Haiti
Haiti’s Notorious Gang Leader Arnel Joseph Arrested
A wounded Arnel Joseph was lying on a stretcher, ready to be wheeled into an operating room at the Bonne Fin hospital of Les Cayes, a Caribbean seaport located in Haiti’s southern region, when members of a special unit of the National Police Force’s (PNH) swooped in to arrest him. Continue reading
Haiti’s president names new prime minister
Michel replaces Jean Michel Lapin, who had earlier announced that he was stepping down in the interest of the country.
“I have made a choice for Haiti,” Lapin, the former culture and communications minister who was named to the post on March 21, three days after the Chamber of Deputies voted to oust the six-month-old government of then prime minister Jean-Henry Ceant. Continue reading
Sit-in against Jovenel Moïse in front of the US Embassy in Haiti planned for Sunday
Grassroots organizations are planning to hold a sit-in on Sunday in front of the U.S. Embassy in Haiti to continue demand the resignation of President Jovenel Moïse. The organizations participating in the sit-in are: Foz opozisyon site solèy, Petwo zewo tolerans, Òganizasyon jèn pwogresis yo, (the platform of organizations committed to change Haiti) and Aba mizè.
“On the occasion of the 104th anniversary of the first landing of American troops in Haiti, we will go to the streets to demand a PetroCaribe trial and denounce the massacres at La Saline,” said Patrice Celestin, coordinator of Fòs opozisyon site solèy.
The sit-in will also aim to “ask the U.S. government to stop supporting the corrupt ruling and assassins in Haiti,” according to Jhonson Joseph, coordinator of Aba mizè. Continue reading
Powerful gang leader arrested in Les Cayes
Notorious gang leader Arnel Joseph was arrested in Les Cayes Monday according to Michelangelo Gideon, the general director of the National Police of Haiti (PNH). Joseph was due to undergo surgery at a hospital in Cavaillon where the arrest took place. Authorities had previously failed to capture him in another operation in April. He was transported to Port-au-Prince Tuesday less than a day after his arrest. Continue reading
The Kolektif jistis min denounces the opacity surrounding the draft mining law in Haiti
On the International Day Against the Mega-Mining Industry the Kolektif jistis min (Kjm) criticized the opacity surrounding the draft law on mining in Haiti Monday.
The Kolektif jistis min warned of attempts by President Jovenel Moïse to use all the underground resources of Haiti to stay in power and invites civil society organizations to reflect on the experience of mining. Continue reading
Haitians increasingly rare in the streets of ‘Little Haiti’
At least 35 people have been arrested since the beginning of a deportation operation initiated by the Trump administration on July 14, according to CNN’s Internal Security Department. The raids are being conducted in nine major U.S. cities, including Miami where there’s a significant Haitian population.
The operation targets 2,000 families of migrants subject to a court order. In the process, the Haitians of “Little Haiti” are one of the targets of the agency responsible for implementing immigration legislation. Living in fear of encountering ICE agents and being deported, they have remained at home and are increasingly scarce on the sidewalks and in the streets, according to the Family Action Network Movement coalition in Miami. Continue reading
Arts & Culture
Bélo: Motivating Haiti’s Youth through Music
BélO, a Haitian international artist released his sixth album Motivayson on July 18 at the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center. With a milestone birthday of 40 approaching in a few months, the artist, whose real name is Jean Bélony Murat, wanted to use this time to reflect on his life and the turmoil Haiti has undergone over the past few years. For him it’s an opportunity to give back musically to his people with some uplifting songs by evolving his hybrid Ragganga sound with Afro-Haitian rhythms. Continue reading
Caribbean
Haiti Stands in Solidarity with Puerto Rico
Our Haitian partner Haitian Platform to Advocate Alternative Development (PAPDA) expresses their solidarity with the people of Puerto Rico in the streets, protesting disaster capitalism and calling on the governor to resign. They are in the same fight in Haiti, against both corruption and American intervention. Continue reading
Beauty & Style
Soles With Soul: Donna Karan and Kenneth Cole Are Collaborating With Artisans in Haiti on Summer Sandals
Donna Karan and Kenneth Cole: two iconic names in the New York fashion industry; a combined 70 years of experience between them; never collaborated! Until today, that is. (Let’s chalk it up to collaborations being a 2010s thing.) Continue reading