Konman nou ye? 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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Solidarity vs Imperialism
The last few weeks have seen an incredible show of solidarity among Haitians in the aftermath of the devastating 7.2 earthquake that hit the southern peninsula of Haiti. Haitians from the diaspora and inside Haiti have come together to lend a hand to their brothers and sisters in this time of need, a hopeful sign that maybe things are happening differently than in 2010. The video below shows a group of Haitians from a small town called Nan Palmis on the Gran Kayimit island (35 km off the shore of Jeremi). They are bringing crops to a neighboring town called Pwent Sab that was not faring as well after the earthquake.
Haitian reporter and filmmaker, Etant Dupain, summarized his observations after visiting the affected region in the last few weeks. He observed, among other things, that it is primarily Haitians helping Haitians, there are more local groups than large international NGOs on the ground, the needs are great, and there is a lot more coordination needed.
Countries from around the world have been sending aid in the aftermath of the earthquake in the form of medical envoys, food, and such. On August 21st, the USS Arlington arrived in Haiti . Its stated purpose in the country, according to the ship’s commanding officer, is “to concentrate on saving lives while alleviating suffering for the people of Haiti…Assisting those in need due to a natural disaster is something this team is trained and ready to do. Our presence here demonstrates our nation’s commitment to supporting our partners in this part of the world."
Aware of the history of U.S. foreign policy towards Haiti and what the presence of marines has meant for Haitians in the past, it comes as no surprise that this ship’s arrival has been met with much concern and criticism. Back in July, Melodie Cerin, Woy Magazine co-editor spoke of similar events in the 2010 earthquake in her piece warning against foreign intervention after the assassination of Jovenel Moise: “…proponents of foreign intervention… argue its merits to avoid chaos and for the sake of stability. We know that when disaster strikes, the assumption is that Black people will descend into senseless violence and pillaging. This was the assumption after the earthquake in 2010.”
What’s going on with the investigation?
Judge Gary Orelien was picked to replace Judge Chanlatte after he withdrew himself, as we reported in last week’s newsletter. Chanlatte quit claiming a lack of support and security measures required to protect him and his family to do the work. Interestingly, Chanlatte’s resignation statement left out that his clerk was killed recently after starting to work on the case, and that his resignation came in the middle of considerable public criticism in reaction to the murder of his clerk.
After the resignation of Mathieu Chanlatte, many hoped that he would be replaced by a panel of judges, as opposed to another individual with ties to PHTK. A panel of three judges has some precedent according to Mèt Gousse who was interviewed by Ayibopost. This article also revealed that many competent judges were interested in the important role, but were not contacted.
Formellement ou par personnes interposées, moins de dix juges d’instruction ont été contactés par le doyen, selon des révélations faites par une source proche du processus. Il requiert l’anonymat pour éviter des répercussions négatives sur sa carrière.
Au moins cinq magistrats, salués par leurs pairs pour leur neutralité et compétence, n’ont soit pas été considérés, ou même contactés, selon les informations collectées par AyiboPost. (Source: Ayibopost)
RNDDH, human rights organization, released its investigation report on the. assassination of Jovenel Moise. The major conclusion of the report claims that Moise was betrayed by his own security team. Chief of the National Haitian Police, Leon Charles, as well as the as well as heads of National Palace security, Jean Laguel Civil and Dimitri Herard, were contacted by the president in his moments of distress. All failed to send any support to save the president that night.
Here is a good breakdown of the highlights of RNDDH’s report in a 10 tweet Twitter thread from Haitian news outlet, AlterPresse:
Among other major revelations, RNDDH’s report also points the finger at Dimitri Herard as the one responsible for providing guns to the mercenaries who allegedly carried out the assassination. Herard is no stranger to controversial headlines. A bombshell New York Times piece this past week implicates Herard in a major drug scandal that occurred in Haiti in 2015 during Michel Martelly’s presidency, where a huge amount of cocaine was found at a private port in Port-au-Prince. Eyewitnesses say that day that Herard and other palace security arrived at the scene, and scrambled to whisk away drugs that were found on a boat that was pretending to carry sugar.
What Mr. Hérard may have done with the illicit cargo taken from the port that day remains unclear. But his job protecting Mr. Martelly, the president at the time, and allegations that he worked with Mr. Saint-Rémy — Mr. Martelly’s brother-in-law — were central points in the investigation. (Source: NY Times)
Back in 2018, Ayibopost published a controversial report of a statement by Mario Andresòl, Haitian Chief of Police from 2005 to 2012, claiming that Michel Martelly transported drugs for Colombians.
Kowona toujou la
The Ministry of Health has reported that there are 3,360 fully vaccinated people in the country as of August 26th, 2021. Experts have expressed concerns over a potential rise in cases because of the natural disaster, and aid being flown in from countries where the Delta variant is prominent.
Meanwhile the CDC has issued a level 4 “Do not travel” travel notice for Haiti because of COVID-19 despite Haiti’s official Covid numbers being relatively low. This update has been met with much pushback from Haitians on the internet, recalling the CDC’s historical racist characterisation of Haitians as diseased.
Woy GoFundMe Update:
340 additional tarps (along with nails and tape) were distributed in the department of Nippes in Lyèv, Kafou Michèl, Lazil, Ano and Nan Michou thanks to Woy Magazine’s successful GoFundMe. This portion of the initiative initially set out to purchase and distribute tents (having received an exceptional authorization from the authorities). However, in an attempt to purchase all of the distribution materials in Haiti, affordable tents proved too difficult to find. Our team instead continued to distribute tarps that can be fashioned into tents and used to cover holes in damaged homes from rain and other outside elements. This distribution was executed by student activist groups from the State University of Haiti in collaboration with Woy Magazine.
This comes to a total of 1,140 tarps distributed in the Southern Peninsula to families in need as a result of this fundraiser. A more detailed report will be available soon.
Friends, we leave you with this piece by the group Ayizan from their 1984 record “Dilijans”. Bon wikenn!