Bel-Air - Haiti Observer Blog

On Tuesday, October 8, 2015 the Lycée Alexandre Pétion become functional once again. This old Haitian Institution that was built in 1818 by Alexandre petion was almost destroyed during the 2010 earthquake. This Thursday however marked a new chapter as a new and modern building was inaugurated. Please see the picture gallery below.

Many important Haitian personalities and authorities were present at the ceremony of inauguration in Bel-Air. Among those who went on stage to talk about the contribution of Lycée Alexandre Pétion to the Haitian society, were: President Michel Martelly, Prime Minister Evans paul, Director Nicolas Mathurin, Education Minister Nesmy Manigat, former President Boniface Alexandre, Ady Jean Gardy and Mr. Yves Germain.

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The Port-au-Prince district of Bel Air is one of the poorest in the city, afflicted with violence everywhere, traumatizing its inhabitants. It has a history of violence, in particular events surrounding Lavalas leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Soon after assuming the office of the presidency, Aristide was the object of a coup d'etat. He sought refuge in both the U.S. and Africa before returning in 2011. The Lavalas party is strong in Bel Air, and protests were staged, calling for Aristide's return. The government of Haiti sent the Haitian National Police (HNP) on more than one occasion to quell uprisings. What usually ensued was police brutality with large-scale massacres.
In 2005 another rebellion exploded in the streets of Bel Air and local officials feared violence would break out at polling stations on Election Day.

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The Lycée Alexandre Pétion was founded in 1816 by its namesake, Haiti's third president. A high school located in Port-au-Prince, it educated the Haitian ruling class. Government ministers, Parliament members, and many of Haiti's rulers studied there. The school was established to educate the elite class and counted among its former students notable authors as well.

Lycée Pétion maintained its high academic standards for decades, but gradually became eroded by frequent government upheavals, and a stagnant economy as a consequence. For 150 years, the school boasted an excellent French-trained teaching staff. Math and science labs were fully equipped, and when textbooks frayed, or equipment no longer functioned well, it was replaced without hesitation.

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Ti Manman Cheri is a social welfare program that was launched on 27th May 2012 by the President of the Republic of Haiti. It is the first of its kind welfare program under which, the government will provide facilities to extremely poor families with children. The program will facilitate schooling and improve living conditions and the first beneficiaries targeted were Carrefour Feuilles, Cité Soleil, Fort National and Bel-Air. The government planned to use $13 million from PetroCaribe to fund this program.

According to Ti Manman Cheri, government proposed to send money through Tchocho mobile phone service of Digicel to every mother given the condition that their children enrolled and went to school regularly. 400, 600 or 800 gourdes would be given every month to mothers with 1, 2 or 3 child respectively. Initial registration was decided to be for 6 months with 10 allowed renewals totaling up to 5 years. The program aimed at reaching 100,000 beneficiary families.

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Saint-Jean-du-Sud, a cityship in the Port-Salut Arrondissement, under the Sud Department of Haiti, is home to 23,870 inhabitants. Located at sea level, it lies on the southern-most tip of the Tiburon Peninsula near its western end. Three divisions make up Saint-Jean-du-Sud: Debouchette, Tapion, and Trichet. A cluster of villages lies close by Saint-Jean-du-Sud: Coateaux, La Ferme, Durant, Bel Air, and Petite Riviere.

Farming is one of the primary income-generators of the small village of Saint-Jean-du-Sud, with bananas and pineapples producing the largest crop-yields. The farming community is close-knit, sharing resources among themselves to derive higher incomes. Another source of income for the village is fishing and the operation of fish hatcheries.

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Haiti National Police has conducted its biggest operation for a long time. On Sunday night, January 13, 203, with the help of MINUSTAH and other security forces like UNPOL, the Haitian National Police hit several hot spots around the neighborhood of Bel-Air and proceed in the arrest of several undesirable members of the society.

According to an official of the PNH, among the people arrested over the weekend, the list includes Kidnappers, Ex-convicted, and people who have been involved in various criminal activities in the Haitian Capital

The operation headed by Haiti National Police in the neighborhood of Bel-Air resulted in over 200 criminals actually in the hands of Haitian authorities.

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President Michel Martelly, as part of his ambitious agenda to engage all sectors of the Haitian population, inaugurated the People Canteen Tet Kale in Créole in Carrefour on July 27, 2012. Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, Ronsard St-Cyr joined Martelly. Together they were there to initiate a dialogue of goodwill with the community and demonstrate their commitment to improve the quality of life for the underserved population.

At the People Canteen, located on 4th Avenue Bolosse, President Martelly and Minister St-Cyr stood behind the line and served nutritious meals to school-age children. Then they joined the children at tables and chatted with them about what they wanted to be when they grew up. Later Martelly and St-Cyr handed out soccer balls to screaming and excited children, who asked Martelly if he would play with them. Martelly replied he would do something even better, he would show them a few soccer-ball tricks.

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We just learned that the powerful Lavalas militant Samba Boukman, also known by his true mane Jean Baptiste Jean Philippe was assassinated today by an individual on a motorcycle. The news was just reported now by Radio Kiskeya in Port-au-Prince. He level of insecurity in Haiti continues to increase as many people became victims of assassination recently in Haiti.

This took place while Samba Boukman was going to pick-up his child from school in Delmas 95, at Jacquet Toto. He was pronounced dead

Who is Samba Boukman?

Jean Baptiste Jean Philippe has been a powerful militant in Haiti for the past 20 years. Some believe that Samba Boukman was involved with a gang in the Bel-Air area in Port-au-Prince. Operation Baghdad was a broad campaign of terror on behalf of a former president of Haiti

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