Long Island - Haiti Observer Blog

I am asking for prayer for this Haitian family as the remaining members are going through one of the most painful experiences in their lives. A total of five members of the same family were killes last Saturday in a car accident in Long Island. A 37 year old mother, Myriam Lebrun, her mother Moise Yolande, and her three children: Marcus Jeanty, Marcel Jeanty and Kayla Jeanty were all killed.

We have some video of the accident.

Here is live video of the tragic accident.

New York State Police reported that the car the family was driving, a 1998 Honda Accord, struck a tree and burst into flames

Read more →  

Haitian-Americans are gaining strength in local politics in the Long Island community. They have delayed running for local public offices due to the many obstacles they must overcome to become assimilated within the dominant Caucasian culture. But as the Haitian Diaspora has grown on Long Island, it has been reflected in the decision made by more Haitian-Americans to run for office.

During the recent November elections, five Haitian-Americans ran for seats on several different local boards and councils. Democrat Valerie Cartwright, daughter of Haitian immigrants, ran for the Brookhaven Town Board and won with 52% of the vote. It is a significant victory for her and the Haitian-American community because the community contains a very small population of Haitian-Americans. A civil rights attorney, she ran on a platform concerning quality-of-life challenges, encompassing low-income housing and more effective outreach services.

Read more →  

We all probably experienced this one time or another; however one Haitian nurse working in Long Island hospital is doing something about it. Diana St. Gerard who is a light skin Haitian nurse has been discriminated by other staff members for her background. They assume that because she is Haitian, therefore, she must be practicing "Black magic" and Voodoo.

According to Diana St. Gerard, the white staff at Long Island hospital made her life a living hell there. During the nine years that she worked in the mental health unit she was faced with many incidents of discrimination. Nurses have told St. Gerard that she looked like a voodoo doll; another staff member actually brought a voodoo doll at the Hospital once.

Read more →