Byenveni! Welcome to the latest edition of Woy Magazine’s weekly newsletter, providing you with must-know news and commentary on Haiti and our Diaspora.
We can’t do this work without you. Please consider becoming a patron of Woy Magazine on Patreon. You can learn more here.
#WoyChat with Edwidge Danticat
We’re excited to announce that next week, we’ll be sitting down with the iconic writer Edwidge Danitcat for an in-depth conversation on “Haitian memory and art.” Be sure to join us on Thursday, May 27, at 7:00 PM for a timely and important discussion.
18 Me
The red and blue were out in full effect this week as Haitians back home and across the dyaspora celebrated Haitian Flag Day on May 18.
The city of Jacmel was overtaken with festivities including a parade and local debate events, while some local leaders took advantage of the occasion to speak on the current plight of the Haitian people:
Dans son homélie de circonstance, le révérend père Samson Pierre a critiqué les autorités publiques qui, selon lui, oublient leurs missions envers la société une fois avoir arrivé au pouvoir. Par ailleurs, le prélat a encouragé les autorités à se ressaisir et demandé à tous les secteurs de la vie nationale de se révolter contre tous les actes malhonnêtes commis contre le peuple haïtien. (Source: Le Nouvelliste)
This mood was definitely top of mind for many this year. In an op-ed for Rezo Nòdwes, Raoul Gérard argues:
Nan okazyon 218èm Anivèsè Drapo Nasyon Ayisyen an, nou gen pou poze tèt nou yon kesyon ak yon repons. Kesyon an se kouman li fè posib pou pandan 215 lane yon ti minorite zwit pran kontwòl tout richès ak leta/politik peyi a epi deside majorite a pa ladann? Kidonk, imajine nou, jounen jodi a, nou a 16 milyon Ayisyen ki kite yon ti minorite vwayou pran kontwòl 27,750 Km2 nou an! Kisa kap pase nou konsa a?
In a similar tone, Woy Magazine editor Valerie Jean-Charles used the holiday to ask for more organized solidarity among members of the dyaspora in support of those working on the ground in Haiti:
May is Haitian Heritage Month and so many of us, the dyaspora, will throw the blue and red up, post up paintings of Dessalines and Toussaint, and poetically lament on the desire to return “home” to open our respective businesses.
But Black capitalism isn’t going to save Haiti. Only a true, organized movement working in accordance with those back home will free us.
(Source: Sakapfet OKAP)
In addition to celebrations in Haiti, Haitian-Americans took to the streets in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the flag and criticize both the Jovenel Moïse regime and the support it continues to enjoy from the United States.
The Man Who Cried Help
U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration used the historical day to task Haitian-Americans with taking charge of Haiti’s political and social ills.
Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Julie Chung said as “living bridges between the United States and Haiti,” the Haitian diaspora has an important role to play in improving and strengthening their homeland’s democracy and economy.
“You can speak against violence. You can speak against corruption and impunity. You can speak against abuses of power and of civil and human rights,” Chung said. “We also hope you will encourage Haiti’s political and civil society leaders to negotiate in good faith to find solutions toward a government that works for all Haitians.” (Source: Miami Herald)
Nowhere in this call did the administration mention their support of Jovenel Moïse’s illegal hold to power, even though the Haitian constitution dictates the end of his presidential mandate to be February 7, 2021.
What’s more, Biden has now deported more than 1,800 Haitians, even though U.S. officials know those sent back to the country “may face upon returning to their home country due to violent crime and the political instability that has rocked the country in recent months.”
Haitians in Miami also gathered outside of local ICE facilities to call for an end to these deportations and demand an immediate expansion of TPS:
Demonstrators rallied outside an ICE Facility off Powerline Road calling on the Biden Administration to redesignate TPS to Haitians who have immigrated to South Florida.
“Decision-makers in the United States, we cannot accept that our sisters and brothers are in a cruel and inhumane fashion being sent back to Haiti," said Paul, who is a leader with the Family Action Network Movement organization.
(Source: WTVJ - Miami (NBC)
Caucus for Haiti
Despite their unwavering stance, it appears that the Biden-Harris administration will be facing even more pressure from certain members of Congress when it comes to Haiti. On Haitian Flag Day, four members of the House of Representatives teamed up to create the Haiti House Caucus, which aims to address the country’s issues. In a letter, the forming members, Rep. Yvette D. Clark (NY), Rep. Val Demings (FL), Rep. Andy Levin (MI) and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (MI) said:
“With this caucus, we will work for a Haiti free from corruption, violence, repeated violations of civil and human rights, and economic and public health crises. We have full confidence that, if given the opportunity, the Haitian people can overcome this challenge and establish a strong democracy that has justice and opportunity for all. This should be a turning point in the relationship between the United States and Haiti.” (Source: Caribbean National Weekly)
Local Displacements
As gang-fueled violence continues to hold the country in a tight grip, experts are revealing new ways it is harming everyday Haitians. This week, Les Fonds Des Nation Unies Pour La Population and L’Organisation Internationale Pour Les Migrations warned that local gang violence in Tabarre Issa is forcing women and their families to flee the region:
4 femmes, parmi les chefs de ménage, ont rapporté des cas de violence physique sur le site, où la présence de gangs armés engendre une situation humanitaire alarmante, signalent ces institutions.
Des familles déplacées ont été également contraintes de fuir le site, pour chercher refuge dans des zones, où les conditions de vie demeurent précaires.
« 508 ménages, soit 2,496 personnes, dont 1,305 femmes y compris 10 femmes enceintes et 159 allaitantes, 824 enfants, 67 personnes vivant avec un handicap et 102 personnes âgées, vivent sur le site, indique, au mois de mars 2021, l’Oim. (Source: AlterPresse)
These numbers, which the groups say represents a grave human rights violation, are coming as many across the country are still experiencing displacement from the January 2010 earthquake:
Au moins, 32 mille 731 personnes vivent encore en situation de déplacement, depuis le tremblement de terre dévastateur du mardi 12 janvier 2010, ayant fait environ 300 mille morts et d’énormes dégâts en Haïti.
Referendum Update
Even though Jovenel continues to pull out all the stops to push through his referendum, including brokering deals between local gangs, more institutions are coming out against the initiative.
A new resolution adopted by the European Union calls for the de-facto president to respect the Haitian Constitution, “in particular its article 284.3, which stipulates that "any popular consultation, tending to modify the Constitution by referendum, is formally prohibited.” The measure, which was passed with an overwhelming majority, argues that the referendum would only “further concentrate executive powers.”
Earlier this week, a panel hosted by the Haitian Studies Association took a deep dive at examining the 1987 Constitution, analyzing what was gained in the drafting of the fundamental precedents of the country, after the fall of Duvalier, while comparing it to the proposals listed in the June 2021 ballot.
You may watch the full event below:
10 Years of Crisis
This month marks 10 years since the PHTK party has been in power in Haiti. Looking back on the last decade, it appears that the party has brought one crisis after another to the country on all fronts. In an editorial for Le Nouvelliste, Jean Pharès Jérôme says:
A défaut de corriger en cinq ans toutes les erreurs de ses prédécesseurs, Martelly pouvait faire mieux qu’eux. Surtout qu’il avait aussi à sa disposition les fonds provenant des taxes sur les appels internationaux et ceux sur les transferts d’argent de l’étranger.
Comme s’il voulait donner raison à ses détracteurs, la nouvelle administration avait vite montré qu’elle n’incarnait pas les changements attendus. La corruption, le clientélisme, le népotisme… ont été adoptés comme mode de gouvernance. Le fonds PetroCaribe a été engagé dans des projets bidon. Dans la plupart des cas, ils sont jusqu’ici inachevés en dépit des sommes importantes qui y étaient engagées. Les rapports du Sénat de la République et ceux de la Cour supérieure des comptes et du contentieux administratif ont retracé les mécanismes frauduleux utilisés pour détourner les fonds. Dieu seul sait combien de nouveaux riches le pays a produits depuis 2011.
The missing PetroCaribe funds remains one of the greatest stains on the PHTK “legacy,” and will surely affect the economic realities of the country for generations to come:
We still owe this money! It was not a gift. It is a loan. A loan that will be left behind for generations of Haitians to repay. And sure, you don’t have to care about anything. You are a grown person who can make your own decisions. However, even if you are a person of Haitian descent outside of Haiti, corruption inside of Haiti concerns you in a number of ways. The Haitian diaspora reportedly sends $2 billion USD to Haiti, close to half of Haiti’s GDP, yearly in transfers and gifts to their families. The Haitian diaspora is an essential factor in Haiti’s economy, and funds that could and should go towards projects that would better the lives of your families back home and give them jobs, are in your interest. (Source: Woy Magazine)
A Glimmer of Hope on the Horizon
It is the very existential moments birthed by the rule of PHTK that Monique Clesca expounds upon in her new piece for Americas Quarterly. In it, she writes:
The stakes are incredibly high. Haiti’s economy is in shambles with double-digit inflation, a massive budget deficit, and two straight years of negative growth. Over half of the country is under 24 years old, and hunger was spiking even before the pandemic. The UN considered over 40% of the country – 4.6 million people – to be food insecure in Feb. 2020, an 80% rise over 2019.
There is thus a high mistrust of politicians and of a state that is unwilling and unable to provide basic services to its population. The rejection of this system is, in fact, a reckoning – and one that is a long time coming.
Despite the darkness clouding the country, Clesca points out that there is still hope to be found. To make her case, she points out how many sectors of Haitian society have, at one time or another, taken a stand against Jovenel and his enablers, which to her is a sign of “something profound”:
Indeed, while Haiti is in a terrible state, she carries something profound in her belly: the seeds of transformation, which are the voices, convictions, commitment and actions of its citizens. Over the last three years of mobilization efforts, in which many activists have died, they have shown that they cherish the ideal of a democratic and free society. Their demands for equality, access to healthcare, the end of hunger, quality education, decent jobs are real ideals. Many are ferociously working to achieve them, and, as Nelson Mandela said, if need be, they are prepared to die for them.
Many truly believe now is their last chance to make a transformative change.
Colombia Offers a Hand
Colombia and Haiti have a long-standing friendship thanks to the role Haiti played in Colombian independence, and it may be due to these centuries old bonds that Colombia is offering to help Haiti battle it’s kidnapping crisis. After spending months on the ground in Haiti, Colombian Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Eduardo Tellez Betancourt released a report which includes recommendations for Haiti’s law enforcement and government to help curb such acts of insecurity and violence:
Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Eduardo Tellez Betancourt told Reuters his team of four specialists had delivered its report on Haiti’s kidnapping crisis on Tuesday after three months of on- the-ground research.
Among the report's conclusions are the need for Haiti's anti-kidnapping unit to receive more specialised training - for example at Colombia's anti-kidnapping school - and better equipment for investigating crime.
That includes the tools to intercept, analyse and block communications, he said, which in turn could help root out or disincentivize alleged connivance between politicians and the gangs responsible for kidnappings.
A shared history may not be the only reason Colombia is offering assistance to Haiti. According to a new report, Haitian migrants appear to make up the largest number of people attempting to cross the Darien Jungle, which is situated between the Panama and Colombia border, hoping to make their way to Mexico and the United States.
La vague actuelle de migration à la frontière entre la Colombie et le Panama a atteint le chiffre de 11 370 immigrants irréguliers au cours des quatre premiers mois de 2021, tandis que le flux se poursuit lundi à travers la jungle de Darien.
Selon les chiffres officiels communiqués à la presse par le Service national des migrations du Panama, le nombre d’arrivées a quadruplé par rapport à la période similaire précédente, et le chiffre a augmenté rapidement chaque mois de janvier à avril dernier, 76 % d’entre elles provenant des Antilles, principalement d’Haïti. (Source: Rezo Nòdwes)
The Darien Gap, as it is sometimes referred to, is one of the most dangerous jungles in the world:
The gap is 50km wide, stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Known as a drug smuggling corridor between the two countries, it’s rarely seen by outsiders. It’s a lawless wilderness teeming with everything from deadly snakes to antigovernment guerrillas. Tens of thousands of migrants a year risk their lives to cross it. Source: Dangerous Roads)
COVID Update
Haiti continues to experience a COVID-19 spike as the country’s top private university, Quisqueya, now reports to having found multiple cases on campus. Medical experts are expressing fears of a possible high death rate from the pandemic:
Il y a plus de malades, plus de malades graves et une crainte d’un taux de décès plus élevé, a soutenu le directeur général du MSPP, le Dr Lauré Adrien, en interview avec Le Nouvelliste, jeudi 20 mai 2021. « Nous n’avons pas seulement plus de malades mais nous avons aussi plus de malades graves. Ce qui nous fait craindre un taux de décès plus élevé », s'est-il inquiété, révélant que « la situation au niveau des hôpitaux qui prennent en charge les cas Covid-19 est préoccupante parce qu’ils peuvent très vite être dépassés pour plusieurs raisons». (Source: Le Nouvelliste)
As hospitals and local clinics struggle to take on this new inscrease in cases, the Haitian government has finally settled on acquiring doses of the Astrazeneca vaccine. The vaccines, which are set to come from India, are expected to arrive in late June/early July. However, there remains the issue of settling logistics:
Interrogé sur la logistique pour la réception et la vaccination, le directeur général du MSSP, a confié que « la logistique n’est pas tout à fait à point ». « Mais nous pensons que d’ici là elle le sera », a-t-il assuré.
« En fait, parlant de logistique, il ne faut pas voir seulement la réception des vaccins, le transport de l’aéroport à l’entrepôt. Il faut aussi considérer la chaîne de froid (constante), le dispatching dans les départements et les opérations de vaccination proprement dites », a poursuivi Dr Adrien, qui évoque la formation du personnel de santé, la mobilisation de seringues, les registres des vaccinés car les informations doivent être bien recueillies et bien traitées. (Source: Le Nouvelliste)
Heritage and Pride
We figured we’d keep the joy of the May 18 celebrations going, and leave you with footage of the events in Jacmel from earlier in the week. Stay safe and we’ll see you next week!
For more content be sure to visit us at woymagazine.com and follow us on Twitter at @woymagazine.