Haiti Observer Blog

Wishing To Visit Haiti should take special care while travelling the areas of Pétion-Ville and the storm-damaged southern peninsula departments of Grand Anse and Sud. This travel warning replaces department's earlier warning dated November 4, 2016. The warning also advises U.S citizens of evacuation insurance, not to share specific travel plans with strangers. American travelers should maintain constant touch with their hosts or prearranged organizations.

As per John Kelly, the Secretary of the U.S Department of Homeland Security, Americans traveling Haiti must remain cautious while visiting banks, ATMs, because the Haitian authorities' ability to respond to medical or security emergencies is very weak, limited and often in some areas, it is non-existent. The announcement ignores the fact that hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens safely visit Haiti each year.

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On May 22, 2017, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced a 6 month extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for some 58,700 Haitian immigrants who have been living in the United States since the 2010 earthquake.

To re-register, you must submit Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status. You must also submit Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, whether you are requesting employment authorization or not. As a re-registrant, you do not pay the Form I-821 application fee, but if you are age 14 or older, you must submit the biometric services fee. The fee for biometric services is around $85.

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As per the BBC report dated Tuesday, June 9 2015, the former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner is being investigated over the disappearance of money intended for victims of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The former FIFA President visited Haiti following the 2010 earthquake and pledged $750,000 from football's world governing body and the South Korean Football Association to support the reconstruction program in the country. FIFA contributed $250,000 and $500,000 was paid by the South Korean Football Association by the courtesy of one of their patrons, South Korean businessman Chung Mong-Joon. The Haitian authority claims that they have received only $60,000 from Mr. Warner, as the then head of CONCACAF. A team of U.S investigators have found that the fund was ultimately transferred to a personal account controlled by Mr. Warner himself; and whereabouts of the earthquake fund is still unknown. The source has also indicated that there are about 75 bank accounts, directly or indirectly connected to Mr. Warner, but none of them clearly indicates any location of the fund.

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On Tuesday and Wednesday and Ednesday of this week, the place to be was at the Royal Decameron Indigo Beach Resort & Spa in Haiti where social entrepreneurs, influencers and startup innovators kicked off a two-day technology summit.

The Haiti Tech Summit brought into the country over 100 speakers representing Google, Facebook, Uber and Airbnb. The summit will cover topics such as how to launch a startup, the importance of smart cities and branding, hoping to transform Haiti into a hub of innovation.

The sold-out event at the Royal Decameron Indigo Beach Resort & Spa had more than 450 attendees.

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The Haitian National Police (PNH) with collaboration with the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, arrested four Haitian citizens

Here is how the Haitians committed the fraud:

The scammers posing as U.S. Embassy employees contacted the people applying for the US Visa in Haiti and their family in the United States.

The scammers made the applicants or their family members believe that the applicants owed thousands of dollars in fees for DNA tests, medical exams and other processing fees, and instruct the victims to transfer the money to them immediately by Western Union or other methods of online transfer

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There are many good news for the Haitian sorghum producers. Two companies, the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Papyrus, a project management firm with experience in agribusiness have come forward to their assistance. MIF has recently approved $2.4 million grant to help the small-scale sorghum farmers under a 4-year project named "Smallholder Alliance for Sorghum in Haiti (SMASH)" which would be implemented under supervision of 'Papyrus'. The objective of the project is to enhance the skills for about the 18,000 sorghum farmers in five Haitian departments (North and North East, West, South, Artibonite, and Plateau Central) and support their marketability. SMASH also addresses issues like poor soil quality and efficient harvest yields.

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United States Government recently Issued Warning to Persons Wishing To Visit Haiti, at the same time is taking the position that the country is stable. On the one hand, U.S Department of State warning (dated May 22, 2017), all American citizens must carefully consider the risks of traveling to Haiti due to the country's current security environment and lack of adequate medical facilities. On the one hand, after granting an extension of six months, the U.S Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is now ready to repatriate more than 58,000 Haitian immigrants by January 22, 2018, because the DHS senior officials consider the present law and order situation in Haiti is "relatively stable".

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US Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly wanted to deliver the message to Haitian President Jovenel Moïse personally. In his recent trip to Haiti, he told the Haitian on Wednesday to start thinking about how to bring to Haiti close to 60,000 Haitians who are currently holding TPS. He told Jovenel Moïse and some senior officials of the Haitian government to get travel or identification document for these people ready.

Kerry took the opportunity to educate the Haitians that TPS is not permanent. Haitians on TPS, Kelly said, "need to start thinking about returning."

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Just one week after extending TPS to Haitians for just 6 more months, US Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly has decided to visit Haiti to evaluate the situation in the country for himself.

According to source close to the White House, John Kelly will be in Haiti on Wednesday, May 31 for just four hours. He will remain on the ground of the Haitian Palace to meet with Haitian President Jovenel Moïse and senior officials of the government

Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., wrote to Kelly on May 22 to invite him to go to Haiti in order to assess the condition of the country and its ability to absorb the Haitian deportees back to Haiti

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Former Haitian Senator, Coordinator of the "Mouvement Patriotique Populaire Dessalinien" (MOPOD), Turneb Delpé is dead. The Haitian politician passed away on Saturday, May 27 in a hosapital in New York after a long period of illness.

Turneb Delpé gained his popularity during the period when he was promoting of the "National Reconciliation". However he was always present as a militant for democracy in Haiti. He was at one point a member of the Communist Party of Haiti (PCH).

Turneb Delpé who spent his entire life fighting for a "National Reconciliation", unfortunately did not see his dream fulfilled.

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