International

You would't believe it however there are still some countries that treat Haitian immigrants decently. That is the case in Ecuador. Following a request from Haitian President Michel Martelly to President Rafael Correa, a new provision was adopted by the Ecuadorian government to regularize all Haitian nationals who have been living in Ecuador.

Any Haitians who have been living in Ecuador illegally before May 4, 2015, are now eligible to apply for a non-immigrant visa type 12-XI. This visa will be valid for six months at the time. Once the visa is obtained, the beneficiary can then apply for a migrant visa.

Read more →  

The United States and Cuba are moving toward normalization of relations for the first time in more than fifty years. They are re-opening their diplomatic ties, and their embassies have reopened on Monday, July 20, for the first time in 54 years. Miami was once a hotbed of diplomacy with Havana, even today, Miami-Dade County is home to almost a million Cubans, the largest concentration in the country and second only to Havana in the world. Now that Cuba has an embassy again in Washington, D.C., consulates would be coming to serve its people, most of whom live in Florida. But don't expect an old lovely building known as 'Villa Paula', a vintage platform in the Cuba-U.S relation, will have any role in it. It is unlikely ever to return to its use as a Cuban consulate.

Read more →  

A Haitian man living in the Dominican Republic was found stabbed to death near the city of Hatillo Palma along the side of the road

Police has been investigating this death to determine if it is related to a protest taking place earlier in that same location against Haitian migrants in the area. Dominicans had been protesting an alleged rape to a local woman for which the demonstrators accused three Haitian migrants for.

According to Dominican Police, six people had been detained for questioning about the death of the Haitian immigrant

Read more →  

Ma to Initiate Conflict Resolution Talks between DR and Haiti. President Ma Ying-jeou, a strong ally of both the Dominican Republic (DR) and Haiti, has offered to act as a negotiator in the conflict surrounding the immigration issue between the two Caribbean nations, who share the island of Hispaniola.

Ma wants to help the DR and Haiti reach a resolution regarding Haitian migrants in the DR and their descendants being forced out of the country due to a Constitutional Court ruling that considers the undocumented aliens transients. Furthermore, their descendants born in the DR have lost their automatic birthright. The backlash from the international community has placed the DR on the defensive. Denying the planned mass deportations were a form of ethnic cleansing, it now says there will be no mass deportations.

Read more →  

Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou paid a state visit to Haiti and met with his equal, President Martelly, at the Presidential Palace. Ma informed Martelly Taiwan is as committed as ever to assisting Haiti in its reconstruction efforts, born of 2010's colossal earthquake.

Martelly let Ma know progress on reconstruction of the country has been disappointing. A mere 10% of construction projects have been finished. Ma assured Martelly he can count on Taiwan's ongoing efforts to see Haiti rise from the ashes of destruction towards a strong economy and sustainable growth.

Of the many projects the Taiwanese government is committed to in Haiti, the development of solar energy is a high priority. If Taiwan can provide the resources for green energy, Haiti could slash electricity generation expenses, and with the savings apply them to critical reconstruction programs.

Read more →  

DR's Threat of Deportations causes Self-Deportations of Haitian Migrants

The Dominican Republic (DR), who has started to cave from the pressure put on it by the international community on the matter of mass deportations, has no plans to follow through on its ethnic cleansing of Haitian migrants and their descendants, born in the DR. But the explicit threat of deportations has caused thousands of Haitian illegals to leave the country and cross over to Haiti.

Since the expiration date of June 17th passed, and Haitian migrants can no longer apply for citizenship status, fear and anxiety dog their every waking moment. Although the DR seems to be complying with international law regarding mass deportations, it has managed to effect self-deportations under threats. They accomplished this by saying they would forcibly remove migrants, displaying buses dedicated to moving them out of the country.

Read more →  

Foreign NGOs Outsourcing Weakens Haitian Economy and its Sustainable Development

Immediately following Haiti's 2010 earthquake several billion dollars flowed into the country from the international community, primarily from non-government organizations (NGOs). Yet Haiti has little to show for it. So the question on everyone's mind is how has the money been spent?

ProPublica (PP) and National Public Radio (NPR) dug up the facts, and issued a report that condemns the Red Cross. In the report they claim the aid organization amassed half a billion dollars in donations but built only six homes in five years.

Read more →  

The Dominican Republic Back Peddles on Deportations due to International Pressure

The Dominican Republic (DR) has been forced to put a halt to deportations of Dominican-born Haitians and their migrant parents because of pressure from the international community (IC). A Constitutional Court ruling in 2013 no longer recognizes those of Haitian descent, and their right to citizenship, a violation of international law.

Bowing to the pressure the IC has placed on the DR government, its President, Danilo Medina, issued a decree to permit undocumented migrants and their descendants to apply for citizenship under the National Regularization initiative (NR). The program though has been badly administered, and has made applying to it a difficult process. By the program deadline of June 17th just 290,000 out of approximately 450,000 people submitted the necessary documents. What is worse, Haitian migrants, who cannot obtain legitimate documentation to get citizenship status, also cannot get their children documented either.

Read more →  

Canada renewed strategy for (2015-2020) engagement in Haiti

Canada is continuing its engagement with Haiti, renewing its strategic five year plan from 2015- 2020. Canada's main focus will be on sustainable economic growth in support of a flexible economy for Haiti. The mechanisms for growth will involve raising private sector participation and pushing for innovative financing. Canada anticipates it will achieve considerable success in raising the standard of living for Haitians over the next several years.

Canada's five-year strategy program will cover five priority areas of infrastructure development in Haiti:

Read more →  

If you expected the technical mission of the Organization of American States (OAS) to come hard on the Dominicans for the way in which they treat our Haitian brothers or Dominicans of Haitian descent, you will not be happy with their recommendations. More dialogues it is.

As you may know, a technical mission of the OAS was formed to look into the current immigration problem between the Dominican Republic and Haiti. After visiting both countries and talking to officials as well as some of the victims of the massive deportation at the border, the team concluded that the only solution to the matter is more dialogue between Haiti and the Dominican republic.

Read more →