In high school French, classes resumed

On the hills, the town hall, which bears on its front the motto of the Republic of Haiti, “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”, was abandoned because of precarious balance. Its services are transferred across in the local library. Responsible for strengthening the municipal team, one French, Richard Landry, plays a role of superintendent. His mission began well before the earthquake, in partnership with the French Development Agency (AFD) and the City of Strasbourg. “It manages the emergency while reorganizing with the desire not to mortgage the future. It is not to rebuild in flood during hurricane, building with seismic standards while many residents want to relocate in a hurry, “said Richard Landry.

A jewel of private secular education in Haiti, the French school-Pommayrac Alcibiades, too, suffered. The primary school collapsed causing no casualties and the school requires the work of rehabilitation. He welcomes Creole and French soon began in kindergarten. The 750 students who pass the end of the tray Haitian Studies and French are selected on merit. Young people from disadvantaged families are privileged to the same level competitions, thanks to a grant system. “We have taken courses outside without waiting for students to pass exams at year end. We welcome others with their rotation to restore faith in the aftermath. We will rehabilitate and rebuild, “says Gerard Borne, facility director and consul of France. Carefully maintained, the gardens are planted with bougainvillea. “Our role is to give these children an education and a framework. Our park is there to show what he can do with the environment, “he said.

But, by the sea, in artists’ quarter, the mood is sullen. The workshops of painters and craftsmen are closed. There will be no carnival in Jacmel this year. The designers still continue to make street costumes and papier-mache masks. One complete uniform of a Devil and winged boots. It will not scroll band this year.

“The judge did not accept the request for provisional release,” said Mr. Cock, leaving the prosecutor’s office where the ten Americans were held all day yesterday. “The judge has issued two mandates for deposits, one for the group of five men who are incarcerated in the national penitentiary, one for five women who will be held at the prison for women in Petion-Ville,” has detailed the lawyer.

Ten Baptist missionaries, who tried to illegally from Haiti exfiltrer thirty children, were charged Thursday of “abduction of minors and criminal conspiracy” and should be tried in Haiti.

The National Penitentiary is the main prison of Port-au-Prince, where much of the 4,000 inmates escaped, taking advantage of the earthquake on January 12. The hearing of inmates will continue next week, “said Mr. Cock.

“Doing Business”? Not so simple if we are to believe a report from the World Bank is studying the regulation of business in 183 countries worldwide. Haiti therein to 151st rank. “It is very difficult to transact in Haiti and property rights are poorly protected, described Sylvia Solf, one of his editors. We must get the approval from many agencies and the highest authorities of the State to start a business: it takes 195 days on average! ”

Delays are also among the highest in the world to obtain a building permit, connection to electricity and telephone. The World Bank, “we will have rapidly simplify all the basic procedures and secure the title if it wants to attract investors.

And even more so, says Ms. Solf, that “there is a correlation between the complexity of procedures and recourse to corruption.” That is one major concern of donors, while international organizations and “friendly countries” in Haiti were recognized at the Montreal meeting, January 25, the Haitian state, despite governance weaknesses exacerbated by the earthquake was only legitimate to manage and coordinate reconstruction aid for which the total could approach $ 20 billion (14 billion euros).

“The management of this money worries us: we fear that some of the aid is diverted and does not benefit Haitians in need,” warns Marilyn Allien, president of the Heritage Foundation in Haiti, the local branch of Transparency International. This nongovernmental organization has assigned to Haiti note of 1.8 out of 10 in its index of corruption perception in 2009. Only seven countries are rated worse.

“Corruption is endemic in public institutions in Haiti, describes Mrs. Allien. The practice has become routine. The perpetrators enjoy total impunity. It is a practical high performance and low risk for the whole world: officials and elected parliament, the executive, the judiciary, the private sector … ”

The creation between 2004 and 2006, a unit of the fight against corruption, a National Commission on public procurement and a unit of financial information was not enough to clean up the economy. “The head of the National Procurement was kidnapped in February 2006, was never found his body,” sighed Mrs. Allien.

A previous concern especially Transparency International organization denounces the opacity which it claims surrounding the use of program funds to support after the hurricanes of 2008. Including 197 million dollars (141 million) loan from Venezuela under the PetroCaribe funds. “41% of this amount has been allocated to the National Equipment Company, managed by a close associate of President René Préval, said Mrs. Allien. Impossible to know what exactly has been done with this money. According to some allegations, some have served to finance the election platform unit set up by President Préval. ”

The former Prime Minister Michele Duvivier Pierre-Louis, who had requested the audits on the use of these funds has been sacked. It now proposes that the reconstruction is copilotée by Haitian authorities and the international community. It will likely be heard.

“Given the state of the Haitian public, we will develop tools for monitoring and management strengthened, said Bruno Lemarquis, an expert in the office of the crisis the United Nations Program for Development. It is possible that international agencies install their own services on site to implement the programs. ”

Control all the more necessary as the World Bank has proposed to create a single fund bringing together all funding for reconstruction. “However, such a trust fund requires the country to distribute general budget support and not grants arrow on specific projects, observes a French diplomat. This involves a lot of confidence in the ability of countries to manage its budget in a transparent manner. ” Trust: a further element in rebuilding Haiti.

Trapped in the collapsed Hotel Montana elevator shaft, Dan Woolley said he used a health app on his iPhone to learn how to treat his injuries while stuck under rubble.

Woolley used the light from his iPhone to show him his injuries and diagnosed it properly as a broken foot. Then, he used the instructions from the app to treat the excessive bleeding from cuts on his legs and the back of his head.

I guess having an Iphone is worth the price.