The head of Citizenship and Immigration Services, Alejandro Mayorkas, says his agency can't eliminate its fees, but it has the power to waive them for people who can prove they are poor. He has promised that his employees will treat applicants with a "generosity of spirit." This would be a refreshing change for an agency notorious for bureaucrats expert in finding a way to say no.
While helping applicants take their place on the line, Richard Champagne, current President of the Haitian Lawyers Association (HLA)stated, "This is an opportunity for the HLA and participating attorneys to give back to our community. Haitian immigrants have been suffering for a long time, and after the Obama administration granted TPS, it was our duty to assist. It has been a great opportunity to partner with the city of North Miami, given the concentration of Haitian nationals in the city.
A Hartford Courant photographer, he opens the door to Haiti's dark, brutal secrets with explicit photographs taken in his native country. [Marc Yves Regis] was a freelance photographer with the Miami Times and an intern with the Miami Herald before joining the Courant. The book outlines Haiti's democratic reforms, beginning with the 1990 appointment of the country's first woman president. A year later, Ertha Pascal-Trouillot handed power to Jean-Betrand Aristide, who captured the presidency with an overwhelming 67 percent of the vote in the country's first true democratic election.
BET's "SOS Saving Ourselves-Help for Haiti" benefit and concert telethon debuted live from the American Airlines Arena on Friday night. The event was hosted by Queen Latifiah, Sean "Diddy" Combs and Pharrell.
Patrick Rouzier, a housing and reconstruction adviser for the government, acknowledged the plan in a text message. He said [Jean Yves Jason] wants to move the families to Morne Cabrit, a mountain north of the capital, and house them in temporary shelters. The government has reservations about the approach, Rouzier added, but he did not elaborate. He said he was traveling with President Michel Martelly.
Toussaint Louverture was the leader of the Haitian Revolution. His military genius and political acumen led to the establishment of the independent Black state of Haiti. The success of the Haitian Revolution shook the institution of slavery throughout the New World. Toussaint Louverture began his military career as a leader of the 1791 slave rebellion in the French colony of Saint Domingue. He served from 1791-1803 and died in a French jail in 1803.
"FANM is a grassroots organization," Bastien said. "When people come here they come here with great hope that we will be able to attend to their needs, but oftentimes because of our financial situation we are unable to." In addition to the information that will be provided at the open house, FANM will present a sampling of Haitian cuisine, Haitian art and a musical presentation by children from the Haitian community. The event is free, but FANM will accept donations to further the work of the organization.
"We provide this venue as a linkage for Haitians throughout the diaspora," President of the Haitian Heritage Museum Eveline Pierre told The Miami Times. "It's about educating the public about the phenomenal contributions Haitian Americans have made as a people, which will create a legacy for future generations." "In the building's design, we want it to reflect Haitian designs, and for that we want community imput," said [Serge Rodrigue].
Last May, President Bush signed an Executive Order allowing the Coast Guard to immediately turn back Haitian boat refugees without checking to determine if they were fleeing political persecution. Before that, thousands of Haitians had crowded into unsafe boats to try to get away from their dangerous homeland. The U.S. tagged them "economic" rather than political refugees. "The fact is our government has turned a blind eye to Haitians," said Wade Henderson, director of NAACP's Washington bureau. I have a dream that I intend to make a reality. I'm calling on African Americans and Haitians here in Miami to come together to sit down, talk and work out a plan to help Haitians. But I'm also asking that Hispanics, Jews, Anglos -- everyone -- pitch in to help.
Last Wednesday, the Haitian American Cultural Society and the Consul General of Haiti recognized non-Haitians of merit in a very special way: with honorary Haitian citizenship. Among the honorees, most notable were Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas, Miami-Dade Commissioner Barbara Carey-Shuler, and Congresswoman Carrie Meek. For Meek, the recognition has added historical significance.
"There was a real need for a facility like this back in the 1990's," [Jan Mapou] said. "Young people needed to be more aware of their Haitian heritage . . . their real heritage." The bookstore is best known for its excellent collection of Haitian literature much of which is written by Mapou and his advocate group, Sosyete Koukouy, which means "Society of Fire Flies." There are also learning booklets, Bibles translated in French and Creole, folklore novels, paintings, Haitian periodicals, maps and figurines that make up the store's inventory. In addition, the store also offers tasty treats including Kremas Mapou - a Haitian syrupy drink made from a secret family recipe.
HAVANA - Cuba's Communist government has signaled a crackdown on the use of black-market satellite dishes, just over a week after ailing leader Fidel Castro temporarily relinquished power to his brother. "They are fertile ground for those who want to carry out the Bush administration's plan to destroy the Cuban revolution," said the newspaper, the official voice of the government. Such an article in Granma usually signals that action is on the way. Castro said in an August 1 statement that details of his health were a state secret due to the threat of U.S. intervention in Cuba.
Blacks have accused Cubans of taking advantage of their White complexions while simultaneoulsy being "minorities" when it is convenient for them. When opportunities for government contracts and grants for "minorities" are created, Cuban's apply as "minorities." When affirmative action policies are enacted for "minorities," Cuban's are also the beneficiaries. But somewhere down the line these police officers forgot they were "minorities." It took the two retired white officers, who cooperated fully with the FBI, to remind them.
It's clear that most Cubans living in South Florida were those who oppressed the working classes in Cuba, resulting in the class discrimination of white Cubans against Black Cubans. Many of the Cubans controlling South Florida today are heirs to the chicanery, corruption, organization of crime and prostitution, and money laundering practiced by the ruling class when they held power in Cuba. Before the revolution that put [Fidel Castro] in power, Cuba was one big resort, the preferred spot, for the U.S. mafia to spend their free time and take a little vacation. Let me make it clear to everyone that I'm not a communist person and I'm not a member of any communist political party whatsoever. I believe, as a citizen of the world and a conscious Black man, that I have the right to praise anyone that I choose. I have the right to say that the Blacks in power in Cuba would not want the racist Cuban dictators in South Florida to go to the island and contaminate their nonracial environment. When they were in power during the [Fulgencio Batista] regime, the situation for Black people was deplorable. And now, any Black from Cuba who sides with Castro is labeled as a "Communist" or a "traitor". South Florida needs to wake up and ring the bell of freedom in the face of dictatorship. South Florida needs to let the Cuban dictators ruling South Florida know that the practice of censorship is over. We know the problem of the Cubans in South Florida. The real problem is not truly Fidel Castro, but rather the living presence of Black people in power in Cuba and the rapidly growing Black population in Cuba. Today we are going to sing a new song; the title of this song would be "We Know Your Problem". We have recognized the problem for years and now is the time to sing that song.
"I could not believe it," she said. "All I could think about was my mother and two sisters who were in Haiti." Hosted by Koze Ayiti (Conversations in Haiti) and Konbit for Haiti, Pierre and several Haitians gathered in Little Haiti on Saturday to watch the televised Haitian presidential debate at the Konbit for Haiti. The debate was streamed from a restaurant in Petionville, Haiti but was interrupted by multiple power blackouts. Haiti's first-ever publicly broadcast presidential debates were organized in Haiti by KozeAyiti collaborators: Interuniversity Institute of Research and Development (INURED), which is led by Louis Herns Marcelin, an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Miami and Haiti Aid Watchdog.
A country may qualify for TPS due to the following conditions: ongoing armed conflict (such as civil war), an environmental disaster (such as earthquake or hurricane) or other extraordinary and temporary conditions. In light of the massive earthquake that took place in Haiti on Jan. 12 when thousands were presumed and then confirmed dead, Haiti became a candidate for TPS. "A lot of people don't have the money for the application and so that remains the primary obstacle for them," [Gepsie M. Metellus] said. "Although there is a fee waiver [for which some are eligible], it is a 'process' and it is frustrating."
[Teresa Heinz Kerry] shared the stage with two Haitian women, Aderadle Jules, 56, who had one family member to die in the floods and is missing seven, and Desita Fevrier, 52, who lost all eight of her family members in the Gonaives flood. Heinz Kerry first addressed the audience in French, which the predominately Creole speaking audience responded to favorably. Heinz Kerry said she did not know how the Haitian community was set up to handle disasters of the magnitude of Tropical Storm Jeanne. After acknowledging that she was not familiar with every Haitian issue, Heinz Kerry expressed concern about the United States' repatriation policy regarding Haitians. "I don't honestly know what the policy is for Haitians and Cubans when they come by boat to this country. What I don't understand is why do Haitians once they land have a different kind of treatment where they are held up for so long," Heinz Kerry pondered, as she drew applause from the audience.
"I think it's a joke," Miami-based Haitian business woman and [Jean-Bertrand Aristide] supporter Lucie Tondreau told The Times. "These same people talking about they are representing the industrial class are the ones that are paying people 68 U.S. cents a day for 17 hours of work. These are the same people who have just fired over 300 poor people without indemnity. These are the same people who over the years in Haiti have refused to pay taxes, electricity, who have not invested in the infrastructure, in the schools of Haiti, and today they are coming here talking about democracy?," Tondreau wondered. "He" (Aristide) "was at the basis of reinforcement of polarization," said [Apaid]. "He was prone to keep our country divided. He knew our mentality and rather than try to correct it he was accentuating it while making deals behind the palace door with the very people he was attacking. So there was a hypocrisy in it and it's just traditional political behavior. We want to go beyond that." While Apaid described the current situation in Haiti as slow with a lot of problems but moving in the right direction, Tondreau described Haiti as a place where people have no right to demonstrate without being killed. "We need the duly elected president back in Haiti," said Tondreau.
"It's a complete tragedy, a complete disregard for human life," said Lemorin's lawyer, Charles Kuck. "Haiti is still an unmitigated disaster.'' In January, the moratorium not in effect will be lifted and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will resume the deportation of Haitian nationals convicted of crimes in the U.S. Lemorin's lawyers says that while his client has no conviction, he is being included with those who do. However, his deportation under the specific circumstances of his case would be highly unusual, according to legal experts. But his ability to remain in the U.S. is not the only issue at hand. He would be forced to leave his wife and their three children who reside in North Miami Beach. His wife, Charlene Mingo Lemorin, 31, is being treated for kidney failure and her medical condition precludes her from moving the family to Haiti. "Without letting us know they'll resume deportation to Haiti, at a time when Haiti is living under its gravest crisis, it's so unfair," said Marliene Bastien, who heads the Haitian Women of Miami. "It's supposed to be a progressive government. We're gravely disappointed."
Cuba's rulers, say activists, see the growing dark face of the opposition as "ingratitude" that requires harsher punishment. They point to the case of Black Communist leader Juan Carlos Robinson, sentenced in 2006 to 12 years in jail for "corruption," an offense for which former foreign minister, Roberto Robaina, who's white, was arrested in 2002 but placed under house arrest. [Orlando Zapata Tamayo]'s ordeal is being spun from the other side of the coin, too - the predominantly white and U.S.-based, right-wing anti-Castro opposition who clearly stand to score political points from the case of a Black martyr. Righteous declarations can be expected from organizations such as Democracy Movement, the Cuban American National Foundation, the Cuban Liberty Council and, especially, the Cuban Democratic Directorate. Many Cuban civil-rights activists accuse these groups of working to corral and control the new internal opposition forces on behalf of interests linked to Cuba's former Jim Crow oligarchy. That's why they see U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart's "indignation" over Zapata's death, as much as president Raul Castro's "regrets," as a double farce. A staunch supporter of the tiny; white elite of wealth that was overthrown in 1959, Diaz-Balart can cry crocodile tears, but during his time in Congress his right-wing, proembargo agenda has only hindered the ability of Black Cubans to improve their lot.