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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Sa k nan vant ou se li ki pa w What is in your belly is all you own (Haitian Proverb)
CHAY LA | BIG STORY
Yves Jean-Bart’s Lifetime Ban Overturned
A heartbreaking story has found its way back into the news this week. Yves Jean-Bart, former president of the Haitian Football Federation (FHF), has had a lifetime ban from the International Football Federation Association (FIFA) overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) citing insufficient evidence. Jean-Bart was initially banned in November 2020, following sexual abuse allegations brought forth by several young female athletes and their families.
According to The Guardian, Jean-Bart claimed that these accusations were simply a ploy to “destabilize the Federation Haitienne De Football (FHF), the character of the president, and his family”.
With numerous allegations in a context where players often come from economically disadvantaged communities, it is difficult to ignore that the conditions surrounding these allegations are ripe for abuse.
One of the alleged victims has also claimed that a woman at the Centre Technique National, where the players reside, assisted Jean-Bart in his taking advantage of the young women by threatening their expulsion and then recommending they talk to Jean-Bart to amend the situation.
This video depicts members of Ayiti Nou Vle A reading the testimony of one such victim.
In the world of female sports, these issues are not as uncommon as they might appear. Emotional abuse and sexual misconduct is said to be systemic in U.S women’s pro soccer.
You might also remember recent scandals regarding gymnastics in the US, where top executives at USA Gymnastics were found to have neglected to report many allegations of sexual abuse by coaches, and at least 368 gymnasts coming forward with claims of some form of sexual abuse, within a year of initial claims, at the hands of USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar.
That the Court of Arbitration for Sport would overturn Jean-Bart’s lifetime ban following a guilty verdict from the FIFA ethics committee comes as a shock, with many victims facing threats if they were to come forward to provide evidence. But as Patricia Camilien from La loi de ma bouche so aptly puts it, this new ruling does not absolve anyone and it is still possible to bring these allegations to Haitian and foreign courts.
#WoyRewind
"But we cannot lull ourselves into a trance with this mantra. These hardships, these hard conversations are providing a pathway to acknowledge these crimes, truly care for victims, hold abusers accountable and begin creating another Haiti. They allow us a chance to call out the men who prey on women and children for sport, but also to grieve over a faux-conservative society whose principal blood supply is the silence of the poto mitans we pacify with false acknowledgement once or twice a year.
We’re being given an opportunity to create a new Haitian society where rapists no longer get to jeer “men madanm mwen” when they see their victims on the street, a Haiti where a woman’s ankle bracelet isn’t cause for shaming, a Haiti where mothers in the states no longer feel the need to whisper their stories of abuse to their daughters as if their abusers back home are actually around the corner." A New Haiti for Our Girls, Valerie Jean- Charles for Woy Magazine, May 8, 2020
POLITIK POLEMIK
Canada to the rescue?
Canada continues to position itself to lead a potential intervention in Haiti under the guise of "gathering intelligence". This week, Justin Trudeau announced that Canada would be sending navy vessels to Haiti to assist the Haitian National Police (PNH) in its efforts to secure the territory.
Canada also announced additional sanctions, this time naming former President Jocelerme Privert, as being a part of the “economic and political elite” involved in fueling the rise of gangs in Haiti and the ensuing instability.
“Canada has long recognized that much of the instability in Haiti comes from a small number of powerful lead families who are fomenting instability and financing violence for their own gains at terrible costs to the Haitian people,” Trudeau said at an afternoon press conference in Nassau, Bahamas, where he was ending a visit to the 44th regular meeting of leaders of the Caribbean Community, CARICOM. “That is why from the very beginning we have stepped up on sanctions.
“Until the Haitian elites and leadership are held to account for their role in this horrific crisis in Haiti, we will not be able to deal with it,” he added. “We have to get to the root causes.”
Trudeau first announced the sanctions earlier in the day as he addressed the gathering of Caribbean leaders. He noted that to date his government has issued “robust” targeted sanctions against 17 individuals who are accused of helping gangs in Haiti.
On Thursday, the Biden administration, which previously issued financial sanctions against four members of the Haitian Senate, also announced on Thursday that it was imposing visa restrictions against five individuals and seven family members. Unlike with sanctions, the United States doesn’t make public the names of people subject to State Department visa bans. (Source: Miami Herald)
Salim Succar, former chief of staff for former Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe, was also sanctioned. In his statement, Trudeau did not reveal any evidence backing the sanctions brought forth against Privert or Succar. Meanwhile, Laurent Lamothe is taking the government of Canada to court for the sanctions brought against him.
KITIRÈL
Theatre in Haiti
For some Haitians, theatre is an escape from the harsh realities of a country, which continues to stew in turmoil. But, the theatre has also long been a tool for social and political commentary in Haiti and for spreading ideas.
In this spirit we bring to you In Haiti, Theater Is a Living Art — a piece written in a collaboration between The Christian Science Monitor and Woy Magazine — where Websder Corneille explores the role of theatre in Haiti, and the current reality for those who continue to partake in the art form amid the crisis at hand. Read it in Kreyòl.
Atizay, espesyalman teyat, gen yon istwa rezistans politik ki rich ann Ayiti. Menm si sitiyasyon ensekirite sa nou pa t janm viv li gen plis pou wè ak yon mank lidèchip – pa gen eleksyon depi 2016 – pase opresyon ak represyon sitwayen yo te viv anba diktati ki pase yo. Foul ki te nan Yanvalou jodi a montre a klè teyat la rete yon zam rezistans. (Source: Woy Magazine)
En Lisant’s annual theatre festival is one such sanctuary, opening its doors to artists and audiences despite the country’s conditions, for its 7th edition in December 2022. We chatted with rising star and last years En Lisant Theatre Festival guest of honor, Andrise Pierre, to discuss her art, the difficult journey that led her to become a playwright, what she hopes to achieve with her work, and much more. Check out Writing to Fill the Void: An Interview With Haitian Playwright Andrise Pierre, brought to you by Team Woy. Read it in Kreyòl.
Ekriti rive nan lavi m nan yon moman kote m te bezwen vide m, m te bezwen tante mete mo ak non sou yon pèt, asisina frèm ki t ap ronje m. Yon melanj ant raj, kòlè ak yon tristès san non. Si m pat pale, m te ka toufe. Epi m kontinye ekri paske plis map di vid yo plis lòt ki te kache lwen, ap reveye, montre tèt yo. (Source: Woy Magazine)
DEGI | Recommendations before you go
Salon Era podcast episode Finding Lisette : Guest Curator Jean Bernard Cerin traces the history of the Haitian Creole song “Lisette quitté la plaine” and explores how its meaning is transformed by different musical communities as it travels around the globe, becoming a lens through which we can explore the dynamic, fraught history of Haiti and its occupiers.
The Atlas Obscura Podcast : Marchand Dessalines - Marchand Dessalines, Haiti is a town named after Jean Jacques Dessalines one of the leaders of the Haitian Revolution and one of the country’s founding fathers.
Enpòtans zòn sud la | [Kat pwen kadino] Jean Marie Theodat ap eksplike enpòtans zòn sud la pou Ayiti sou plan geografik, istorik ak ekonomik. | By Haïti Inter
KONSÈ - TRAVÈSE : GWOUP NANM Gwoup NANM ap ofri nou yon bèl konsè mizik ki rele « TRAVÈSE ». Se premye espektak « live » li. Se yon konsè kote vwa ak enstriman pral marye pou rive touche nou jous nan nanm nou.
Lavalas, Tèt Kale, Luijanboje, Zenglendo… kote mo sa yo soti ?
Le TAS a annulé la suspension à vie infligée à Yves Jean Bart par la FIFA | La loi de ma bouche
Lanmou Jah ak Jahes. Mwen bral li entevyou ak Andrisse Pierre. M ta renmen al gade teatt sa a ou jou. Lanmou Beni. #Ayiti #1804 #ToutMounseMoun #HousingfortheHomelessNow #AbolishCPS #DefundFosterCare #ProChoice #RawVeganForLife
M renmen entèvyou sou teyat la. Lajenès se lespwa. Kenbe rèd, Woy Magazine!