two years have passed since the earthquake and the disaster has inevitably faded from people’s minds. Haiti has effectively become “old news” as more recent disasters, such as the ongoing food crisis in the Horn of Africa, have become prominent.
The subsequent lack of funding is forcing many groups to withdraw. As a result, OCHA reports that only one NGO will be working in Haiti’s most south-west department after October and that group’s funds will run out by December. This means that a population of almost 750,000 will be served by just one NGO that is itself likely to leave soon after.
Another reason for withdrawal is that some NGOs are trying to hand over projects to local partners, including the state, in the interest of long term sustainability and capacity building.
Such transfers of responsibility are a key part of reducing dependency and ultimately in the best interests of Haiti. However, while all transitions inevitably involve some short-term upheaval, if too many NGOs withdraw too quickly there is a danger that local capacity may be overwhelmed, rather than improved, by the rising demands placed on it.
This may happen if service gaps in one area start to interfere with progress made in others. For example while over 700 schools have been rebuilt or rehabilitated since the earthquake, education will still suffer if teachers or students succumb to cholera because safe water and latrines are lacking. Recovery is the sum of many interdependent parts, and if those parts are unable to work together, then recovery as a whole will fail.
Whether it is due to dwindling funds, or a genuine desire to handover responsibility, it is inevitable that NGO activity will decrease as time passes following a disaster. Generally speaking this is a good thing as dependence on charities is not a natural state of affairs.
Sadly, in the case of Haiti, the earthquake was followed by drawn out political battles which have left the nation virtually without a government until now. Only time will tell how the newly formed government responds to the challenge of rebuilding a nation but as more and more NGOs withdraw the situation for many survivors is likely to get worse before it gets better.
This varied dramatically on age with 58 per cent of 18 - 24 year olds advising they were fairly or very likely to contact a charity this way, compared to just six per cent of over 65 year olds, 19 per cent of 45-54 year-olds, 27 per cent of 35-44 year-oldsand and 44 per cent of 25-34 year olds.
ARTICLE - INVESTMENT = ASIA, DIASPORA
HAITI LOOKS TO ASIA, OWN DIASPORA, FOR INVESTMENT
(Reuters) - By Joseph Guyler Delva
PORT-AU-PRINCE - Haiti is wooing Asian manufacturers, and its own diaspora, to inject investments and funds into the economy and create jobs to drive a recovery from last year's earthquake, the foreign minister said on Thursday.
"Our focus right now is two things: foreign companies to come and invest and Haitians in the diaspora coming back to invest," Laurent Lamothe, a former businessman who is now Haiti's top diplomat, told Reuters in an interview.
President Michel Martelly, an extroverted former pop star elected in March, has declared the impoverished quake-scarred Caribbean nation "open for business" after Prime Minister Garry Conille's cabinet including Lamothe was sworn in on October 18.
One of Lamothe's first overseas visits was to South Korea, where he discussed with the Asian nation's leaders and business executives last week plans to create more than 40,000 jobs in Haiti next year through investments in industrial parks.
"We are looking at the apparel sector and technology sectors -- for example, electric razors, putting together cell phones and things like that," the foreign minister said, adding the projected investments in the parks totaled $224 million.
Lamothe said Haiti, whose capital and economic center Port-au-Prince was wrecked by the 2010 earthquake, could offer foreign apparel manufacturers and assembly industries proximity to the large U.S. market. It also enjoyed preferential access to the American market for garment exports.
"There are a lot of Asian companies, especially in the apparel manufacturing sector, that want to deliver goods quickly to the United States and the proximity we have to do this in a very short turn-around helps Haiti," Lamothe said.
Haiti is eligible for duty-free entry of textiles to the U.S. market, irrespective of the source of inputs, under U.S. legislation -- the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act, the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement (HOPE) Act and the May 2010 Haitian Economic Lift Program (HELP) Act which expanded the Haitian garment quotas.
With support from the U.S. government and the Inter-American Development Bank, one of South Korea's biggest garment manufacturers, Sae-A Trading Co Ltd, aims to initially invest more than $70 million in an industrial park in northern Haiti, creating up to 20,000 jobs.
Further investments in and around Port-au-Prince by other South Korean entrepreneurs are seen creating another 20,000 jobs next year, Haitian officials say.
"DIASPORA DOLLARS"
Lifting Haiti out of its status as the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation is a priority for Martelly and prime minister Conille, a U.N. development expert who has announced ambitious plans to modernize infrastructure, establish rural and urban development zones and create 1.5 million jobs in five years.
Lamothe said Haiti was also looking to attract visits by Haitian exiles overseas -- he said 4 million lived abroad -- to bring funds into the nation of over 9 million people.
"There are 4 million Haitians living in the diaspora. For example, if you take 25 percent of that figure, if you have one million people coming here spending $100 per trip, that's $100 million additionally in foreign direct investments," he said.
"We want to route all the diaspora dollars into Haiti," Lamothe said, underlining the Martelly's government's insistent message that it wants to draw a line under Haiti's checkered past of violence, dictatorships, corruption and poverty.
More than 80 percent of Haiti's people live under the poverty line, the CIA's "World Factbook" says. It estimates 2010 unemployment at 40.6 percent and says two-thirds of the Haitian labor force do not have formal jobs.
Lamothe said other investment opportunities included "great tourism areas" and projects to rebuild the quake-damaged presidential palace and other official buildings, as well as entire city neighborhoods left in ruins by the 2010 disaster.
Martelly's government has also vowed to resettle more than 600,000 homeless quake survivors still living in tent camps.
"There is a new management in town ... We want to show that basically a small Caribbean nation that's been through a lot of problems is now doing better," Lamothe said.
(Writing by Pascal Fletcher, Editing by Eric Walsh)
(Reuters) - By Joseph Guyler Delva
PORT-AU-PRINCE - Haiti is wooing Asian manufacturers, and its own diaspora, to inject investments and funds into the economy and create jobs to drive a recovery from last year's earthquake, the foreign minister said on Thursday.
"Our focus right now is two things: foreign companies to come and invest and Haitians in the diaspora coming back to invest," Laurent Lamothe, a former businessman who is now Haiti's top diplomat, told Reuters in an interview.
President Michel Martelly, an extroverted former pop star elected in March, has declared the impoverished quake-scarred Caribbean nation "open for business" after Prime Minister Garry Conille's cabinet including Lamothe was sworn in on October 18.
One of Lamothe's first overseas visits was to South Korea, where he discussed with the Asian nation's leaders and business executives last week plans to create more than 40,000 jobs in Haiti next year through investments in industrial parks.
"We are looking at the apparel sector and technology sectors -- for example, electric razors, putting together cell phones and things like that," the foreign minister said, adding the projected investments in the parks totaled $224 million.
Lamothe said Haiti, whose capital and economic center Port-au-Prince was wrecked by the 2010 earthquake, could offer foreign apparel manufacturers and assembly industries proximity to the large U.S. market. It also enjoyed preferential access to the American market for garment exports.
"There are a lot of Asian companies, especially in the apparel manufacturing sector, that want to deliver goods quickly to the United States and the proximity we have to do this in a very short turn-around helps Haiti," Lamothe said.
Haiti is eligible for duty-free entry of textiles to the U.S. market, irrespective of the source of inputs, under U.S. legislation -- the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act, the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement (HOPE) Act and the May 2010 Haitian Economic Lift Program (HELP) Act which expanded the Haitian garment quotas.
With support from the U.S. government and the Inter-American Development Bank, one of South Korea's biggest garment manufacturers, Sae-A Trading Co Ltd, aims to initially invest more than $70 million in an industrial park in northern Haiti, creating up to 20,000 jobs.
Further investments in and around Port-au-Prince by other South Korean entrepreneurs are seen creating another 20,000 jobs next year, Haitian officials say.
"DIASPORA DOLLARS"
Lifting Haiti out of its status as the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation is a priority for Martelly and prime minister Conille, a U.N. development expert who has announced ambitious plans to modernize infrastructure, establish rural and urban development zones and create 1.5 million jobs in five years.
Lamothe said Haiti was also looking to attract visits by Haitian exiles overseas -- he said 4 million lived abroad -- to bring funds into the nation of over 9 million people.
"There are 4 million Haitians living in the diaspora. For example, if you take 25 percent of that figure, if you have one million people coming here spending $100 per trip, that's $100 million additionally in foreign direct investments," he said.
"We want to route all the diaspora dollars into Haiti," Lamothe said, underlining the Martelly's government's insistent message that it wants to draw a line under Haiti's checkered past of violence, dictatorships, corruption and poverty.
More than 80 percent of Haiti's people live under the poverty line, the CIA's "World Factbook" says. It estimates 2010 unemployment at 40.6 percent and says two-thirds of the Haitian labor force do not have formal jobs.
Lamothe said other investment opportunities included "great tourism areas" and projects to rebuild the quake-damaged presidential palace and other official buildings, as well as entire city neighborhoods left in ruins by the 2010 disaster.
Martelly's government has also vowed to resettle more than 600,000 homeless quake survivors still living in tent camps.
"There is a new management in town ... We want to show that basically a small Caribbean nation that's been through a lot of problems is now doing better," Lamothe said.
(Writing by Pascal Fletcher, Editing by Eric Walsh)
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