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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Anpil ti patat fè chay Many small potatoes make a heavy load (Haitian Proverb)
CHAY LA | BIG STORY
More Sanctions
On November 20, Canadian authorities announced that it would be sanctioning former President Michel Joseph Martelly, along with former Prime Ministers Laurent Lamothe and Jean Henry Céant, for allegedly financing gangs. News of a visibly frazzled and angered Martelly rushing to Haiti 24 hours prior to the announcement made the rounds on Haitian social networks via WhatsApp.
These sanctions bar Canadian institutions in Canada or abroad from transacting with the people listed, and freezes all of their assets in Canada. Senator Rony Célestin, and former Senators Gary Bodeau and Hervé Fourcand were also named and sanctioned following this announcement, joining Joseph Lambert and Youri Latortue, with more to come.
Se difisil pou yon moun oubyen enstitisyon sou planèt la fè tranzaksyon ak yon moun ki anba sanksyon OFAC. Menm ann Ayiti, Youri Latortue ak Joseph Lambert gen anpil pwoblèm.
[…] Daprè jounal Le Nouvelliste, peyi Kanada gen lòt sanksyon k ap vini toujou, epi Nasyonzini pral prepare yon lis k ap fè lemond aplike sanksyon kont Ayisyen ki sou lis la. Nasyonzini gen 193 peyi ki manm li. Li parèt konplike pou kèk peyi nan mond lan ta aksepte asosye yo ak Ayisyen ki gen dosye dwòg ak kòripsyon sou yo. (Source: AyiboPost)
Though these sanctions will have a significant impact on those listed, a pertinent question still hangs in the air: Will these sanctions disqualify the aforementioned leaders of the PHTK party, who have held power in Haiti over the last 10 years, from running for office in the future?
Twitter Check:
Some welcome the sanctions stating that military intervention would only address actors with little power, sending troops to working class neighborhoods and harming many innocent people. Whereas sanctions target powerful hands who fund gangs; their bosses — which begs the question... Who is Martelly's boss? It is important to remember that the international community imposed the PHTK party by forcing the Preval-Bellerive administration to change the 2010 presidential election results. They have supported PHTK since. Why suddenly are they pulling their support?
Haitian people in and out of Haiti have long been sanctioning Martelly. Over the last few years, Haitian communities have boycotted potential Sweet Micky concerts. Just this past May, Sweet Micky was barred from performing in Miami following community pressure citing safety concerns. In 2019, a Sweet Micky show in Montreal was cancelled following community voicing concerns over Martelly’s misogyny and alleged involvement in corruption scandals in Haiti.
In the meantime, foreign military intervention is looking less and less likely, with no country taking the lead. Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, the Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines spoke on the matter stating that the St. Vincent and the Grenadines government would not be sending any police officers to Haiti, though added security would be necessary to support the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Haiti, where the Haitian police is otherwise outnumbered.
The concern is that such a move might be perceived as propping a government that the Haitian people largely consider an illegitimate one.
So, to deal effectively with the humanitarian situation, you have to have security,” he said, adding that the Haitian National Police has 14,000 people or 1.1 police officers for every 1,000 persons.
“A country that size, normally the thing is about two police [officers] for 1,000,” Gonsalves said, adding that in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, there are 10 police officers for every 1,000 people.
“So, you have a police force, which is numerically weak, but more than that, it is riddled with corruption,” he said of the Haitian constabulary. (Source: iWitness News)
He also added that discussions were scheduled between CARICOM, the US, Canada and the UN regarding sending a non-UN force to Haiti to help with the security needed to send aid for the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Haiti, as well as for the preparation of democratic elections within 1 year to 18 months.
IMIGRASYON
Continued mistreatment of Haitians in DR
The Dominican Republic has increased the deportation of Haitians following a call from the United Nations to halt them. Videos of Haitians being violently rounded up have surfaced on social media. The Haitian government issued a note condemning the mistreatment of Haitians, and for the past three days protestors have forced the border at Ouanaminthe to remain closed in protest.
The various raids, arrests and questionings by Dominican immigration officials have been happening so indiscriminately that Americans of African descent are being affected. The U.S Embassy issued an alert on the ongoing Dominican Migration Enforcement reporting disparate treatment of U.S. citizens by Dominican immigration officials based on skin color.
In addition, in recent days, as reported in Dominican media, Dominican Migration (DGM) agents have conducted widespread operations aimed at detaining those they believe to be undocumented migrants, especially persons of Haitian descent. In some cases, authorities have not respected these individuals’ legal status in the Dominican Republic or nationality. These actions may lead to increased interaction with Dominican authorities, especially for darker skinned U.S. citizens and U.S. citizens of African descent. There are reports that detainees are kept in overcrowded detention centers, without the ability to challenge their detention, and without access to food or restroom facilities, sometimes for days at a time, before being released or deported to Haiti. (Source: US Embassy)
On November 23, the Biden Administration announced that it would be halting sugar imports from the Central Romana Corporation, the largest landholder and employer in the Dominican Republic due to poor labor conditions, including the withholding of wages, abusive working and living conditions, excessive overtime, and other violations. Haitians make up a large part of the workers in the Dominican sugar industry.
The company is owned in part by the Fanjul family, exporting more than a value of $200 million of sugar to the US every year.
According to Charity Ryerson from the Corporate Accountability Lab, the company has been on notice for many years and has failed to meet the most basic labor and humans rights standards.
The measures have been the subject of an intense debate on Capitol Hill, where profits from the sugar industry are funneled into generous campaign contributions and lobbying expenditures, according to people familiar with the discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The United States is the most important market for Dominican sugar, and the move could have a crippling effect on Central Romana, which alone produces roughly 59 percent of the Dominican Republic’s sugar, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
It could also cause significant disruptions to U.S. sugar imports in the near term, though economists said the impact on sugar prices, which are heavily influenced by regulation, remained to be seen. Those regulations include price supports that keep U.S. sugar prices far above those on world markets, as well as preferential tariff rates for sugar imported from the Dominican Republic. (Source: The New York Times)
Their sugar is sold under the Domino brand and you can check out this broadcast by Radio Magik 9 for more (in Kreyol).
ON THIS DAY
The Battle of Vertières
November 18th marked the 219th anniversary of the Battle of Vertières, which was the last battle that secured Haiti’s independence against the French. This important national holiday is normally celebrated by the government at the site of the battle near Cap-Haitien. In recent years due to protests, the authorities have celebrated quietly in Port-au-Prince.
DEGI | Recommendations before you go
Création plastique d'Haïti : Art et culture visuelle en colonie et postcolonie by Carlo A. Celius
We Love How ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Honors Haiti | Essence
« Sa je pa wè » : requiem en mémoire des victimes de l’impunité | Le Nouvelliste
The Pipeline Funneling US Deportees to Haitian Prison | The Nation
Launch of Nègès Mawon’s latest edition of Alaso on the theme of Family
Feature photo via Haitian Art Society
Anpil ti patat fè chay
Jah & Jahes love. This was a lovely issue of Woy Magazine. I will resume my subscription soon when I can deposit to my account. I enjoy the news and views you publish in this magazine, and I am delighted you present many women's voices about the situation in Ayiti. I hope and pray that someday you will also publish articles about the Ayiti people in the U.S. and the diaspora. I am very concerned about our conditions and how we adapt to our host countries. And as a Transnational 2nd generation woman of Ayiti descent who was born in Brooklyn, New York, during the 1960s, I feel very proud of your publication. I wish you much success and expansion. Blessed love.#1804 #Ayiti #ToutMounseMoun #HousingfortheHomelessNow #AbolishCPS #DefundFosterCare #ProChoice