Cuba - Haiti Observer Blog

Former President René Préval's dealings with the United States began with great promise. He had made the US one of his first visits after winning the 2006 elections, and was quickly congratulated by President George Bush upon his reelection. In the States, the presidential meeting was thought to be fortuitous of the relationship between the two countries under Préval's administration.

Then René Préval surprised them. A series of cables from the US Embassy, made available to Haitian press by WikiLeaks, show that initially, Préval's offense was his dealings with Venezuela and Cuba, a circumstance the US hadn't anticipated after Préval's actions to reassure them. US Ambassador Janet Sanderson took umbrage to perceived shows of 'independence or contrariness', shown by Préval in his dealings with Ugo Chavez. This was exacerbated by Préval's signing the Venezuelan PetroCaribe alliance, a coup with considerable benefits to Haiti, including the estimated $100 million the government would save per year. Washington had made it plain they would not support a Haitian oil deal with Venezuela.

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Against the wishes of many, Haiti, led by then president René Préval, began dealings with Cuba and Fidel Castro. As part of a trilateral cooperate between the two countries and Venezuela, Castro facilitated an aid package to Haiti that would include oil and energy solutions, medical and disaster support, education, etc.

During Préval's first turn as president, after the September 1998 hurricane Georges had ravaged the country and left a cholera outbreak, 500 Cuban doctors were sent to give aid. Described by Préval as second only to God in their healing abilities, the gift was looked on suspiciously by others claiming the intention was to either steal jobs or spread the 'communist influence'. Following Rene Preval's personal experience of the Cuban health system and a second visit of the doctors in the wake of 2010's cholera outbreak, Préval awarded the Cuban Medical Brigade, and by extension Castro, with the country's highest honor, the National Order of Honor and Merit in the grade of Grand Officer. Hundreds of thousands had been infected; the death toll nearly 5000, but the efforts of the Cuban doctors had saved the lives of over 73,000 Haitians.

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Hugo Chavez, late President of Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, will remain the most iconic figure of 21st century on the World Political Map. The entire population of Haiti will remain indebted to what Hugo Chavez did for Haitian people and Latin America as a whole. There is no denying of the fact that Chavez deeply loved Haiti and its people.

It was on March 12, 2007 when Chavez visited the then Haitian President René Préval at National Palace of Haiti (that was shattered by the 2010 earthquake) and declared enormous economic aids that were intended for directly aiding the poverty-struck Haitian people as well as sustainable growth of Haiti. These announcements were a part of the PetroCaribe deal signed between Haiti and Venezuela in 2006.

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According to the reports of Prensa Latina, 14th National Afro-Caribbean Festival in Eva Gasper's Memory was organized in Cuba's Ciego de Avila province. The festival was a 3-day long festival that was marked by the participation of 14 groups of Haitian dancers and musicians from all over Cuba. This annual festival is sponsored by La Habana's Haitian Embassy and Santiago de Cuba's Casa del Caribe. This festival is held by Sabicú community in Ciego de Avila's village Primero de Enero. Sabicú is the largest community of Haitian descendants and natives living in central Cuba.

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The past few years have been very promising for the island country of Haiti, despite the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that occurred about three years ago. It is actually one of the fastest growing economies in the region, thanks to the recent efforts of the Haitian government and the international community.

In a recent report published by the United Nation's Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Haiti will be the leading and fastest-growing economy in the Caribbean in terms of GDP growth which is projected to increase by 6% by the year 2013. It was also supposed to be at the number one spot for 2012 with an initial estimate of 6% growth earlier in the year, but was decreased to a 2.5% growth by the ECLAC, as well as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), due to the bad effects of the major storms that hit the country this past year. Back in 2011, Haiti's GDP grew by 5.6%.

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Just look for a moment what Haiti has to offer. We have the most historic sites in the Caribbean. We have some of the most beautiful beaches in the area. We are located just a little more that one hour from the US.

What the h.. is going on?

The tourism industry is the most important thing the Caribbean counties have going for them. When you look at whether Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Puerto Rico, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Kitts-and-Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent-and-the-Grenadines, Trinidad-and- Tobago, Turks-and-Caicos Islands or United States Virgin Islands. They all have one thing in common: These Caribbean islands are focusing on the tourist industry.

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It seems to me this was long anticipated. considering Cuba's contribution to the fight on Cholera in Haiti. Michel Martelly and his team finally decided to pay a visit to the neighboring country of Cuba. This clearly shows a different policy from that of Rene Preval. It appears to me that Rene Preval had a closer relation with Fidel and Raul Castro of Cuba that our current president Michel Martelly.

Why would Martelly take on a different politic Vis a vis of Cuba?

Anyway, this first official visit to Cuba will allow Martelly to get acquainted with the regime. Who knows, this might be the beginning of a beautiful relationship between Martelly and Castro.

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The contribution of the Cuban Medical Brigade in Haiti can not be ignored. These doctors are treating cholera victims in some of the most remote regions in Haiti.

According to top officials of the United Nation Stabilization Mission, the centers operated by the Cuban Medical Brigades in Haiti are part of the important work to fight the cholera epidemic, along side with Doctors without Borders and many other medical groups.

Haiti is in need of a lot more doctors and nurses to combat the cholera epidemic. The UN top humanitarian official stated recently that Haiti needs at least 100 more doctors and 1,000 more nurses to handle the epidemic effectively. Doctors from Cuban Medical Brigade, Doctors without Borders and many other medical groups currently providing services currently will not be able to provide care to all these people.

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