Changing Perspectives

New US Immigration Regulations Proposed

2023-02-22T12:40:00.003-05:00

The original article is here

The Biden administration announced a plan on Tuesday that would prohibit migrants from seeking asylum in the United States if they had not already begun the process during their journey to the southwest border. Biden officials said that the new policy is necessary “in anticipation of a potential surge of migration” once Title 42, a public health measure the Biden and Trump administrations employed to turn away migrants entry from the border during the pandemic, ends as it is expected to in mid-May. The federal government also hopes the rule will reduce human smuggling and overcrowding at border facilities, according to the policy, scheduled to be published Thursday.

The rule, proposed by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice, would be a temporary measure to prohibit migrants who come to the U.S-Mexico border from seeking asylum if they have not sought it elsewhere on the way there or pursued a legal avenue of migration to enter the United States. Once Title 42 ends, the new rule would go into effect and last two years.

The rule would create a “rebuttable presumption of asylum ineligibility” for migrants who do not follow the rule’s conditions, but says it would not include cases where people:

▪ Are coming to the U.S. under one of the government’s parole processes

▪ Make an appointment with immigration authorities at a port of entry through a mobile application called CBP One or can prove to the federal government that they could not do so, or ▪ Have applied and been rejected for asylum protection elsewhere. Meanwhile, people experiencing serious or life-threatening medical emergencies who cannot get treatment for those conditions elsewhere are exempt if they can prove their cases, as are people whose lives are in danger or who are victims of sex trafficking and human trafficking. Biden administration officials said on Tuesday during a conference call with reporters that the policy was made “out of necessity” because Congress has not passed immigration reform. They also emphasized that it complemented parole processes such as the ones announced last month for Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, which allow people from those countries to live and work in the United States for up to two years. “It is intended to fill the void that Congress has left by taking no action,” the official added. “To be clear, this wasn’t our first preference, or even our second.”

The new policy would apply to all migrants, regardless of nationality, officials said. a tortious interference lawsuit from that?” asked Kevin Guthrie, director of the Division of Emergency Management.

“What we have seen is, when there is a real consequence to crossing irregularly between ports, we see a dramatic drop,” a senior administration official said, “People avail themselves of the legal pathways. And this has a really positive impact, not only on our resources, CBP, on the ground, but also on border communities. So that is a big part of our policy.” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas had mentioned the rule’s creation when the Biden administration announced the parole processes for Nicaragua, Cuba, and Haiti last month.

Dozens of Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to President Biden on Jan. 25, saying that the proposed rule created a “transit ban” like the one the Trump administration had established and that a court had struck down because it was in violation of asylum laws. “As the administration well knows, current conditions in Mexico — the primary transit country — cannot ensure safety for the families seeking refuge in the United States,” the letter said. Following widespread criticisms from immigration advocates and lawmakers, Mayorkas said during a recent interview with MSNBC that the proposed regulation was not a “Trump-era policy.”

Biden officials also pushed back on comparisons to Trump’s policies on Tuesday, insisting that the new rule is not a categorical ban on migrants seeking asylum. “This is definitely different, in that we are offering a rebuttable presumption, and not barring access to asylum like the prior administration did,” a second senior administration official told reporters. “Unlike the transit ban, the proposed rule does not require non-citizens to seek asylum in a third country. It allows individuals to seek asylum in the U.S., so long as they enter through a lawful pathway, including scheduling an appointment through the CBP One app, or through one of these established lawful processes.”

Bilal Askaryar, interim campaign manager for Welcome with Dignity, an asylum advocacy organization, said in a statement on Tuesday that “Trump’s cruel playbook will now be Biden’s legacy.” Immigration advocate Guerline Jozef, executive director at Haitian Bridge Alliance, described the rule as “absurd” and “illegal” and said it would “effectively shut down our asylum system.” “President Biden campaigned on restoring the soul of America, which includes restoring our asylum system. Instead, President Biden has made it a practice of recycling Trump-era policies, like this asylum transit ban,” she said in a statement. Homeland Security and Justice will be taking comments on the proposed rule for the next month. Officials said they would welcome comments and feedback. This story was originally published February 21, 2023, 4:00 PM. SYRA ORTIZ BLANES

Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/immigration/article272562036.html#storylink=cpy

Haitian Immigration Information

2023-02-09T11:34:00.001-05:00

Original Article appears HERE

From The Haitian Times

BY J.O. HASELHOEFJAN. 10, 2023

Thousands of Haitian families and friends across the United States, Haiti and other parts of the Americas spent the weekend excitedly searching for information about becoming a financial supporter, or sponsor, to would-be immigrants. The flurry of inquiries follows the Biden Administration’s Jan. 5 immigration announcement that it would turn back migrants from the land borders and implement a program that could bring as many as 720,000 people into the country over the next two years.

The process, detailed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the White House, allows up to 30,000 Haitians, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans and Cubans per month, beginning Jan. 6, to enter the U.S. They will be allowed to enter and work in the U.S. if they have eligible sponsors who pledge support to them financially and pass security vetting.

DHS has not yet set a limit on the overall number of beneficiaries or length of time this program will continue as it monitors the impact.

The following is based on announcements by DHS and the White House and are subject to change as more details are released.

Program application basics

To become a financial supporter, an aspiring sponsor must initiate the process by completing Form I-134A. The application process is free and must be completed online, according to the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS), a DHS agency. [See below for step-by-step details]

Fluent English speakers should be able to complete the form in less than one hour if they have all necessary documents handy.

How long the government will take to process the influx of applications is not yet known. The government’s website does not say.

Important Note: The person sponsored, also referred to as the beneficiary, must follow a separate process to secure a visa to enter the U.S., if their sponsor is approved.

Migrants family heading to the U.S. Southern Border in 2021 through dangerous trips from South and Central America. A new parole program would allow U.S.-based family and friends to apply for entry of those who might otherwise travel by land to the U.S. Illustration by The Haitian Times

Who may become a financial supporter (sponsor)

U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents — people who have been granted a Green Card, Temporary Protected Status (TPS), asylum relief, deferred action or Deferred Enforced Departure — may become sponsors. Organizations or multiple individuals for one beneficiary are also eligible.

A supporter must reside in the U.S. and agree to financially support each potential immigrant — even children under 18 — as an individual beneficiary for the duration of the parole period. The status usually lasts one year, sometimes two.

The USCIS website for Form I-134A does not indicate a specific income level or financial resources required of a supporter. However, Emanuel Depas, a New York-based immigration attorney, said that in past immigration sponsorship cases, a sponsor’s annual income would need to be at 125% of the federal poverty guidelines. As of March, 2022, if there were two in the sponsor’s household, that would mean $22,887.

Examples of support a sponsor might provide, include:

Receiving the immigrant upon arrival and transporting them to initial housing;
Ensuring safe and appropriate housing and initial basic necessities.
Helping the beneficiary complete paperwork for employment authorization, Social Security card and other services.
Ensuring health care and medical needs are met.
Assisting with accessing education, learning English, securing employment and enrolling children in school.

More than 200,000 Americans have signed up to sponsor Ukrainians seeking refuge in the U.S. under the Uniting for Ukraine program. Welcome.US, a national nonprofit that was originally started to help resettle Afghan refugees, is helping connect Ukrainians in need of sponsors with U.S. residents looking to help.

“It provides an avenue for Americans who don’t have a direct connection in the place to be able to sponsor someone from that place,” Cecilia Muñoz, co-chair of Welcome.US.

Now, as the U.S. is opening the program to Haitians, Welcome.US is working to get their content in Creole they said. Haitians who may not know someone in the U.S., or know someone with the financial means, might benefit.

And they also want to call forward more sponsors and to look at their website for more info on how to become one.

“It’s a serious commitment,” Muñoz added. “You are [offering] to receive someone and make sure that they are okay, that they have a good spirit, that they have adequate housing and that they have what they need to be successful here.”

Financial requirements for sponsorship

The U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) site has not indicated as of this writing what level of support is required to apply to support a family member or friend.

Completing the correct financial support form

To complete Form I-134A, which must be filed online, follow these steps:

Create a USCIS account by linking here and scrolling halfway down the page to the blue highlighted box, “File Online.”
There, enter an email and password, which will be confirmed in a two-step authentication process.
Find Form I-134A on the site.
1. Do not confuse it with Form I-134, which is the initial paperwork for Venezuelans.
2. Do not confuse it with Form I-864, which is a contract with the federal government for financial support, but not a pathway towards a permanent residence card, or Green Card.
Complete the form online and attach or upload the appropriate supporting documents such as bank statements, employment and salary verification and recent income tax return.

What happens after submitting the application

Once the application is received, the U.S. government vets aspiring supporters to ensure they have the financial means to support the intended immigrant.

If the application pushes forward, USCIS may require fingerprints, photograph or signature to verify a supporter’s identity and obtain additional information. During the biometrics appointment, supporters will be asked to reaffirm their understanding and commitment to support the immigrant they’re sponsoring.

A Haitian woman walks along Central Poniente Ave. in Tapachula in 2021. Although the numbers of Haitians in Tapachula has diminished, between 4,000 and 7,000 Haitians live in the city. Most are waiting for immigration documents to travel to other cities.

Tracking the application online

Throughout the process, applicants can track their cases online through their USCIS account, respond to official requests for additional information or learn the federal agency’s final decision.

Applicants for the supporter role may call the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283. For TTY (deaf or hard of hearing) 800-767-1833. A secure message can be sent through a person’s USCIS account. The Frequently Asked Questions sectionprovides information.

Free legal clinics in various communities or licensed, reputable attorneys can also provide guidance.

CBPOne app is not for potential sponsors

The CBPOne app is not for people applying to become financial supporters, and should not be confused with the online application available on USCIS.gov. CBPOne comes into play for the traveler only after the federal government approves that person’s financial supporter.

CBPOne serves migrant travelers, such as those en route via land through South or Central America to Mexico, who may need a variety of Customs and Border Protection Services. The app directs each type of user to the services based on their needs. For example, land travelers can use it to submit their traveler information in advance, prior to their border crossing into the United States.

Beware of immigration scams

As with many immigration processes, people try to take advantage of others, requesting application fees when there are none, providing inaccurate directions or stealing private documents.

“Beware of any scams or potential exploitation by anyone who asks for money associated with participation in this process,” the official USCIS website warns.

Only an attorney or accredited representative working for a Department of Justice recognized organization can give legal advice.

Ashley Miznazi contributed to this article

The word “parole” was removed from the article to avoid confusion with its other uses in immigration.

The Conversation

2022-11-20T13:56:00.007-05:00

The original article appears here

Please subscribe if you can as this paper has many journalists reporting from the ground in #Haiti where it is becoming more and more dangerous to be a journalist.

(I hope my friends there will forgive me for skirting under the paywall - I did pay for two subscriptions and believe that this article is essential for any foreigner to understand #Haiti)

July 16, 2021

By Garry Pierre-Pierre | The Conversation

My mother’s side of the family came from Miragoâne, the coastal southern city whose economy was bauxite. We have a range of hues across the skin color spectrum — from my uncle Lionel Duval, who could pass for white, if he wanted, to my dark mocha. We were close-knit, with Lionel being the patriarch and the family’s counselor.

My mom always spoke reverently of my uncle because he pushed her to excel. He was very proud of me too. When I became a professional, he would swoon or call for a chat after seeing me on television or reading one of my stories. That’s just the way he was. He embraced his family’s diversity of skin color.

Strangely, this is not common in Haiti, and I never realized truly how special he was until the events that unfolded in Haiti last week. Our family’s multi-color bond was the exception, not the rule in Haiti.

The torture and assassination of president Jovenel Moïse by unknown assailants laid bare the reality in Haiti in ways that we can no longer hide. Contrary to popular belief, Haiti is not a Black country. It is a modern-day Apartheid state where a small minority of White people lord over the mass of the population who are Black.

To try to explain this any other way is intellectual malfeasance. Haiti is presented either as an example of Black rule or, in White supremacist circles, of Black people’s inability to govern. I get asked the question in polite company: “Why is Haiti ungovernable?”

The answer is that it is by design. It is set up that way. Haiti is ruled not by the Black faces who are elected. It is governed by a small cabal of oligarch families who migrated to Haiti. They are known as BAM BAM, phonetically in Creole “Gimme, Gimme.” The acronym stands for the Brandt, Acra, Madsen, Bigio, Apaid and Mevs families.

A primer on Haiti’s wealthiest

These families control 90% of Haiti’s wealth and give a veneer that Haiti is a Black-run country when in fact they control virtually every business and entity in Haiti. They allow the political class to exist to protect their narrow personal interests.

Except for the Arab Haitians, they are reclusive billionaires who hold honorary diplomatic titles to their country of origin. That means they pay no taxes because, after all, they are diplomats. In the rare cases when they have to pay their fair share, they bribe government officials to look the other way.

They own private ports with little oversight from the government. We wonder how arms and ammunition are plentiful in a country whose arms and ammunition for its police force is stricltly limited. These people have had their knees on the necks of the Haitian masses for more than a century.

I’m not fomenting racial animus. These are facts.

Below these oligarchs are the traditional light-skinned Haitians of French ancestry, whose role is to carry on the racial caste system in Haiti. The “mulaterie” are on a lower rung that controls the arts, entertainment, small businesses and everything else. A dark-skinned Haitian can own a bodega, but not a supermarket.

Where does the diaspora fit?

The diaspora has no place in this system. I know of no one who has returned to Haiti and has been successful. These families, mulaterie and politicians take pleasure in squeezing investors dry and ripping every dollar out of our pocket.

A good friend of mine returned to Haiti to open a small boutique hotel in his hometown of Jacmel. He told me how disappointed he was by that move. Nothing functions and his hotel has sat largely vacant. If he depended on the hotel for his livelihood, he would have gone hungry. Fortunately, he lives off his pension and the hotel has become a sort of hobby, not business.

Then there is the case of Franck Ciné, a former executive at the now defunct communication giant MCI. Ciné returned to Haiti and then went on to launch Haitel, investing $85 million. When he launched the telecommunications company in 2000, it was the largest private investment in Haiti’s history.

Soon enough, Ciné was arrested on dubious accusations and jailed. The government seized his assets and he returned to New York, an angry and bitter person, as anyone would be. The oligarchs would not accept this dark-skinned successful Haitian because it could set a bad precedent. He had to be eliminated.

A brother’s plea: Take an honest look in the mirror

Over the years of reporting and writing about Haiti, I have skirted this issue because it can be seen as fomenting class or color divisions. But I can no longer avoid this topic because it is the cancer that’s staring at us, a life-threatening disease we want to avoid treating, thinking that it will cure itself. It won’t.

I know that Moïse was a deeply-flawed messenger and made a Faustian bargain to become president. I believe, however, that at some point he had this revelation and was willing to take on the oligarchs, knowing it would not end well for him. Moïse wanted to upend the system and make Haiti a more equitable place for the wretched masses, who have been desperately trying to leave Haiti, even if they must face withering prejudice and maltreatment abroad.

I have no doubt that my writing will change these oligarchs’ hearts nor prompt them to spread their wealth anytime soon. They see themselves as one step below God and are immune to criticism. They are soulless.

This plea is really to my light-skinned brothers and sisters. Haiti needs the same awakening that’s happening in the United States. This is your Black Lives Matter moment. You should question your privilege, the Haitian system that allows you social standing by the virtue of your skin tone.

Are you smarter, better educated than everybody else? You certainly haven’t proven that outside of Haiti. In fact, you know that you’re not superior. That’s why most of you can’t succeed outside of Haiti, where competition is fierce. Look into the mirror, peer into your soul and ask yourself if this is the Haiti that you want.

You know you’re not cut out for the New York, Miami or Montreal rat race. But you must admit this new version of Haiti doesn’t work for you, no matter your station in society.

You can’t enjoy your beach house because the gangs have made going there unsafe.
You must drive in the middle of the night to get to the airport because by dawn, the gangs rule the streets.
You can’t drive to Jacmel because Martissant is a no-man’s land.
You charter a plane, It crashes killing 6 people on board because the planes are not safe.
Even Doctors Without Borders, which works in the world’s dangerous places, has decamped from their Martissant headquarters.

To my middle-class dark-skinned compatriots, you focus too much on the international community being at the root cause of our problems. The International Monetary Fund and the host of alphabet-soup organizations do similar things in other countries and the results, though not necessarily good, are not as dire as they are in Haiti.

Frame the argument differently. Peel the onion and you’ll get there. You’ve been asking incessantly about the provenance of the PetroCaribe money when it’s in front of you. If you look at the government’s contracts with Sogener, a generator reseller, they charged the government more than 30% higher than what Dominican companies charge the Dominican Republic.

You’ve watched your quality of life deteriorate consistently over the last 3 decades. Your children have no opportunity, but you don’t have the money to send them to North America to study. Be smart and reach deep down in your empty well to find some water, it’s there.

Our enlightenment is overdue

System Band, my favorite Konpa band, has a song that captures this situation so aptly. It’s called “Yon sel mwen menm” or “I’m alone.” It muses over a very optimistic Haiti, where a pitit soyet has found education and a better life overall despite the trials and tribulations of life in Haiti . It calls for Haitians to rasanble, or come together, with their conch shells and bamboo to liberate themselves.

But perhaps the line that ties everything together is this:

Zot toujou di: Si yo bay yo limyè, ya vin vole tèm.” In English, this means: “Others always say: If they get electricity, they’ll come steal my land.”

Moïse died fighting to get the country electricity 24/7.

Foreign Intervention Again in Haiti

2022-10-19T19:26:00.009-04:00

Haiti is calling for international assistance. (Or rather the Acting Prime Minister with no legitimate authority who has been implicated in his predecessor's death is calling)Again.

It is very true that the entire world has been against Haiti since her founding in 1804. True also that the US was the main force that executed the barricade and extracted the reparations to France via CitiBank. And again true that the UN troops brought cholera with them the last time they came.

True also that the US still appears deathly afraid of #Cuba and all that it seems to represent even though Cuba imports 80% of its food. #Russian flags are flying in the protests in the streets of Port au Prince. The lefty keyboard warriors, safely tucked behind their desks in NYC, San Francisco, London, are happily tweeting and podcasting and filing stories for The Guardian. They could not, of course, do so from #Cuba or #Russia where internet access is denied.

So we hear cries for "A Haitian Led Solution" - from all sorts of folks - mostly in English, though.

And by that is meant the group who organized what is called "The Montana Accord". They did this over a period of years - by going around the country side, listening to groups on the ground, getting their signatures... although... it is not actually known HOW many people were actually IN any group or whether or not ANY of the people in Any group actually understood what they were signing or agreeing to or anything whatsoever.

Nevertheless - an effort to be applauded. An effort at Forming A Democracy.

We seem to have fallen into a Very Old Trap. We are AFRAID of the Poor. Afraid of some sort of Slave Revolt. Afraid of the Shining Path.. Afraid of Liberation Theology. with its "preferential option for the poor"

OMGoddess - spare us from the Jesuits, right?

And the United States was Terrified of Jean Bertrand Aristide. No Wonder they were.

We are almost FORTY YEARS On from that. Things have changed.

Is the United States Really STILL so terrified of "Communism?"

Have we yet discovered that Free Trade Zones that pay less than $5 a day may not be "Hope for Haiti?" For a good laugh - read this

Bill Clinton repented on his plan to ship in US subsidized rice but we still ship it, right?

Are We -- The United States -

So Committed to Keeping the Developing World

UN-Developed so that we can EXPLOIT their resources

(as is most certainly believed)

Such an Imperial Power?

(Face it - Americans are not good at Imperialism. Our only real attempt has been Puerto Rico and no one can call that a success, right?)

So Are We Gonna Just Invade and Install a New Bunch of NeoLiberal Puppets AGAIN??????

The World Bank has just closed its office in Port Au Prince.

The Peace Corps pulled out in 2005.

These things ought to tell us something, right?

But rather than actually sitting down and speaking with the one leader of the most organized gangs, the G9, BBQ, Jimmy Cherizier, the International Community appears to think that sanctions on him will work.

As if he some bank account in the Cayman Islands?

Although, I am sure that plenty of the folks that have paid him probably do. There is a copy of a list sent to Jovenel #Moise before his death of suspected arms traffickers who most likely DO have foreign assets.

The newly authorized and sorta-almost-formed Haitian "army" is being trained in groups of 30 in Mexico with the stand-by plan of just a few - say a battalion of 22,000 US troops - as a backup. The Bahamas has offered to send troops. Canada has already sent in tanks.

Think that will be enough to subdue 8 or 9 million poor people? For how long?

What is most likely to happen is that BBQ will be shot or extradited to serve out his life in a US prison. Those who actually paid for his protection will pay OTHER gangs, such as the 400 Wazo . There is no shortage of gangs in Haiti.

The problem... as it always seems to be.... in Haiti as elsewhere -- is that one group does not want to sit down with another. The Montana Group does not want to sit down with the DeFacto PM Henry.

No one wants to sit down with BBQ. Except there actually is one Canadian official who HAS offered.

And BBQ has a peace plan - (original here ) one in which all the gangs lay down their arms. An interim government is formed.... elections... etc...

Now SITTING DOWN and TALKING

MAKES Sense

Just as it did in Northern Ireland

And Vietnam

And South Africa

And throughout Africa

Sitting and Talking

With

Perhaps

Help

From

CARICOM

Before Anyone Is Killed?

There are 10 Million People in Haiti

Almost all of them are Very Poor

None of What is happening now is their fault.

Sit Down with #BBQ and TALK PEACE

What should foreigners *Blans" Do to help #Haiti

2022-08-23T10:49:00.000-04:00

For years Bob Corbett ran a list serve on #Haiti

This is a post with his wisdom back in 2009

On Thu, 6/18/09, Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu> wrote:

From: Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>
Subject: 34584: Corbett (reply) 34583: Durban (reply): re. 34582 Roebling re. Clinton & Haiti (fwd)
To: "Bob Corbett's Haiti list" <haiti@lists.webster.edu>
Date: Thursday, June 18, 2009, 10:39 AM

From Bob Corbett

I think Lance Durban lays out a serious challenge. Like Roebling and many others, and I would think Lance Durban would be among the group, most of us deplore the wages and life form lived by the bulk of the Haitian poor.

But, to bemoan conditions seems to me to do virtually nothing to improve them.

I'm quite a pessimist. For more than 20 years I ran a small NGO and I tried to get various economic projects going in quite remote rural areas and in Cite Soleil -- well, it was Cite Simone in the early days.

I was using donated money and my organization had no paid employees at all, nor did we use donated money for our own expenses. I had a policy to work solely with established community organizations, mainly called
"Ti Legliz" in those days.

Many of the people were willing and worked hard. But moving from a start-up
project (again with donated money) to SUSTAINABLILTY proved to be next to impossible. My primary aim was to try to get some business of some sort started, that within 3-5 years could become independent of my group's money and to become self-sustaining.

There were three major sorts of projects I ended up working with:

1. Groups of market women.
2. Farm projects.
3. In the city, artisans.

I never had much success with groups # 2 and 3, and very little success with any whole group of the market women, but some individuals did manage to use the start-up money my group advanced and to move on to sustainability.

There were many reasons -- in farming, as Lance pointed out, there was the problems of land. Some were the natural problems he point out and some were ownership of land issues. As soon as a parcel of rented land (seemingly the bulk of land avaialble to peasants) began to produce something, then city land-owners demanded a cut and the projects would begin to wane.

Markets were always a problem and with farming so was transportation of goods. Water was always an issue.

There were certainly some dishonest folks in the groups and we lost some groups and some money in that manner, but that was very insignificant and to be expected in any human community. In general it wasn't will and effort that were lacking, rather it was

-- organization
-- know-how
-- natural resources
-- transportation
-- water
-- land ownership or use
-- markets

Now consider, I was coming to Haiti with money on which I was not expecting ANYTHING in return, wanting to use 100% of my money to help already organized groups. And the success rate was extremely low. Some benefits would accrue in the few years my organization was pumping money in, but as soon as we would say: Time's up, this has to become self-sustaining, then they would collapse.

So, if one is talking about INVESTORS coming in to make a profit ......
well, again, it is easy to get angry with people who seem to be taking advantage of folks, but what are the POSITIVE and CONSTRUCTIVE advice to
people looking to invest in Haiti.... And, people who are looking in a competitive manner to invest money at a return that about matches what the market will provide in a world econmy?

I am very pessimistic that such investors would be much attracted to Haiti and attracted to pay living wages.

If that is at all so, then what does one suggest?

Is Haiti just to remain a begging nation forever? It doesn't seem to be working very well.

Are there alternatives? I haven't seen many. I've met and visited with hundreds of folks who, like me, were trying to do things at the level of human service with either no profit or very little, or just trying to keep a few small projects going. And I have seen a handful of successful ones, but a gigantic mass of those which fail.

The money runs out, a main leader dies or moves on, the group loses interest, the group is more interested in the religious outcomes that the material advancement of the communithy, the group goes to some other country and so on. Lots of reasons. And the projects die out and within a year or two there is no sign of their previous existence.

What are the POSITIVE possiblities? Haiti is what it is governmentally and socially, economically, ecologically. Those are relatively fixed.

Then what?

I would love to hear some discussion of these questions.

Bob Corbett

Jovenel Moise - Are the Right Judges in Place?

2021-09-14T21:15:00.001-04:00

For the original article in French click here

According to sources in the judicial system fewer than ten investigating judges have been approached. Some qualified judges wanted the case. They told AyiboPost that they had not been contacted.

By Wildore Mérancourt. August 11,2020

Last Thursday, some of the judges of the Port-au-Prince district braved the insecurity to appear at the Bicentennial Court House. Among the forty or so judges in the jurisdiction, only about twenty answered “present” during the first civil chamber for the traditional General Assembly.

The roll call started at nine o’clock, but it was not until 11 that the discussions began. According to the agenda, questions about the resumption of the work in the courts preceeded those on any extraordinary meetings. The murder of the president Jovenel Moise, as spectacular as it was violent, interrupted the proceedings at 11:30.

The judicial police had turned over the file on the inquest to the judiciary on the preceding day. Now the dean of the Court of the First Instance, Mr. Bernard Saint-Vil, had to select a judge to conduct the investigation, a crucial step in the process.

Amidst the confusion of of the incessant debates, one of the judges speaks to make an almost unprecedented proposal. “I demand that the judge add to the agenda a resolution for the creation of a commission of at least three judges to investigate the assassination.”, said Ikenson Edume, president of the National Association of Haitian Magistrates.

The majority of judges in attendance considered this an excellent idea.The dean also seemed to be leaning in this direction. He spoke of his own involvement in a similar panel of three investigating judges in the still unresolved assignation of the journalist Jean Dominique, according to Eumdé. Four days after the assembly of judges, the dean announced the choice of Mathieu Chanlatte for the historic investigation of the murder of the former head of state.

According to experts, a panel of judges would have permitted a concentration of expertise on this sensitive case . This would also have reduced the risk of blackmail and politicalpressure, while taking the focus off of one single judge who would otherwise be much more vulnerable.

Even though not formally expressed in Haitian law, the designation of a panel of judges has been made at the discretion of the dean at least twice in the last twenty years.

Mr. Bernard Gousse is an expert in law, dean of the faculty and from Minister of Justice. He recalls the longevity of the criminal code which goes back the the beginning of the 19th century. If this code does not forbid a panel of investigating judges “it does not forbid a dean from forming one.” Even more so for an affair as complex as the assassination of the president, with more than forty persons from many different countries involved in the case.

There is nothing to indicate whether legal concerns pushed Bernard Saint-Vil to abandon this idea.

A few days before the announcement, the media reported alleged difficulties encountered by the dean in making the selection. Several judges who were approached would have refused to take the case.

According to half a dozen interviews conducted by AyiboPost with high-ranking sources in the judicial system, some of the judges contacted refused to work on the murder. One of the reasons is that at least one of them is overwhelmed by another major matter.

However, the idea that the large majority of judges would refuse the case is “false”, according to Marthel Jean Claude, an investigating judge, also President of the Professional Association of Magistrates, who is well informed of the proceedings.

“I have spoken with several judges who are available and willing.” said Jean Claude, “They have also told the dean that they are available. The rumor in the media has upset many judges.”

Mr. Wilner Morin is one of the rare judges in Haiti who is a specialist in transnational and financial crimes. His mandate as a judge was not renewed by Jovenel Moise last January, despite a positive recommendation from the High Counsel of Judicial Power. If he was not approached, Mr.Morin, who remains a sitting judge despite the information spread in the media, “many more judges have said yes than no.”

Formally, or via intermediaries, fewer than ten examining magistrates were contacted by the dean according to a source close to the proceedings who requested anonymity for fear of negative career repercussions.

At least five judges, praised by their peers for their neutrality and competence, were not considered or even contacted, according to information collected by AyiboPost.

Marthel Jean Claude is on this informal list discussed in judicial circles. He affirms that he would have considered the request, had it been formally issued.

The name of Judge Loubens Elysee was also mentioned many times in interviews. AyiboPost was not able to contact him but one of his colleagues reported that he was approached but then passed over for Mathieu Chanlatte. He had been “open” to the idea of taking the case. If there there were many “competent” judges, why were the media reporting that they were running away from it? “They were circulating the rumor in order to easily impose Mathieu Chanlatte,” another judge concluded.

Political considerations appear to have played a part in the choice made by the Dean. “Chanlatte is reputed to be very close to Jovenel Moise and the Haitian Party Tet Kate, he is a team judge,” declared Mr. Samuel Madistin, in a telephone interview. “With that reputation, it will be difficult for him to handle this case” continued the lawyer who represents two of the individuals held in the assassination of Jovenel Moise. ́

The dean Bernard Saint-Vil did not respond to multiple requests for interviews nor to telephone calls from AyiboPost.

Mathieu Chanlatte enters the public debates thanks to two matters which have been widely publicized.

The first concerns allegations of corruption which go back to 2019 and implicate the former First Lady, Martine Moise. Some observers denounce the the laxity of Chanlatte in the issue of the contract between the Haitian state and a German company after two warnings from theHigh Court for Oversight and Administrative Procedures.

The second concerns a judicial political matter between the former President, Jovenel Moise and the Société Générale d’ ́Enerie SA (Sogener). Some actions taken during that case failed to comply with Haitian law, according to legal experts.

“The dean could have chosen a judge who had a reputation of neutrality, of impartiality, and that would have given the case of being conducted will right until the end.” Continued Mr. Madistin. “I am waiting to see his first acts to see if he will treat the case seriously, with independence.”

The choice of Mathieu Charlotte reopens a bloody wound in the legal establishment in Haiti. In the Court of the First Instance are the deans who legally receive and distribute the cases to the examining judges. With regularity, these deans find themselves among the defendants becausethey do not take into account the intellectual and technical skills of judges in the assignment of cases.

Within the National Association of Haitian Court Officers, Ainé Martin advocates for judges who are specialists in financial crimes or human trafficking for example. This would make the process more professional and allow justice to triumph. “Matthieu Chanlatte has no speciality” complains Martin. “The case of the assassination of Jovenel Moise is complicated. It ought to be presided over by a judge who specializes in transnational crime.”

Two judges interviewed objected to how the distribution of cases are made by at the Court of First Instance in Port-Au-

Prince. Important issues will be divided not on the basis of competence but more on the bases of considerations of proximity to the dean, Mr. Bernard Saint Vil.

Four reputable institutions in France educated Judge Ikenson Edumé in the field of economic and financial crimes. Despite the abundance of cases in his field, he has not been given any case touching on financial or economic crime since 2012.

-Wildore Merancourt
-

translated by Elizabeth Eames Roebling 

2021-08-06T14:18:00.003-04:00

2019-06-08T07:53:00.001-04:00

Dominican Republic - The Resorts - The Nation

The news of the assault and the illnesses at the all inclusive resorts on the Dominican Republic that have circulated in headlines around the world. It is an indication of how isolated and far behind the times the Dominican Republic actually is that the local (and Spanish) owned resorts have neither accepted responsibility, offered to reimburse the guests, nor made an effort to counter the devastating international publicity which will negatively affect all the tourism of that nation while only a two of the hotels are involved.

During my 14 year stay there, I was always distressed that tourists who came down for their one or two week vacations only saw a small patch of beach, isolated from the local culture and breathtaking variety of the landscapes.

Perhaps these incidents will push the nation into developing a more varied sort of tourism in the form of "inclusive" packages which take tourists to the smaller boutique hotel around that beautiful country so they can experience the 11 different ecological zones.

And perhaps have the privilege, as I did, of at least catching a glimpse of the wonderful nature of the Dominican people.

I post, in their defense, a copy of an observation which I posted on DR1.com which is an English message board where ex-pats, Dominicans, and visitors swap information, questions, and observations.

My reflections -

"I found that friends in the same educational class might ask for a loan - and be very prompt in paying it back by the date that they said that they would so that they could establish the practice of coming back again.

If I had had a meeting at my place (we were all doing non- profit work) the women would all bring something- arepas or a tin of Vienna sausages.

That if you were lucky enough to be invited to for a luncheon, there would be the BEST tablecloth and three courses presented..

But if they came to my place, they were delighted with a bowl of soup and ACTED as if I had served three courses with the best tablecloth.

A few times the folks that worked for me in different capacities (secretary/translator/ assistant/maid/handyman) would come to me with problems - not asking directly for money but explaining the issue.- daughter was raped and needed counseling, started a business and got into credit card debt, ran out of money and needed food, wanted to return to Haiti and needed $200 more for the transport - in each and every case, they were exceedingly grateful when I stepped up and gave help and never again asked for anything.

My cleaning lady once asked for an advance on her salary - and I honestly simply did not have it. She said - well, if you don't have it, you don't. But then I went to the kitchen and pulled out rice and beans and got out a chicken from the freezer and gave them to her. She hugged the bag.

Later on she would say to anyone who would listen - "Ella vale was que dinero"

Which is how I absolutely thought of all of all of them.

I could not buy nor would never imagine to receive in the USA the care and devoted attention that I got from the Dominicans that I knew when I was ill - visits to the hospital, sleeping over at my house, rubbing my feet with menthol, making me soup, cleaning the house- just STAYING over.

I would add to Matilda's list that a Dominican friend will waltz into your house- go into your kitchen and make coffee and do any dishes that might be in the sink while you are there.

She will say she is hungry if she is - and proceed to help herself to what is in the fridge - setting out a small feast for you both from what you thought was an empty larder.

She will go through your closets with you, helping you decide what looks good on you, what ought to go to the tailors, what ought to be given away. And tell you HONESTLY.

She will remember when it is the birthday of you sisters, nephews, etc.. and remind you to get a card or a gift.

She will make sure that you are NOT alone at any holiday that is important. Most particularly YOUR birthday (even if you would rather not notice it)

She will invite you to the hospital to visit her newborn niece with the rest of the family (you must go), and call you to the hospital when her mother is dying (also a command performance), invite you to her wedding (optional).

I use the feminine pronoun because I was blessed with more women friends but I also had three very fine men friends even though it was explained to me that the belief was that men can not be friends with women. Obviously not true in practice.

I was blessed to have known them. They will always have a piece of my heart."

Reply Reply With Quote

#Venezuela

2019-02-03T12:40:00.002-05:00

I am STUNNED by the "well meaning " organizations from the left in the USA such as #CommonDreams that are spouting propaganda of which #RussiaToday would be proud. Those who know me, such as the 1699 others prisoners of conscience for #Vieques, know that I walk on the side of those who seek both justice and liberty.

What is happening in Venezuela is a fight against a dictator who is trying to secure a further 6 year term after what were widely considered to be a fraudulent election. https://en.wikipedia.org/.../2018_Venezuelan_presidential.

The two leading candidates from the opposition were banned from running. One, #LeopoldLopez was imprisoned for 3 years and is still under house arrest. #JuanGuiado is the last duly elected leader of the National Assembly (House of Representatives) and, as such, has the right and obligation under their constitution to declare himself as the rightful president.

To see the situation/people in Venezuela only through the lens of globalization or capitalism/socialism is to discount the agency of both the people on the ground in Venezuela and the voices of the more than 3 million Venezuelans who have been forced to flee the country.

Per the press conference from the Guiado government is asking for primarily is 1)to open the channels of humanitarian assistance and 2) for the holding of free and fair elections at the earliest possible date 3) support from the international community in restoring democracy in Venezuela. They reject absolutely any sort of negotiation with the government of Maduro. The assumption of the presidency by Guiado is completely in accord with the constitution of #Venezuela.

Unfortunately there seems to be very little co-ordination between #CNNEspanol and #CNN. If there were, the entire press conference would be translated and posted so that the English speaking public could be informed.

The government of Guiado is supported by the Lima Group https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lima_Group which includes the democracies in this hemisphere - excluding the United States.

Perhaps there are others who value the choice of an economic system over a political one - i.e. socialism/capitalism vs democracy/authoritarianism - but, IMHO, in order to be considered a successful nation one MUST have democracy (even flawed as the US is considered to be now) and then may choose the economic system.

Let us have a #WOKELEFT. When your position is in lock step with countries such as Russia, Cuba, Iran, Syria, Iran, Turkey and North Korea -which did acknowledge the election of Maduro as legitimate- and Against Canada, Australia, The OAS and the EU - which did not --

YOU MIGHT WANT TO THINK ABOUT WHICH SIDE OF THE BARRICADE YOU ARE STANDING ON

#Guiado #Venezuela

Hurricane Florence & The Canary Chorus

2018-09-15T10:27:00.000-04:00

Commentators and anchors on CNN and MSNBC seem determined to somehow blame Hurricane Florence on President Trump and his climate denying cohorts. It would serve the American public so much more if at least one or two of the commentators would take a bit of time to digest a bit of the science put out on the subject. Like much of reality that does not translated well to sound bites, the consensus is shades of grey.

There does not appear to be a consensus that global warming will (or has) increased the number of hurricanes but there does appear to be a consensus that global warming will (and does) increase in the rainfall in each storm.

The objection that many of us have to President Trump's policies on lifting all environmental regulations are that those regulations were put in place to protect the public and the removal of those regulations only results in economic benefit to a particular industry. While it is that complying with regulations may indeed cost jobs, such compliance also creates jobs. The net effect over time has been seen to be nil.

The GOP (Republican or Grand Old Party) has taken a stand that all or at least most regulations on industry are bad and should be eliminated. Take a look at the regulations which this administration has rolled back here.

The effects of this can be seen here in #Florida where Governor Rick Scott cut back by 30% on the water monitoring stations which measure the pollution outflow in and out of our central Lake Okeechobee. Not that such monitoring would have eliminated the toxins in the lake, but they should would have altered us sooner to the impending danger, allowing perhaps for more water to be released from the lake earlier.

There is now a toxic red tide closing the beaches on the west coast of Florida. While red tide is a natural occurring phenomenon, pollution from agricultural and residential run-off makes it worse. There is now also an ugly spill of blue green slime on both the east and west coast coming out of the mouth of the rivers from the lake on both sides of the peninsula. This algae is now rated 10x too toxic to touch.

Big Sugar, federally subsidized, is primarily in the hands of the Fanjul family who also own the bulk of the sugar production of the Dominican Republic. They has repeatedly blocked efforts by the State to move forward in the acquisition of land south of the lake to restore the Everglades. While the sugar cane industry in Florida is primarily mechanized, that is not true for that in Dominican Republic. There the practice is to use Haitians either brought in annually or kept for years near the plantations. Father Christopher Hartley helped those workers for years as seen in this film about the neighboring plantations owned by the Vincinis. (yes, that is Paul Newman narrating).

Opening up the land south of the lake is on the books. Plans proceed very slowly. There is an offer to buy up some of the land from US Sugar. But that is another story.

For now we deal with the fact of the storms. Not that there will be more of them. But that they will be wetter. And with wetter storms there will be more floods. And with more floods come more toxic run-off. From hog farms in North Carolina. From increasingly polluted lakes and rivers.

For many of us who support environmental regulations, who decry the "Climate Change Deniers", to roll back the environmental protection regulations is to cut off one's nose to spite one's face.

But the Fanjuls, like President Trump, live on the Atlantic side of the waterway and do not have to see the green slime.

And the coal mine owners do not go down in the shafts.

Where the canaries are singing in chorus.

Easter Sunday for Parkland

2018-04-01T19:45:00.001-04:00

On his Sunday morning show this week George Stephanopoulos had Andrew Young as a guest. Both men reminded me that it was 50 years ago that Dr. King was assassinated. I was sitting in a car on the edge of Harlem at the time - with an older worker from the Northern Student Movement, which helped tenants run rent strikes against negligent landlords.

Seems like I have been marching or standing in silence holding up a sign or signing a petition or crossing into a bombing range or getting arrested for 50 years.

Well - That is just about the truth of it.

It was an easy segue from the Civil Rights marches to the Anti War marches - just a change of buttons, really. Same folk singers, same vigils, same marchers. Got so that the weekend buses from NYC to DC clogged the Jersey turnpike the way Shore traffic does in summer. Everyone knew all the songs down to the 6th verse.

I remember how very, very tired we were. My husband in grad school, me in night school and working - both getting on the bus about every other week-end - thinking it would somehow help End the War which was being broadcast in horrible black and white into our living room every night over supper. We did not know if would. But we had friends over there and we thought the war was wrong.

We had to Do Something.

Til the day when my eldest brother - 15 years older, settled in a brownstone, 4 kids, told me that he and his wife were taking the bus to DC that weekend.

I called out to my husband- "Honey, We don't have to go to DC anymore, the flame has taken hold. David is going."

And now -

I get to really retire

Because the Flame has Taken Hold

And those kids from #Parkland

Are going to Do Something

Many Thanks to All of You
Who have Kept the Flame Going

To Russia with Love

2017-10-26T21:18:00.000-04:00

Since I observed that my last post on #PuertoRico got such a broad reception from inside Russia - with more than 47% of the hits coming from there - I wanted to send out a shout out to all my cosmonaut friends over there and give you something for your listening pleasure tonight.

As you know, you have been really very important to us lately - what with all the dossiers and the meetings at #TrumpTower and we have become extremely interested in your dear leader #VladamirPutin and what, exactly, his intentions are towards us - and what we might expect from him and - of course - you - his loyal - or perhaps not so loyal - bots.

I wanted to share with you a most interesting podcast that I listened to this evening. Now it comes out over iTunes from NYC - but I am sure that you have perhaps heard it? - no - I suspect that you have not - since it was only last night - and you guys who are assigned to my blog are on the #PuertoRico desk. But obviously - you are fluent in English.

And - obviously - you can figure out how to download the itunes app? because that format ought to be available to you even if you using a home built computer.

Tonite's podcast is with a man named Preet Bhajara - you are free to google him - or GIFY - (google it for yourself) He has become pretty famous since Mr Trump fired him. It is a good road to fame here now.

His guest is a man named #BillBrowder - which may not actually mean anything to you "bots" (I do not mean that to be a demeaning term - I know that there are humans who are reading this - but 458 hits in one day from INSIDE of Russia?) - but certainly the name of Sergei Magnitsky rings bells in Moscow - or wherever you are.

Here is the BBC report - ( I do not know how censored your news is - I suspect it is deeply censored)
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-20626960

And here is the intro to tonight's podcast -- you ought to follow on Twitter .. https://twitter.com/PreetBharara/status/923656746387804160

Tonight's guest is Bill Browder - who has - indeed written a book...

but this podcast will do nicely

https://twitter.com/PreetBharara/status/923534221616078848

Try to stay warm. I just turned the heat on here in Florida for the first time this year. The temperature dropped to below 70 degrees! But I am a tropical bird now. At 70 degrees F - I put on a sweater.

Moscow must be very -very cold.

Bill Browder will be a great deal more trouble to you dead than alive -- I can assure you of that.

Trust me on that one, Vlad.

IRMA to MARIA

2017-10-20T09:35:00.000-04:00

Will the Rains Never End?

It has been RAINING here - in the Northern Caribbean - in South Florida - since IRMA hit us with the 90 MPH winds. Huge Rains. Sheets. Torrents. Low Ceilings.

For myself - I am on MARIA watch for Puerto Rico, as my closest living relative is there strung out between the southwest tip of Cabo Rojo and San Juan - hungry, in search of water, without much money, without access to water, without electricity, frightened, alone.

Walmarts - he reports - is out of water.
The limit to buy is one bag of ice
Three cans of Chef Boyardee for one person.
There is running water but the reports are that it is not safe to drink.
Without electricity there is no stove, no way to heat food or boil water.

I send him again the formula - three drops of chloro to one litre of water - drink a half glass - if he does not vomit - it is safe.

The winds of IRMA hit here at 90 mph. They were the strongest I had ever experienced. When they hit him, the winds of MARIA were at 185 mph. !*!$$%# 185 mph is more that my mind can grasp. Like money over one million dollars.. my mind can not absorb.... how terrified he must have been
alone
in
the
house
with the
winds
bringing
down
the
old
trees
around
his house
in the campo

Now he has gone to San Juan
he reports that
that the CONDADO
is DARK

The CONDADO

which looks like MIAMI BEACH!!

is DARK

now
I know
Puerto Rico

And I know the Puerto Ricans

And I know that Puerto Rico Se Levanta

but
I weep
for
the
darkness
of
the
Condado

The Aim of Aid is not really to Help"

2017-03-28T12:07:00.000-04:00

I took some time off to move - making an arc from 196 miles from Port au Prince to 742 miles away, back in Florida but surrounded somehow still with Haitians.... Kreyole on the radio,, Kreyole in the Walmart aisle, Kreyole wafting in from my neighbor's house.

"Did you read the news about the more than 200 Haitians found starving in a cave?" my chiropractor asked as he sought to distract me from cracking my back into some semblance of upright biped so that I could walk again without pain. How I had injured it was a mystery.

"They were singing. That is how the aid workers found them. They had nothing to eat. Months after the hurricane. Just google it, You will see. I do not understand it. They should be able to grow food there."

"I have blog" I responded. "Lots of information on that."

My doctor is from Toronto, moved here years ago for the weather. Many of his patients are Haitians. He picks at my mind, seeking to understand. His receptionist calls herself Haitian, although born here, child of the elite, speaks Kreyole, speaks of her country with contempt. As does the branch manager at the local Chase branch. "Haiti will never change." "Haiti could not have been expected to prosper after having to pay reparations." "No, I have never been" "No we rarely go back now, although my family owns several properties around St Marc."

Someone still collects the rents, I think. Someone made those folks poor.

I get angry easily on this topic and want to BLAME someone.

Except Bill and Hillary Clinton- I seem the only one who does NOT want to blame them. I think about the earthquake and Bill Clinton and his office in Harlem. Read Notes from the Last Testament by Michael Diebert for the deep background on Bill Clinton and Haiti and Aristide.... But I was in Santo Domingo during the earthquake and saw how quickly Bill Clinton responded how often he came down .. how deeply -- he really does indeed care about Haiti.

No good deed goes unpunished.

I google the article on the cave dwellers. Both the Herald and the Sun Sentinel have the same article. It is a puff piece written for Food for the Poor. I know it well.

"Starving Haitians Found.. SEND MONEY"

How could they even bother to print this mess? Found in a cave? With no water? honestly? really? no water? eating toxic plants?

One does not survive without water.. a HUMAN cannot survive without water...

Miami Herald

I have a lot of respect for Jaqueline Charles..

Who is a fine journalist..

but note - the same story .. here

but it would be relief to ALSO hear ABOUT

the ABUSE..

ABOUT the SCAM of the Lords of Poverty

and some reflection on
how it must look -- those "mission trips" - on the air conditioned buses - going down for three days at the cost of about $400 a day (air fare not included) to "SEE THE POVERTY"

HOW IS THIS DIFFERENT THAN KEEPING THEM IN A ZOO?

anyone
who has spent more than 2 weeks on the ground in Haiti knows this is \
A SCAM

Wouldn't it be a RELIEF
to have the RELIEF AGENCIES
exposed for the SCAM artists that they are?

Fortunately... there are REPORTS

http://www.ngosunited.com/how-haitian-aid-works/

So Bravo to Dr Schwartz --

The irony of what I’m saying here is that it’s a viscous cycle. If Haitians could not leave the country. If 90% of medical school graduates and 98% of the children of the rural elite did not emigrate to the US as soon as they are college aged, those people would be the ones to change the system. They have the smarts and the connections to make the system work. And 50 years ago they did have an impact. But emigration gives them and their parents a much easier option. They don’t have to risk fighting. It’s just stupid not to go to the US, Canada or France. Why on earth would someone stay. Think about it: send your kid to one of these developed country with limitless possibilities and good healthcare, or have them stay in poorest country in the western hemisphere with pathetic future for all but the super-rich and horrendous healthcare. No man, you get your kids the hell out.

And so in Haiti the human capital is gone. The only people who are left are the super- rich, the super poor, drug dealers, and people living on remittances. What that means is that the only people left in Haiti either don’t want change, don’t need it, or can’t do anything to effect it.

#MatthewHaiti

2016-10-12T18:54:00.000-04:00

October 5 at 9:09amSanto Domingo

For those who might wish to donate to #HaitiRelief

From my 13 years as a journalist here, I can recommend
any of these organizations-

Based on the following criteria:
All are in Haiti, led by Haitians, and do not have foreign offices
All are non sectarian
All are dedicated to uplifting the lives of the small farmers
All have been recommended to me by more than two Haitians who are very involved in development and whose opinions I value

One may suit one's personal values more than another

https://www.mpphaiti.org/Seeds-for-Haiti.html

http://www.fonkoze.org/

http://www.oreworld.org/

http://www.lambifund.org/

Back to the Line of Fire

2016-09-21T13:46:00.000-04:00

Charlotte, NC erupted into rioting after another police shooting of a Black man who was either 1) peacefully sitting in his car, reading a book, waiting for his son to come home for work or 2) exiting his car for the second time, brandishing a gun and threatening the police.

Police say they found a gun. His family says he did not have one. Police say he has a record for armed assault. Two stories and we are never going to know the truth since the officer involved was not wearing a body cam.

A story appeared on my FB feed that it required more training to become a hairdresser than it does to become a police officer.

No.. REALLY? Could that be true. Police officers must have amazing training I thought. They are paid $42.5 in Charlotte, as a starting salary and have amazing benefits. True, it is dangerous work. There have been 30 work related deaths on the force since 1892. This number of 30 Charlotte police officers killed over 124 years stands in contrast to the 62 persons who were killed by police so far in 2016.

Some of those who were killed by police might have been white.Some might have been armed. Some might have actually posed a direct and immanent threat to the police officers who were confronting them.

But do our police not have better ways to bring down suspects?

Is 'he had a gun' now going to be the standard of all the police need to shoot down someone on the street.

So I checked again about whether perhaps we would be better off putting the hairdressers in the squad cars and sending the cops back to school.

YES

That is true.

In North Carolina, for instance, it takes only 640 hours of class training to become eligible to be a police officer. You must complete the Basic Law Enforcement Training and pass the test with 70%.

"QUESTION How long does it take to deliver BLET? ANSWER Approximately 16 weeks - attending full time or 40 hours per week - to deliver the entire course. BLET "night" courses usually last 6-7 months. "Night" courses typically take place Monday - Friday (6- 10pm) and on Saturdays, but are mainly taken by persons working other full time jobs."

That will total 640 hours.

Evidently this is pretty standard nationwide.

But to be a HAIRDRESSER??????

YO Mama--girl

you gatta have 1200 hours.. pass the board..DO AN APPRENTICESHIP keep that license up to date with continuing education courses.. Not kidding.. NOT

It is no wonder that Charlotte is burning

And Tulsa
And Ferguson
And Watts
And
And
And

The GOP Platform = Beyond the Candidates Right to Life VS War on Women

2016-07-19T13:47:00.000-04:00

Let us take a look at the party platform of the Republicans.. the Grand Old Party.. to see what they have planned for the nation should they win the election.

We will take this in small bites.. because,.. well.. it is too much for my stomach to digest all it once. It sticks in my craw.

So just small bites.

Here is the link for the cliff notes version for you to read through once.. just do it quickly.. once.. and then we will go back over it piece by piece. But in order to get the full 66 page document, there seems to be no link on the GOP page. The only one I found was here linked in the Huff Post - and one has to sign up for Scribd to download it. That is probably wise since what folks say that they are going to do in public and what they say they are going to do behind closed doors, to their inside friends, are often not the same thing.

So.. Small Bites..

Let us start with one issue that prominent... the Abortion issue.

How are the Republicans going to outlaw abortion and overturn the Supreme Court decision on RoeVWade? This is part of what those on the Left call the GOPs 'War on Women' and what the Evangelical Right - which represents up to 15% of the Republican base - calls the "Right to Life" Over the last years access to abortions has become more and more difficult in the United States. More than 200 restrictions have been passed on the state level over the last 4 years., Here is the map.

The 2016 Presidential Platform on abortion starts on page 20 of the 66 page platform. The first position is the proposal of a constitutional amendment referred to only as "a human life amendment.". There are various variations on this - see here. Note that while one of these proposals does include the death of the mother aa a reason for an abortion, all of them rescind the woman's right to freely chose to end a pregnancy.

There are currently five countries in the world which will allow a woman to die before they will allow an abortion. I am now living in one of them. I shudder to think that there are people in the United States who seek to turn the United States into one such heartless nation.

There is more very ugly stuff in the Republican platform on abortion but this is all that I can stomach for today.

Do not let all the attention be focused on candidate at the top of the ticket or the inability of his wife to come up with anything original to say in her speech.,
.

Zika on its way

2016-01-27T18:23:00.001-05:00

I have not been well really since the chikungunya.

That must be about two years now although it is hard to tell time here for me without the change of seasons. The pains in my joints have not really left me, just as some had predicted might happen,

Dona Gloria, my neighbor who has 25 years on me, stops in front of the bars on my ground floor apartment on her way to the market and we rub our respective wrists and complain about our ankles.

Now there is another virus on the way. One that attacks new bornes. Called Zika. It gives them tiny heads. The women and girls are being told not to get pregnant.

But the Catholic Church, which rules here under the Papal Nuncio, forbids the use of contraceptives (ah yes, you think that they use them? that the machos spend their money on latex? that they take showers with raincoats? think again)

and abortion is prohibited in all cases.. well I think that there has been a bit of flexibiltiy,. perhaps if a ten year old mother is going to die.. something like that.

this is a bitchin hard island.. let me tell you

and if you think this side is hard..

wow..

the other side of the place

is really hit hard..

one blow ..

after another
after another

after another

they are trying to have elections

so
Puerto Rico is sinking - Puerto Ricans are coming HERE to look for work!
Cuba is being sold back to the sugar barons
and the Dominican Republic is sending Haitians back across the border to sit and starve. Pretending that they are white men.

Well,. Actually.. That is a pretty good imitation of a white man.,

They certainly learned from the best of them.

Everyone tries to imitate democracy

because uncle sam says democracy is the way to go.. well used to say that until Cizens United said that plutocracy was better

but now that we have

almost
president trump

barnum bailey

elections

who are we
to
judge?

Camino de Santiago

2015-06-03T07:33:00.001-04:00

The deaf mutes file through churches

along the walled ramparts

on the camino of Santiago de Campostello

listening for the voice of god

At the end

contented

they

carry signs

"The birds sing to earn their crust"

In Santo Domingo

Long ago

The bells fell silent

Traded to the English for cannon balls

The pope sends

Pedophile Polish priests

Children wail

The continuing issue of Statelessness

2015-04-20T09:09:00.000-04:00

The non profit Institute on Statelessness provides this useful background piece on the issues now facing the more than 200,000 persons and their descendants whom the international community considers "stateless" while the Dominican Republic considers them "Haitian".

Many of these persons were brought under contract to cut cane under arrangements between governments, many were also trafficked

NOTE . There are probably more than ONE MILLION Haitian immigrants in the Dominican Republic. The VAST majority of them were NOT born here and have NO CLAIM to citizenship.
Many more were simply born here at Dominican hospitals.. an estimated 10,000 pregnant Haitians a year come to take advantage of the advanced medical assistance. The Dominican Republic takes very good care of these women, even bringing them from the border up to five hours away, by ambulance, These children used to be able to have a tenous claim on citizenship,,, which was litigated in international courts,,, but their parents were not legal, considered in transit,

The Dominican Republic is a small and poor nation and has come under great attack from many nations, from human rights groups, from Haitians, from all sorts of activist,.

But it is only a small portion of the Haitian Dominicans.. or DominicanHaitians..who can make any sort of claim to legal rights to Dominican papers.

It is important that those who are actually concerned for those who are at RISK here take the time to understand ALL sides of the issue. And that includes the United States, the DR CAFTA treaty, the deal with the sugar cane producers.... all.. all ..all... alll....

I ask for a bit of attention here as a member of the Vincini family now owns one of the major newspapers, There is a lot of fear being built up here in the country.. fear of a pacific invasion by Haitians, fear that the international community is pressuring the Dominican Republic to unite with Haiti. Generally .. FEAR.

So, the more people who can hold this in the Light.. the better,

The following is from the Institute Report....

III. AMERICAS Statelessness is a ‘smaller’ problem in the Americas than in other parts of the world in terms of absolute numbers. UNHCR reports a total of 210,032 persons under its statelessness mandate in the Americas, almost all of whom are found in a single country, the Dominican Republic. There also does not appear to be a serious issue of known but unmapped situations of statelessness, such as that which exists in Africa. Only one further country in the Americas has been identified as presenting a significant, but as yet unquantifiable, problem of statelessness. Table 4: Countries in the Americas with over 10,000 stateless persons or marked with * Dominican Republic 210,000 Bahamas * As mentioned earlier in this report, an important reason for this low number of stateless persons is the principle of jus soli which is common to the countries in the western hemisphere: by granting nationality to all persons born on the territory, regardless of parentage or other circumstance, any situation of statelessness fades away automatically with the next generation enjoying birth-right citizenship. As discussed next, the two counties in which statelessness has surfaced as a real problem are those in which restrictions have been placed on the jus soli conferral of nationality. Dominican Republic UNHCR reported figure (end 2013): 210,000 Statelessness in the Dominican Republic (DR) concerns persons of Haitian descent. Until 2010, the Constitution of the Dominican Republic granted nationality automatically to any person born on Dominican soil, with only the limited exception of children whose parents were diplomats or ‘in transit’ in the country at the time. Individuals born in the country thus acquired Dominican nationality, whether their births were recorded in the Civil Registry or not. In practice, this THE WORLD’S STATELESS 73 narrow exception has long been applied in such a way as to deny many children of (presumed)128 Haitian descent access to Dominican nationality, often leaving them stateless – despite an Inter-American Court ruling which condemned these practices.129 The General Law on Migration adopted in 2004 expanded the ‘in transit’ exclusion for jus soli citizenship to children born to parents considered as ‘nonresidents’, which is understood to include temporary foreign workers, tourists and students, among other categories. A 2005 ruling of the Dominican Supreme Court further expanded this exception to include all individuals without proof of lawful residence. This expanded definition of the ‘in transit’ exception was then enshrined in the new Dominican constitution adopted in 2010. Most recently, in 2013, the DR’s constitutional court ordered that this new interpretation of ‘in transit’ be applied to all individuals with Dominican citizenship born in the DR to migrant parents (i.e. retroactively, as far back as 1929). This process resulted in the arbitrary deprivation of nationality on a massive scale. Those affected are left stateless because Haiti has prohibited dual nationality until 2012130 so those who enjoyed Dominican nationality could not also be Haitian. There are no exact figures on how many Dominicans of Haitian descent are affected by this series of amended laws. A survey jointly conducted by the National Statistics Office and the UN Fund for Population (UNFPOA) estimated that 209,912 individuals were born in the DR of Haitian migrants.

131 This matches the UNHCR figure of 210,000 stateless persons in DR at the end of 2013. The figure, however, captures only the first generation of persons of Haitian descent, born in the Dominican Republic. Given that the retroactive stripping of nationality affected individuals who were born in the country as far back as 1929, a far larger number of persons lost their entitlement to Dominican nationality because their parents or grandparents are considered never to have possessed it. For instance, Juliana Deguis Pierre, whose case before the constitutional court figures at the centre of the current problems, has four children herself. If Juliana is no longer considered 128 Often determined arbitrarily or on the basis of racial criteria. 129 Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Yean and Bosico v. Dominican Republic, Series C, Case 130, 8 September 2005. 130 Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Haiti: Dual citizenship, including legislation; requirements and procedures for former Haitian citizens to re-acquire citizenship (2012-January 2013), 8 February 2013, HTI104293.E. 131 See above, note 69. 3 GLOBAL STATELESSNESS STATISTICS 74 Dominican, they also lost their nationality– yet only she appears in the statistic of 210,000 persons under UNHCR’s statelessness mandate. It is not possible, at present, to estimate the size of the further population affected – i.e. the second, third or even fourth generations born in DR who were also stripped of their nationality – but the fertility rate in the Dominican Republic is reported to be 2.8 children per woman.132 Thus, while there are also some recent legislative developments that look set to allow an estimated 10% of those affected to regain their Dominican nationality, the assessment of civil society groups is that statelessness actually threatens a far larger number of people in DR and the data reported is significantly underestimating the problem. O

Money Laundering

2015-04-17T14:24:00.001-04:00

The banks are out of peso coins again.

The farmacia just handed me back the five peso coin that I had given them when the clerk asked if I had a peso for the bill. I saw that one side of her tray was filled with individually wrapped cough drops which are given when the change is one or two pesos.

I knew this peso shortgage was my fault since I had a jar of them at home.

I promised I would bring them back to the store.

So I went home, counted out an even hundred of the heavy, metal coins, worth 2.23 US cents each. Some of them are trading on ebay for as much as .99 US.

They are very large, probably the size of a US quarter if memory serves me, which it often does not. And perhaps like most metal coinage in the world today, it is most likely worth more by its metal content than it is as currency.

They would make a wonderful necklace, Holding one feels like finding sunken treasure. I usually make a practice of dropping them on the grass, under the huge sacred ficus trees,for the shoe shine boys, the drunks,the begger ladies.

Nevertheless, I had acquired a full jar.

I am mindful that I have a national reputation to preserve here. One of my dearest friends here has said more than once "The Americans are not like the Europeans. When an American says he will do something, he does it. With the Europeans, maybe yes, maybe no, maybe just another glass of wine."

So I felt a certain sense of national honor was at stake here so I did not stop to make lunch but went right to work, laundering the money.

First in "Acer" - detergent
Rinse.. ah..the dirty water...!!
Then in "Cloro" -
Ah... the sparkling coins.....!
Then dried on a dish towel.

Then placed in one of my rewashed zip lock bags, on its last legs.

On the way to the Farmacia, I thought what to do with the $2,20, which was, after all, completely "found" money. It is the exact price of the Plato del Dia, a mound of rice and beans, a side of fresh cole slaw, two small pieces of chicken in a delicious sauce, far more nourishing than any Happy Meal.

There were two of the regular "shoe shine" boys on the corner but they looked very well nourished playing under the tree with the remnants of a take out container so someone had already given them lunch.

Then, just on cue, arrived Manolito, who is our resident homeless wanderer, Although he could probably qualify for some sort of diagnosis, and sometimes does get drunk and obnoxious on holidays, ussally he only approaches and states that he is hungry. Folks who are not from the neighborhood are afraid of him but none of us are. He will walk alongside me, ask about my dog, ask how my friends from Las Terrenas are.

Reminds me that he has not eaten today.

"Tengo Hambre"

I squeezed the bag of washed pesos in my hand.

"Espere, Manalito".

At the Farmacia, the laundered pesos were greated as a belated Christmas gift. One can only imagine.. those one and two pesos.. over the course of a day for a business, ..that adds up....

And.. well.. imagine.. the Gringa had.. WASHED them..
After all, I said, you are a Farmacia.. you cannot be passing out dirty money.

When I lived in Haiti,many years ago, the linen gourdes that I got for change in the market place in St Marc were so dirty that I often could not discern the denomination. I would always take them home and wash them.

I did the same for the pesos that were in circulation in Las Terrenas, from the fruit and veggie stands.

I guess I have been laundering money for a long time.

So - national reputation upheld My word is my bond.
\
money laundered and in circulation

Street wanderer given lunch

life purpose fulfilled for the

God is good

Independence Day

2015-02-27T19:40:00.001-05:00

Today is Independence Day here in the Dominican Republic which means primarily that there is ano ther long weekend, flags are hanging from balconies and windows, and Haitians are frightened.

The Dominican Republic celebrates its independence from Haiti, in 1844, after a 22 year occupation, despite the fact that the DR went back under the protection of Spain after that and had to fight to get independent again. It is the only country in the hemisphere to celebrate its independence from another colony.

Relations between the two nations which share this island have never been good.. not quite as bad perhaps as the Greeks and the Turks on Cyprus, although I have not been there so do not know for sure, But let us say that they may have been stranded on the same island together for the last 500 years but they are not friends.,

Recently things have deteriorated. The DR changed its constitution from jus solis (except for children of transients,,read Haitians.. even if you have been here three generations) to jus sanguinis, Then it institutited a Supreme Court to say what the Constitution meant. (Since the DR changes its Constitution every legislative term, the Constitution here; like the laws, seem just a suggestion
).

Then, just to make it very clear to the international community that it did not want to hear any more about it from the international community, particularly the Jesuits who kept mounting cases against the government, ditto the US, Canada and France, the DR withdrew from the Central American Human Rights Court, with the words, We are a sovereign nation and will decide who is and is not a citizen.

With the possibility that as many as 200,000 persons having lost their rights to Dominican citizenship, and powerful Dominican diaspora voices such as Julia Alvarez and Junot Diaz raised against it, the current wildly popular President Danilo Medina, announced that there would be a plan for the regularization of all foreigners. All the registration books were reviewed back decades. Less than 100,000 national identity cards (cedulas) were deemed false and removed. Then the Plan was unveiled.

Those who were born here would have 90 days to present themselves and all sorts of papers, birth certificates, neighbors testimonies, education records.. to the Junta Electoral. It takes an entire day just to pay the electric bill here. And you have to pay it even if you never get one because they will shut off the electricity the day after the cut off day and you will not know when that is because you did not get a bill. Well, you have to live here to understand that. But for those of us who do live here.. 90 days did seem a bit of a joke for people who had never had papers and perhaps could not read.

Then those who have been in the country for years but have no cedula, have until June to complete a process much like a Chinese menu. This looks easy enough, welcoming to those whether they entered legally or illegally. Bring a bank certificate, a lease, receipts for $300 of goods, records of employment ,, one or two out of seven.. lots of chances,. we will be flexible,

But, it has turned out that the rate of success for the first 100 days has been .002%, which many suspect could not have occurred by chance. Applicants are being required to have "all seven" rather than the two specified. Documents must be validated by an attorney at a cost of up to $25 each. Applicants are asked to return five or more times with missing documents.

Two weeks ago a Haitian was hung in a public park in Santiago. There was a small riot during which the Dominican flag was burned,

Yesterday, in recognition of Dominican independence day, there was a march in Port au Prince Haiti which was, organizers insist, to be a peaceful demonstration. Yet at the end of the demonstration, someone was able to penetrate the Dominican consulate and lower their flag and raise the Haitian one. Among the spectators, marchers, were two former Presidential candidates.

The Dominican government has said that it will deport all foreigners without proper documentation at the end of the Regularization Plan in June. There are 450000 foreigners here, up to 85% of them Haitian, the majority of whom do not have valid visas.

Haiti is the second largest export market for the Dominican Republic.

President Danilo has said today in his speech that the time for the Plan will not be extended,

Later tonite there will be fireworks. They will compete with the sound of the mangos falling on the roof of the carport like cannons.

Tomorrow, the Haitians will be back at work remodelling the Jaragua Hotel next door.

So it should be very interesting to see what will happen in June when the better part of 400000 Haitians are set to be deported.

Build it and they will come

2014-03-31T19:42:00.001-04:00

They are "redoing"the Zona Colonial, which is an UNESCO World Heritage site. There were the usual foul ups which we expect here, things that make life interesting. Archaelogists complained that some of the excavations to bury the electric lines and repair the streets were damaging the footings of the precious 16th Century buildings. Bloggers with cameras reported that workers on the public gate to the Parque Independencia were, in fact, Haitian. And then geologists observed that the black mold which had covered the old stones had not been treated or removed and would therefore seep right through the new plaster work in a couple of years.

I saw the new plaster work the other day. A bit of black mold could improve it, give it that Colonial look.

The new highway from the all inclusive resorts in Punta Cana has been completed so that bus loads of tourists can come and visit easily in one day. It is supposedly only two hours one way. And they do want the Zona, with all the trinket shops, art shops, little restaurants, and historic sites to be ready. They have already done a wonderful job in getting the garbage picked up on schedule.

Pretty soon, there will be a lot more buildings opening up for sale.

And pretty soon New Yorkers will be here.

I know it. I am a New Yorker myself.

When I first moved to Asheville, North Carolina, in 1990, I could have dropped into a coma in the middle of main street on Friday at 5 PM and no one would have found me until Monday. But, I said, ::Beware, Asheville, the New Yorkers will be here.

Now, the downtown condos start around $300,000 and there is a street fair almost every weekend in the summer.

For me, Asheville was over run by just the same sort of NY style commercialism that overtook.. well.. New York.. Gone is the Greenwich Village of my youth. Gone the Times Square. Gone the street people. Gone the Jane Jacobs ideal of a city on the stoops.

And they are not in Asheville either.

But here.. well, not in the Zona because that is already too pricey.. but HERE in Gazcue.. there is still a neighborhood. Huge old trees whose roots have cracked the sidewalks, primary schools whose noise fills the streets, delis and colomados who deliver everything. And the thrashing Caribbean Sea as a daily meditation spot.

Heaven?

Only if you are died in the wool urban. If your deepest criminal streak is jaywalking.. if your favoirte pastime is people watching... if you do mind gas fumes, truck horns and chaos.. soot.. and here. piles of garbage.. and street dogs.. and young boys posing as shoe shiners.. asking for money..

and Hookers.. let us not forget the Ladies of the Night.

For myself, I kinda like the Red Light Districts.. but it is not for everyone

And tell any Dominican abroad that you live in Gazcue and he will say, ah Rica.. because we also have some of the finest old house, best apartments, and Trees... Ah the Trees..

I walk to the market, and the grocerty boy with the cart follows me home, stopping on the way as I pick up fruit from the fruit seller, flowers from the flower lady, ripe avocados from Christina. When I lived on the third floor, he walked up with the groceries.

You bet I tip large.

So yes, you can live here.. just like in old New York.

Yes you can live on a generous Social Security check.

Two bedroom condos in Gazcue start at about $75000. Every once an a while there is a full elegant house in the 400k and up region. Maintenance costs start around $50 a month. There are no taxes for property under $150lk

Many of the older apartments have small rooms for live in maids, called "cuartos de servicos":, large enough for a single bed, with its own toilet and shower.

No Medicare, though.

Disinformation?

2013-12-17T12:14:00.000-05:00

With the circulation of the petition for the Lawyer's Guild to cancel their scheduled trip to the Dominican Republic, I begin to wonder if Haitians and their supporters are not falling victim to a deliberate disinformation campaign because, really, there is nothing that would please many in the DR more than for all of you "Haitian sympathizers" than to simply stay away from here.

Certainly I have been invited to leave more than once.

And to keep on talking about the TC court decision and the sugar cane workers as if this were a new issue - as if it had not been litigated already in the InterAmerican Court for 10 years, as if it were not - in the end - clearly a matter of national sovereignty-- and as if every constitution since 1929 had not had the category "in transit" in it. (and the answer to that query is that being illegal for 80 years does not make you legal)

Perhaps it is the first time that some are hearing about the "in transit" clause. Perhaps some do not know about Sonia Pierre or the film "The Price of Sugar" and how Father Hartley was expelled and the Vincini family tried to have the film banned from being shown in the US. But lots of us do.

So why is there this uproar now? Why is there no talk about the opportunity? Doesn't anyone speak Spanish? Aren't any of the NGOs sending out announcements? WHY NOT?

Keeping you focused on the injustice of the "in transit clause", and mourning the dead of the 1937 massacre, , will keep you from examining the Actual decree of the President which deals primarily with the 53,000 with questionable cedulas (13,000 of Haitian descent) and with the bulk of the 435,000 HAITIANS - and other illegal immigrants - who live here.

As well, of course, with all those who, over the years, have been thwarted in getting their papers. Estimates are that 15% of Dominicans - of complete Dominican descent - do not have papers, primarily because of the poverty of their parents.

The decree sets out the how they go about getting their papers.

But no one seems to be reading the decree. No one seems to be translating it into Kreyole. (or even English - which is odd -- it is almost as if the DR does not object to this publicity)

Everyone just seems to be saying how bad things are for the Haitians here - how racist and xenophobic it is, how hard life is for them.... And so, perhaps, they will just self deport. That will certainly easy the growing tensions here. That is, of course, the fondest dream of the Dominicans nationalists. For many, there are simply far too many Haitians here already.

Even the Human Rights Delegation of the InterAmerican Court came here and then issued a report saying the TC ruling was unjust. Now be clear.. this has zero impact. Zero. The DR has been in that Court on this issue for years (google is your friend). They will pay the fine. They will then tighten their constitution and immigration requirements again -- as they just did. If one reades the TC decision - which few have done, I am sure (as it is 150 pages long and in Spanish, after all! as one Haitian official complained), you will note that the case is already well prepared for presentation at an international level.

It is the right of any sovereign country to determine its own rules on citizenship. Can anyone disagree with that?

Now Haitians here have a 15 month window in which to attempt to become legal. So their supporters, instead of studying and translating the decree into easy to understand Spanish and Kreyole, coming to the DR with volunteers to help register the Haitians who are eligible, are calling for a total boycott of the Dominican Republic.

This certainly helps someone's agenda but it is not that of the vulnerable Haitian diaspora on the ground here.

Amnesty for illegal residents of the Dominican Republic

2013-12-15T13:17:00.001-05:00

This was my post this morning to the Corbett List - the Haitian English list serv - in response to a poster....

M. St Louis - you may prefer to simply dismiss me as a "Dominican apologist" rather than

address any of the issues in my posts. Just as many prefer to rail against the Tribunal

Court decision and the rights of a sovereign country to determine its own citizenship requirements.

That is your prerogative. And I am just as reviled on the Dominican forums for being a Haitian

apologist. So perhaps that means that I am doing something right.

For the record, I have been a freelance journalist here, focused, in part on Haitian issues.http://www.ipsnews.net/author/elizabeth-eames-roebling/ and the leading voice on DR1.com on Haiti. I make an effort to see both sides of the story.

The recent decision has nothing to do with the current administration of Haiti,, nor with trade but with the ongoing cases against the DR in the InterAmerican Court and the revision of their constitution from jus solis to jus sanguinis. So do not blame Martelly. It is the massive influx of Haitian immigrants which has pushed this issue.

Of course, none of the trade issues helped - certainly not the way that Haiti conducted itself over the chicken and egg boycott - based on erroneous information. But the issue of illegal immigration and the children of illegal immigrants in the DR is long standing.

Many have read the TC decision. Many have commented. Few have reported that the census of the

cedulas has been done and about 54,000 have found to be questionable. Among these were Americans

French, Germans, and Chinese, and 13,000, were Haitian.

http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/economy/2013/11/7/49559/Survey-13-672-Haitian-offspring-UN-plans-proposal-on-foreigners

The President has announced a plan for the regularization of all those foreigners who are in the country illegally. This has received almost no coverage except to say that it is complicated. Yes, it is. There are categories for those who entered legally, for those who entered illegally, for those who were born here. All have different requirements to obtain their papers. Here is the decree http://es.scribd.com/doc/188044925/DECRETO-327-13

Those who were born here are to be given special assistance.

The Haitian consulates here - for the very first time - are now issuing birth certificates. Not in Santo Domingo but at least in Santiago, Higuey, and Dajabon, so that those who are here without any papers whatsoever can at least start the process.

This is an amnesty on all illegal foreigners- for those who entered illegally and those whose parents never had proper papers (who themselves were deemed "in transit" as was defended by the Dominican government in InterAmerican Court as far back as 2004). This is an opportunity for all Haitians now in the Dominican Republic to regularize their status here, if they meet certain criteria.It also applies to the many foreign tourists who entered legally but overstayed their 30 day visa.

Now it will be up to you, you Haitians of education, to decode the citizenship requirements for the Dominican Republic. I, for one, am simply tired of hearing rerun of the Parsley Massacre of 1937 while 435,000 Haitians lose an opportunity to get papers here and send home remittances.

As far as I have seen, all that the Haitian diaspora.. and the NGOs here (and the international press, really) have done is to decry the decision as racist and xenophobic.

Basta Ya.

Haitians are the only ones here who are allowed work visas from the Dominican Republic for $300 a year.

For this, they must return to Port au Prince every year and have it renewed. This makes them permanently in transit. Fair?

To work here, other foreigners must go through a far more lengthy process, with apostilled birth certificates costing $300, apostilled police records costing the same, a Dominican guarantor, proof of income or financial stability, and medical checks. This gives temporary residence which must be renewed in two years, with fees attached mounting to $500. Then comes permanent residency which must be renewed every ten years, with fees attached.

Haitians who are here are free to go through the same process and get their cedulas, if they are able.

The recent census reported that there are about 450,000 Haitians here. I doubt that many of them are legal - in that they have Haitian passports and Dominican visas.or registered cedulas as foreigners.

They will now have 15 months, til Feb 2015, to regularize their status. They will have to show that they have links to the Dominican society - that they studied here, or a lease on an apartment, or have employment here, or have a child, or live with a Dominican, or a bank account, or furniture, or a combination of the above.

The ruling is complicated because it gives a lot of options -- don't have this? Ok,, how about a letter from the Neighborhood Association? A letter from the Church? They have to show that they are literate in Spanish. (OK.. this is going to be hard since a lot of them may not be literate in any language).

I have not yet heard reports on how it is going since only the sugar companies and some of the resorts in Punta Cana have complied - registering about 900 Haitians and other foreigners. No mention in the press about how these companies had been in defiance of the law up to now but merely a brazen admission that these people "would now be paid more". It is illegal here in the Dominican Republic to hire undocumented workers but it is known that even the government does it.

I will be interested to learn, as I intend to do shortly, if any of the groups that are working with the Haitian diaspora here are intending to help them get their papers. Or whether, as I sadly suspect, the plan is to spend the next 15 months reliving the Parsley Massacre.

As far as I can see, the literate Haitian diaspora has done nothing to help the Haitians here. I have seen only protest marches and petitions to overturn a Supreme Court ruling, accusations of racism, and exaggerations. As in for example, one or two pieces about "forced" migrations from the incident in Neyba, which was one of mob violence from which 200 Haitians sought police protection and an escort from the border. One hopes that this scene is not repeated in other border regions.

It would be useful to see a summary translation of the decree start coming out on FaceBook in Kreyole. There is a large and literate Haitian population here- university students, for example- who could do much to assist those who are not so fortunate, if they were encouraged to do so. It would be such a welcome change to see Haitians helping the Haitians here take advantage of this opportunity, instead of simply accusing the Dominican Republic of xenophobia and racism.

What I fear is that that population here - the educated Haitians, the University students, for example, who may in fact be eligible for permanent papers here under this amnesty, will do nothing, as the leaders are simply decrying the court decision. Many of the leaders are in NGOs who get funding for decrying, after all. And instead of helping the construction workers, for instance, they will just continue their studies. Then the window will close. And deportations will start in earnest.

And whose fault will that be?