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.
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Fèt Grangou
May 1st marked Agriculture and Labor Day in Haiti, however the holiday took on an entirely different meaning considering the state of the country today. Many took to social media to highlight the plight of workers under an incredibly exploitative system that leaves many locked out from access to basic resources:
In a new editorial in Le National, Jean-Euphèle Milcé argues that the insecurity ravaging the country takes up so much energy that many have failed to notice how it has destabilized Haiti’s economy, reducing many to unspeakable levels of poverty:
Nous oublions presque de parler de pauvreté voire de travailler sur des politiques capables de la faire reculer dans le pays. Pendant que les routes sont régulièrement coupées entravant la circulation des personnes et des marchandises, que les gens se barricadent chez eux par peur d’être enlevés contre rançon, les Nations unies ont couché dans un récent rapport que plus d’une personne sur trois a besoin d’une aide alimentaire urgente en Haïti. Ce qui équivaut à dire que, cachée ou pas, la population, pour un tiers, meurt de faim. Et le reste, dans sa grande majorité, est au régime indigent des produits de mauvaise qualité qui lui sont fourgués par les princes de la négoce qui maitrisent à la perfection l’art des gros profits.
Gaël Pressoir, the Dean for the Faculty of Argricultural and Environmental Sciences at Quisqueya University, reiterated these points in an interview on May 2, warning that uprisings may spring from such incredible economic uncertainty:
In a 2017 article for Woy Magazine, Etant Dupain also sounded the alarm for how food insecurity at the time could lead to uprisings, and sure enough they did in July 2018. A lot of what he wrote then can still apply today:
Today, the situation is worse than it was in 2008. Inflation has increased, hunger has increased, corruption has increased, and the purchasing power has decreased for the majority of the population. The Gourde has lost half its value because of inflation, while the government is unable to raise funds. According to the president of the senate, Youri Latortue, the national budget is still 136 billion Gourdes, same as it was five years ago. The difference is, 136 billion Gourdes back then was equal to $3.4 billion USD, but today it is equal to $1.7 billion USD. According to Le Nouvelliste, our debt increased by 216% between 2011 and 2017, going from owing $640 million to owing about $2 billion.
If you’re interested in supporting grassroots agricultural efforts in Haiti, check out this GoFundMe for Mouvman Rebwazman headed by Metrès Thoya. You can learn more about their community efforts here.
Haiti, God Dam
During one of the many Labor Day festivities, Jovenel Moïse inaugurated a new dam, Barrage Marion, in Grand-Bassin. The dam cost the country a whopping $10 million, and many are raising eyebrows at the pricetag considering the government’s long, detailed history with mismanaging funds, like those from the PetroCaribe scandal:
Les données officielles fournies semblent insuffisantes aux yeux de nombreux internautes qui se sont exprimés sur le sujet, particulièrement à travers les réseaux sociaux. Ils soulèvent des interrogations notamment en ce qui concerne la transparence sur les fonds dépensés, dans un contexte où les soupçons de corruption sont persistants.
Le public a toujours à l’esprit le scandale Petrocaribe de dilapidation de plus de 4 milliards de dollar d’aide du Venezuela, destinés à des projets de développement. (Source: AlterPresse)
Jovenel, in the meantime, has been busy patting himself on the back for this new industrial structure with banners strewn up by his cronies, comparing it to architectural feats like Roi Henri Christophe’s Citadelle.
As you can imagine, social media users had comparisons of their own ready to be made:
Down Ballot
Last week, we mentioned the kidnapping case of Wilking Decette, a prominent resident of the TiGwav commune. Earlier this week, RHI News reported that despite receiving a large sum of money, Decette’s captors refuse to free him. Decette’s family, as well as the head of the Réseau national de défense des droits humains (RNDHH), believe that he has been targeted because he refused to back and promote Jovenel’s referendum:
Les proches de la victime soupçonnent une main politique derrière cet enlèvement survenu quelques temps après que M. Dicette eut refusé de mettre sa maison à la disposition des autorités en place pour installer un bureau électoral devant accueillir le référendum sur la nouvelle constitution de Jovenel Moïse.
Selon ses proches, Wilking Dicette a été kidnappé pour son refus de promouvoir le référendum contesté de Jovenel Moïse.
C’est aussi le point de vue de Pierre Esperance, défenseur des droits humains qui relevé des indices probants sur le fait que l’enlèvement de Wilking Dicette est un cas classique de kidnapping d’Etat.
As the date for the referendum approaches, Haitians continue to stand against the illegal ballot initiative. On May 4, during a local conference organized by Jovenel’s political party, PHTK, a man stood up and delivered an impassioned speech to defend the Constitution, "Ici c'est Jean-Rabel , cité de Capoix-la-mort. Jean Rabel est le pivot géographique de la liberté des Nègres de toute la planète.”
Additionally, the referendum continues to hit international stumbling blocks. One week after the U.S. government announced they would not be financing Jovenel’s initiative, the European Union declared the same, adding that they would not be sending observers for it, as well:
« Les conditions pour un appui financier et technique à l’organisation des élections ne sont absolument pas remplies à ce stade donc nous avons refusé de contribuer à ce processus en l’état », a déclaré l’ambassadrice de l’Union européenne en Haïti, Sylvie Tabesse.
« Nous considérons que le processus ne donne pas toutes les garanties de transparence et de démocratie que l’on serait en droit d’attendre donc, dans ce cadre, non, si le gouvernement (haïtien) nous le demandait, nous n’envisageons pas de répondre positivement pour une mission d’observation », a ajouté la diplomate lors d’une rencontre avec plusieurs journalistes dans la capitale haïtienne. (Source: La Presse)
A Fragile State
In his remarks to RHI News, the RNDHH’s Pierre Esperance warned that we may experience an even greater uptick in kidnappings as the date for the referendum approaches:
‘’On ne devrait pas s’étonner de constater une légère baisse des actes de kidnapping dans les prochains jours après que Jovenel Moïse eut déclaré que 80% des enlèvements étaient d’origine politique, ce de manière à créer une perception que ce sont ses adversaires politiques qui en sont responsables, selon Pierre Espérance.’’
This is a stark prediction considering that new released figures show that the number of kidnappings increased by 300% in the month of April, with 43% of them taking place in the capital:
Au moins 91 cas de kidnapping (enlèvements et séquestration de personnes) ont été enregistrés pour le mois d’avril 2021, contre 27 pour le mois de mars 2021, soit une augmentation de plus de 300%, révèle le Centre d’analyse et de recherche en droits humains (Cardh), dans un bulletin daté du mardi 4 mai 2021, consulté par l’agence en ligne AlterPresse.
43 % des cas de kidnapping ont été recensés dans la municipalité de Port-au-Prince, 22% à la Croix-des-Bouquets (municipalité au nord-est de la capitale, Port-au-Prince), 19% à Carrefour (municipalité au sud de Port-au-Prince) et 16% à Delmas (autre municipalité au nord-est de Port-au-Prince), relève le Cardh. (Source: Alterpresse)
During the inauguration celebrations for the new dam, Jovenel proclaimed that most of the kidnappings are politically driven, insinuating that the opposition is responsible for the country’s insecurity woes. His comments were immediately refuted by the opposition:
« C’est une grosse accusation de déclarer que l’opposition est responsable des actes de kidnapping. Jovenel Moïse doit traduire en justice les dirigeants de l’opposition ou bien il reviendrait à ces derniers de traduire Jovenel Moïse devant la justice pour diffamation », a réagi, pour sa part, l’ancienne sénatrice Edmonde Supplice Beauzile, présidente du parti politique Fusion des socio-démocrates haïtiens (Fusion), dans un message publié sur son compte twitter.
Le parti politique Fusion assimile les accusations du président de facto à des manœuvres, visant à cacher son échec dans le dossier du kidnapping.
« À chaque fois qu’il commet un échec, il accuse l’opposition », dénonce Edmonde Supplice Beauzile. (Source: AlterPresse)
As Jovenel sings a new tune on the causes of insecurity, yet another police officer seems to have fallen victim to it. Guerby Geffrard, a former spokesperson for the SPNH - 17 union, was reported to have died over the weekend. However, the national police force maintains, via their spokespeople, that they cannot verify whether the police officer was actually killed or not:
« Nous sommes informés par les réseaux sociaux que Guerby Geffrard serait mort. Nous avons analysé la photo mais nous ne sommes pas en mesure de confirmer une telle information. Nous allons continuer de suivre son évolution. Entre-temps, le service du SPNH-17 poursuit son enquête. Nous avons contacté les membres de sa famille : son père, sa femme, son frère, ses proches, ils ont les mêmes questionnement sur ce qui se passe », a fait savoir Jean Elder Lundi, qui se montre très prudent dans le cadre de cette affaire. (Source: Le Nouvelliste)
The head of the PNH says he will not address this case as one of murder, kidnapping or disappearance, claiming that his forces are carrying out an investigation to confirm what may have happened.
Not On This Island
On May 4, several civil organizations in the Dominican Republic held a series of protests against President Louis Abinader’s decision to erect a border wall between the two countries of Hispaniola:
Jounen 4 me a, Dominiken nan vil Sen Domeng te leve kanpe ak Ayiti , yo di ke yo kont miray divizyon gouvènman fachis Jovnèl Moyiz ak Louwis Abinader ap planifye pou monte sou fwontyè 2 peyi yo ! Yo fè konnen desizyon rasis sa pap vinn aplike sou zile a . (Source: Centre à la UNE)
In February, Abinader announced his plans to start building a fence later this year to “put an end to the serious problems of illegal immigration, drug trafficking and the movement of stolen vehicles” (Source: Reuters)
You can check out some footage of remarks from the protests in Santo Domingo, below:
A Missing Enabler
Following the lifetime ban by FIFA of former Haitian Football Association president Yves Jean-Bart, the organization has now issued a decade-long ban against Nella Joseph, who served as a supervisor for the Under-20 women’s team. According to their investigation:
Joseph was found guilty by FIFA's independent Ethics Committee of failing to protect the physical and mental integrity of various female players under her authority, and "by actively coercing and threatening them into engaging in sexual relationships" with former Haitian football association president Yves Jean-Bart, FIFA said in a statement on its website. (Source: ESPN)
Joseph has also been hit with a fine of $20,000 Swiss francs. FIFA reports that they have been unable to contact her, nor have they received a requested written statement from Joseph.
Mother’s Day Call to Action
The Black Mama’s Bail Out initiative is entering its fifth cycle this year, as activists from around the United States raise money to free Black mothers and caregivers from jail, prison and immigration detention centers. If you’re interested in participating, be sure to check out the following post from the Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI), whose advocates are working to free Black immigrant mothers just in time for Mother’s Day.
According to BAJI, “Detained Black migrants face higher bonds than other detained migrants, so most are trapped indefinitely in horrendous detention conditions.” You can donate to the cause here.
LANNWIT
Shout out to our friend, Pyelila for his latest project commissioned by the Adobe Creative Regency. In his latest piece, he conjures up the deity, Lannwit, inspired by two Vodou Lwas, Ayida Wèdo and Damballah:
I called her "LANNWIT". She is the spirit of the night, the child birthed in the Artibonite River, by the eternal love between the Sun and the Moon and her very presence is the night itself.
Her reflection can be seen in the rivers at night, and her energy fills the air with love, sweet melancholia and passion when the sun sets. During New Moons and first crescents of each month, she wanders out of the rivers pouring her calming mood on Haitian towns.
You can purchase a print of this piece here. And if you’re unfamiliar with Pyelila’s work, check out two of his drawings from a previous collection honoring the lwas:
Thank you so much for reading! See you again next week!
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