Ki mele pis ak grangou chen?
April 27, 2024 - May 10, 2024
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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Ki mele pis ak grangou chen?
Fleas don't care about the dog's hunger
(Haitian proverb)CHAY LA | Main Story
Anti-Haitianism at every turn
As Haitians continue to leave the country, they are facing sudden and arbitrary policy changes that prohibit their passage through countries in the region. Recently, Haitian singer Ti Jo Zenny shared on TikTok the latest difficulties Haitians have faced. Upon arriving at the Dominican border recently, he was informed that Haitian passport holders traveling through the Dominican Republic would not be permitted to enter if their connecting flight wasn’t immediate (in an attempt to prevent Haitians from spending too much time in the country). It was a Sunday, and Zenny’s flight out of the DR was scheduled for a few days later, forcing him to incur the extra cost of buying another ticket. Other people who traveled on the same bus could not afford to simply buy another ticket or to pay for an unforeseen stay at a hotel before being let into the DR.
Such rules for Haitian travelers have been coming up in countries around the Caribbean. They often come without announcement (hence why we have no reference link to point you to) and are enforced inconsistently as Haitians arrive with insufficient notice to allow them to plan accordingly.
Regulations are often changed without notice, leaving Haitians to remain informed via rumors, WhatsApp forwards, stories from friends, etc.
In response to a presidential mandate, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the General Directorate of Migration in the Dominican Republic have suspended the processing and issuance of visas, residence permits, and any other immigration applications for Haitian nationals until further notice. Furthermore, the government of the Dominican Republic has closed all air, land and sea borders for Haitian nationals, including the principal land border crossing point between the Dominican Republic and Haiti, effective immediately. (Source: FRAGOMEN)
Another recent example is the Bahamas' new requirement that Haitians obtain a visa to transit through the country. Many Haitians traveling to the USA because of the humanitarian parole program have opted to travel to the USA through the Bahamas route. This route was suddenly closed to parole travelers with no visa with little notice, leaving many Haitians with expensive, nonrefundable plane tickets.
With the US Embassy in Haiti closed, Haitians have been seeking to renew their U.S. visas in nearby countries like Barbados. In some cases, upon receiving a refusal of the visa renewal from the US Embassy in Barbados, holders of still valid US visas are seeing them revoked—finding themselves stranded in Barbados without legal status and unable to return to Haiti because of the restrictive visa requirements.
Right now, there seems to be no real way for Haitians to inform themselves of what routes are safe for them to travel through until they hear rumors of others who have had unfortunate experiences. Anti-Haitianism in the region is not unique to the Dominican Republic, and as Haitians flee Haiti for their lives, they are met with hostility from neighboring countries.
Haiti is a member of CARICOM, whose citizens should benefit from freedom of movement throughout the region. But Haitians don’t.
When plans to relax such regulations among the members were announced last year, CARICOM claimed that the Ariel Henry government said Haiti wasn’t ready. If Haitians are treated as such in the region, it makes one wonder about CARICOM's agenda when it comes to aiding the West in Haitian affairs. CARICOM has positioned itself as a friend to Haiti in this current transition period, but situations like these reveal the entity’s neocolonial influence on Haiti.
Presidential Musical Chairs
This is one of the critiques of the new Presidential Council mediated by the Caribbean body. Many have asked whether a governing body facilitated by CARICOM could ever be in Haiti's interests.
The Presidential Council has reversed its original arrangement. According to the media, the members have decided to rotate the role of the council's leader among four members. This comes two weeks after Edgard Leblanc was announced as the chosen head by a coalition of four of the seven council members. This voting block sought to render the remaining voting members powerless.
After receiving harsh criticism from the Haitian public for only being concerned with their personal interests—and the cold shoulder from the international community—this change was made to dislocate a gridlock that became apparent. According to the media, in the renegotiations, the council established a new policy stating that at least five votes are required to establish a majority regarding major decisions. Check out this tweet for the tea on how this all unfolded.
Two groups understood to have shared interests have fully emerged before the Haitian public. Each is backed by opposing economic actors. We tried to predict this demarcation ahead of time in a previous newsletter, but our analysis was off by a bit.
What’s important to understand is that this very act of cunning nearly rendered the council dysfunctional (from the very beginning) and unable to deliver results for ordinary Haitians. The benefit of the doubt that many Haitians began to give the Presidential Council after it was sworn in at the national palace has quickly dissipated.
The Presidential Council did manage to write to William Ruto, the president of Kenya, to confirm its interest in foreign intervention, while US military planes have been arriving to prepare for the arrival of the Kenyan forces. Reports say the first soldiers are due to arrive in late May.
KILTIRÈL
Alaso, Kouzen
May 1st in Haiti is Labor Day and Agriculture Day. Across the country, towns, neighborhoods and institutions organized fairs to display locally grown and made products. For practitioners of Vodou, it’s also the celebration of the lwa Kouzen who is a farmer. Thierry Prinston took pictures for Woy Magazine of the May 1st fair at a school in Okap called Centre Siloe:
Haitian Heritage Month
May is also Haitian Heritage month in the United States. A number of interesting events are planned across the country to showcase and transmit Haitian culture. Woy Magazine has joined Kontan Creative to host a happy hour to celebrate Haitian Flag Day in Philadelphia. Join us if you are in the area!
Thank you so much, Woy Magazine, for including my blog post (on land grabs) in your "Recommendations before you go section." I always look at them and follow up on many. You do a fantastic job, and I've been toying with the idea of upgrading for some time. I'm doing so now, not just because you helped with my post, but in the spirit of solidarity with Haiti. Ayibobo!