Pere Gerard Jean-Juste, liberation theologian and supporter of Fanmi Lavalas

Hailing from Cavaillon, Pere Gérard was born on the 7th of February, 1946 and studied at a seminary in Canada before being the first ordained Haitian. His subsequent service in a parish church established his future dedication to assisting those in need.

Politics came knocking in 1971 when the Duvalier government requested that Pere Gérard sign an oath of loyalty to them. Like many others of high position faced with brick-wall politics and the accompanying danger, Pere Gérard left for the United States. He spent his time away wisely and earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering and engineering technology from Northeastern.

He established the Haitian Refugee Center in Miami and spent over a decade at its helm stirring up the kind of activist trouble that saw him punished by his church and cemented people's perception of him as a Martin Luther King Jr. contemporary. When he finally returned to Haiti, he was in support of controversial president, Aristide, perhaps owing to the fact that Aristide was the country's first democratically selected president. His support would cause him to go into hiding after Aristide was deposed, but Pere Gérard would surface again and resume his work in service of Haiti and its poor.

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