A trade accord spearheaded by the NAACP worth $1.5 billion between the Cuban government and black farmers was heralded on Nov 17, 2002 by the Rev Al Sampson, who called the accord an "international window of opportunity" for African Americans. Sampson, who works with African American farmers, said this agreement gives black farmers an "international window" through Cuba into the Caribbean.
Examines economic dependency of Caribbean nations on the US, consequences of the Caribbean Basin Initiative, and likely effects of NAFTA and the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) on the Caribbean region.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
178 p., By acknowledging that competing national identities, perceptions, and ideas play a major role in foreign policies, Perceptions of Cuba makes a significant contribution to our understanding of international relations. Contents: The exceptionalist and the Cuban other -- The independent international citizen and the other Cuba -- Exploring Cuba policy in tandem.
The Haiti earthquake prompted offers to send aid and assistance in various forms from governments, nongovernmental organizations, and private foundations. The need for manpower on the ground to orchestrate the relief effort brought together military forces from the world over, to include the United States, which stood up Joint Task Force-Haiti (JTF-H). The combined effort of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti and JTF-H in providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Haiti following the earthquake demonstrates the importance of developing strong relationships, both institutional and personal, with partner nation armies.
Who is it that speaks for our private face? Those of us who take communion at Mass on Sunday morning still intoxicated with the echoes of beating drums from the Vodun ceremony the night before. You know the saying: We are 95% Roman Catholic and 95% percent Vodun. What is it that makes a former Catholic priest more apt to run a country than say, a Vodun priest, a Hougan? To most of us, this would be an atrocity. The country would certainly fall into the wrath of hell if this were to take place. We are trying to move forward not backward, the voices of decency would say. And besides, you would not find a well-educated, well-traveled Vodun priest in the mountains of Ayiti. Ayiti's vision is found in Vodun. Not the religion that it has become, but the very essence of the spirituality. It is the essence of the Ayitian people. After all, these were the conditions under which Ayiti gained its independence. Our country was formed in a ritual - a ritual that called on the guidance and protection of our ancestors who survived the journey from Guinea, as they say in Vodun, and those who were indigenous to the land. The essence of Vodun is to give honor to those whose shoulders we stand on. It is a reverence to the unseen forces that truly determine our fate as a country and it is a time-tested method handed down to us to ensure a successful life.
Part of a special journal issue focusing on the role of the U.S. Foreign Service in Haiti., Offers 21 stories describing American Foreign Service Association experiences in disaster relief in Haiti.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
24 p., In December 2006, the 109th Congress passed the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act of 2006 (HOPE I), which included special trade rules that give preferential access to US imports of Haitian apparel. With disappointing results, the 110th Congress responded by amending HOPE I with the Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act of 2008 (HOPE II). After the devastating 2010 earthquake, the US Congress addressed the apparel industry's needs by amending the HOPE Act with the Haiti Economic Lift Program (HELP) Act of 2010, which improves US market access for Haitian apparel exports.
