Welcome to the latest edition of Woy Magazine’s biweekly newsletter, providing you with must-know news and commentary on Haiti and our Diaspora.
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Lè yo vle touye chen, yo di l fou
When they want to kill a dog, they claim it was crazy
(Haitian proverb)
CHAY LA | Main Story
Haiti’s transitional government has appointed ministers nearly three months after Ariel Henry was pushed out. In our last newsletter, we covered the newly appointed Prime Minister Gary Conille and his negotiations with the Presidential Council to settle on the number of ministries and their respective ministers. On June 11th, the transitional government agreed on a new team to lead a select set of ministries, thereby establishing a new government in place until February 7, 2026. Fourteen ministries were identified.
The 14 ministries selected are considerably less than usual. The aim here was to show that the government is working to reduce its expenditures. Another seemingly positive note was that the ministers announced were not drawn from the previous catastrophic administrations. But then, only a few days later, Nesmy Manigat—former minister under Michel Martelly, Jovenel Moise, and Ariel Henry—along with Camille Edouard Junior, former Minister of Justice under Jocelerme Privert, were appointed to lead Conille’s cabinet.
When Conille took office, he spoke about the importance of having women in his cabinet. Many were eagerly awaiting to see what that meant concretely. Out of 14 ministers, only 4 of them are women. There was much debate on social media and in the press about whether the number of women ministers matters. Considering women make up more than 50% of the population, 4 women out of 14 is underwhelming. Various entities like Fòk Fanm Yo La responded on social media by reminding our new leaders that the constitution calls for a minimum of 30% of women in public office.
The strides made by Haitian women and feminist activists are hard-fought and won. What Haiti needs is progressive politicians who are committed to the well-being of its people and who have integrity, no matter their gender. Many obstacles to running for public office persist for women, and we should continue to collapse those barriers and build a new political class of Haitians of goodwill.
POLITIK/POLEMIK
Uncle Sam funds Kenyan intervention
This week, the United States released $109 million in funds for the purchase of equipment ahead of the multinational mission to be led by Kenya. The Biden administration released these funds despite Republican opposition in Congress. A delegation from the Haitian National Police (PNH) is also currently in Kenya to discuss the mission.
Meanwhile, on the very same day as these meetings, youth-led protests organized largely through social media filled the streets of Nairobi. This movement is the first of its kind since Kenya’s independence. Among the list of grievances is the intervention in Haiti.
It was expected that the promulgation of a new constitution in 2010 would lessen the burden on NGOs and CSOs to ensure that people’s rights are respected and that the establishment of independent state-funded commissions and oversight bodies would protect citizens from the vagaries and excesses of the state. However, the powers of these commissions were significantly eroded by both President Uhuru Kenyatta and President William Ruto. Anti-corruption and police oversight bodies, for instance, have largely failed to bring people to book or to make leaders and the police more accountable. Extrajudicial killings by the police continue unabated. More significantly, these presidents’ disrespect for court orders (most recently the one on the newly introduced Housing Levy and the decision to send Kenyan police to Haiti, which the courts deemed “unconstitutional”) has signified that an independent judiciary is also under serious threat.” Source: Africa is a Country
KILTIRÈL
Pòtoprens turns 275
On June 13th, the city of Port-au-Prince turned 275 with no fanfare. In an interview on Radio Magik 9, Professor Neptune Price explained that Port-au-Prince was created by a series of policies and transnational economic pressures, starting with the colonial authorities in 1749. Subsequent decisions by the national government to concentrate resources in Port-au-Prince and to dispossess Haitians across the country brought more and more people to the city.
As of March this year, more than 570,000 people have been internally displaced in Haiti, particularly in the capital. Today, as Pòtoprens crumbles and shifts under the pressure of political instability and mass exodus to the provinces and abroad, it remains home to millions of Haitians creating lives for themselves and the capital of Ayiti. It is a contested site that is being renegotiated and forged each day.
Over the years, Pòtoprens will need to be reimagined and rebuilt, and the social fabric that has been torn there will need to be resewn. Its connection to the rest of the country will need to be restored and transformed.
The odes to the city of Port-au-Prince abound in Haitian art, particularly literature and music. Last year, BIT Haiti’s annual theatre festival, En Lisant was dedicated to the city.
Moonlight Benjamin’s hauntingly beautiful ode and lament for the memory of Port-au-Prince. “Kot Pòtoprens? Pòtoprens pèdi pye, manman,” she sings.
“Pòtoprens kapital, Pòtoprens tèt fè mal. Pòtoprens chabon dife…” - Bic Tizon Dife
DEGI | Recommendations before you go
De la nécessité de reprendre l'exportation des mangues depuis Haïti - Le Nouvelliste
Des écoles de provinces débordées par l’afflux d’élèves de P-au-P - AyiboPost
Fokal is raising funds on behalf of Association Nationale des Transformateurs de Fruits (ANATRAF), whose offices and inventory were pillaged in Croix-des-Bouquet during a gang attack in March. ANATRAF is a collective of over 100 small agribusinesses across Haiti. Consider donating so that they can rebuild.