"Currently the districts only dilute the voting strength of Haitian-Americans," he said. "If the county does not increase the number of seats, the chances are that within the next 10 years you will see a Haitian American and an African American fighting for the same seat," he said. "This would cause deep ethnic division. And we already have enough ethnic division." "In the past Commissioner Gwen Margolis has supported the idea in principal. And Commissioner Dorrin Rolle has questioned the timing of it," he said.
"I'm from the United States," said Dr. [Claire-Marie Cyprien], a 43-year-old anesthesiologist who three days earlier had dropped her practice in Orlando, Fla., to rush to Haiti, the land of her birth. "And I'm a doctor." For generations, Haiti's chaos, corruption and poverty pushed out many of its most talented people. Haiti has a population of about nine million, but as many as two million more Haitians live abroad, about half a million of them in the U.S. The diaspora-Haitians refer to the émigrés as Haiti's "Tenth Province"-sends about $2 billion a year home, a sum equal to about 30% of the country's gross domestic product. Despite the money, émigrés have often been regarded warily by those who stayed behind. Emigration may offer a way to climb up or break out of Haiti's rigid class structure. But new wealth inspires jealousy, while distance from the motherland opens émigrés to accusations that they aren't as "authentic" as those who never left.
We must continue to support one another for the future of our community. We need to see more African American leaders coming into the Haitian community, not just during election time but throughout the year. We need to see more solid commitment on the part of the Haitian community also to join different causes in the African American community. These are the only ways we can overcome in this struggle for equality. If we continue to treat our political interests as separate entities, we will never get to partake of the ftuits of democracy. Concerned citizens and political officials in both communities need to let people know that we don't have a Haitian/African American problem. I would hope that the Haitian community can realize that just because Mr. Duke, an African American, was defeated by Mr. [Joe Celestin], a Haitian, that Haitians are not "better" or "tougher" or "stronger" than the African American community. Likewise, the African American community needs the growing Haitian vote in the future. Haitian and African American people are one race, living through different cultural lifestyles. It's okay to have different lifestyles, as long as we respect each others' differences, without animosity or violence. For instance, the Latin community is comprised of Spanish-speaking people from different countries: Cuba, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, etc. Does anyone think that these groups are in complete harmony with one another? The answer is no. The different Spanish-speaking groups do not like one another that much but, in reality, when it comes to standing up for a common cause you see them marching side by side, taking pictures with each other and voting for each other.
The TPS designation for Haiti will remain in effect through July 22, but Haitian nationals who have continuously resided in the U.S. since Jan. 12, 2010 must file their applications for TPS no later than Jan. 18. Failure to submit the required applications with any required fees and the biometrie fee, or a properly documented fee waiver request, will result in the rejection of the application. TPS was granted to Haitians following the devastating earthquake of Jan. 12, 2010, which claimed over 200,000 lives in Haiti.
Needless to say, it would take more than this short column to list all her accomplishments and all the legislative activities she had been involved in. Suffice it to say, however, she fought very hard, not only for her constituencies, but also for what was right. And this is the point that requires a reflective pause for the Haitian community. The Haitian community, along with some non-Haitian observers, has always felt that it has been discriminated against by U.S. immigration policies. Back in the 1980's and the early 1990's, there were many Haitian activists who took to the streets and to the airwaves to decry these discriminatory policies. However, none of the Haitian activists were elected officials. Certainly, the efforts of these activists were very important and sometimes fruitful in the context of exposing the inequality of these policies to the larger American public.
Just Chillin' continued, "That's one of the reasons why everyone's going to Anancy Restaurant for those tasty fish dishes." Money said, "Alex who is a close friend of Richie, AKA Mr. Music (part of LAB NOISE), has a favourite expression: "That's your opinion..." Da Professor said, "Children should be grateful they even have a school; many children don't. In many parts of the world education is a luxury. Look at what just happened in Haiti. [Don]'t forget what happened there. People have short memories; they're still in dire need. Whatever you have to donate bring it to Montreal North and have the Brothers and the Sisters send it to their relatives in Haiti, bypassing the sticky fingers... Don't forget we arc our brothers' keeper, so we have to show some love to our neighbours (not THE SYSTEM). After all WE are the world."
"[Daniel Beauxhomme] comes from the lighter skin mixed class," said Kevin Johnson, who plays Daniel. "It's the story of two different people from two different worlds falling in love. Fate brings them together and fate takes them apart. It's similar to `Romeo and Juliet.'" "In Haiti, it's very confusing. It's fuzzier than here (the United States). A lot of it has more to do with money and name than this," said Shirley Julien, who is Haitian. "And that's what the musical focuses on. Ti Moune means `little orphan' in the play. But, in Haiti it means `little person.' That drives the theme more because she doesn't have a real name. In Haiti every little kid is called ti moune." "I don't think that there is that much of a difference," said Julien, who is also the musical's choreographer. "It's just highlighted more. The division is put on us and we accept it. It's up to us to say `I don't believe this' and take time to learn about Haitians, Jamaicans and Trinidadians. Our commonalities are so much stronger and deep inside of us."
Obviously, Haitians in the country and the Haitian Diaspora must play the leading roles in rebuilding the nation. Therefore, it is not surprising that there was a flurry of meetings and conferences leading up to the major UN Donor's Conference where Haiti presented its Development Plan. The OAS convened a major meeting in Washington March 21-23 to secure the input of the Haitian Diaspora and Haiti experts. March 26-27, I was privileged to attend the conference convened by the Trotter Institute, the National Haitian American Elected Officials Network (NHAEON) and the Haitian Studies Project at the University of Massachusetts/ Boston. Organized ground the theme: Haitians Building Haiti: Towards Transparent and Accountable Development, it was an incredibly well designed and facilitated conference. I was very impressed by the genuine effort to create an environment where views of the community and the conferees could be heard on the critical issues of the principles and strategies which should guide the reconstruction process. In that regard, the sessions were profoundly enriched by the participation of leading organizations from civil society who traveled to the conference from Haiti. A recurrent refrain from these organizations was deep concern that their voices and those of grassroots organizations on the ground were not part of the process when the Government formulated the Plan that was presented at the Donor's conference. There was a sense of anger and frustration that the Plan appears to be a fait accompli without widespread engagement of the Haitian people. To his credit President [Preval] has shown a remarkable capacity to bring people from divergent political parties into his Government; indeed it is one of the unheralded achievements of his second tenure in office. Now his Government has the opportunity to utilize that attitude and posture of inclusion to conduct a National Dialogue that could become the hallmark of his presidency. The Donor Conference concluded with a pledge of $10 billion over the next four years to rebuild Haiti. If there is to be a new Haiti, however, no dollar amount will be sufficient to achieve that goal. What is required is a new way of tapping the energy of Haiti's greatest resource, its people. A National Dialogue on Building the New Haiti could give new meaning to L'Union Fait La Force in the 21st Century!
Plans to celebrate Haiti's 2004 bicentennial were discussed recently by Minister Leslie Voltaire at the Center for Constitutional Rights in Manhattan NY. He said plans were underway to have a large exhibition commemorating the international slave trade and a symposium of African writers in the diaspora.
He and his brother, Reagan Ulysse, 25, had been detained together until March 11, when Reagan was abruptly transferred to a distant immigration jail, leaving [Jackson Ulysse] not knowing where he was. But by Thursday evening a family friend had picked up Jackson and was driving him to pick up Reagan from the lobby of the Krome Detention Center in Miami. "That's what I want - to see my brother, to see that they let him go, I want to hug him," Jackson said in French in a telephone interview. "I'm very happy, and I'm going to church to thank God." The brothers' uncle, Virgile Ulysse, 69, a United States citizen who will take them in to his home in Norwalk, Conn., was also full of gratitude. "Thank the United States for Jackson and Reagan's release," he said in a telephone message.
