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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Tout boutèy gen bouchon yo Every bottle has its cap (Haitian proverb)
CHAY LA | Main Story
Hurricane Season
Recent flooding affecting the Ouest, Nippes, Sud-Est, Nord-Ouest and Plateau Central have left thousands displaced according to a preliminary report by Haiti’s Protection Civile. So far 42 deaths, 11 disappearances and 85 injuries have been accounted for.
Located about 33 kilometers south of Port-au-Prince, the city of Léogane was hit the hardest, leaving 19 dead with many schools and three healthcare centers flooded.
According to NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) an estimated 12 - 17 storms have been projected for the 2023 hurricane season, along with 5 - 9 hurricanes, of which 1 - 4 are expected to be major hurricanes — for North America, Central America, and the Caribbean region.
The prevalence of more severe and more frequent storms is linked to climate change and its warming effects, which is already proving to be very costly for people subject to the Atlantic hurricane season in the US and the Caribbean. Coherent climate policy, particularly for underserved communities (the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change) should play a central role in remediation and adaption efforts.
Amid the flooding, a 5.5 magnitude earthquake also struck on Tuesday, June 6, in Grand’Anse, leaving at least 4 dead and 32 people injured.
According to Claude Prépetit (a geologist based in Haiti), in the period between the last major earthquake back in August 14, 2021 and May 31, 2023, over 1,000 earthquakes have been registered in the Grand’Anse region alone.
»» #WoyRewind:
The question remains: is Haiti equipped with an efficient, well financed and executed national plan for response to natural disasters? When digging deeper, a plan can be found on the internet for a period going from 2019 to 2030. For the appropriate execution of this plan, proper investment in infrastructure should be made, as well as ample funding for the Civil Protection and all local governments throughout the country.
For the time being, only solidarity can help alleviate the population’s burden. The day after the earthquake, various groups of people, coming from diverse social backgrounds, began cooperating to get help to the Southern peninsula of the island, where damages were substantial. From the internet to radio stations, calls for solidarity were coming from everywhere, and everyone was lending a hand. Messages were sent out quickly. It had been a long time since Haitian solidarity had been this palpable and concrete. People were going through a great deal to bring help to those in need. A round of applause for the Haitian medical community, those young doctors and nurses who left their homes on the day after the disaster to reach those in need of their assistance. Their attitude and quick responses made it so that the amputation frenzy that had happened in 2010 didn’t happen again. The government wasn’t ready to help the people, but the people were not willing to sit and wait for the government either.
For more, check out our article on Earthquake response: if there is enough for one, there is plenty for two by Cassendy Lafond for Woy Magazine.
POLITIK/POLEMIK
Kote kòb Petwokaribe a?
Laurent Lamothe was sanctioned by the US State Department last week for his reported involvement in the massive PetroCaribe corruption scheme— which spurred a massive anti-corruption movement in the country, coupled with countless protests from 2018 to 2019. According to a statement by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Lamothe’s role in this scheme now makes him “generally ineligible for entry into the United States”.
“Specifically, Lamothe misappropriated at least $60 million from the Haitian government’s PetroCaribe infrastructure investment and social welfare fund for private gain. Through this corrupt act and his direct involvement in the management of the fund, he exploited his role as a public official and contributed to the current instability in Haiti,” Blinken said. (Source: CNN)
Having served as Prime Minister and as Minister for Planning and External Cooperation — Lamothe, who resides in Florida and is currently not in the country, has responded with a statement of his own, emphasizing that the United States is the only home he knows. How then did he meet the residency requirements to be Haiti's Prime Minister? And how can we expect people with no allegiance to the country to lead it justly?
»» #Woy Rewind:
(September 2018)
Laurent Lamothe, Prime Minister of Haiti from years 2012 to 2014, under the controversially elected president, Michel Martelly, released a report entitled “La transformation d’Haïti à travers les grands travaux de reconstruction avec les Fonds PetroCaribe” (The Transformation of Haiti through the large reconstruction projects funded by PetroCaribe) presenting the results of what his government claim they invested the funds in. Lamothe stated Nous sommes fiers du travail accompli dans une période aussi courte et avec des ressources limitées… “We are proud of the work we have accomplished in such a short period of time with such limited resources.”
There are major glaring issues with Lamothe’s reports of the transformations his government claimed were made in 2014. People on social media are performing their own investigation, taking slides displaying projects that Lamothe’s report claimed funds were used for, and reporting on whether those projects actually happened.
For more, check out Petrocaribe: who, what, when, where, why on Woy Magazine.
Kiltirèl
Livres en Folie
Livres en Folie, Haiti’s largest annual book fair, took place in Petion-ville on June 8th steeped in controversy surrounding former Haitian president, Prosper Avril’s participation as one of the guests of honor.
In a statement and petition published on April 12, 2023, a group of writers, artists, poets, and other influential figures in the Haitian cultural zeitgeist expressed their discontent with the organizers’ choice to honor a person whom, in the time of the Duvalier dictatorship, played a role in obstructing the advancement of democracy in Haiti.
It must be noted that Mr. Avril is not the only questionable character in Haitian public life with a controversial past, particularly as it pertains to the Duvalier era.
Le Nouvelliste, which is involved in hosting the event, is also known for supporting the establishment, with whom they are undoubtedly tied to.
This literary event, in its 29th edition, is important in a country where opportunities to buy new books at reasonable prices are limited. Many Haitians turn to individual secondhand book sellers who display their books in the street. Check out this episode of KitMedia’s “LA POÉSIE” where poet Ricardo Boucher talks about the importance of these book sellers called Boukinis.
NEW ON WOYMAGAZINE.COM
This week on Woy Magazine, Ashley Lazarre sits down with BélO, the prolific Haitian musician, to pick his brain about the concept of chèche lavi lòt bò dlo through the lens of his work, and more. Be sure to check out BélO’s latest release, a recreation of his very first album, reimagined with the voices of Haitian female artists for a compilation of covers called “Fanm Lakou Tranquil.”
“We also need more people to bring value to our language. There are many people who have told me that I would be further along in my career as a musician if I sang in languages other than Kreyòl. I always respond by saying “I have gotten quite far using my language”.
If more Haitians created more things in Kreyòl perhaps it would have been a more popular language than it is now. We should not adapt to everything being in English and follow suit because we miss out on our culture and identity.” - Belo, Woy Magazine
In Zanmi Femme, Wilson Thiersaint explores the pervasive nature of misogyny and the patriarchy in Haitian culture, notably in Reginal Cangé and Dener Céide’s latest release as Zafém for their long awaited album “LAS.”
“…takse zanmitay fanm kòm derègleman nan rapò yo gen nan mitan yo ak nan rapò yo ka gen ak on gason rekondui divizyon, ki make tout kontradiksyon alabaz ak prensip “tout moun se moun” nan. Li opoze prensip solidarite nan mitan fanm kòm kategori istorikman viktimize, men tou li sitou rekondui on filozofi mizojin kote lanvè diskou sa jeneralize ka mennen nan de fòm vyolans fizik osnon senbolik sou on kategori spesifik puiske se zanmitay fanm alabaz ki « GEN GWO DANJE LADAN ».” Thiersaint Wilson, Woy Magazine