Kreyol Network

97,000 dollars to UWI Haitian Student Fund for Haitian students in Trinidad

Nick J — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:19:58 +0000

Corporate donors yesterday handed over more than US$97,000 or about TT$621,000 to the UWI Haitian Student Fund.

However, about US$470,000 or TT$3 million more is still required to bring and support 70 Haitian students to the St Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies.

Of the total sum of US$1.3 million for the project (students’ airfares, living expenses and study materials) the UWI St Augustine Campus has already decided to contribute over US$730,000 to the venture, UWI St Augustine Campus Principal Professor Clement Sankat said at the handing over of the donations which took place at the Office of the Central Bank in Port of Spain.

Read More at http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/US_97_000_for_Haitian_students-102120299.html

Purdue University professor to help UN earthquake situation in Haiti

Nick J — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 03:43:21 +0000

West Lafayette – The United Nations has named a Purdue University professor to lead an effort to reduce the risks from future earthquakes in Haiti. The university said Wednesday that earth and atmospheric sciences professor Eric Calais is taking a leave of absence to serve a one-year term as science adviser for the United Nations Development Program.

Haiti was hit by a magnitude 7 earthquake Jan. 12. It caused widespread destruction and killed about 200,000 people. Calais has studied Haitian earthquake faults since 1989 and says it’s important to “develop strategies to reduce the potential for devastation and protect people’s lives.” He’ll assist Haiti’s government in creating an earthquake readiness agency.

European Union parliamentarians evaluate Haiti progress

Nick J — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 06:12:14 +0000

A group of parliamentarians from the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) visited Haiti to evaluate reconstruction progress. Members of the European delegation said the EU had donated close to 1.6 billion dollars to Haiti in the wake of the January 12 quake, which killed at least 250,00 people and left more than a million homeless.

“Europe reacted in an extremely quick and positive fashion to the tragedy that struck the Haitian people,” said French EU parliamentarian Michele Rivasi.

She said EU money would go towards rebuilding destroyed infrastructure, but also to propping up the weak state.

“Our aid has also gone to budgetary support, it has allowed them to pay bureaucrats and the police,” she said. “It is strengthening democracy.”

She also stressed that Haitians would be leading the rebuilding efforts.

“If you want to do something lasting, it is the Haitians who must have control over the type of society they want for their future.”

Unasur pledged 100 million dollars to assist Haiti reconstruction

Nick J — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 06:03:18 +0000

The Union of South American Nations (Unasur), a regional grouping, on Tuesday, August 31, 2010 pledged 100 million dollars in money to assist reconstruction efforts in Haiti after January’s devastating earthquake.

Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa announced the donation during an official visit to Haiti, and said Unasur would also establish a political and technical secretariat in the country to assist with reconstruction plans.

: Ecuador's President Rafael Correa (L) and Haiti's President Rene Preval

“The 100 million dollars will be paid before the end of the year and we are going to deliver 200 million dollars in the longer term in the framework of reconstruction projects in Haiti,” Correa told a press conference with his Haitian counterpart Rene Preval.

Correa, who currently holds Unasur’s rotating presidency, arrived in Port-au-Prince on Monday night and travelled by helicopter to the country’s north to survey projects being financed by the group and implemented by troops from the organization’s member states.

“We do not want to exercise humanitarian imperialism in Haiti,” he said.

“We want to begin a new form of South-South cooperation, respecting the sovereignty of the Haitian people, and with the belief that the real development actors in Haiti are the Haitian people.”

5 Haitian Migrants Sent Back to Cap Haitien, Haiti

Nick J — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:47:09 +0000

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — The U.S. Coast Guard has sent back the five Haitian migrants whose boat was stopped off the coast of Delray Beach, Florida on Friday.

The Haitians were aboard a 25-foot vessel that was spotted 22 miles off the coast of Delray Beach. A Coast Guard crew stopped the boat, which carried the five Haitian migrants as well as two Jamaican migrants and one smuggling suspect, officials said.

The Haitians were repatriated to Cap Haitien, Haiti, on Tuesday August 31, 2010. Officials said the two Jamaicans and the smuggling suspect were transferred to the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

U.S. Fraud Investigator killed in Petionville, Haiti, teen held for ransom

Nick J — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 12:18:11 +0000

Gregoire-Ronald Chery, 56, a Haitian fraud investigator with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, was shot to death Friday night outside a cousin’s home in Pelerin, family members said. Pierre Jarmil Chery, brother of Gregoire-Ronald said that around 10 p.m. Friday, three armed men stormed the gated home, two held up Chery at gunpoint while another tied remaining relatives inside and raided the home. The identity of the men remain a mystery.

“One put a gun to my head and pulled the trigger,’ Pierre Jarmil Chery said. “It jammed. I should be dead, too.’

Pelerin is a niche neighborhood in the hills above Petionville, with middle class and wealthy homes behind walls.

Born in Jeremie, Chery emigrated to New York in 1965 with his family and later moved to Miami in 1977. He lived in Sunrise.

“We’re working to bring his body home by Wednesday,’ his sister Ula Zucker said. “We’re praying for Nadege.’

Nadege Charlot, a Haitian native who lived in the home, was kidnapped and is being held for ransom. Kidnappers were demanding $100,000 on Monday for her safe return, family members said.

“She got to speak with her mom,’ Zucker said. “Nadege was crying. She said they beat her and burned her feet.’

Chery is survived by his son Gregoire-Ronald Chery II, daughters Cassandra Chery and Bianca Chery; mother, Viola Semxant-Zucker; and nine siblings.

A public viewing will be held at 5 p.m. Friday September 03, 2010 at Alfonso M. Richardson Funeral Services, 3790 NW 167th St., Opa-locka.

Haiti’s provisional election council accused of deception

Nick J — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 02:11:10 +0000

In an audio message in Creole distributed to the Haitian media, disqualified Haiti presidential candidate Wyclef Jean, called on his supporters to “mobilize without let up” against the council’s decision, which struck down Jean’s candidacy Friday because he had not lived in Haiti for five consecutive years.

Wyclef Jean charged Monday that Haiti’s provisional election council (CEP) used “trickery” and violated the constitution to reject his candidacy for president.

“Even before our work began, friends in Haiti and abroad had warned me that much trickery would be used to block me. The result: CEP has proved it true,” he said.

“They violated the constitution to benefit their families and their friends who continue to live off the people’s money,” Jean said. “Are you going to continue to support people who do not respect the fundamental law of the country?”

“While you mobilize without let up to force them to respect your rights, I am going to continue to fly the flag of Haiti. Stay well, the work has just begun,” he said.

Rodney Charite and Danise St Louis Wedding

Nick J — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 05:25:18 +0000

Congratulations to the newly weds. The marriage ceremony uniting Danise St-Louis and Rodney Charite took place on Sunday August 22, 2010 at 17:00 in the Fort Lauderdale Seventh Day Adventist Church.

[View with PicLens]

Wyclef Jean plans to contest disqualification for Haiti presidency

Nick J — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 21:07:06 +0000

Wyclef Jean announced in a statement today that he plans to contest the Haiti board of elections’ decision to exclude him from the country’s upcoming presidential election. (The board ruled that Jean — who was born in Haiti but spent most of his life in the U.S. — was not eligible to run for the presidency because he did not meet the country’s residency requirements.) While the singer said yesterday that he “respectfully accept[ed]“ that ruling as final, his latest statement tells a different story.

“After careful consideration and much soul-searching, I have made the decision to contest Haiti’s board of election’s pronouncement stating that I am ineligible to run for the presidency of the country,” Jean’s statement said. “I will be seeking a solution through legal channels, and I urge my countrymen to be patient through this process…. I cannot surrender now, simply because an obstacle has been set before me; now is the time I must stand up and show Haiti — and the world — that my vision of a nation renewed and redeveloped is a vision for which I am willing to fight.”

source: http://news-briefs.ew.com

Wyclef Jean statement after disqualification for president

Nick J — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 20:57:30 +0000

It is with a heavy heart that I tell you today that the board of elections in Haiti has disqualified me from my run for the presidency of the country. Though I disagree with the ruling, I respectfully accept the committee’s final decision, and I urge my supporters to do the same. We must all honor the memories of those we’ve lost–whether in the earthquake, or at anytime–by responding peacefully and responsibly to this disappointment.

I was inspired to run for president because I know Haiti can become great with the right leadership, and I believe I could be that leader; but, ultimately, we must respect the rule of law in order for our island to become the great nation we all aspire for it to be.

I want to assure my countrymen that I will continue to work for Haiti’s renewal; though the board has determined that I am not a resident of Haiti, home is where the heart is–and my heart has and will always be in Haiti. This ruling just tells me that I can’t officially seek the office of president. More importantly, there is no one who can tell me to stop my work in Haiti, and there is no one who could. I think of my daughter, Angelina, and it makes me want to redouble my efforts to help give all the children in Haiti better days.

I also want to honor the memory of my father, a minister; I know that he would tell me that even though I’ve faced a setback, I must continue in all my good-faith efforts to help Haiti turn a corner to a better and brighter future. Do not think that my role in the future of Haiti is over; it’s just a different role than I had anticipated it to be.

Rest assured, this isn’t the end of my efforts to help improve my beloved country but only marks a new beginning.

Signed, Wyclef Jean

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/20/1785754/statement-issued-by-wyclef-jean.html