Salut! Welcome to the latest edition of Woy Magazine’s weekly newsletter, providing you with must-know news and commentary on Haiti and our Diaspora.
We can’t do this work without you. Please consider becoming a patron of Woy Magazine on Patreon. You can learn more here.
When History Repeats Itself
Jovenel Moïse’s refusal to step down continues to haunt the nation, with many worried that we are turning back the hands of time to the Duvalier years. In a new piece for Woy Magazine, famed author Évelyne Trouillot addresses these feelings and the fears that come with the emergence of a new dark period that feels hauntingly familiar:
It seems like we are going back in time. Apparently, the government that is no longer constitutional is planning to continue with repression. Exactly like Duvalier used to do. However, History should not move backward. The situation is not the same. Because the people are more aware of their rights, the people are vigilant, watchful of the government’s actions and refuse to be intimidated.
You can read the full piece here.
Stranger Than Fiction
Haiti’s insecurity crisis has become an international affair as two Dominicans, along with a Haitian poet TiNèg, were kidnapped Saturday night after filming scenes for a new film. Despite their police escort, the Dominican film crew members and their Haitian translator were seized by armed men, who are now demanding a ransom of $2 million.
The kidnapping took place on the very same day the Dominican Republic deployed 7,200 troops to the border, underlining the long-standing tensions between the two nations. According to Jacqueline Charles of the Miami Herald, “Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader has told reporters his government is trying to secure the Campusano brothers’ release, but did not offer details. Defense Minister Carlos Luciano Díaz Morfa added that Haiti had requested their help.”
Later in the week, rumors swirled — thanks in part to an article in the Listin Diario — that Haiti would be seeking to exchange the kidnapped brothers, Maicol Enrique and Antonio Campusano, in exchange for former Port-au-Prince mayor Youry Chevry who is currently hiding from the Moïse regime in the Dominican Republic. However, the regime later denied this, with the following statement:
The Government of the Republic of Haiti, through its Embassy in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, denies information circulated that there is any link between the case of the kidnapped youths and that of the former Haitian mayor wanted by the Haitian National Police who is being held in Santo Domingo. Nor is it accurate that it is not acting promptly in the case of the abduction of three citizens, two Dominicans and one Haitian, which occurred last February 20, 2021, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Libere TiNèg
As the two governments of Hispaniola appear to be working together in the case of the kidnapped Dominicans, many are livid at the lack of attention being paid to the case of their translator, Junior Alber Augusma who is also known as TiNèg. In a scathing op-ed for TripFoumi, writer Jim Larose takes to task the media, TiNèg’s university, and the State for abandoning the young artist:
Quelle conclusion retenue face à de tels comportements ? Ne sommes-nous pas obligés de déduire que la vie de nos fils et filles de la République importe très peu aux yeux de l’État haïtien, notamment le regime en place ? Les medias haïtiens, sont-ils prêts pour une fois de plus à se mettre au chevet de ces colons au détriment de leur propre sang ? Quel est l’avenir d’une université qui s’en fou pas mal de ses étudiants dans lesquels elle a tant investi ses ressources ?
Meanwhile, students from the State University of Haiti, including TiNèg’s fellow classmates from the Applied Linguistics department, took to the streets on Monday to demand his release. Police officers, in turn, responded to their protest with teargas and bullets:
The Zafè etidyan ayisyen (Haitian Student Affairs) association denounced that a colleague was hit by a bullet during last Monday's protests demanding the release of professor Abdias Édumé, kidnapped since mid-February. They also deplored that James Pierrin, a student of the Human Sciences Faculty, was shot in the neck on January 20 by security forces.
This organization, made up of students from the State University of Haiti, Episcopal University, Notre-Dame University and the University of Port-au-Prince, regretted the 'complicit silence' of the authorities and stressed that the mission of the police is to protect the life and property of citizens and not to repress legitimate protests.
Along with university students, the Haitian Association of Filmmakers have stepped in to call for the release of TiNèg. On Thursday, the Association released an open letter signed by more than 50 filmmakers and artists condemning the incident and the State’s overall lax response to this growing crime trend:
Support Gives Way to Alarm
Clearly, Jovenel Moïse’s appearance before the United Nation’s Security Council could not have come at a worse time. During a rare speech which lasted nearly 30 minutes, the former president faced questions from various ambassadors about the country’s constitutional and security issues. Despite placing blame on a nebulous “powerful lobby” and promoting his alleged “economic” and “democratic” wins, the Council questioned Jovenel on the nation’s insecurity and the lack of preparation for elections to bring his rule-by-decree to an official end.
Nathalie Broadhurst, France’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, slammed Moise on human rights and lack of progress investigating gang violence.
“In the terms of security and respect for human rights, the authorities must do more,” she said. “I ask this question straightforwardly: how is it possible today that Jimmy Cherizier [notorious Haitian gang leader] is still walking free? Those responsible for the La Saline and Bel Air massacres must be brought to justice. I also note that the investigation into the assassination of Monferrier Dorval [constitutional law professor and head of the Port-au-Prince bar association] is not making progress.
China even went as far to question the need to grant future aid to Haiti, with the country’s ambassador arguing:
“I would like to stress here again that there is no solution to the Haitian problem from the outside,” Shuang said. “We should learn the lessons, comprehensively assess the situation in light of what is happening, ponder seriously on the future presence of the U.N. in Haiti, and avoid endless and fruitless investment.”
In his speech, Jovenel opined on many a-things, but some of the glaring inaccuracies were hard to ignore. For example, he claimed that his government has “dismantled 64 gangs.” However, last year, gangs like the notorious G9 repeatedly terrorized working-class/poor communities in the capitol, while the government refused to address the terroristic acts, even when the group marched through the streets armed to the teeth:
Then there was Jovenel’s statement that the national police force have not attacked journalists, but rather “gang members disguised as journalists.”
Yet, there’s been a long, detailed history of journalists facing violence under the Moïse regime. In 2019, the Associated Press reported the shooting death of radio journalist Ropside Pétion and the disappearance of photojournalist Vladjimir Legagneur. That same year, radio reporter Néhémie Joseph was also found dead, and Associated Press photojournalist Chery Dieu-Nalio was shot when a senator fired shots outside of parliament.
Just this year, reporters from several stations and outlets were attacked with teargas and rubber bullets as they covered a student protest. Additionally, foreign reporter Amelie Baron has been harassed and threatened both in person and on social media, with some even calling for her to be “hunted” out of the country.
The National Association of Journalists immediately denounced Jovenel’s remarks, arguing that his words are exposing members of their industry to even greater threats and acts of violence:
Pour les défenseurs de la presse, ces propos risquent d'exposer les journalistes à d'éventuelles brutalités policières. «Le chef de l'État justifie et assume tous les actes de brutalité orchestrés par des policiers contre les travailleurs de la presse», accuse l'Association des journalistes haïtiens (AJH). «Jovenel Moïse a, du même coup, exposé les journalistes à toutes formes d'attaque et d'agression», s'inquiète l'organisation dans une note de protestation.
Prison Break
If the country’s security issues couldn’t hit a new low, on Thursday reports emerged of a major jail break which left eight dead, including the prison director, and a number of others wounded. The Kwadèboukè prison, which was built with funding from the Canadian government in the last decade, experienced a similar incident in 2014.
According to the police force’s spokesperson, one of the escapees of what is said to be Haiti’s most secure prison includes notorious gang leader Arnel Joseph. Eyewitnesses said they saw armed men approach and shoot local prison guards before the break occurred. The Miami Herald reports:
The prison is home to a number of high-profile prisoners, including Joseph, and has experienced other escape attempts in the past. Civil society leaders immediately began questioning how one of the nation’s most high-profile criminals managed to get out.
“No prison break ever happens without the complicity of the agency, or agents,” said Pierre Esperance, a human rights advocate in Haiti. “Arnel once said he was going to leave prison and he has left for real. He didn’t do it at night. He did it it during the day.”
What’s In a Promise?
During his presidential acceptance speech, Joe Biden thanked Black voters for securing him his win over former president Donald Trump and promised he’d have their backs — but it appears this promise doesn’t hold for Black immigrants and their communities. So far, President Biden is on track to deport more Black immigrants than his predecessor. In February alone, about 900 Haitians have been forced out of the country.
In a new interview, Truthout sat down with Haitian Bridge Alliance’s Guerline Jozef and UndocuBlack Network’s Patrice Lawrence to discuss the Biden Administration’s current direction on immigration:
Jozef: “…I want Americans to demand that we do better. We voted for Biden and Harris because they promised they would be better and that they were going to be different than Trump. This election was said to be a fight for America’s soul, but we continue the same cruel and inhumane practices that we saw under Trump. This is a humanitarian crisis and we are demanding fairness and justice.”
In the Boston Globe, Marcela García touches on this very point, as well:
We may have a new president, but the machinery of government sometimes churns with heartbreaking inertia — as if Joe Biden weren’t in the White House.
Case in point: the deportation of hundreds of Haitians this month, a move straight out of former president Donald Trump’s playbook. For these Haitians, fleeing a country suffering in deep poverty, Trump might as well be in charge. As would-be asylum seekers, the Haitian migrants, most of whom came to the United States recently through Mexico, have been denied the opportunity for due process in an asylum system that’s broken and that the Biden administration is working to fix.
Biden is also facing increased pressure to refuse any more support to the Moïse regime. In a February 23 New York Times op-ed Farah Stockman writes:
After the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, Americans no longer have much credibility to lecture other countries about elections, if we ever had it to begin with. In the past, Americans overtly meddled in Haiti’s politics, in ways that didn’t produce good long-term results. It isn’t our place to resolve the crisis in Haiti.
Nor should U.S. tax dollars pay for Mr. Moïse’s unconstitutional referendum. And Haiti’s leaders should not be allowed to park their money in U.S. banks if there is reason to believe it was pilfered in corrupt schemes or garnered through kidnapping rings involving state security forces. That’s what the Magnitsky Act is for.
A New Party Rises
Nou Pap Dòmi is ready to take their activism to the next level by establishing themselves as a legitimate actor in the country’s political scene. During a Tuesday press conference, Pascale Solages stated the decision was made because the group wants to, “aider le pays à sortir dans la dictature, la violence et la corruption, rompre avec le système sociopolitique décrié par la population, devenir des acteurs actifs dans la vie politique…il est temps d’agir et de nous engager activement sur la scène politique.”
Last year, Nou Pap Dòmi launched a number of awareness campaigns on Haiti’s instability issues, including Site Non Yo, an online digital project where activists recorded themselves citing the names of those who’ve died from gang and police violence.
Yon Ti Koze
Last week, musician and composer Beethova Obas used his Youtube platform to hold an in-depth conversation to dispel the myths and legends younger generations hold about dictatorships, especially the Duvaliers, in an attempt to warn them about the dangers looming over Jovenel Moïse’s refusal to let go of power. The debate, joined by Koralen, Manno Obas and Louibert Meyer, also focused on the glaring, but also subtle signs of dictatorship that many are unable to identify.
Check out the lively and needed conversation and the accompanying song. We’ll see you again next week!
For more content be sure to visit us at woymagazine.com and follow us on Twitter at @woymagazine.