Onè Respè! 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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Péguy Siméon
On Monday, disturbing video footage emerged of a young man being thrown off the top of a bus and beaten by four police officers in the town of Ouanaminthe. The victim, Péguy Siméon, had just been deported from the Dominican Republic after fleeing Haiti due to the economic and insecurity crisis. He succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday afternoon, leaving behind a wife and two children.
RezoNòdwes reports that the police officers included in the case have been identified:
Finalement, les policiers impliqués dans ce crime ont été identifiés, a rassuré le commissaire divisionnaire et directeur départemental de la PNH dans le Nord’Est. Leurs badges et armes ont été confisqués alors que l’Inspection Générale s’apprête à se saisir du dossier, a-t-on appris.
The incident is being compared to the killing of George Floyd, whose murder by Minneapolis, Minnesota police officers was caught on tape last year. While the Haitian National Police Force (PNH) is Haiti’s very first police force, replacing the country’s former military-controlled law enforcement, the PNH resembles U.S. police departments with its trail of police brutality cases, and that may be for good reason.
Since its inception, the PNH has been trained by U.S. forces. In 1997, Human Rights Watch reported:
Haiti's transition to a civilian-controlled police has been marred by serious human rights violations. In the year and a half since its deployment, members of this U.S.-trained force have committed serious abuses, including torture and summary executions.
U.S. - Haiti law enforcement coachings have continued over the years, with Caribbean Life describing a three-week training led by Miami-Dade instructors in 2013:
Miami-Dade instructors are sharing knowledge and skills with their Haitian counterparts through in-service training at their Public Safety Training Institute. The three-week course aims to enhance the professional skills of the Haitian officers and build their professional network.
In a February 2021 op-ed for Spring, Yves Engler also reminds us that the current head of the PNH, Leon Charles, “was trained at the U.S. Navy Academy” and in 2004-2005 “ oversaw the reincorporation of hundreds of human rights abusing former soldiers into the police force. At the time US officials privately reported, according to cables released by WikiLeaks, “Charles was unwilling or unable to discipline or arrest officers that everybody knows are corrupt and colluding with the kidnappers.”
Dark City
As the country grappled with the killing of Péguy Siméon, there remains incredible violence taking place in Cite Soleil that calls for attention as well:
Une accalmie, observée en mars 2021, a été perturbée les mardi 11 et mercredi 12 mai 2021, par de récentes violences entre les chefs de gangs de Boston et de Bélékou, Mathias et Iscard Andrice ainsi connus, faisant partie de la coalition du groupe G9 et celui de Brooklyn, Gabriel ainsi connu. Jimmy Chérizier, alias Barbecue, chef de file de la coalition G9, aurait participé également à ces affrontements, fait savoir le Rnddh.
Overall, more than two dozen people have been reported dead from gang clashes which have been taking place since late April:
Au moins une quarantaine de personnes ont été tuées dans la commune de Cité Soleil (grande municipalité populaire, au nord de la capitale, Port-au-Prince), lors d’affrontements armés, qui ont éclaté, depuis le lundi 26 avril 2021, entre gangs rivaux, révèle, au quotidien « Le Nouvelliste », le Réseau national de défense des droits humains (Rnddh). (Source: AlterPresse)
Hate Crimes Rise
As the country continues to be held hostage by insecurity, a new note from the Ministry for the Status of Women and Women’s Rights reveals that femicides are also on the rise in Haiti:
Rappelons que depuis le début de l’année 2021, les cas de féminicide semblent avoir augmenté en Haïti. Plusieurs cas ont fait le tour des réseaux sociaux et défrayé la chronique. Immaculée Brédy, 25 ans, et Martine Flora Nérestant, 32 ans, sont les deux dernières victimes connues de féminicide. La première a été assassinée le samedi 1er mai 2021. Le corps sans vie de la deuxième avait été retrouvé à Tabarre le lundi 26 avril 2021. Entre 2018 et 2021, près de 60 cas, hormis les cas de Ginoue Mondésir et de Régina Nicolas, ont été recensés, avait confirmé la sociologue Sabine Lamour au journal dans une précédente entrevue. (Source: Le Nouvelliste)
Earlier this year, women’s groups took to the streets to not only protest Jovenel Moïse’s illegal hold on power, but to also bring awareness to how the rising tide of insecurity threatens and harms the everyday lives of women and girls:
By Hook or By Crook
Earlier this week, it was reported that leading gangs in Grand-Ravine and Village-de-Dieu agreed to a temporary ceasefire, following negotiations with the government:
Des sources proches de la Commission nationale de désarmement, démantèlement et réinsertion (CNDDR) ont confié au Nouvelliste que les gangs de Grand-Ravine et de Village-de-Dieu, deux des trois principaux groupes armés impliqués dans le kidnapping, ont observé une pause.
« Après beaucoup de négociations, les groupes armés de Grand-Ravine et de Village-de-Dieu acceptent d’observer une pause. Ils ont donné la garantie qu’ils ne procéderaient à aucun acte de kidnapping dans cette période », a révélé vendredi au Nouvelliste une source proche de la CNDDR. (Source: Le Nouvelliste)
Despite how this move is supposed to look on the surface, it is believed that this is Jovenel’s latest attempt to see his referendum through, despite several setbacks, including international critique, as well as full disapproval from leading members of his own party.
Meanwhile, the new prime minister Claude Joseph is hard at work promoting the illegal ballot initiative. On Monday, May 10, Joseph held a press conference pushing back on mass security concerns, claiming the government is working with the national police force to ensure that citizens are able to participate in the referendum free from harm.
He also touched upon recent collective and individual activations pushing back against the referendum, calling for people to allow others to participate in debates on the matter, while ironically stating that there have only been small “contestations” and no real dialogue or protests.
As you may recall, last week we shared a video of a local man from Jean-Rabel delivering an impassioned speech on the referendum as an example as to how Haitians are continuing to reject Jovenel’s efforts to change the constitution.
And here’s another video of a scuffle taking place as Haitians work to denounce the upcoming general vote:
A Mad Meeting
It looks like the Organization of American States (OAS) will soon deploy representatives from key countries in the region for a mission to Haiti, following an invitation to do so from Prime Minister Claude Joseph, in hopes that, “that the OAS mission would lead to a political agreement to help facilitate the organization of the constitutional referendum and elections later this year.”
However, during a meeting on Wednesday, Antigua and Barbuda Ambassador Sir Ronald Sanders, who supports the mission, refused to agree to any preconditions for the trip. In response, Haitian Ambassador Edmond Bocchit singled Sir Sanders out in his remarks:
Bocchit then launched into a public attack of Sanders, accusing the diplomat, who has been critical of the situation in Haiti, of using the country’s crisis as a pawn to promote his own agenda. Bocchit also accused Antigua and Barbuda, a nation of 100,000 people, of trying to destabilize Haiti, a country of more than 11 million, and engaging in “activities that are reprehensible.”
Both Sanders and his prime minister, Gaston Browne, took issue with Edmond’s attacks, saying they are unfounded and their only agenda is the “peace, security, democracy, human rights of the people of Haiti.”
“The allegation by the Haitian representative to the OAS that Antigua and Barbuda is trying to destabilize the government of Haiti would be laughable if it weren’t reprehensible,” Browne told the Miami Herald. “As part of the hemispheric community, Antigua and Barbuda is committed to democracy, the rule of law and human rights. We uphold these rights at home and abroad.” (Source: Miami Herald)
The mission will come as more Haitians grow concerned with how the international community continues to prop up the Jovenel regime, even as it attacks leaders from neighboring countries, which may lead to Haiti growing even more isolated in the region.
COVID Update
On Thursday, the Minister of Public Health and Sanitation released a new statement warning that the country is currently experiencing a new spike in COVID-19 cases since the start of the month.
Le Nouvelliste writes:
Le pays, qui pense avoir échappé à la fureur de la Covid-19, connait ces derniers une augmentation assez significative des cas de Covid-19. Rien que ce mois de mai, le pays a déjà enregistré environ 142 cas de contamination et huit décès dus au coronavirus, selon des chiffres fournis par le MSPP. Cependant le gouvernement n'a pas encore changé de stratégie de communication.
Such an intense increase is already placing a great strain on the fragile health care system, especially where resources are involved:
« Cette augmentation de 100% des cas de Covid-19 met à mal nos ressources à l’hôpital Saint-Luc. Nous recevons des cas confirmés positifs et des cas suspects. On est passé de 24 à 50. La particularité de ces malades, c’est qu’ils consomment beaucoup d’oxygène. Chaque malade de Covid-19 consomme quatre bombonnes d’oxygène en 24 heures », a révélé au Nouvelliste le Dr Marc Edson Augustin.
Persona Non Grata
Despite claiming this project would commence later this year, it looks like the Dominican Republic has decided to get a head start in building a new wall on the border. According to La Prensa Latina:
The Dominican Republic has already built 23 kilometers (14 miles) of fence on its border…, a project begun without fanfare prior to President Luis Abinader’s announcement of plans for a frontier-long barrier.
In previous statements, President Abinader claims the purpose of said wall is to curb the flow of migrants from Haiti and tackle “drug trafficking and contraband smuggling.” Plans for the border wall also include “facial recognition cameras and motion and infrared sensors.”
Last week, several civil organizations in Santo Domingo protested the president’s plan for these border restrictions:
Furthermore, civil organizations in the DR have taken their activations one step further and dubbed former Haitian president Michel Martelly “persona non grata” ahead of his scheduled show at the Hard Rock Café in Santo Domingo Friday night. The statement delivered by the groups ties their decision to Martelly’s role in the missing PetroCaribe funds scandal, as well as his administration’s past efforts to further weaken Haiti’s judiciary system among many other crimes:
Aujourd’hui, le peuple haïtien souffre de famine avec les politiques mafieuses du Parti Haïtien Tèt Kale, (PHTK), le parti des skinheads, une organisation fasciste créée par Martelly et l’empire pour accaparer les deniers publics à leur profit et dans l’intérêt des États-Unis et d’autres colonialistes comme la France et d’autres. Martelly / Moïse ont doublé la pauvreté d’Haïti. (Source: RezoNòdwes)
Let’s Talk Money
As President Emmanuel Macron led France’s celebrations to mark the anniversary of the abolition of slavery, advocates and scholars renewed their calls for the country to pay reparations to former colonized nations, including Haiti. In an interview with France24, professor and friend to Woy, Marlene Daut questions the lack of historical truths mentioned in commemoration ceremonies for the occasion, and argues how France’s current state of wealth can be tied directly to the enslavement of Africans in former territories.
You can watch the interview below:
Summer Reading
If you’re anything like us, you’re probably hard at work curating your summer reading lists. To help you with the endeavor, check out Haiti: Then and Now’s Summer 2021 reading list featuring ten books focusing on the country’s politics, history and culture. Check out the full list here, and some of our selections below. We’ll see you next week, friends!
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