Michel Martelly - Cap-Haitian - Haiti Observer Blog

Here is the first video of an Anti Martelly protest made available. There have been several protests throughout the Haitian Capital as well as in the city of Cap-Haitian

It has also been reported that the participants have been victims of gas used by the Haitian Police. There have been also several instances of rock throwing.

The situation has been tense throughout the day. It definitely did not look like a regular day in Cap-Haitian. For the commemoration of the 210th anniversary of the Battle of Vertières many police officers and specialized forces were deployed in anticipation of this popular protest.

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Barriere Bouteille or the three Booths at southern entrance of Cap-Haitian were found painted in pink which is the official color of the government of Michel Martelly.

What is next?

Will we see soon a new and improved pink Citadelle Laferrière? while we are at it, why not the Sans Souci Palace?

According to some witnesses, they woke up one day and saw the three booths of Barriere Bouteille painted in pink with no explanation what so ever.

Moun Okap Kote nou Ye!

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Bruny Surin, a naturalized Canadian and native of Cap-Haïten, Haiti, was born on July 2, 1967. He represented Canada for the first time at the 1987 Pan American Games in the long-jump.

In 1988, Italian coach Franco Barucci took Bruny Surin under his wing and encouraged him to forgo the long-jump for the 100-meter instead. Barucci bargained that Surin could finish the 100-meter in 10.10 seconds. At the Canadian Championship Games, Surin came within four one-hundredths of a second of completing the race in 10.10 seconds.

As a professional runner, Surin has amassed six Gold Medals, two Silver, and two Bronze. He won one of his three Gold Medals for the 4x100-meter relay at the 1996 Olympic Games. He won two more Gold Medals for the 4x100-meter at the World Championships at Gothenburg in 1995 and at Athens in 1997. He won yet another two Gold Medals for the 60-meter at the World Indoor Championships, in Toronto in 1993, and at Barcelona in 1995. His final Gold Medal was won at the 1998 Goodwill games.

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Opening ceremonies for Caracol Industrial Park (CIP) occurred on October 22, 2012. Michel Martelly, President of Haiti, hosted some of the biggest backers of northern Haiti's first industrial park, projected to eventually produce nearly 200,000 jobs. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, along with her husband, President Bill Clinton, presided over a crowd of investors and celebrities.

Haiti, the U.S., and the Inter-American Development Bank have donated a combined total of $464 million over the next six years. Other foundation and business donors are contributing to the development of Haiti's infrastructure.

Secretary Rodham-Clinton spoke before a lunch reception crowd. She told them that contributing to the sustained economic health of Haiti goes beyond sending relief aid to the earthquake-damaged island. On-going private investment in the infrastructure and economic initiatives to provide Haitians a better quality of life are key to raising Haiti out of its failed-state status. She said that although CIP was already in the planning stages before the 2010 earthquake shattered the country's infrastructure and economy, already feeble, the Obama administration has placed Haiti high on its priority list. The U.S. has followed through with a $124 million investment in CIP.

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One of the most promising and rising young judokas today is Haitian Linouse Desravines. The 21-year-old is the only judoka to have qualified for the upcoming London 2012 Olympics this July. This is very remarkable for her young age and her judo training of just four years. Desravines currently ranks number 28 in the world in her weight class, weighing around 52 kilograms. In addition, she has also been named Haiti's Athlete of the Year last 2011.

Linouse Desravines was introduced to judo in 2008 by her brother who was a national judo champion. After only a few years of training, she has been able to win several nation and international judo tournaments such as the bronze title in the Pan American Games in 2011 which was held in Guadalajara.

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