Haiti Observer Blog

Joute Lachenais known as Joute (Arcahaie, Haiti 1778 - Kingston, Jamaica 22 July 1843) is considered as one of the most influential Haitian women in history and mistress of two presidents in the 1800s. She was the mistress and political advisor of two solid Haitian leaders (Alexandre Sabès Pétion and Jean-Pierre Boyer) over a period of long 36 years and that too at a time well before 1950's when the women of the country didn't have a voting right. She exerted a significant influence over the affairs of state during their presidencies (1807 to 1843).

She was born of a white French colonel de Lachenais and a black woman Marie-Therese Fabre. When she was 20 years old, married Marc Joseph Lefèvre Laraque, the military commander of her hometown and had a daughter named Marie Josephine Laraque. After the death of Marc Laraque, Lachenais at the age of twenty five, started a relationship with Anne-Alexandre Sabès, known as Petion. Petion is known as the founding father of Haiti who was the first Haitian officer to revolt against France. In 1807, Alexandre Petion became president, and she acted as his active adviser.

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Hakeem Valles (born November 23, 1992), the American football tight end for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) will never forget his missionary trip to Haiti. He was held hostage at gunpoint and almost murdered in Haiti in 2015. Hakeem's grandfather, Paul Jean Marie Jizrel Benoni Marcel Valles, is a Haitian who immigrated to the U.S in 1960's. Hakeem grew up on stories from Grandpa about how life was back in the homeland. He always wanted to go. Once, he did earlier before the 2015 trip, on a cruise with Royal Caribbean. But then he felt disappointed. Where he landed was a property of the cruise line that discourages local visitors. There were 12-foot walls to keep them out. His trip to his wonderland was unsuccessful, because the place he visited was fake Haiti, never close to the root of his dream.

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The Haitian government is not happy with the comment made by Susan D. Page, a special representative and head of the United Nations Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH). As per Haitian foreign minister, Antonio Rodrigue, in last February, Ms. Page exceeded her authority by welcoming an investigation into the alleged misuse of Venezuela-sponsored PetroCaribe funds by the previous Haitian administrations. Ms. Page reportedly made an applaud on the corruption inquiry into the alleged siphoning $2 billion oil loans from Venezuela as PetroCaribe money. These embezzlements happened between 2008 and 2016 under the administrations of former presidents Rene Preval and Michel Martelly. According to minister Rodrigue, Ms. Page's attitude is harmful to the political and institutional stability acquired during the past few years.

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Vaccines protect travelers from serious diseases. Depending on where you travel, you may come into contact with diseases that are rare in your country. It is recommended to get vaccinated at least 4 to 6 weeks before you travel. This will give the vaccines time to start working, so you're protected while you're traveling. Travelers can get typhoid through contaminated food or water in Haiti. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends typhoid vaccine for most travelers, especially if you are staying with friends or relatives, visiting smaller cities or rural areas, or if you are an adventurous eater.

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On Wednesday night, October 3, 2018, U.S. District Judge Edward M. Chen granted a preliminary injunction to block the Department of Homeland Security's plans to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for over 300,000 long-term residents living in the US from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Sudan.

During a bipartisan meeting on immigration on January 11, 2018, President Donald Trump criticized protections the US gives to immigrants from various underdeveloped countries. In his comment Trump mentioned, "Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?" As per records, TPS recipients by country as of October 2017 are as follows (rounded): El Salvador 262,500, Honduras 86,600, Haiti 58,600, Nepal 14,800, Syria 6,900, Nicaragua 5,300, and Yemen 1,100.

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Port-au-Prince is about the size of Chicago. There are 987,000 people living in Port-Au-Prince and 2.6 million living in the 'metropolitan' area. But the city doesn't have a central sewage system. Furthermore, an estimated one in five Haitians doesn't have access to any kind of toilet.

In the fall of 2010, months after the devastating earthquake, when cholera first entered Haiti (first time over a century), most likely by the United Nations peacekeeping troops from Nepal, the disease became endemic-- more than a half-million people got sick and at least 7,050 died. The only way to prevent the cholera endemic is to build a network of pipes and waste treatment plants to prevent the infection of food and water supplies.

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The job of a court interpreter is a very rewarding profession. As per July 1, 2018 statistical reports, the average annual salary range for U.S federal and state staff court interpreters is between $30,000 and $80,000 with a median of $47,190 . The range of salaries depends on the level of experience. An interpreter or translator with less than five years of experience can expect to earn an average of $40,000 a year. However, they have limited employment opportunity, mostly work as an independent contractor.

Moreover, their pays not only varies with experience, it greatly depends on the place of their work. Full-time court interpreters in California make an average salary between $71,000 and $84,261. In Florida, they start at much lower at $43,331, but can make up to $86,662. In New York, interpreters make between $54,000 and $75,000. Court interpreters in Wisconsin make much less at an annual average salary between $25,000 and $50,000. The amount of money that a court interpreter makes also varies with the federal court system. Certified and professionally qualified interpreters who work on a contract basis make $418 per day. If they work a half-day, they make $226. The overtime rate for certified and professionally qualified interpreters is $59 per hour. Language-skilled non-certified interpreters make $202 for a full day. The half-day rate is $111. Overtime pay for language-skilled non-certified interpreters is $35 per hour.

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When Hurricane Florence hit Carolina on Thursday, September 13, 2018, it was downgraded to a Category One hurricane, but as per CNN Meteorologist Jennifer Gray the momentum of the storm and flooding was almost equal to a Category Four. On the morning of Friday, September 14, the hurricane made landfall as a Category One hurricane over Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, a few miles east of Wilmington and not far from the South Carolina border. The hurricane came ashore with 90-mph winds and punishing storm surge.

A rush of ocean water invaded the streets on the southern end of North Carolina's Hatteras Island on Thursday. The span of the Hurricane-force winds was out for 80 miles and the tropical-storm-force winds reach 195 miles out from the center. The storm's first casualties, which included a mother and her baby were killed when a tree fell on their brick house in Wilmington, North Carolina. The child's father was taken to a hospital. Till today, the death toll from Hurricane Florence has risen to 51-- the last victim was a man, 69, died when he fell from a roof in Pender County on Sept. 22 while cleaning debris.

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President Donald Trump wants to challange a 150 yera old constitutional standard that states anyone born in the United states is a United State citizen

Trump claims that he can end birthright citizenship with an executive order. He wants to sign an executive order that removes the rights to citizenship for babies of non-citizens and unauthorized immigrants born on US soil.

The 14th Amandment states: " all persons born or naturalized in the United states and jubject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the States wherein they reside"

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Haitian citizen Roger Richard Boncy was charged with one count of conspiracy for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the Travel Act. Roger Richard Boncy holds dual U.S. and Haitian citizenship and is currently residing in Madrid. According to Miami Herald, he has been charged in a scheme to bribe Haitian government officials over the construction of an $84 million port in Mȏle St. Nicolas.

The project consisted of construction of multiple cement factories, shipping-vessel recycling station, international transshipment station with numerous slips for shipping vessels, a power plant, a petroleum depot and tourist facilities.

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