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Enough said.....

Haiti urged to halt lynchings of voodoo priests

Some blame religion for deadly outbreak of cholerax

 

Ramon Espinosa  /  AP file

A woman stands by a mural at the start of a Voodoo ritual for Fet Gede celebrations, or days of the dead, at the national cemetery in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Nov. 1.

By Joseph Guyler Delva

PORT-AU-PRINCE — The head of Haiti's voodoo religion appealed to authorities Thursday to halt bloody lynchings of voodoo priests by people who blame them for causing the Caribbean country's deadly cholera epidemic.

Since the epidemic started in mid-October, at least 45 male and female voodoo priests, known respectively as "houngan" and "manbo," have been killed.

Many of the victims were hacked to death and mutilated by machetes, Max Beauvoir, the "Ati" or supreme leader of Haitian voodoo, told Reuters.

"They are being blamed for using voodoo to contaminate people with cholera," Beauvoir said.

He said the killers accused voodoo priests of spreading cholera by scattering powder or casting "spells" and complained that local police and government officials were not doing enough to halt the lynchings and punish the killers.

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Voodoo is recognized and protected by the constitution as one of Haiti's main religions.

"My call is to the authorities so they can assume their responsibilities," said Beauvoir, who fears more attacks against voodoo devotees.

Most of the lynchings occurred in the southwest of Haiti but also in the center and the north.

More than 2,500 dead from disease
Since emerging in central regions in October, the cholera epidemic has ripped through Haiti's poor population, still traumatized from a January earthquake. It has killed well over 2,500 people and affected all of the nation's 10 provinces.

Cholera is mainly spread by contaminated water and food.

As the epidemic death toll has risen, so too has popular fear and anger. Some Haitians have blamed Nepalese United Nations peacekeepers for bringing cholera to a Caribbean nation where the disease had been absent for decades.

The U.N. mission in Haiti maintains there is no conclusive evidence to back this accusation, despite a report by an expert contracted by the French government that linked the infection to latrines at the Nepalese camp located beside a river.

In November, there were anti-U.N. riots over the cholera, which continued to claim victims as the Western Hemisphere's poorest state held elections marred by confusion and fraud charges. Final vote results have still not been announced.

Beauvoir said he had discussed the anti-voodoo attacks with Haiti's Communications and Culture Ministry, which confirmed the killings this week. Minister Marie-Laurence Lassegue made a public appeal for the lynchings to end.

More than half of Haiti's nearly 10 million people are believed to practice voodoo, a religion brought from West Africa several centuries ago by slaves forced to work on the plantations of white masters in what was then the rich French Caribbean colony of Saint Domingue.

Cholera, which causes virulent debilitating diarrhea, can kill in hours if left untreated.

But it also can be easily cured through fast rehydration of the patient. Aid experts say the ignorance of many Haitians about the disease is one of the causes of the fears and suspicions surrounding the epidemic.

In at least one case in central Haiti, an angry mob worried about possible contagion destroyed a cholera treatment center being set up by foreign medical worker.

'Hardly surprising'
For this reason, public education about the disease and how it is spread and can be treated is essential, aid groups say.

"It is hardly surprising that people would be anxious about cholera when it appears in their communities for the first time," said Delphine Chedorge, head of mission in Haiti for Doctors Without Borders/ Medecins Sans Frontieres, one of the foreign medical groups most active in fighting the epidemic.

"We also need to make people understand that opening new (cholera treatment centers) in or near their towns and villages can help stop the spread of the disease, protecting their communities, rather than endangering them," she said in an MSF statement.

Beauvoir said he suspected that representatives of some other religions might be stirring up popular fears against voodoo practitioners using the cholera as a pretext.

"I saw this coming. Since the earthquake some people have been blaming us, saying that we cast spells and did evil things which brought the earthquake as a punishment," he said.

After the January 12 earthquake, which wrecked much of the capital Port-au-Prince and killed more than 250,000 people, voodoo leaders had to defend themselves publicly against accusations by some Evangelical preachers that the voodoo religion somehow caused the natural disaster.

Haitian crowds murder 15 for putting magic powder in the muddy water.

15 beaten to death in Haiti, then lit on fire, some for putting Magic Power in the muddy waters

 

Published December 02, 2010

Port-au-Prince –  Fifteen people have been lynched in the southwestern Haitian province of Grand'Anse over the past two weeks on suspicion of poisoning water supplies, media outlets said Thursday.

Several people allegedly died as a result of poisoning, though their deaths were originally attributed to the cholera outbreak that has claimed more than 1,800 lives in the impoverished Caribbean nation since Oct. 19.

Eight people were lynched in Moron Chambellan, three in Jeremie, two in Dame Marie and two in Guinode, correspondents in Grand'Anse told Efe.

In each case, the victim was beaten to death and then incinerated with burning tires by angry mobs who accused them of dumping "magic powder" into the local sources of drinking water.

The actions of the vigilantes have sown panic in the region, prompting many residents to hunker down inside their homes after dark, according to the press accounts.

Police have made no arrests in connection with the lynchings.

Authorities are finding it difficult to investigate the killings and the alleged poisoning because citizens are reluctant to cooperate, fearing that black magic is involved, judicial official Kesner Numa told the Web site Haiti Libre.

The outbreak of cholera, a disease not seen in Haiti within living memory, comes as Haitians are still struggling to recover from a Jan. 12 earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people and left 1 million homeless.

Hurricane Tomas threatens death blow to Haiti

Tropical Storm Tomas continues to weaken, could approach Haiti

By the CNN Wire Staff

November 1, 2010 7:14 a.m. EDT

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Tomas' maximum sustained winds slow to 50 mph (85 kph)
• A projection map indicates Tomas could hit Haiti later this week
• Two people were injured on St. Vincent

RELATED TOPICS

• Hurricanes and Cyclones
• Barbados

Miami, Florida (CNN) -- Tomas continued to lose brawn in the Caribbean Sea on Monday morning after pummeling the island of St. Vincent over the weekend, the National Hurricane Center said.

As of 5 a.m. ET Monday, Tomas, a tropical storm with sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph), was located about 135 miles (220 kilometers) northeast of Curacao, according to the Hurricane Center. The storm was moving west at about 14 mph (22 kph).

Tropical storm-force winds extended outward up to 175 miles (280 kilometers) from the center of Tomas.

Tomas moved over the Caribbean Sea after leaving heavy rain and wind on St. Vincent. More than 1,000 people entered shelters on St. Vincent as Tomas struck the island, an emergency official said. Two people were injured, including one critically, when they tried to repair roof damage during the storm, said Michelle Forbes, acting director of National Emergency Management.

Tomas also left downed trees that blocked many roads, Forbes said, and large areas of the island lacked power. More than 100 homes sustained roof damage, she said, and authorities expected the number to rise.

The main hospital on the island, Milton Cato Memorial Hospital, lost power temporarily but was able to get a generator up and running, according to Forbes.

Tomas was forecast to continue heading west over the next day or two. The Hurricane Center said restrengthening could begin by late Tuesday. A projection map shows the storm turning north later this week. Tomas could approach Haiti on Friday, possibly as a hurricane.

Tomas could deal a harsh blow to Haiti as the impoverished nation is still recovering from a devastating earthquake in January and is currently dealing with a cholera outbreak.

But "Tomas could still hit anywhere from the Dominican Republic to eastern Cuba," CNN meteorologist Taylor Ward said.

In Haiti when it rains they die

Latest Haiti storms kill 8 Posted: 02 October 2010 0855 hrs     Photos 1 of 1 People walking on streets of Haiti.           PORT-AU-PRINCE: Heavy rains killed at least eight people this week in southern Haiti, bringing to 14 the toll from punishing storms in the impoverished Caribbean nation since last week, officials said Friday. "Three people were carried away in overflowing rivers in the south," civil protection official Jean Renel told AFP. He said two adults and a young girl were also buried in a landslide, while two men were killed in floods. The latest stormy weather prompted officials to issue a yellow alert for the entire country. Storms continue to threaten Haiti. Dozens of homes were destroyed and fields were flooded according to local officials. Roads were cut off in the south, preventing officials from counting the total number of victims, they said. "A UN helicopter carrying UN and Haitian officials in the affected areas was unable to land," said civil protection chief Alta Jean-Baptiste. Strong winds that swept the capital last Friday in a flash storm had killed six people in tent refugee camps now home to tens of thousands of people displaced by January's killer storm, tearing down thousands of tents, blowing of roofs and uprooting trees and power lines. The impoverished nation is still struggling to recover from January's earthquake which killed 250,000 people, left 1.3 million homeless and destroyed much of the capital.

Haiti hip hop candidate up date

Haiti Postpones Ruling On Wyclef Candidacy

Singer Wyclef Jean May Not Meet Residency Requirements

TAMARA LUSH, Associated Press Writer

POSTED: 6:13 pm CDT August 17, 2010
UPDATED: 11:02 pm CDT August 17, 2010

 

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Haiti's electoral commission said late Tuesday that it was postponing its ruling on who will be allowed to run for president in November elections, leaving hip hop artist Wyclef Jean's candidacy in limbo.

A statement from the commission, known as the CEP, said it would postpone the announcement until Friday.

The delay was the latest turn in the fledgling presidential race in this earthquake-torn country. Jean - one of dozens of candidates vying for the office - said he was in hiding Tuesday after receiving death threats.

The musician disclosed the threats in a series of e-mails to The Associated Press, revealing few details. Jean said he received a phone call telling him to get out of Haiti and that he was in hiding in a secret location in the Caribbean country.

The Haitian-born Jean said he did not know whether the commission would approve his candidacy, but there have been questions about whether he meets the residency requirements to run.

"We await the CEP decision but the laws of the Haitian Constitution must be respected," he said in one of a flurry of e-mails.

Later in the evening, Jean sent the AP a one-word e-mail: "Hope!"

The CEP's decisions - or lack thereof - sparked small protests throughout Port-au-Prince. During one peaceful march near the CEP office Tuesday afternoon, several dozen young men marched and sang in the rain.

Later in the evening, a main road in and out of the city was blocked by burning tires.

Haiti's Constitution requires candidates to have lived in the country for the five consecutive years before the election. Jean knew his U.S. upbringing could be a roadblock to his candidacy, but has said his appointment as a roving ambassador by President Rene Preval in 2007 exempts him from the residency requirement.

Lawyers for the musician were at the CEP headquarters seeking to argue his case, he said.

More than 30 people had filed to run for president of a country still struggling to recover from the Jan. 12 earthquake, which destroyed thousands of buildings and killed an estimated 300,000 people. The candidacies of some 20 people were contested, the CEP announced; in order to properly decide on their eligibility, the group said it needed more time to investigate.

The CEP had been expected to publish the list of candidates earlier Tuesday but spokesman Richardson Dumel said the eligibility requirements of a number of candidates were still under review.

Haiti's president will preside over the spending of billions in foreign reconstruction aid in a country with a long history of political turmoil. Preval is not permitted to run for re-election.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton was in Port-au-Prince to meet with the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission. The group moved a step closer to implementing a set of priorities aimed at helping the country rebuild. On Tuesday, it announced more than $1.6 billion in projects, including a $500 million plan to overhaul the country's failed education system.

Wyclef, hip hop outa da way, bro: Guest Opinion from Marjorie Valbrun

The Root: Dear Wyclef, Please Don't Run!

by Marjorie Valbrun

Enlarge Frederic Dupoux/Getty Images

Musician Wyclef Jean speaks to a crowd of supporters after submitting paperwork to run for president of Haiti.

 

August 6, 2010

Marjorie Valbrun is a Haitian-American journalist.

Dear Wyclef,

It pains me to have to tell you this — especially in public. Particularly because it goes to the heart of someplace and something we both care deeply about. But I have to, because as much as I love you, I love Haiti more — so much so that I'm unwilling to put her fate in your hands.

So here goes. Wyclef you're making a big mistake. Running for president of Haiti is a bad idea. Bad for you and bad for Haiti.

Yes, over the years, your words and deeds on behalf of our beloved little island have been commendable. You've inspired legions of young Haitian people both here and back home. You've done the Lord's work with a zealot's commitment and a salesman's enthusiasm. We love you for it, we really do.

Who can forget the television images of you on the ground in Haiti just days after the earthquake, helping carry and bury battered bodies, going on the evening news to call for faster and better organized relief efforts?

I, for one, thank you on behalf of other Haitian-Americans who didn't have the means, the connections, the public platform, or the gumption to do what you did.

You have sung love songs for Haiti. Written poignant rap lyrics for her. Held her in a tender, rhapsodic embrace. Loved her when she seemed unloveable. Made people care about her. You had pride in her long before it became fashionable, and way before the earthquake. And even now, seven months later, you've kept her in the headlines and refused to let others forget her.

But Wyclef, everything changed after the earth shook violently that awful January day. After the ground buckled and sent houses crashing and bodies crumpling; after the grief consumed us; after Haitians picked themselves up and went about the business of living again, we started thinking and asking ourselves: "What's next? How do we build a new and better Haiti?"

By "new" I mean different - radically different. Not the Haiti of inept, corrupt and unqualified leadership. Not the Haiti of starving masses and well-fed, indifferent elites. Not the Haiti that housed its people in flimsy shacks turned post-earthquake tombs. Not the Haiti of coups and kidnappings, stolen elections and political killings, and venal, contemptible politicians.

Now, more than ever, Haiti needs a highly educated and experienced technocrat who understands the intricacies of governing and diplomacy. Someone who can wage a successful civic education campaign and get different sectors of civil society all working on the same page and tamp down the country's cyclical social unrest. Someone who knows how to get things done and knows how to build schools, hospitals and neighborhoods, as well as sewer systems, electric grids and roads. Someone who can feed the people and give them jobs. Someone schooled in international affairs and who will be respected by the international community. Someone who can rebuild Haiti and ultimately restore its dignity.

Frankly, Wyclef, that someone is not you.

You're just not qualified. You're fame and hype but Haiti needs sure and steady. You have an entourage of "yes" men but Haiti needs an army of yeomen. You're a uniquely talented music man but Haiti desperately needs a credible statesman. And then there are your messy financial problems and the questionable accounting practices at your charitable foundation. It's too complicated to get into here, but it doesn't look good and will be a distraction throughout the campaign. Had you not built up so much goodwill over the years, your finances — both personal and professional — would have totally undermined your standing.

Your presence in the presidential campaign will not only diminish your brand, both at home and abroad, it will trivialize what should be a serious election focused on the hard work ahead.

I'm not questioning your sincerity or dismissing your art. After all you are the people's poet. But poets are not presidents, they're poets - and they have their place.

Wyclef, we feel you. We really do. We share your frustration with the lack of progress on the ground. We know you want better for Haiti. We do too.

But there are better people for the job. That's not to say you can't still keep doing your part. Your mic is a powerful tool, keep using it to inspire and to agitate.

But please, Wyclef, let someone else take the lead.

Marjorie

75 percent of US food aid must be shipped on US registered vessels

US government wastes millions

with currrent Jones Act shipping food aid rules

 

…. the policy designed to “nurture” or subsidise the US shipping industry “under the guise of humanitarian assistance” is not doing either effectively.

 

US taxpayers spend about US$140 million every year on non-emergency food aid in Africa, and roughly the same amount to ship food aid to global destinations on US vessels; money that could have been used to feed more people says a new study by researchers at Cornell University in the US.

 

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has accounted for more than half of the world’s food aid every year for decades, but has been “the last and slowest donor to reform its food aid policies”, noted Christopher Barrett, a leading food aid expert, and his colleagues, Elizabeth Bageant and Erin Lentz.

 

Their study, Food Aid and Agricultural Cargo Preference, has come up with the numbers to back a long-standing call for reforms, and goes a step further in showing that the policy designed to “nurture” or subsidise the US shipping industry “under the guise of humanitarian assistance” is not doing either effectively.

 

Most donors have moved towards cash transfers or vouchers to buy food, instead of providing food as aid, but the paper points out that most countries only had agribusiness and some NGO interests to contend with while reforming their food aid policy.

 

Reforms in the US have faced much tougher opposition from “a uniquely effective lobby”, referred to as the “iron triangle”, comprising agribusiness, the shipping sector and some NGOs.

 

Barrett and Daniel Maxwell, an associate professor at Tufts University, Boston, in the US, who wrote at length about the “iron triangle” in their 2005 book, Food Aid After Fifty Years: Recasting Its Role, estimated that it cost more than two dollars of US taxpayers’ money to deliver one dollar’s worth of food procured as in-kind aid.

 

Little known shipping subsidy

 

Little has been written about the costs and effects of a policy called the Agricultural Cargo Preference (ACP), which affects the shipping sector of the “iron triangle”, and USAID, the world’s largest food aid programme.

 

The ACP requires that 75 percent of US food aid be shipped on privately owned, US registered vessels, even if they do not offer the most competitive rates. Some of these costs are reimbursed by the Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration, but ultimately the US taxpayer foots the entire bill.

 

The Cornell researchers used data available for every USAID food aid shipment in 2006, when ACP cost US taxpayers $140 million, “The amount paid above the regular cost of ocean freight on the competitive market,” said Barrett.

 

ACP was calculated by taking into account the costs of transporting the food aid on competing foreign vessels plying the same waters, after deducting the ACP costs borne by US Department of Agriculture food aid programmes, and reimbursements.

 

The un-reimbursed cost of ACP to food aid agencies was almost the same as what USAID spent on non-emergency food aid to Africa, which benefited 1.2 million people and was “widely deemed important to preventing food emergencies”. USAID declined to comment on the findings of the study, saying the research “spoke for itself”.

 

About 20 years ago the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), an independent investigative arm of Congress, looked at the costs of shipping food aid in US-flag vessels rather than using cheaper foreign ships, and estimated that it cost $150 million each year. Another report in 1994 put the cost as high as $200 million a year.

 

Failing shipping as well

 

The ACP was put in place to achieve four objectives: ensure that US vessels remained seaworthy and prepared should a war break out; maintain skilled jobs for American seafarers; maintain the financial viability of US ships; protect US ocean commerce from foreign domination.

 

Barrett, Bageant and Lentz found that “contrary to its national security and ‘buy American’ objectives”, ACP used vessels which were not useful to the military, and most of the vessels used were ultimately owned by foreign corporations.

 

They recommended that the US administration revisit the ACP, and suggested separating security objectives from humanitarian ones, with direct support for the Maritime Security Program.

 

But shipping industry says

 

The US shipping industry, which produced its own study – Impacts on the US Economy of Shipping International Food Aid – around the same time as the Cornell researchers, argues that eliminating the ACP would shrink the US-flag merchant fleet by 15 percent to 30 percent, with the loss of between 16,500 and 33,000 jobs.

 

Barrett said the shipping industry’s study had used “very crude multipliers not developed for this application, and seem to use the total ocean freight costs, not the marginal cost of cargo preference, thereby assuming that every maritime job would disappear. That’s a highly questionable assumption that they then inflate, using highly questionable multipliers”.

 

The Cornell study’s calculations showed that US taxpayers were paying a subsidy of almost $100,000 every year per mariner on an ACP vessel shipping food aid. “That’s a pretty handsome subsidy,” he commented.

 

“One would hope there would be some economic multiplier. The question is whether that’s the best use of those funds, if our objective is to generate US jobs; and if the objective is to generate US jobs, why do so through a humanitarian food aid programme, rather than focusing on generating jobs directly?”

Amerijet International, Inc. continues to offer air cargo services for Haiti.

Charter flights available

Amerijet International, Inc. continues to offer excellent services for shipping to Haiti. The Florida-based air freight shipping company maintains cargo shipping facilities at the Port-au-Prince airport in Haiti, allowing its customers to receive and ship cargo without relying on a 3rd party handling company.

In fact, Amerijet is the only shipping company that has facilities at Port-au-Prince airport. These cargo shipping facilities are locally staffed, and equipped to handle and process commercial and personal shipments. .

Additionally, Amerijet has local customs officers on site at their Port-au-Prince shipping facilities. This helps to expedite the customs clearance process, allowing incoming shipments to be accepted into the country as quickly as possible.

For customers interested in shipping to Haiti, Amerijet offers a wide range of options. In addition to daily weekday flights to Haiti, Amerijet also allows customers to charter a flight for shipping to Haiti. Charter flights are ideal for customers with large shipments that need to be delivered on the same aircraft.

Shippers can get free quotes for shipping to Haiti by visiting Amerijet.com. There, they will have the option to get either a Quick Quote (based on general dry cargo) or a Detailed Quote (for specific commodities).

To learn more about shipping to Haiti, please visit http://www.amerijet.com today.

At last, a reasonable Haiti reconstruction plan from qualified companies

Plans to manufacture housing in Haiti announced 

 

 

 

BETHESDA, MD (JUNE 23, 2010)// In an effort to spur economic revitalization in Haiti, Bob Johnson, founder and chairman of The RLJ Companies (RLJ), today announced a strategic relationship with Global Building Solutions, LLC, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. (RCL) and Haiti-based WIN Group, to build two structured insulated panel (SIP) manufacturing facilities that will provide construction materials for building housing and critical infrastructure in and around Port-Au-Prince, Cap Hatien, as well as throughout other key business centers in Haiti.

 

 The announcement came during a visit by Johnson to Port-Au-Prince, where he met with Haitian President Rene Preval, Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive, and other key governmental and community leaders. They stated that Johnson’s proposal should be introduced to the Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission as a priority project for approval and funding.

 

The facilities would be developed through Johnson’s newly formed entity, Caribbean Opportunity Holdings, a company jointly owned by RLJ and Global Building Solutions (GBS), a South Carolina-based international SIP manufacturer and design/build organization.

 

SIP technology is stronger than traditionally built homes and is more resistant to earthquakes, wind and value. The product is also green technology, which creates structures that are energy-efficient and comfortable.

 

Using GBS’s proven SIP technology, RLJ and GBS recently teamed to develop the RLJ Kendeja Resort and Villas in Monrovia, Liberia, which, from architectural plans to grand opening, was completed in under 12 months.

 

The team looks to engage the same technology and processes, as well as local business entities to further Haiti’s infrastructure needs, a crucial element of this endeavor. For example, in Liberia, where GBS directly employed 900 local workers, as well as facilitated the formation of 37 locally owned subcontractors who were crucial to the successful development of the hotel project.

 

The strategic relationship includes Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., the largest global cruise brand and the second largest investor in Haiti, with cruise lines that port in Labadee, Haiti, and Haiti-based WIN Group, one of the Caribbean’s largest conglomerates, with stakes in diverse industries such as warehousing, storage and port operations.

 

“While the situation in Haiti is extremely challenging, our team was very encouraged by President Preval’s leadership, his commitment to political stability, openness towards the international business community, and desire for further investment,” said Johnson. “We had a very constructive visit, and I’ve no doubt that bringing together international and local businesses with a broad range of expertise will allow this project to help meet the country’s crucial housing and infrastructure needs.”

 

“We are honored to work with The RLJ Companies, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. and WIN Group to provide such an important element of Haiti’s reconstruction,” says Michael Murphy, principal with GBS.

 

“We also look forward to training area residents, helping them develop a new trade, and of course, a source of employment and generating revenue.”

“Royal Caribbean has been one of Haiti’s largest foreign investors and employers for almost 30 years. During this time, we have developed both a strong partnership with Haiti, as well as nurtured a strong presence,” said Richard Fain, chairman and CEO of RCL. “Since the devastating earthquake earlier this year, we have been assisting Haiti in its recovery by providing basic life necessities: medical supplies, water, food and education. Royal Caribbean is currently building a model school in Labadee. What better way to help rebuild a country than by contributing to a strong education for its children? We will be acquiring materials from GBS and are using local Haitian labor to build the school. We are pleased to join with The RLJ Companies, GBS, and the WIN Group, in furthering our commitment in Haiti,” Fain said.

 

“We need support from the U.S. private sector to further President Clinton’s call to help expand our economy,” says Youri Mevs, managing partner of the WIN Group, and president of the Haitian Economic Development Foundation. “The RLJ Companies has global expertise in a multitude of sectors and knows what it takes to create sustainable business and resources. We are confident that they can be a major asset in rebuilding our nation.”