Menm nan lanfè gen moun pa
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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Condolences to Fanm on Films
We are sad to learn of the passing of Ella Turenne, co-host and co-founder of Fanm on Films. Fanm on Films is an insightful podcast project covering Haitian cinema. Turenne co-wrote a thoughtful reflection on Haitians and representation in American cinema for Woy last year. You can read that piece here. We send her family and friends our deepest condolences for this tragic loss. Her work lives on and has undoubtedly left its mark.
Montana-PEN Accord
Several union organization signatories of the Montana Accord have expressed their disapproval of the recent merging of the Montana and PEN Accords. These organizations argue that a small group made this decision within the Montana Accord who allegedly took the liberty of making decisions for the entire collective. The Montana-PEN merge changes specific critical details of the Accord — namely, proposing a presidential college of five people instead of a single president and a prime minister as the Accord previously proposed.
Pour justifier leur dénonciation, les représentants de ces structures, via une note de presse, rappellent que l’accord de Montana prévoit un exécutif bicéphale avec un président et un premier ministre alors que la nouvelle proposition fait état d’un collège présidentiel.
Des expériences passées de ce mécanisme de gestion du pouvoir en Haiti exécutif n’avaient pas donné les résultats escomptés, lit-on dans la note portant les signatures de Me Jacques Belzin, Dominique Saint-Louis, et Me Jean Bonal Golinsky Fatal, respectivement responsables de la Confédération des Travailleurs Haitiens ( CTH), Confédération des Travailleurs et Travailleuses des secteurs public et privé et la Centrale Nationale des Ouvriers. (Source: Vant Bèf Info)
In the meantime, the Konsey Nasyonal Tranzisyon (KNT) the body proposed by the Montana Accord has moved ahead with its plan to elect a prime minister and president. The election, which will tally the votes of the KNT’s delegates, is set for January 30th. Leading up to that day the KNT is meeting with the candidates in private today and will hold a public debate on January 29th. It remains to be seen how the presidential college that we previously mentioned will be operationalized.
On the heels of a summit held with representatives of the international community Ariel Henry is setting up another provisional electoral council.
Investigation update
Former senator John Joël Joseph was arrested in Jamaica on Saturday, January 15th, as a suspect in the assassination of Jovenel Moise. According to the Haitian National Police (PNH), Joseph played a crucial role in planning the assassination.
The Jamaican press reports that he was found living in hiding in the rural community of St. Elizabeth, accompanied by three other Haitian nationals who appear to be his wife and two children. He was apprehended by the Terrorism and Organized Crime Unit of the St. Elizabeth Police, which is the second of such arrests made in Jamaica.
According to Le Nouvelliste, both John Joël Joseph and Joseph Félix Badio were previously at the center of allegations by Pierre Espérance (Executive Director of the RNDDH) for being extended special protections under the Ariel Henry government, allowing Joseph to leave the country unchecked. Joseph Félix Badio — whom you might remember from the last newsletter — was recently identified by Rodolphe Jaar as having close ties to de facto Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
With that, the US Senate recently voted unanimously in favor of a probe into Jovenel Moise’s assassination.
Le rapport exigé, a spécifié cette loi, doit inclure une description détaillée des événements qui ont conduit à l'assassinat du président Jovenel Moïse, une description et un résumé de l'enquête, une identification des dates clés et les noms des personnes étrangères liées à l'assassinat et à l'enquête sur l’assassinat. Une description du soutien apporté par les États-Unis aux efforts déployés par les autorités haïtiennes pour enquêter sur l'assassinat du président Jovenel Moïse, une évaluation de l'indépendance et de la capacité des autorités haïtiennes à enquêter sur l’assassinat du président Jovenel Moïse. Une description de l'existence de toute personnes étrangères précédemment employées par ou ayant servi de contracteur ou d'informateur pour le gouvernement des États-Unis américain impliquées dans l'assassinat du Jovenel Moïse. Cette loi veut aussi que les parlementaires américains obtiennent également une description et l'identification des personnes étrangères impliquées dans l'exécution et la planification de l'assassinat de l'ancien président Jovenel Moïse et une évaluation des intentions de ces personnes étrangères. (Source: Le Nouvelliste)
Gary Orélien’s term as the judge overseeing the investigation into Jovenel Moise's murder has expired and has not been renewed. Reports of corruption in handling the Moise case from the RNDDH are likely behind the fact that his term was not renewed.
Alors que la Direction Centrale de la Police Judiciaire (DCPJ) menait son enquête, plusieurs mandats d'amener ont été émis par le Parquet près du Tribunal de Première Instance de Port-au-Prince. Dès sa désignation à titre de magistrat instructeur, Garry Orélien a commencé à prendre contact avec les personnes en question et leur a demandé, à chacune d'elles, de lui verser jusqu'à cinquante mille (50,000) dollars américains pour l'annulation de ces mandats d'amener. Pour la levée d'une interdiction de départ émise à l'encontre d'une personnalité dont le nom a été cité pour s'être entretenue avec l'un des individus indexés dans cet assassinat, deux millions (2,000,000) de Gourdes ont été versées au magistrat instructeur Garry Orélien […]” (Source: Haiti Libre)
Furthermore, the RNDDH has asked the Conseil supérieur du pouvoir judiciaire (CSPJ) to open an investigation into Orélien’s conduct.
Caracol workers demand higher wages
The Caracol Industrial Park has seen massive protests led by thousands of workers fighting for higher wages in recent weeks.
Back in 2012, the inauguration of the industrial park was ushered in with much fanfare by the Clinton Foundation, the IDB, the US State Department, and the PHTK administration. These factories and the 60,000 jobs it would offer were touted as a significant transformation and promise for Haiti’s economy. Today, a decade later, thousands of workers — at what has only turned out to be sweatshops — are protesting salaries that amount to about USD $4 a day. However, their efforts to secure living wages have largely fallen on deaf ears, receiving very little news coverage.
La question salariale demeure le plus gros morceau des revendications, mais le responsable de l’organisation syndicale énumère plusieurs mauvaises pratiques que subissent les ouvriers comme le harcelement, la révocation arbitraire et la surexploitation.
Dans une interview donnée à notre rédaction Fignolé Saint-Cyr fait remarquer que ces types de mouvement sont un moyen aussi pour dénoncer devant la communauté nationale et internationale l’attitude de l’État haitien qui priorise les intérêts de ceux qui font de la richesse via ces activités au détriment de la classe ouvrière.
« La nourriture, le transport, les services, tout devient plus cher alors qu’il n’y a pas une augmentation pour régler cette question » a détesté le syndicaliste qui croit que la décision d’adopter cet ajustement ne doit pas durer. (Source: Mapou Infos)
Though they have received very little attention, these protests have been met with much state violence. On January 20th, there were videos and social media posts stating that Haitian police had allegedly murdered one such protester.
We were unable to find any news sources reporting on the claims being made on social media. We were, however, able to speak to a union member at Caracol that clarified that the worker “Mikey” was indeed shot, but is still alive.
“Se patwon an ki rele lapolis vin tire anndan an pandan moun yo ap fè manifestasyon pou chanje vi yo. Moun Karakòl yo toujou fé sa” Fignole Saint-Cyr told us. (“It is the boss who called the police to come to shoot in there while people were protesting to change their lives. The Caracòl people always do that.”) St. Cyr went on to demand reparations for his comrade and called for justice to hold the police accountable for injuring a defenseless worker asking for better life conditions. You can read Saint-Cyr’s full statement on Woy Magazine.
In response to these protests, the de facto government claims to have initiated mediations between the factories and the union representatives that will allow operations to resume.
Le gouvernement de facto informe avoir déjà entamé un processus de concertation, avec les différents acteurs du secteur patronal et syndical, en vue de trouver, un accord mutuellement bénéfique pour une reprise négociée des activités, dans les plus brefs délais, au Parc industriel de Caracol, dans le département du Nord-Est d’Haïti, apprend l’agence en ligne AlterPresse.
Cette annonce fait suite au mouvement de protestations, organisées, les lundi 17 et vendredi 21 janvier 2022, par les ouvrières et ouvriers du Parc industriel de Caracol, en vue de réclamer une augmentation de salaires.
Ces mobilisations ont perturbé le fonctionnement du Parc de Caracol, qui accueille des milliers d’ouvrières et d’ouvriers.
Le gouvernement de facto déclare exprimer sa solidarité avec les travailleuses et travailleurs, les entrepreneuses et entrepreneurs, et toutes les victimes de ces récentes turbulences, dans une note dont a pris connaissance l’agence en ligne AlterPresse. (Source: AlterPresse)
Pitit Desalin
Former Sentator, Moise Jean-Charles was recently arrested in the US on his way back from a trip to Nigeria, where he had stopped en route for Haiti. He was detained overnight, had his visa revoked (banning him from the US for five years), and was deported back to Haiti. After his return, his supporters took to the streets to protest against his treatment, claiming he was questioned for over 8 hours. Jean-Charles himself claims they even stuck some sort of device in his mouth.
A possible Duvalier refund
Reports in the press of the Swiss attempting to return funds stolen by the Duvalier family caused quite the stir this past week. Rumors of such an effort have circulated in Haiti for several years now. According to AyiboPost, negotiations between the Michel Martelly Administration and the Swiss government, which took place in 2017, fell through because Martelly wanted to use the funds for elections. The stolen funds amount to USD$ 6.5 million.
« Ils ont fait preuve de désinvolture quand ils ont su que l’argent ne pouvait être dépensé n’importe comment », analyse une source proche des négociations.
Le dossier sera réactivé sous la présidence de Jovenel Moïse. L’élu du Parti Haïtien Tèt Kale désirait investir les fonds dans sa Caravane du changement. La Suisse a estimé l’initiative « trop floue », rapporte la source. « Ce n’était pas un projet viable ni défini au niveau opérationnel ou stratégique », dit-elle. (Source: AyiboPost)
For more on the breadth of Duvalier's legacy in terms of loss of life and the amount of money drained from Haiti's coffers, check out this interview with Jean Dominique and Jonathan Demme from Radio Haiti's archives.
Goudou Goudou
There have been an alarming amount of small earthquakes, and aftershocks felt throughout Haiti in the last several days. According to Miami Herald, 75 in total. As a result, two people have died, and dozens of schoolchildren and adults were injured.
According to Jerry Chandler, the head of the Office of Civil Protection, these casualties could have been avoided if these victims had been more informed about how to respond to earthquakes across the country.
“Most of the people who were wounded and hurt were because they had bad reactions; they panicked,” Chandler told the Miami Herald. “That showed a lack of information and education.”
Chandler said that until now, donors have not been focused on providing financial assistance to help Haiti educate students and others on how to respond to quakes. But after Monday’s devastation, mobilizing such assistance has become a top priority, he said.
The Office of Civil Protection said about 50 people, most of them teenagers and young adults, had to be taken to the hospital Monday after suffering injuries during dozens of tremors that measured between 1.8 and 5.5 in magnitude. The agency said 591 homes were damaged and 191 were destroyed. (Source: Miami Herald)
Here is what you need to know in case of an earthquake:
Kreyol: TRANBLEMAN TÈ: ZÒN KI AN DANJE YO - Sa nou dwe konnen
French: Comment se protéger pendant un tremblement de terre
English: Earthquakes
Immigration
A boat was found capsized in between the Bahamas and Florida on Wednesday, January 26th. Rescue efforts by the US Coast Guard were described as frantic, where one body was found, and the search for 38 more continued. Only a single known survivor was rescued, and as of January 27th, four more bodies were found.
The survivor informed authorities that their boat was coming from Bimini in the Bahamas carrying 40 people — none of whom had life jackets. Their untimely demise was attributed to rough seas. As of sunset on January 27th, active searching has been halted as it is unlikely anyone else has survived.
On the same day as the lone survivor was found, the Coast Guard intercepted an overloaded sail freighter carrying 191 Haitians near the Bahamas.
The US Coast Guard patrols the waters around Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and the Bahamas, along routes often used by migrants trying to reach the US, and it has stopped and repatriated those found navigating US waters.
Most of the asylum seekers attempting to reach Florida by sea come from Haiti and Cuba. Last October, about 1,194 migrants, mainly men who were trying to reach Miami in the US state of Florida, were repatriated to Haiti, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM).
They had come ashore after their boat ran out of fuel and experienced engine problems in the south of Cuba, where they were arrested by the authorities. (Source: The Guardian)
Meanwhile, the Biden Administration continues to deport Haitians in droves to a country the U.S itself has deemed unsafe to travel to. According to Amnesty International, the Biden Administration has sent more than 180 deportation flights to Haiti.
The U.S. has also been facing the biggest immigration backlog it has ever seen, where more than 1.5 million cases are currently pending. In an interview on MSNBC, the President of the American Immigration Lawyers Association explains that these backlogs were caused in part by infrastructural issues, negligence by the Trump Administration, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. He also asserts that the Biden Administration can tackle these backlogs by getting rid of cases related to marijuana offenses and those pending for over five years, among other things.
Ale an pè, Alcibiade
Last week, Haitian comedy legend, Nicolas Pierre Rolin (better known as Alcibiade), passed away at the age of 83. Alcibiade and his troop were mainly known for their Sunday night comedic radio show where Rolin could be found playing the part of multiple characters in one skit with his uncanny ability to take on lively personas and a multitude of voices. Share in his comedic genius by checking out this clip of his work: