Bonjou! Welcome to the latest edition of Woy Magazine’s weekly newsletter, providing you with must-know news and commentary on Haiti and our Diaspora.
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Take Me to Church
On April 11, reports emerged that armed gunmen kidnapped five priests, two nuns and two laypersons as they were on their way to a service in Port-au-Prince. Al Jazeera reports that among this group were two French citizens. In response to this latest high-profile kidnapping, the Haitian Catholic Church decided to take a firm stand against Haiti’s kidnapping crisis. The Church issued a statement in which they called for all Catholic-related entities in Haiti to shut down on Thursday, April 15 as an act of protest.
Additionally, the Church, instead held a midday mass on Thursday as part of the protests, and to honor the lives of all those who’d fallen victim to kidnappings and senseless killings.
During this service, Monsignor Launé Saturné made the plea that “il faut que la situation change,” echoing the famous words spoken by Pope John Paul II in his famous and only visit to the country in 1983 before the fall of the Duvalier dictatorship. (Source: Vant Béf Info)
The peaceful mass was violently disturbed when members of the National Haitian Police force stormed St. Pierre’s Church, where the service was being sung, and teargassed the clergy and churchgoers in attendance: (trigger warning):
All of this comes one week after members of the Haitian Adventists church held a week of prayer for the country’s woes after several church leaders were kidnapped during live-streamed pre-Easter prayer services. As we mentioned last week, an editorial published by the Haiti-Observateur called out the event against the protestants as part of the current regime’s ongoing plans to infringe upon the people’s freedom of religion in order to punish those who’d speak out against it:
Animés d’un esprit de vengeance sans limite, Jovenel Moïse et ses collaborateurs, de même espèce que lui, ont choisi le jeudi saint (à la date du 1er avril) pour faire des représailles contre le secteur protestant, sans s’imposer aucune retenue.
Black Thursday
The private sector joined the Catholic Church in its one-day protest by calling for all businesses, higher education institutions and banks to close their doors on what’s been referred to as #JeudiNoire. In a press release published on April 14, the Haitian Chamber of Commerce expressed:
Nous faisons face à une vague de kidnapping et d’insécurité devant laquelle nous sommes impuissants, étant à la merci de bandits sans scrupule qui font la loi et dictent la vie nationale. Personne n'est à l'abri, personne ne bénéficie d'aucune protection des autorités. Où qu'il soit et quoi qu'il fasse, chaque citoyen est une cible (Source: Le Nouvelliste)
Their participation came just days after local businessman Patrick Thébaud was shot and killed in the capital during a thwarted kidnapping attempt on the afternoon of Monday, April 12.
Selon certains témoignages, M. Thébaud, qui circulait à bord d’un véhicule blindé de marque Lexus, aurait résisté à une tentative de kidnapping. Les malfrats ont ouvert le feu sur le véhicule. Patrick Thébaud est mort sur le champ.
While the day of solidarity was welcomed by some, others critiqued the act by members of the private sector, and questioned whether it was just a flash in the pan instead of a much-needed start of a longterm decision to take a stand against ex-president Jovenel Moïse.
This week also saw other acts of protests, most notably from health workers who, on Tuesday, April 13, took to the streets in their medical scrubs to protest the kidnapping of Dr. André Trévant Valembrun who worked at the respected Bernard Mevs Hospital.
Les Innocents
Haiti’s insecurity issues continue to take a turn for the worse as local reporters revealed that on Monday morning, more than 15 armed men laid siege to an orphanage in Croix-des-Bouquets. (Trigger warning) Jacqueline Charles of the Miami Herald writes:
More than 15 bandits broke into the group home in Croix-des-Bouquets, a suburb of Port-au-Prince, Sunday, shortly before 1 a.m., said the orphanage director, who asked that his identity be withheld, fearing for his safety. The men blocked the entrances to the orphanage and scaled a wire fence, using a carpet, to enter the yard.
A 15-year-old girl was raped, along with a 27-year-old servant, he said, and a 13-year-old child sexually assaulted. The bandits also attempted to rape his wife, who was beaten. The gunmen spent more than two hours ransacking the property, pulling open drawers and demanding money.
This is not the first time that a Haitian orphanage has fallen victim to the larger issues at play in the country. As you may remember, last February about 15 children died in a fire in a children’s home run by a U.S.-based Christian group. Despite promises from Jovenel Moïse at the time, no investigations have been completed to determine the cause of the fire.
A New Face
After serving as prime minister for little over a year, Joseph Jouthe announced his resignation from the post on April 13. Incredibly unpopular, Jouthe was seen as many to be a water-bearer and mouthpiece for Jovenel Moïse as the number and cases of acts of violence continue to skyrocket. No explanation was given for Jouthe’s abandonment of the position despite the fact that rumors of his departure have been circulating for weeks.
Former Foreign Minister Claude Joseph will now be serving as Haiti’s Interim Prime Minister. He is the sixth person to serve in the role under Moïse, and many see Joseph’s elevation to the position as a thank you for continually “speaking out in support of the government in the international media.” (Source: Miami Herald)
Come Hell or High Water
Despite the nation’s “descent into hell,” Moïse remains determined to push through with his constitutional referendum which is scheduled to be held in two months. On Tuesday, the Twitter account for the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti fired off a tweet displaying a somewhat more cautious and conservative approach towards Jovenel’s plans for the constitution:
However, the former president continues to enjoy unfailing support from Western powers and international institution bodies even though the law of the land dictates that his presidential term ended in February of this year.
In a recent debate for France 24, activist Vélina Elysée Charlier and Minister for Electoral Matters Mathias Pierre faced off on Haiti’s current woes, including the constitutional referendum, and what needs to be done to get the country on track. You can watch the full program here.
Recommended Readings
Politics are a complicated business, and Haiti’s own is no exception. Therefore, we’re happy to share with you two new new articles offering much-needed background information, origin stories and analysis into the situations and policies that have resulted in Haiti’s current events.
In “The Political Anatomy of Haiti’s Armed Gangs,” Djems Olivier offers us a detailed look into how foreign interference from countless NGOs and military interventions have fueled the growth of the nation’s violent armed groups who now work to hold poor neighborhoods and social movements hostage. And in “The Toxic Masculinity of the ‘Legal Bandit’” sociologist Sabine Lamour exposes how former president Michel Martelly’s right-wing government allowed for gender-based violence to discard women as citizens while paying lip service to the international community on such matters. In it she dissects the notion of the legal bandit, which persists under Moise's administration, as PHTK's political model and mode of governance.
Both pieces act as stark reminders to the fact that Haiti’s current situations have deep roots that pre-date many of the actors currently calling the shots on the country’s political scene.
All Hail Le Roi
This week, friend-to-Woy Paul Clammer announced that his new book, “Black Crown,” is now under contract with a publishing company. The book is a biography on Henri Christophe who became the King of Haiti in 1811. Congratulations, Paul! We’ll keep an eye out for any new information on this upcoming project.
Art Queen
On April 13, Mwèm TV hosted a special celebration for Mireille Pérodin-Jérôme, celebrated art gallery owner and critic. In 1985, Pérodin-Jérôme co-founded Les Ateliers Jérôme to celebrate, preserve and cultivate Haitian art. The gallery has gone on to collaborate with other galleries, museums, and cultural centers in Haiti, as well as the Dominican Republic, France, Martinique, Canada and the United States. (Source: Le Nouvelliste)
You can watch the full program, below:
Manno
Ticket Magazine kept the celebration of Haitian titans going with an event celebrating the music and legacy of the beloved Manno Charlemagne with a new documentary “LAFIMEN,” created by musician Marcus Lolo and PrimeArt Media. You can watch the pre-event panel and short film below. Enjoy your weekend and we’ll see you all next week!
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