Alo! Welcome to the latest edition of Woy Magazine’s weekly newsletter, providing you with must-know news and commentary on Haiti and our Diaspora.
Hey friends! We’re nearly halfway into the year, and each week continues to come with it’s own thing — and this one was no different.
With most Western economies hanging on by a thread (hellooo Great Depression 2.0), it comes as no surprise that the Haitian gourdes would experience a great spiral in devaluation. In a recent op-ed for Ayibopost, Emmanuela Douyon touches upon the latest controversial decision taken by the country’s national bank that all remittances sent to Haiti must be received in gourdes even if it was sent by an American sender (exceptions for funds deposited directly into a person’s bank account). The decision was initially slated to go into effect in June, but it’s been postponed for August. Douyon writes:
Peyi a dolarize anpil. Nan dènye lane yo gen plis lajan sere an dola ke an goud. Pri kay ki gen ti konfò yo se an dola, pri kèk lekòl se an dola, pri anpil restoran ki plizoumwen yo se an dola, magazen yo se an dola majorite nan yo fikse pri yo. Apre mache ak boutik ou pa souvan jwenn magazen ki pa pre mache vann an goud. Anplis de sa, chak enstitisyon sa yo fikse todijou pa yo pou dola. Menm lè mèt magazen yo mete pri yo an goud, se toujou ak yon to ki egzajere yo kalkile l pou yo ka fè ase lajan lè yo pral retounen achte machandiz.
For years, immigration activists in the states have sounded the alarm about how the American prison industrial complex feeds the United States’ immigration policies. Following the creation of ICE in 2003 and the ramping up of deportations under the Obama Administration, more and more are coming to this realization as the Trump Administration expands on this pre-existing system with new draconian executive orders and harsher criminal sentences.
This week, our friends at L’Union Suite published a video detailing the real human cost of this system. The video depicts a Haitian-American man breaking down following his deportation to the island, despite having never visited or having any contacts there. (Trigger warning: threats of death by suicide)
From the very beginning, we’ve used our newsletter to shed a light on the growing gang violence ravaging communities across the island, especially in the capital. And we hope to continue bringing you content to make sense of it.
On Thursday, a local group, Fondasyon Je Klere, released a new report about the recent gang terror in low-income/working class neighborhoods in Haiti. The report finds that the gang violence which has and continues to be responsible for countless deaths and cases of arson is an electoral strategy masterminded and orchestrated by politicians. You can read the full report here, and be sure to check out this great breakdown of the findings below:
For those of you with kids, be sure to check out Jaden Timoun, an ongoing program from Haiti Cultural Exchange. This Saturday and July 4th, they’ll be hosting “Haitian Kreyòl Story Time” for children of all ages and their family. You can register here.
If you’re looking for something mentally stimulating this weekend, be sure to tune into the Little Haiti Book Festival taking place this Sunday at 2 PM (virtually, of course). Guests performers and speakers include: Edwidge Danticat, Ti Corn and Emeline Michel.
Annnnd, here’s our musical selection for the week. This song is so pretty, we’re just going to put the video here and let you get into this. Take care of yourselves, baes!
For more content be sure to visit us at woymagazine.com and follow us on Twitter at @woymagazine.