U.S. State Department - Haiti Observer Blog

Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson who represents Florida's 24th Congressional District, telephoned the Special Coordinator for Haiti in the State Departlent, Mr. Kenneth Merten, on Friday to raise her concerns on several issues regarding Haiti.

Since March 28, 2016, three major hospitals have been providing only limited services to the population due to an ongoing strike by doctors. The Congresswoman expressed her concerns about some vulnerable people in the Haitian population who are unable to access healt care as a result.

Congresswoman Wilson, also addressed the current political crisis with the Special Coordinator for Haiti in the State Department, but in a diplomatic fashion. She called on the United states to support the current leaders in determining the future of the actual Provisional President and to be involved in the plan to complete the long delayed election process.

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The pressure continues to build on the Haitian government from inside as well as in the outside. The American government in particular wants immediate elections in Haiti and have been communicating directly and indirectly with the government. Three .U.S. Senators are now asking for sanctions to be imposed on Haiti.

In a letter addressed to the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Senators David Perdue, Marco Rubio and Johnny Isakson to use every tool to ensure that Haitian authorities to respect the agreement recently signed and conducts elections by the deadline. They want the Government of Privert to work closely with the new CEP to conduc the election as scheduled and to avoid any pretext for postponement.

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Did you know that Haiti was one of the countries in the world designated by United States Department of Defense (DOD) as "imminent danger areas". Haiti found itself in that class along with eight other "land areas". The others countries are East Timor, Liberia, Oman, Rwanda, Tajikistan, United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan.

So what is it exactly? Is this good or bad? How did Haiti manage to get in that list?

The combatant commands conducted in-depth threat assessments on a regular basis to determine the level of imminent threat to US military personnel due to civil insurrection, civil war or act of terrorism. Based on their evaluation, Haiti was one of the many countries determined to be in the list.

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Coming out of an agreement made by the U.S. State Department and Coursera Inc. online courses will be offered to students in over 30 locations across the globe, free of charge and without the need of personal internet accounts. The new courses will include tutorials in mathematics, computer science, biology, and business science.

The company, Coursera, which offers free online courses through the internet, was founded in 2011 by Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller, two computer science professors from Stanford University. The aim of this new initiative is to provide ways to education for people, often from third world nations, who cannot afford traditional schooling, or even regular internet courses because they cannot afford the internet.

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I don't know but this new label can't be good for our Haitian lawmakers in Haiti; specially those whom their term will come to an end in January of 2014. Let me correct this, for those who have discussions regarding their terms.

Can someone tell me exactly what "Singularly Unproductive" means?

According to the Special Coordinator for Haiti at the State Department, Thomas C. Adams, " The Haitian lawmakers have not passed enough laws that could help the country cope with the challenges of modern development and investment".

During a recent session before the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives in Washington, Thomas C. Adams said " The Haitian Parliament was singularly unproductive this past year, from something like 9 laws in total"

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Citing an increase in the crime level in Haiti, especially in regards to Americans living in or visiting the country, the U.S. State Department has issued a notice, replacing the last advisory on the subject made on December 28, 2012, informing the concerned parties on this subject.

Adding to the bill is the concern over inadequate infrastructure, limited, seasonal protection from the police and harsh weather. There is also the issue of the inefficient medical institutions, though safety and security remains the first concern.

While the warning does not dissuade Americans from visiting Haiti outright, the message is conveyed clearly enough in the picture painted by words and phrases describing the many murders, robberies, kidnappings and other violent crimes, especially within the scope of the Port-au-Prince area. The advisory goes on to mention a recent robbery of two U.S. citizens shortly after disembarking their flight to Haiti and leaving the airport.

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