International

The Haitian Diaspora, who run not-for-profit organizations, and other humanitarian groups have been grumbling about how machines and materials being shipped to Haiti to help in-need segments of the country's population are being stalled at customs. Haiti is known for its excessive red tape in almost every formalized institution.

In response the Head of State, Laurent Lamothe, made public the government of Haiti (GOH) was preparing a plan to address the issue. He said a special bureau would be based at the customs' office of Port-au-Prince. It would be a customer service approach, designed for non-government organizations (NGOs) to quickly process their shipments, so they may get to work serving the at-risk populace, who urgently need projects completed as soon as possible.

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Pamela Ann White, U.S. Ambassador to Haiti, expressed her desire to see political factions working together towards advancing Haiti in social, political, and economic development. She was speaking during an event for the U.S. held each year to commemorate the American Independence Day. She urged the government to continue fighting down corruption. Also, she said people should be proud of their country and try to build it through cooperation. The ambassador said there is no need for shedding blood, since this doesn't contribute to national development.

US Ambassador Pamela Ann White explained that Haiti needs peace and stability. She also put to the audience the question of why they should fire gunshots and throw stones. The ambassador said it was time for Haiti to build structure in the government and protect people. The U.S. Ambassador to Haiti is always a straightforward person and quite down to earth. She is sometimes criticized for this, but she is highly respected not only in the U.S., but also in Haiti. She has developed friendships with business people in Haiti as well as ordinary people.

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The discussions held in spring at the "Who 'Owns' Haiti?" symposium by Colin Granderson, who was the head of the CARICOM-OAS Electoral Mission in Haiti in 2010-2011, brought to the public the confirmation that the international community had tried to convince then-president Réné Préval to leave, during the elections held.

The idea that President Préval was offered a plane to fly out of the country in November 2010 had been previously revealed by Ricardo Seitenfus, former OAS Special Representative to Haiti. As the refusal came, the issue was no longer something to be immediately explained, but it comes to the attention of the international community once again in Raoul Peck's documentary "Fatal Assistance," that reveals that the person making the direct proposal was the head of the U.N. mission in Haiti at the time, Edmond Mulet.

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Citizens of Haiti can enter Trinidad and Tobago and have a legal stay of at least six months. Since the 2001 Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, the Government may not refuse their entry.

Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, the Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, discussed this issue when speaking at UWI's CARICOM Leaders Lecture Series. The lecture, was titled "Free Movement of People- Shanique Myrie and our Caribbean Civilisation," and mainly brought to attention the implications of the ruling made last year in the case of Myrie vs The Government of Barbados. It was the case of Myrie, age 22, a Jamaican woman, who was denied entry to Barbados on illegal grounds. The lady was awarded US$40,000 in damages, as the court decided for her.

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There is a problem that has been growing in Haiti since the introduction of the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti. Tens of thousands of young Haitian women are getting pregnant and giving birth to children without fathers. Obviously, the UN Soldiers have been expending their mission in Haiti by getting our women pregnant. However, when it is time to leave, they tend to leave everything behind as well, including their children.

According to a report released recently, Many women in Haiti have been getting pregnant from UN soldiers. By the time the child is born, the soldier is gone. Beside Cholera and abuse to the population, this is one of the problems in having a foreign force occupying your country and one overlooked by the Haitian government.

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Emmanuel Dubourg, the Federal Deputy of Bourassa constituency in Quebec is a Haitian origin who is a politician, a teacher and a Chartered Accountant. He has paid a recent visit at the Haitian Embassy in Ottawa in Canada where he was received by the Haitian Ambassador Frantz Liautaud & the staff of the mission.

The Federal Deputy of Bourassa, Emmanuel Dubourg was a member of the National Assembly for the provincial electoral district between 2007 and 2013. He was the third black member of the National Assembly (MNA) of Quebec as deputy of Viau till he got elected as the Liberal Member of Parliament for the Montreal riding of Bourassa on 25 November 2013. He was a teacher of many renowned educational institutions like Université du Québec à Montréal, CEGEP Montmorency and Université du Québec en Outaouais. He has been honored with many awards and citations for his excellent contributions and innovative thoughts over the years, like, "Governor General's Medal" (for his vice-regal representation of the monarch), "Revenue Canada" in 1992 (for excellent administration of Tax Laws) and "Black History Month Award" in 2006 (for his work in the Black Community, awarded in remembrance of important African Diasporas).

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A recent tweet by a trustee named Asher Grossman on Spring Valley Mayor Demeza Delhomme that compared him with an infamous Haitian dictator François "Papa Doc" Duvalier has touched off another feud in Spring Valley village. François Duvalier was once a long time President of Haiti but he is more remembered for his murderous acts and repression during his reign. With 31,347 populations as per 2010 census, Spring Valley is the biggest village in Rockland County by population and at the same time, it is the poorest among others.

Like many other Haitians, when Demeza Delhomme was only 21 years old, fled Haiti and took refuge in United States to escape the strict tyrannical regime of François "Papa Doc" Duvalier which was again followed by his successor son Jean-Claude, nicknamed "Baby Doc.".

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There is a chance that Haiti might be in the business of manufacturing Television in the future. According to information obtained by HaitiObserver.Com, a Japanese company is currently interested in building a Television manufacturing plant in Haiti.

We have learned that a meeting was held recently between the Director General of the National Council of Telecommunications (CONATEL) and FUNAI Electric CO which is a major Japanese multinational firm. This Japanese company has delivered electronic brands such as Emerson, Magnavox and Phillips and others.

This is yet another hopeful sigh for Haiti as the country is fighting its way out of poverty.

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It can only happen in a few countries in the world and Haiti unfortunately is one of them. The U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon received hero's welcome in Haiti, despite causing over 8000 deaths, thousands orphans, widows and much more suffering among the Haitian population.

Due to his negligence, the cholera epidemic is now with the Haitian population and it will take a monumental effort to get ride of it. We can thank the U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for that.

There have been many survivors of the Cholera epidemic who are currently struggling; children without parents, fathers and mothers without children, husbands and a wives without partners. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon believes that he owes them nothing for their suffering.

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Haiti's past with the Dominican Republic has been a long, arduous and often bloody one. The two countries share the island of Hispaniola, but little much else is common between them. Their ethnicities are different, with Haitians being more directly of African descent and those from the Dominican Republic more of a mixed race (73%). The difference is also apparent in their languages, Haitians speaking Creole and French and the Dominican Republic residents speaking Spanish and Creole.

Many speculate that the greatest disparity, that of prosperity, was the reason behind the controversial 2013 court ruling that has now seen nearly 15,000 Haitians deported from the Dominican Republic. Though roughly 20 million inhabit the island, half of the number occupy Haiti, which takes up only 1/3rd of the island. The other 2/3rd is inhabited by those of the neighbor country numbering roughly the same amount in population. Also, The Dominican Republic has a GDP that is eight times the size of Haiti's per year: $106 billion to Haiti's $13.5 billion.

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