New $31 Million Court Building Opens In Haiti
Haiti’s President Jovenel Moïse inaugurated the new building of the Superior Court of Accounts and Administrative Litigation (CSC/CA) on Tuesday in Port-au-Prince.
The six-story building is about 15,260 square meters, or 164,000 square feet, and cost more than $31 million. The Haitian government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) financed CSC/CA’s new building.
Haiti’s First Lady Martine Moïse, Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe and CSC/CA’s advisers also attended the inauguration ceremony.
Kanye West Planning To Build A 'City Of The Future' In Haiti
Last month,Kanye West visited Haiti to meet up with its president, Jovenel Moïse. The two then went to visit Tortuga Island and Labadee to see a plant breeding center, according to the Haitian Tourism Board.
When West initially landed in the airport, he also met up with tennis superstar, Naomi Osaka. This trip came after criticism a week before for being in Jamaica without a mask on. At the time, no one knew why West wanted to see this breeding center but now, there are some answers.
Kanye To Boost Different Sector's Of Haiti's Economy With New City
Kanye West- 'Follow God' music video
West took to Twitter this morning to share his plans of building a "city of the future in Haiti." This is after discussions with the government in the country to help boost different sectors of its economy such as farming and fishing.
"Just to be CLEAR: WE ARE IN ENGAGED WITH HAITI’s GOVERNMENT to make a transformational INVESTMENT to bring JOBS, DEVELOPMENT, HELP SUPPORT LOCAL FARMERS and FISHERMEN and Build a new « CITY OF THE FUTURE » in a very beautiful country.
Latest Move In Haiti Comes After Building Yeezy Christian Academy
Nick Cannon's 'Cannon's Class' podcast
West also recently build a Yeezy Christian Academy as its goal is to teach the "five founding pillars." The school also displays the message of "everything in the school exudes Christianity. All faculty share the faith and walk the walk. Bring Jesus to the world through our students."
Additional pillars being taught are music, communication, collaboration, and creativity. That came after Ye said on Twitter that he wants to start educating people about Jesus on TikTok through an alternative app called "Jesus Tok."
Kanye West Still Encourages People To Vote For Him As President In 2020 Election
Joel Osteen- Twitter
Meanwhile, West is also sticking to his plans of running for president despite him not having any chances to win the presidency. This is after failing to appear on states' ballots after missing deadlines and or sending invalid signatures. In states such as California where he is on the ballot, he isn't listed as a presidential candidate but instead, is listed as a VP candidate that is running with Roque "Rocky" De La Fuente. Both men didn't even agree to run together.
Kanye Also Made Claims He Wants To Buy Universal Music Group For $33 Billion
Kanye West- Twitter
West said on Twitter last month that he wouldn't release any new music until his contracts at Sony and Universal were up. He also recently appeared on Joe Rogan's podcast where he explained how he wanted to buy his masters from Universal. He is thinking bigger though as he wants to buy the record label for $33 billion.
“I was thinking about buying my masters [but] I realized that was too small of a thought. I’m going to buy Universal. [Universal is] only a $33bn organization. I’m one of the greatest product producers that ever existed. And I’m a child; I’m 43 years old. I was $53m in debt four years ago. Now it’s proven that I’m the new Michael Jordan of products.”
In Pictures: Rubber bullets, tear gas at Haiti protests
Several people left injured after the latest unrest during more than a year of protests in Haiti.
l Moise, coinciding with the anniversary of the death of independence hero Jean Jacques Dessalines. [Jean Marc Herve Abelard/EPA]18 Oct 2020
Haitian police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse anti-government protesters who blocked roads and set fires in the capital, Port-au-Prince, with several people left injured.
Saturday’s unrest was the latest during more than a year of protests calling for the resignation of President Jovenel Moise over corruption charges.
Haiti is currently experiencing a political impasse without a parliament and is now run by decree under Moise.
Many Haitians criticise the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, alleging it has not done enough to provide treatment or offer economic support to those who lost work due to a national lockdown aimed at preventing its spread.
Police have held their own protests this year, demanding better pay and working conditions. In February, police exchanged fire with Haitian soldiers outside the national palace where police were protesting working conditions.
Earlier this year, a scathing United Nations report accused Haitian police of corruption and failing to protect the population.
![Hundreds took part in anti-government protests in Port-au-Prince. [Jean Marc Herve Abelard/EPA]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/h_56429778.jpg?fit=1170%2C781)
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![The country is currently experiencing a political impasse without a parliament and run entirely by decree under Moise. [Dieu Nalio Chery/AP Photo]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/AP_20291643132907.jpg?fit=1170%2C780)
![The opposition organised the large demonstration against President Moise on the anniversary of the killing of national independence hero Jean-Jacques Dessalines. [Dieu Nalio Chery/AP Photo]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/AP_20291642696851.jpg?fit=1170%2C780)
![Demonstrators carry a man wounded during the protest in Port-au-Prince. [Andres Martinez Casares/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2020-10-17T183557Z_1856938009_RC2HKJ9MD4QH_RTRMADP_3_HAITI-ANNIVERSARY.jpg?fit=1170%2C770)
![It was the latest unrest during more than a year of protests calling for the resignation of President Moise over corruption charges. [Andres Martinez Casares/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2020-10-17T174916Z_302073669_RC2HKJ9KAOYM_RTRMADP_3_HAITI-ANNIVERSARY.jpg?fit=1170%2C780)
![Haitian police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse anti-government protesters. [Andres Martinez Casares/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2020-10-17T174910Z_702964277_RC2HKJ9QX43R_RTRMADP_3_HAITI-ANNIVERSARY.jpg?fit=1170%2C752)
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![Protesters blocked roads and set fires in the capital. [Andres Martinez Casares/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2020-10-17T174908Z_1371480402_RC2HKJ9KKOHR_RTRMADP_3_HAITI-ANNIVERSARY.jpg?fit=1170%2C768)
‘Insecure’ Star Natasha Rothwell, Aziza Barnes to Develop HBO Drama Based on Ibi Zoboi Novel ‘Pride’
“Insecure” star Nastasha Rothwell and Aziza Barnes have teamed to develop a series based on the Ibi Zoboi novel “Pride” at HBO, Variety has learned.
“Pride” is described as a Haitian-Dominican coming of age story explores young love, teenage angst, and gentrification through magical realism fated by the gods of Santeria with an Austenian twist.
Rothwell and Barnes both worked on the story for the project, while Barnes will be the writer. Both will serve as executive producers. Leslie Morgenstein and Gina Girolamo of Alloy Entertainment will also executive produce. Alloy Entertainment will produce in association with Warner Bros. Television.
Rothwell has been a series regular, writer, and producer on HBO’s “Insecure” since its first season. She also previously wrote for “Saturday Night Live” during the 2014-2015 season. She is set to appear in the upcoming film “Wonder Woman 1984,” while her past credits include the “Sonic the Hedgehog” film and shows like “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “American Dad,” “Bob’s Burgers,” and “The Simpsons.”
She is repped by CAA, Edna Cowan Management, Jackoway Austen Tyerman, and Sechel PR.
Barnes is a celebrated playwright whose work has been produced at prestigious theater companies like Steppenwolf Theater, Woolly Mammoth Theater, and MCC Theater. She has participated with residencies such as Sundance, Ojai Plywrights Conference, and Center Theater Group Playwriting Workshop. Her TV credits include “Teenage Bounty Hunters” and “Snowfall.”
She is repped by Grandview and Myman Greenspan
Alloy is currently in production on three series: “You,” “Legacies,” and “Gossip Girl.” HBO Max recently made a direct-to-series order for the upcoming Alloy drama “Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin.”
Alloy is repped by WME.
When Art & Fashion Collide: Coach’s Newest Collection Celebrates Jean-Michel Basquiat
One of the most recognizable American artists, Jean-Michel Basquiat, brought innovation to the art world and beyond, becoming an icon to many, especially creatives of color. Inspired by his lasting legacy, the heritage fashion brand Coach has partnered with the Basquiat estate to release a one-of-a-kind collection timed perfectly for the fall.
First appearing on the runway during A/W 2020, this exclusive capsule includes a wide array of bold bags, Ready to Wear pieces, and accessories featuring the late artist’s iconic artwork and phrases. Basquiat left a significant impact on art, fashion and music, and his influence lives on.
“Basquiat is one of my heroes,” Coach Creative Director Stuart Vevers said in a statement. ““He embodied the creative, inclusive spirit of New York and was a force for change in his community. I am proud to celebrate his work and values and help bring them to a new generation.”
“I am proud to celebrate his work and values and help bring them to a new generation.” – Coach Creative Director Stuart Vevers
For the official Coach X Basquiat campaign, Coach enlisted ambassador Michael B. Jordan, Megan Thee Stallion and an inclusive cast of rising Black and Brown creatives to honor Basquiat’s legacy. ESSENCE caught up with six of the campaign’s stars to get their take on Basquiat’s impact, Black art and their very first Coach piece.
Brenn Lorenzo
“I was first introduced to Basquiat back in high school. I was taking art history and he was one of the many artists we learned about. His life story and many of the attributes that led to his fame really stuck with me and made me appreciate him even more. One thing that always stuck out to me is that Basquiat always put out what he wanted with no regret and stood by his pieces. Even if some things weren’t received the way he wanted [them] to be, he still was behind [them] and that’s something not everyone can do. The best thing about Black art is that it is powerful. Black art is beautiful, bold and striking. Every piece is a new incredible story waiting to be told.
I love Coach because they’re not afraid to try something new and it’s shown through their many collaborations. My favorite piece is the beat shoulder bag in ivory. It has the crown on it—which was a staple in Basquiat’s work. This was actually my first Coach piece, and I feel incredibly honored to have it be in the Basquiat collaboration. There’s so much history behind the bag and the artist himself, and the fact that he was from New York makes it even more intimate.”
Brenn’s Pick:
Jules Lorenzo
“I faintly remember learning of Basquiat when I was in high school. However, it wasn’t until college that I started delving into his work and who he was as a person. In an urban studies class I had, I learned how street art and graffiti made many places that were once considered ‘undesirable and dangerous’ become super popular and interesting. He didn’t confine himself to one particular medium. He expressed himself through graffiti, painting and music. I’m a fan of the idea that it’s good to have an entire toolbox of creative talents instead of just homing in exclusively on one. I believe that you get to broaden your horizons as an artist and learn more.
I love that Coach has never been afraid to try something new with its brand and designs! Whether it’s through playful and colorful collabs or showcasing an artist’s work with a new collection. It’s like a breath of fresh air. I’m always excited to see what Coach has up its sleeves.”
Jules’ Pick:
Asia Irving
“I was first introduced to Jean-Michel Basquiat and his art a couple of years ago at Art Basel. I’d heard of him briefly before, but this was my first time seeing his work in person. Jean-Michel’s art immediately sparks thought and inspiration. It made me wonder what he was feeling or trying to express about his own experience and life as a Black man through his art…. The best thing about Black art is seeing and experiencing it. It’s an unexplainable proud moment to see and celebrate other Black artists’ stories and journeys through their art. Every work of art differs in perspective, but each perspective is powerful and unique in its own way.
Coach brings back so many nostalgic memories. I got my first Coach piece as a Christmas gift from my grandfather in middle school. It was a baby blue and white small Coach bag, and I was beyond happy that I finally got my first piece.”
Asia’s Pick:
Sarah Feingold
“I was living in Frankfurt at the time, spending the day chilling with one of my good friends. We sat together and watched old footage of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s interviews and documentary clips for hours on a video projector. His story and energy were so mesmerizing to me, and I think that’s why my first ‘encounter’ with him still stands out in my head.
I felt so classy and cute the first time I wore Coach! My mom actually wore this beautiful Coach bifold wallet in beige and cream in the ’90s, and one day, I took it to school as a little purse with a matching beige jacket on. It had some metallic elements involved and the classic Coach logo printed all over. It was so luxurious and pretty. I was always mesmerized by my mom’s style in general, but this specific piece had a special place in my heart. I felt like it brought my outfit full circle. It’s such a little thing, but it gave me such a nice feeling of completion.”
Sarah’s Pick:
Kristen Noel Crawley
“As a creative, I’d always heard Basquiat’s name referenced in relation to art or fashion, and in my twenties I finally got to see his work on exhibition in New York. It felt completely relevant to the visuals and artistry we see now that I can’t help but think he was an artist way ahead of his time. I feel that art made by a Black artist has a richer storytelling aspect to it because of the many trials and tribulations we as a people have had to endure.
I think I got my first Coach bag when I was 12 or 13, and at that time it was THE It Bag to have. I just remember feeling so excited and happy to have a fashion staple to be able to show off at school the next day. It really was the first piece in my closet that I truly cherished.”
Kristen’s Pick:
Diana Gordon
“I was introduced to Basquiat in my early twenties. Of course, I had heard of him before but in my early twenties, I was still living in New York City and was dating a painter who was really immersed in that underground New York street art scene. Basquiat was raw and chaotic.
My first Coach piece was a green faux-fur coat I wore in a music video. Coach lent it to me. It was lavish. For a luxury brand, it’s pretty accessible.”
Diana’s Pick:
Guaranteed to be a fan favorite of art and fashion lovers alike, the Coach x Basquiat capsule is available now. Shop the full collection on coach.com before it sells out.01Coach X Jean-Michel Basquiat Oversized Varsity Jacket
available at Coach $650 SHOP NOW02Coach X Jean-Michel Basquiat Beat Shoulder Bag
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available at Coach $295 SHOP NOW05Coach X Jean-Michel Basquiat Sweatshirt
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available at Coach $450 SHOP NOW08Coach X Jean-Michel Basquiat Wells Backpack
Biden to Florida’s Haitian-American voters: You can make a difference
In an address lasting eight minutes, 46 seconds, Biden emphasized the need to have voters, including Haitian Americans, turn out and stressed issues that unite him and the crowd.
MIAMI — The sounds and culture of Haiti served as a colorful backdrop for former vice president and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s visit to Little Haiti Monday as he courted Haitian-American voters and leaders on the last day to register to vote in Florida.
“It’s all about the spirit, the spirit of this community,” Biden said. “There’s no quit in America. There’s clearly no quit in the Haitian community, there is none. And I promise you there would be no quit on my part as your president making sure that the Haitian community has an even shot and back on its feet.”
During an address lasting eight minutes, 46 seconds, Biden emphasized the need to have voters, including Haitian Americans, turn out and stressed issues that unite him and the crowd.
Biden told the small crowd if the turnout is the same as it was in 2016 when President Donald Trump, whose name he never once mentioned, ran against Democratic rival and former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Haitian-American community in Florida “by itself” has the potential of determining the outcome of the Nov. 3 presidential race.
“Wouldn’t it be an irony, an irony of all ironies,” Biden said, “if on election eve, it turned out Haitians literally delivered a coup d’etat in this election?”
Biden’s campaign has emphasized that the race in Florida is critical and can be decided by just 1% of the vote.
“You not only have an opportunity. I think you have an obligation to see to it you take care of the folks you care so much about,” Biden said.
In addition to Little Haiti, Biden also stopped in Little Havana to meet with Cuban-Americans before attending an NBC town hall event near downtown Miami.
The Biden campaign has struggled with Haitian-American voters, who have felt neglected as Biden seeks to woo Hispanic voters and after his running mate, Kamala Harris, failed to meet with Haitian-American leaders during a September roundtable discussion with Black leaders at Florida Memorial University.
On Monday, the campaign sought to make up for it. The invited guests, which were intentionally kept small due to the COVID-19 pandemic, consisted of Haitian-American elected officials in Miami-Dade County as well as State Rep. Dotie Joseph, Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, Dr. Larry Pierre and Dr. Jean-Philippe Austin and his wife Magalie. The Austins held a $35,800-a-plate 2011 fundraiser for President Barack Obama during his second presidential bid, and Austin and Pierre have also raised money for the Biden campaign.
Concerned about voter turnout among Haitian-American voters on Nov. 3, the Austins have organized a group independent of the campaign to promote voter engagement and outreach in the Haitian-American community.
Joseph said she hopes the Biden visit will resonate not just with Haitian-American voters, but all voters.
“Our very democracy is on the line,” she said as she alluded to Trump’s Sunday motorcade photo op even as he continues to battle a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. “When we look at what these people want to do and how they want to treat us ... A lot of us have came from countries where you have dictatorships and you have fascism and the things you’re starting to see with this administration; things you would have never imagined, even when you’re dealing with coronavirus; somebody who knows how to protect us and wants to protect us, and the other one just wants to go around exposing people.”
As Biden spoke in the courtyard of the Little Haiti Cultural Center, Haitian-American voters lined up along two city blocks on Northeast Second Avenue and 59th Street hoping to catch a glimpse of him. Even without hearing him, however, some said they were ready to support his presidential bid.
“I’m happy for the visit,” Franklyn Charleston, 60, said amid the waving Biden-Harris posters and traditional Haitian horns playing carnival music, known as rara. “Since this government came into power, life here has just dropped. It was better with Obama and even better with [President Bill] Clinton. This president here has been a trouble-maker and we cannot just let the country go flat.”
Biden said a lot is at stake. The Nov. 3 presidential election, he said, will decide “what kind of nation we’re going to be, who we are, what we stand for. Will we continue to reach out or whether continue to push people away like what’s happened now? Or will we take care of those people, who, through no fault of their own, found themselves among those families, over 205,000 people who have died from COVID without much help at all.”
“This is the most important election,” Biden told the Haitian-American leaders. “The character of the country is literally on the ballot.”
Biden last visited Little Haiti in 2010 when he came to Miami to meet with Haitian community leaders after the January 12 earthquake in Haiti to announce the designation of Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, by President Barack Obama for eligible Haitian nationals because of the disaster, which left more than 300,000 dead. Trump has since tried to terminate the status, which is now the subject of at least a half-dozen federal lawsuits.
Biden opened Monday’s return visit by recalling that 2010 visit, during which a photo of him with Haitian community activist Marleine Bastien was taken. That photo was used during the recent Democratic National Convention.
“This is not the time to lift it,” Biden said of TPS. "This is not the time to end it. "
A devout Roman Catholic, who in 2010 quietly stopped at nearby Notre Dame d’Haiti Catholic Church to pray after meeting with the community, Biden stressed that like Haitians, he too was a man of faith and believed in honoring families.
“Family first,” he said, touching on a cultural heart-string of Haitians. “What we need is faith. We need to have faith....You’ve reached out, you’ve left nobody behind. You made sure that people know they have a home with you. There’s nothing more difficult to deal with, to experience, the loss of family.”
The Little Haiti Cultural Center’s neighboring Caribbean Marketplace was the site of Trump’s 2016 visit, and his promise to the community during his presidential bid to be its “greatest champion” if elected. That meeting was with a select group of Haitians, many of them at the time, frustrated and angry over the involvement of the Clintons in Haiti after the quake.
Biden steered clear of Haitian politics on Monday, and instead appealed to Haitians on what’s happening in America, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
Still, his campaigned emphasized a first by any U.S. presidential candidate: the outlining of specifics of how a Biden-Harris administration would benefit Haitians.
Ahead of Monday’s meeting, the campaign issued a “fact sheet” on the former vice president’s commitment to Haitian Americans, if elected. President Trump, the campaign said, has “abandoned and insulted” Haiti and “has pursued policies that undermine U.S. interests and hurt and disrespect millions of Haitian Americans in the United States.”
The Biden campaign vows to halt deportations for Haitians during his first 100 days, immediately review the Trump administration’s decision to terminate TPS, offer a path to citizenship for TPS holders, and reinstate the Haitian Family Reunification Parole program.
The campaign’s commitments are among a list of priorities that more than 60 Florida-based organizations that service the Haitian-American community are also seeking to get from a Biden-Harris administration in a letter currently making the rounds before being sent off to the campaign.
The letter also requests support for United Nations compensation for cholera victims following the introduction of the deadly disease into Haiti by U.N. peacekeepers 10 years ago this month, and the reinstatement of Haitian eligibility for the H-2A and H-2B temporary worker visas, which Trump also ended.
In Haiti, where there has been frustration over U.S. foreign policy under Trump, the U.S. presidential election is being closely watched in the hopes that a change in administration in the U.S. will also mean a change in U.S. policy toward the country.
Haitian President Jovenel Moïse has been ruling by executive order since Parliament became dysfunctional in January. The Trump administration has taken a hard-line stance against Haitian opposition parties and civil society, expressing concerns over credible elections taking place under Moïse, and has called for elections to be held as soon as it is technically feasible.
Haitians, who have been holding out hope for support by Biden on a transitional Haitian government, may be disappointed to learn that under Biden’s Haiti policy, he, like the current administration, also says he wants elections in Haiti “as soon as possible.”
Several Haitian-American leaders in attendance said they believe the visit will have a positive effect on undecided Haitian-American voters who this time around are not trying to decide whether to vote for a Democrat or Republican like in 2016, but whether to go vote.
“I think whoever in the Haitian community was on the fence, [this] should help them get to the polls,” Miami-Dade County Commissioner Jean Monestime said after the visit. The visit and Biden’s promise to return, Monestime said, “was a step in the right direction.”
North Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Joseph also welcomed the Little Haiti stop. “I believe we can work with this administration; they are looking out for our best interests,” he said.
But Joseph also issued a warning: “Hopefully we don’t fall into the same mistakes as the past.”
Remembering a refugee who founded a center for those forced to flee like him
Bernard Fils-Aimé dedicated his life to helping other Haitians."Being Haitian defines my identity and self-confidence," Fils-Aimé, an activist and entrepreneur, told Florida State Rep. Dotie Joseph in a Q&A on Facebook in May. "We fought for and won our freedom; and our culture has a depth and beauty of which any knowledgeable person could only admire and be in awe."When Fils-Aimé moved to Florida as a refugee in the late 1970s, he co-founded the Haitian Refugee Center in Miami -- and quickly became a leader in the Haitian American community. He offered legal services, and helped others who fled Haiti navigate life in the US.In 1995, after he eventually moved back to his home country, he took his efforts to help his community a step further by launched Haiti's first cellular network Communication Cellulaire d'Haiti or ComCEL, now Violà.
Last month, Fils-Aimé died at age 67 from coronavirus, leaving his friends, family and community mourning the loss of a pillar to the Haitian American community."My dad spent his life trying to improve the world," his son Karl Fils-Aimé told CNN. "He was proud of his community and culture. He saw the best in people."
Remembering his legacy
Fils-Aimé was born on May 24, 1953, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to Uranie Gabriel, a teacher, and Camile Fils-Aimé. His father, Camile, died around the time of Bernard's birth, according to his son Karl Fils-Aimé.
Fils-Aimé as a young organizer in New York. CNN has obscured portions of this image to protect people's identities.
At the age of 13, he and his mother fled Haiti due to opposing views of President Francois Duvalier, known as "Papa Doc." Duvalier was notorious for punishing anyone who vocally opposed him.
A few years after arriving to New York, Fils-Aimé attended Columbia University where he became an activist. During his first two years there, he participated in many student protests and met his wife, Marise Piverger, while organizing an event.
Fils-Aimé standing with his three children, Karl, Gerard and Erica.
They moved to Miami, Florida in the late 1970s and later married. The couple had three children Karl, Gerard and Erica.While in South Florida, he wanted to focus his work on Haitian refugees and created the Haitian Refugee Center to support migrants that had fled Haiti. He later finished college and earned a Masters degree in education at Florida International University before working at Miami-Dade college in the early 1990s.
Fils-Aimé in his office at Miami-Dade College.
"I participated in developing educational programs designed to give young men and women from disadvantaged backgrounds access to higher education in South Florida as assistant dean of students at Miami-Dade College" said Fils-Aimé to Florida Rep. Dotie Joseph in May.
Karl Fils-Aimé said his father's passion for education was instilled in him at a young age.
"His mother, my grandmother, was a school teacher and so, you know, he was always instilled with some foundational values that really defined what he did for the rest of his life," Karl Fils-Aimé told CNN, "and those values were around the value of education.
"In 1995, Fils-Aimé moved back to Haiti to help launch the country's first cellular network, Communication Cellulaire d'Haiti, or ComCEL, according to Karl Fils-Aimé.
Then, after retiring in 2010, Fils-Aimé focused on philanthropy. He served as chairman of the board of Haitian Education & Leadership Program or HELP, which provide access to higher education to student from disadvantaged areas in Haiti.
"He was an amazing man, he touched a lot of people's lives," Karl Fils-Aimé said.
'He was my best friend'
In July, Fils-Aimé tested positive for Covid-19, after experiencing a cough and fever, his son said.
"At first, he was at home, things were okay," Karl Fils-Aimé said. But a few days later, his father's symptoms became worse.
Fils-Aimé entered the hospital after having trouble breathing. Initially, the hospital treatment seemed to be working and he was stable. The day before he was expected to return home, things took a turn for the worst, his son said.
Bernard Fils-Aimé died at the University of Miami Hospital on August 8. He is survived by his wife of 41 years, Marise, their three children Gerard, Erica and Karl and his five grandchildren.
"He was a huge presence in my life, he was my best friend," Karl Fils-Aimé said.He remembers his father as someone who always had a smile on his face, and tried to make everyone feel important in a special way.
Fils-Aimé smiling with his wife, Marise."He was taken from us too soon," Karl Fils-Aimé said.
Naomi Osaka takes a surprise visit to Haiti, her father's homeland
A big but satisfying surprise for many Haitians.
Three-time major champion Naomi Osaka has arrived in Haiti this Monday, September 21, for a very surprise and discrete visit. Osaka, 22, is accompanied by a few members of her family, according to our sources.
After her arrival in Toussaint Louverture's airport, the tennis player of Japan has landed in Jacmel, hometown of her Haitian father Léonard François. Osaka is also expected to visit the famous Citadelle Laferrière, in Milot (North), official from the Haitian Ministry of Sports said.
The winner of the 2019 Australian Open, is reportedly in Haiti to film a documentary series directed by Netflix and dedicated to her life as a successful athlete.
In February, Netflix had announced the documentary series. But there has been no title and release date announced yet.
"The docuseries will follow the multiple times Grand Slam champion in the high-pressure year running up to the 2020 olympics in Tokyo", Netflix wrote on its website.
father's homeland
WILNER BOSSOU CREATED : 21 SEPTEMBER 2020ENGLISH CORNER
Japan's Naomi Osaka poses with her US Open trophy. Photo: AFP / Matthew StockmanShare to FacebookShare to TwitterShare to LinkedInShare to WhatsAppShare to MessengerShare to EmailShare to TelegramShare to More
A big but satisfying surprise for many Haitians.
Three-time major champion Naomi Osaka has arrived in Haiti this Monday, September 21, for a very surprise and discrete visit. Osaka, 22, is accompanied by a few members of her family, according to our sources.
After her arrival in Toussaint Louverture's airport, the tennis player of Japan has landed in Jacmel, hometown of her Haitian father Léonard François. Osaka is also expected to visit the famous Citadelle Laferrière, in Milot (North), official from the Haitian Ministry of Sports said.
The winner of the 2019 Australian Open, is reportedly in Haiti to film a documentary series directed by Netflix and dedicated to her life as a successful athlete.
In February, Netflix had announced the documentary series. But there has been no title and release date announced yet.
"The docuseries will follow the multiple times Grand Slam champion in the high-pressure year running up to the 2020 olympics in Tokyo", Netflix wrote on its website.
This is the third visit of the world number 3 in Haiti. The last time she came to the caribbean country was in 2018 after defeating Serena Williams in the 2018 US Open finals.
At that time, she was received by the Haitian President Jovenel Moise, who honoured her.
American rapper and billionaire Kanye West lands in Haiti
American rap star Kanye West landed in Cap-Haitien (Haiti) this Friday, September 25, to everyone's surprise.
Another big surprise for Haiti this week. Rapper and billionaire Kanye West, 43, has landed at Cap-Haitien international airport on Friday morning. Le Nouvelliste's Gérard Maxineau shared the news on Facebook, first via a post, then in a live video showing West entering the diplomatic lounge.
The President of the Republic, Jovenel Moïse, should meet the rapper and candidate for the American presidential election, in the country's second city, in the coming hours, according to Maxineau, reached by phone by Loop Haiti's newsroom.
https://www.loophaiti.com/content/american-rapper-and-billionaire-kanye-west-lands-haiti
For now, the journalist can not give us more details about the objective of this meeting or what will be the subjects of debate between the two characters.
But after their meeting, West and Moise should go to Labadee, one of the most known and visited beaches in the Nord department, then to Ile de La Tortue (Northwest), Maxineau told us.
After Naomi Osaka, who has come by surprise Monday for the filming of a Netflix documentary dedicated to her career, Kanye West is the second international star to visit Haiti in less than a week.
Today’s Faces of Sickle Cell Disease
Lawyer, sickle cell patient, COVID-19 survivor
Her story: Natalie Jean-Baptiste, 42, has lived with sickle cell disease her entire life and has forged a successful career as a bankruptcy lawyer specializing in student loan debt. While recovering in March from hip-replacement surgery—the result of a long-term complication from her sickle cell disease—Jean-Baptiste also experienced a severe pain crisis that required multiple hospitalizations. A short time afterwards, she contracted COVID-19. She could not smell or taste anything. She developed a fever. She struggled to breathe. As her condition grew worse, doctors placed her on a ventilator, where she remained for two weeks.
“I never imagined I would get COVID,” Jean-Baptiste recalls. “I had been sick before with sickle cell, but this is the first time I was afraid I might not make it.” Months after being discharged from the hospital, Jean-Baptiste is now recovering at home with the aid of oxygen, oral steroids, and physical therapy.
Biggest challenge: “Having both COVID and sickle cell disease made me the sickest I’d ever been in my life. It’s a miracle that I made it.”
How she stays inspired: “The love of my friends and family motivates me and keeps me going. Also, I find joy and purpose in practicing law and providing debt relief to student loan borrowers.”
Her dream: “I would like the sickle cell community, including caregivers and advocates, to consider more holistic and natural ways to help manage symptoms along with traditional drugs. I think they are often overlooked, but it’s important to use diet and lifestyle changes to manage this disease.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventionexternal link recently announced that having sickle cell disease increases your risk for developing severe illness from COVID-19.
Steven Baboun, star sur TikTok
Steven Baboun, photographe engagé, explique que ses gags sur TikTok ne sont en fait qu’un prolongement de ses activités artistiques initiales. Avec un filter façon grande gueule (littéralement) comme seul artifice, Steven Baboun incarne tour à tour une « gran fanm » qui tente de planifier que la veille un voyage à Paris tandis que le billet est à « seulement » 2 000 dollars, une hôtesse de l’air antchoutchout d’American Airlines qui annonce l’arrivée imminente de l’appareil dans une zone de turbulences, ou encore un agent de l’immigration haïtienne particulièrement familier…
Son personnage principal, Marie-Claude, est inspiré de plein de personnes que la vie lui a permis de connaître. « C’est parfois une de mes tantes, une professeure du primaire, une amie de ma mère ou ma mère elle-même », confie Steven qu’on a présenté dans les colonnes de Ticket il y a deux ans comme un photographe à l’œil artistique. Il y aussi Chantal, l’amie souffre-douleur de Marie-Claude, un autre personnage plus subtil.
Si l’arrivée de Steven Baboun sur TikTok est récente, soit au mois de juin 2020, son contact avec l’humour remonte à plus loin. Dès 2016, pour amuser ses potes, il leur faisait parvenir en DM sur Snapchat des gags hyper-loufoques. Ces derniers, emballés par leur pertinence, l’encouragent à les ouvrir au grand public. Mais le jeune homme n’avait pas encore senti ce besoin.
...Mais c’était sans compter sur le coronavirus. Tout seul dans son appartement de New York, le confinement va l’affaisser mentalement. « J’ai perdu mon job. Je ne pouvais pas sortir. Je ne pouvais même pas regagner mon pays pour être avec ma famille. J’ai eu mon master en ligne… C’était loin d’être cool », nous révèle-t-il. C’est donc au fort de cette tempête que l’humour s’est pointé à l’horizon comme un rayon de lumière.
TikTok étant la hype de l’heure, il s’y embarque et très vite il se fait connaître. Avec 48 000 followers, ce n’est pas le fan base de Jason Derulo sur la plateforme, mais ce n’est pas rien dans le contexte haïtien. Si Steven ne s’entête pas à monnayer ses publications, des entreprises se dirigent pourtant vers lui pour lui demander de faire connaître leurs activités ou produits via son grand nombre de followers. C’est le cas de Lisa Loto, de la Maison Handal, entre autres.
L’artiste lance un épisode chaque deux jours en général. Au-delà de l’objectif de faire rire, il y a sa volonté de toucher des points qui lui tiennent à cœur comme les crises socio-politiques, la nonchalance de nos hommes politiques. Il est adepte du castigat rirendo mores (corriger les mœurs en riant). « Mon activité sur TikTok n’est pas parallèle à celle que j’ai en tant que photographe, c’en est plutôt un prolongement », précise-t-il.
Des comptes TikTok ou Instagram qu’il affectionne ? « Il y a celui de Zuzu Girl, mais aussi celui de Timoumoun », cite-t-il. Et la possibilité d'un stand-up un jour ? L'artiste répond par l’affirmatif tout en précisant qu’il se gardera de forcer le ton, d’aller trop vite. Pour le moment, sa plus grande satisfaction c’est de lire des commentaires de parents, enfants sur son sit-com. Il y en a qui lui disent qu’ils peuvent passer la journée à regarder l’ensemble des épisodes tandis que d’autres lui témoignent combien ça illumine leur vie… À tous ceux-là et à tous ses abonnés en général, Steven Baboun promet d’autres gags tout en leur demandant de toujours rester branchés à son compte !
Zev, une marque de véhicules électriques fondée par un Haïtien
Un Haïtien fonde la première marque de véhicule électrique rwandaise au Rwanda
Cette année Zazzi Electric Vehicles, établie au Rwanda, devient officiellement une entreprise (LDT), gérante de la marque rwandaise de véhicules électriques ZEV, tirée du siglé de l’entreprise.
Démarré depuis 2017 par l’haïtien résidant en République voisine Wood Wedson Pierre, le projet ZEV est aujourd’hui en phase de production et de lancement au niveau mondial avec 100 véhicules déjà fabriqués, selon le Fondateur.
Si tout se passe bien, les clients pourront se procurer des véhicules ZEV dès la fin de l’année ou le début de 2021. Ils pourront payer une réservation et recevront le véhicule dans leur pays, en particulier en Afrique, dans les Caraïbes et l’Amérique latine. Un showroom sera ouvert dans la capitale Rwandaise, Kigali, annonce Wood Wedson Pierre.
Trois modèles seront disponibles en premier : la ” SUC Electric ” appelée ZEV EC500, le ” Micro Car ” dénommé ZEV M20 et la moto électrique ” ZEV e-moto “. Mais ZEV développera aussi des bus électriques, des tricycles électriques, des vélos à asssistance électrique, entre autres, précise Wood Wedson Pierre.
Zazzi Electric Vehicles Co. offre aussi un service de réparation et vend des stations de recharge électrique à partir du soleil pour les véhicules ZEV, nous informe le Président de Zazzy Electric Vehicles Wood Wedson Pierre.
À l’image de leur slogan ” embrace the future “, le CEO de ZEV envisage un futur rayonnant pour son entreprise. ” Dans les prochaines années, avec le chiffre d’affaires dépassant un billion de dollars américains que nous aurons, ZEV n’aura rien à envier aux autres marques de véhicule électrique. Nos véhicules seront parmi les meilleurs au monde. Nous poursuivons l’objectif d’avoir dans moins de deux ans une usine de production de tous nos modèles existants et de nouveaux à paraître. Ce qui nous permettra d’atteindre 300 mille comme capacité de production “, prévoit le CEO Wood Wedson Pierre.
Par ailleurs, Wood Wedson Pierre promet que son entreprise offrira l’opportunité aux jeunes de suivre sa voie, en fabriquant des véhicules pour eux et même en investissant dans leur entreprise si l’idée est assez convaincante et innovante.
A Haitian Chef Reveals the Secret Ingredient to His Toronto Restaurant’s Success (Even During COVID)
Like most great chefs, Marc-Elie Lissade jumped at the opportunity to fill a global food gap in a major metropolis. After leaving Haiti at age 11, Lissade spent some time living in the United States before setting down roots in Toronto in the hopes of opening his own restaurant. And that’s when, in December 2019, Boukan was born – a Haitian food joint offering French-Creole street fare.
“Street food works in Toronto because it’s open to many styles of cuisine,” he says. “And we don’t already have a lot of Haitian or Creole cuisine here.”
Lissade excels at Haitian comfort foods (think: deep fried and delicious). Boukan is a vibrant space packed with eye-popping colour located on Toronto’s Kingston Road. The walls, dedicated to the work of local artists and signatures left behind by satisfied customers, illustrate the importance of ancestral ties and community.
His passion for food comes from his close bond with his grandma, a bona fide chef in her own right. Growing up, it was she who taught him many of the homemade seasonings and recipes that make Boukan such a hot spot destination for foodies.
It’s hard to deny how Lissade’s attention to history, family meals and community have become the main ingredients to his restaurant’s success (FYI: he also has his own catering company called Black Apron Events and garnered the top award from 2018’s Taste of the Caribbean!).
A Place in History
Given his penchant for connecting with family through food, it comes as no surprise that Lissade turned to his ancestral roots when brainstorming a restaurant name – in particular, a groundbreaking moment in Haitian history.
The Haitian Revolution is widely considered one of the most significant moments in the history of the Atlantic World. It lasted for more than a decade, beginning in August 1791 before concluding in January 1804 with the self-liberated slaves exerting independence over French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue (now Haiti). The event bears the distinction of being the only slave uprising to result in a state led entirely by non-white rulers and former captives.
Prior to the revolution, enslaved Haitians would gather around a campfire (boukan) to shares stories, dance and enjoy food together. It’s that specific aspect – a community coming together – that ultimately inspired Lissade to take a page from his ancestors’ history book for the name of his restaurant. “After 1804, Haitians were [finally] able to celebrate,” he says. “For me, Boukan is our culture and it represents history and a place of celebration.”
Family Ties
If one were to map out Lissade’s career trajectory, from his catering company Black Apron Events to Boukan, it would start with his grandma. At only eight years old, Lissade was a chef in training, assisting his grandma with her catering company – running around grabbing the ingredients and cookware she needed. Even now, any reference to his grandma will take Lissade on a trip down memory lane.
“I remember every Saturday night we’d have fritay [pronounced free-tie, a general term for fried food] and griyo [deep fried pork]. We’d sit down and she’d tell us stories,” he recalls. “We always looked forward to that.” (Griyo also happens to be his favourite recipe to make with his grandma, which Boukan customers can find on the menu).
Every family has its own fiercely guarded kitchen secrets that are passed on through generations. When asked if there’s a specific tip or secret ingredient that his grandma taught him over the years, Lissade gives a reluctant laugh. “Yes. It’s really about the process of [prepping] the food,” he says. “She taught me to cook with three senses: smell, sight and texture. When you’re cooking, you’re always running around tasting different things, so your taste buds change. [Slowing down and paying attention to] those senses is what helped her become a better cook. Now, at 32, I understand why she was cooking that way.”
A Place to Gather
There’s a real sense of community woven into the very fabric of Boukan, from the rotating work by local artists featured on the walls to recipe-sharing with fellow chefs.
“I wanted the place to be open to everybody,” he explains. “We all get stronger through collaboration with others.” And that collaboration takes on many forms.
For starters, Lissade rotates the artwork featured in his restaurant roughly once a month to make room for new pieces and local talent. “I don’t want to go to a restaurant where the same artwork has been on the wall for 15, 20 years,” he says. “Yes, this is a restaurant, but it’s also an art gallery where I open it to all local artists in Toronto. People can purchase it and it is full commission to them. I don’t take money from it because I know how hard it can be – unless you’re a Picasso.”
Even the story behind one of Lissade’s favourite “secret ingredients” has a communal backstory. “I have a close friend who lives in Miami and she’s a Haitian chef,” he says, citing her influence on one of the most popular recipes he’s crafted for the menu. “When I was opening Boukan I thought it’d be a crazy idea to offer a vegan burger. We [Haitians] love meat, but I wanted to be different.”
The result was the wildly popular Burger Boukanye featuring a plant-based patty, pickled onions, vegan Creole mayo and, the secret ingredient, djon djon – a rare black mushroom only found in northern Haiti. “I’m not vegan, but I thought it was so good,” Lissade says of his collaboration with his friend. “The seasoning in it is the one I learned from my grandma, so you can’t find it anywhere else.”
As for the global pandemic that shuttered the vast majority of businesses around the world, there was no way to predict the fallout for a restaurant as young as Boukan. “I was very worried,” he says. “We’re not even a year old, so when COVID happened I didn’t know what to do. We weren’t eligible for help from the government because we’d only been open for a few weeks last year.”
Enter: the very community he’s sought to bring together through food. “Thank God for the support of the Haitian community and our neighbours – they supported us like there’s no tomorrow. If it wasn’t for them, I think we would have been closed by now.”
To learn more about Boukan Owner and Executive Chef Marc-Elie Lissade, tune into the @AmexCanada #ShopSmallStories Twitter episode here. The Twitter Original series was created in partnership with American Express Canada in support of their Shop Small program, a national movement, backed by a Cardmember offer, to encourage Canadians to get behind their local small businesses and help revive communities.
Haiti - Covid-19 : 43 new cases and 4 more deaths in 24 hours
According to the Ministry of Public Health, 43 new cases of Covid-19 would have been confirmed in Haiti in 24 hours (previous +34 in 48 hours) for a total of 8,301 cases throughout the national territory since the first case (March 19, 2020 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30319-haiti-health-origin-of-the-first-2-cases-of-covid-19-in-haiti.html ).
Deaths: 4 new deaths were reported in 24 hours in the Western Department for a national total of 210 deaths.
Healings: : 5,870 people (+ unchanged in 24 hours), previous (+42 in 48 hours)
Healing rate: 70.71% (-)
Active cases: (less deaths and cures) 2,221 cases (+39 in 48h), the day before (-17 in 48h)
Imported cases: 152 cases since the reopening of airports and +43 since the last report dated July 9 (109) https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-31348-haiti-flash-152-cases-imported-since-the-reopening-of-airports.html (update not available)
Suspicious cases investigated since March 19: 24,220 cases (+158 in 24 hours), previous (+150 in 48 hours)
Cases tested since the start of the pandemic: 24,035 (+356 in 48 hours as of September 1)
People currently hospitalized: (information not available)
People in intensive care currently: (information not available)
People currently treated at home: (information not available)
Cases confirmed by department:
West: 5,687cas (+9 in 24h)
Artibonitis: 487 cases (+2 in 24 hours)
North: 470 cases (+23 in 24h)
Center: 437 cases (+4 in 48h), previous (+4 in 48h)
Southeast: 257 cases (unchanged)
North-East: 237 cases (+5 in 24 hours)
South 226 (unchanged)
Northwest 197 (unchanged)
Grand'Anse 162 (unchanged) previous (+1 in 48h)
Nippes 141 (unchanged)
Location of cases:
West : 5,687 cases (+9)
Delmas : 1,382 cases (+1)
Port-au-Prince : 1,135 cases (+1), previous (+2 in 48h)
Pétion-ville : 852 cases (+2)
Tabarre : 683 cases (unchanged)
Croix-des-Bouquets : 559 (+1), previous (+2 in 48h)
Carrefour : 437 cases (+1)
Petit-Goâve : 148 cases (unchanged)
Cité Soleil : 92 cases (unchanged)
Léogâne : 78 cases (+3)
Cabaret : 72 cases (unchanged)
Kenskoff : 60 cases (unchanged)
Archaie : 46 cases (unchanged)
Gressier 44 cases (unchanged), previous (+1 in 48h)
Anse à Galet : 37 cases (unchanged)
Cornillon : 16 cases (unchanged)
Grand Goâve : 15 cases (unchanged)
Ganthier : 13 cases (unchanged)
Thomazeau : 9 cases (unchanged)
Fonds-Verettes : 6 (unchanged)
Pointe à Raquette : 3 cases (unchanged)
Artibonite : 485 cases (+2)
Saint Marc : 163 cases (unchanged)
Verettes : 116 cases (unchanged)
Gonaïves : 110 cases (unchanged)
Gros Morne : 22 cases (+1)
Marchand Dessalines : 16 cases (unchanged)
Petite Rivière de l’Artibonite : 15 cases (unchanged)
Saint Michel : 11 case (+1)
L’Estère : 10 cases (unchanged)
Desdunes : 6 cases (unchanged)
Marmelade : 6 cases (unchanged)
Ennery : 5 cases (unchanged)
Grande Saline : 3 cases (unchanged)
La Chappelle : 2 cases (unchanged)
Anse Rouge : 2 cases (unchanged)
North : 470 (+23)
Cap Haïtien : 279 cases (+10)
Limbé : 38 cases (+1),
Pignon : 21 case (unchanged)
Milot : 18 cases (+3)
Plaine du Nord : 16 cases (+1)
Grande Rivière du Nord : 16 cases (+2)
Pilate : 15 cases (+2)
Plaisance du Nord : 14 cases (unchanged)
Borgne : 13 cases (+2)
Limonade : 11 case (unchanged)
Port Margot : 11 case (+2)
Quartier Morin : 9 cases (unchanged)
Acul du Nord : 6 cases (unchanged)
Dondon : 3 cases (unchanged)
Bahon : 1 case (unchanged)
Saint Raphaël : 1 case (unchanged)
Center : 437 cases (+4)
Mirebalais : 157 cases (unchanged), previous (+1 in 48h),
Hinche : 154 cases (+3), previous (+2 in 48h)
Boucan Carré : 31 case (unchanged)
Lascaobas : 30 cases (unchanged), previous (+1 in 48h)
Belladère : 20 cases (unchanged)
Thomonde : 14 cases (unchanged)
Saut-d’Eau 7 cases (unchanged)
Savanette : 6 cases (unchanged)
Cerca la Source : 6 cases (unchanged)
Maissade : 5 cases (+1)
Cerca Cavajal : 4 cases (unchanged)
Thomassique : 3 cases (unchanged)
South-East : 257 cases (unchanged)
Jacmel : 192 cases (unchanged)
Côte-de-Fer : 15 cases (unchanged)
Bainet : 13 cases (unchanged)
Anse-à-Pitre : 9 cases (unchanged)
Thiotte : 9 cases (unchanged)
Vallée de Jacmel : 7 cases (unchanged)
Marigot : 6 cases (unchanged)
Belle Anse : 4 cases (unchanged)
Cayes Jacmel : 2 cases (unchanged)
North-East : 237 cases (+5)
Ouanaminthe : 75 cases (+1)
Caracol 41 case (+1)
Fort Liberté : 34 cases (+1)
Trou du Nord : 32 cases (+1)
Mombin Crochu 20 cases (unchanged)
Terrier Rouge : 11 case (+1)
Perches : 5 cases (unchanged)
Mont Organisé : 5 cases (unchanged)
Ste-Suzanne : 4 cases (+2), la veille : (+2)
Carice : 4 cases (unchanged)
Ferrier : 4 cases (unchanged)
Capotille : 2 cases (unchanged)
South : 226 cases (unchanged)
Cayes : 125 cases (unchanged)
Aquin : 26 cases (unchanged)
Saint-Louis du Sud : 12 cases (unchanged)
Les Anglais : 10 cases (unchanged)
Port à Piment : 8 cases (unchanged)
Port-Salut : 8 cases (unchanged)
Torbeck : 7 cases (unchanged)
Chardonnières : 6 cases (unchanged)
Camp-Perrin : 6 cases (unchanged)
Tiburon : 4 cases (unchanged)
Coteaux : 4 cases (unchanged)
Chantal : 2 cases (unchanged)
Île-à Vache : 2 cases (unchanged)
St Jean du Sud : 2 cases (unchanged)
Cavaillon 2 cases (unchanged)
Roche à Bateau : 1 case (unchanged)
Maniche : 1 case (unchanged)
North-West : 197 cases (unchanged)
Port de Paix : 115 cases (unchanged)
Saint-louis du Nord : 25 cases (unchanged)
Bombardopolis : 14 cases (unchanged)
Môle Saint-Nicolas : 12 cases (unchanged)
Jean Rabel : 12 cases (unchanged)
Bassin Bleu : 6 cases (unchanged)
La Tortue : 5 cases (unchanged)
Chansolme : 4 cases (unchanged)
Baie de Henne 2 cases (unchanged)
Anse-à-Foleur : 2 cases (unchanged)
Grand'Anse : 162 cases (unchanged)
Jérémie : 129 cases (unchanged), previous (+1 in 48h)
Anse d’Hainault : 16 (unchanged)
Chambellan : 7 cases (unchanged)
Dame Marie : 3 cases (unchanged)
Pestel : 2 cases (unchanged)
Irois : 2 cases (unchanged)
Bonbon : 1 case (unchanged)
Moron : 1 case (unchanged)
Roseaux : 1 case (unchanged)
Nippes : 141 case (unchanged)
Miragoâne : 66 cases (unchanged)
Fond des Nègres : 20 cases (unchanged)
Baradères : 13 cases (unchanged)
Plaisance du Sud : 10 cases (unchanged)
Anse à Veau 7 cases (unchanged)
Petit Trou de Nippes : 7 cases (unchanged)
Petite Riviere de Nippes : 6 cases (unchanged)
L’Asile : 5 cases (unchanged)
Paillant : 4 cases (unchanged)
Arnaud : 2 cases (unchanged)
Grand Boucan : 1 case (unchanged)
NOTE: "unchanged" means that there is no new data available: it may be no new cases, unreported or incomplete cases or delay in transmission data at the Ministry ...
Distribution of confirmed cases by age group:
0-9 years: 238 (unchanged)
10-19 years: 291 (+1)
20-29 years: 1,651 (+7)
30-39 years: 2,421 (+18)
40-49 years: 1,500 (+7)
50-59 years: 980 (+4)
60-69 years: 734 (+4)
70 years and over: 486 (+2)
Distribution of deaths by age group:
0-9 years: 8 deaths (unchanged)
10-19 years: 3 deaths (unchanged)
20-29 years: 11 deaths (unchanged)
30-39 years: 14 deaths (unchanged)
40-49 years: 24 deaths (unchanged)
50-59 years: 38 deaths (+1)
60-69 years: 44 deaths (+2)
70 years and over: 67 deaths (+1)
41.7% women and 58.3% men (update not available for more than a week)
Deaths: 210 deaths (+4 in 24 hours)
Mortality rate: 2.53% (+)
As Food Deliveries Boom, So Do Ghost Kitchens
Several new companies and models have emerged to help restaurants by making food off-site, and even delivering it.
Since the pandemic began, many restaurants have pivoted to providing takeout and delivery. It’s a move that shows no signs of diminishing, even as they reopen for dining in one form or another. To accommodate this increased demand, they are depending more and more on various types of off-premises kitchens.
“I think it will continue,” said Daniel Boulud, the high-end chef and restaurateur who occasionally delivered special-occasion meals but has now established a new regular delivery service for his restaurants.
Several companies are counting on it. Their inventory is so-called ghost kitchens — off-site meal-preparation facilities that are untethered from physical restaurants. They predate the virus, but are multiplying now, and taking many new forms.
Ghost kitchens allow restaurants to outsource the making of their takeout and delivery meals, without cannibalizing the stoves, walk-ins and prep areas needed to serve seated diners outdoors or in. With national reach, they’re also promising to expand a restaurant’s footprint and brand recognition beyond the immediate neighborhood.
Reef Kitchens is one of these. It was started in June 2019 in Miami, using parking lots and garages. Today it has some 4,500 parking sites across the country where it is installing mobile pods — roughly the size of shipping containers — that it calls kitchen vessels. The same space might house cooks preparing delivery orders from several restaurants, whether the food is Indian, Mexican, Italian or burgers.
Reef has three modular kitchens up and running in New York City. It expects to more than double that by the end of the year, and hopes to get its nationwide total to 300.
When a customer orders online through the website of a Reef Kitchens client or one of the delivery apps like UberEats or Postmates, the information goes to Reef, but the customer never interacts directly with Reef (though the service is adding pickup at some of its locations). The company started before the virus hit, but Carl Segal, the chief operating officer, said that what it is doing feels more urgent now.
For a restaurateur, establishing a second kitchen would be expensive, given the costs of rent, construction, utilities and staffing, but with Reef, the restaurant has no upfront expenses.
“It doesn’t cost them anything,” Mr. Segal said. “We enter into a partnership with them, we keep the revenue and pay them a royalty percentage every month.” (He would not specify the percentage.)
Reef’s cooks prepare the food according to the restaurant’s recipes, but no restaurant personnel are involved, and the restaurant has no control over how the food turns out.
This strategy may not appeal to every chef or restaurant, but there are now several willing to give it a try, including Michael’s Genuine in Miami and Saucy Asian in San Francisco. Teaming up with Reef will allow Jack’s Wife Freda, in New York City, to deliver meals to customers in Brooklyn, something the Manhattan-based restaurant group would be unable to do without a costly third-party delivery system.
Another relative newcomer to the ghost-kitchen business is Zevv. Max Crespo, its founder, got his start in 2013 with Neapolitan Express, a pizza truck. Now he runs a fleet of mobile kitchens — 10 next-generation food trucks, so far — that he opened in May, working with the chef Daniel Humm, Eleven Madison Park and the nonprofit food distributor Rethink Food, to serve food for workers to pick up at Lenox Hill Hospital and other New York City medical centers.
“We can go where the people are, to be in one place at lunch and somewhere else for dinner,” Mr. Crespo said.
His mobile units, each 8 feet by 20 feet, are designed to produce no emissions. Restaurants or chefs pay $30,000 to $50,000 to start, with a six-month contract and a small monthly fee. Mr. Crespo said his price was much less than it would cost a restaurant to create and maintain its own outside kitchen.
Sometimes there is a partnership with a chef. “We can promote a great young chef who doesn’t have a restaurant yet and showcase the talent,” he said.
Food is prepared in his units, usually by the restaurant’s own employees, though Zevv has its own list of chefs who can participate. His units prepare food for pickup on-site; there is no delivery. “People want high-end quality, and it’s hard to achieve with delivery,” he said.
Unlike kitchens for hire, a company with a fistful of its own restaurants can take an entirely different approach, making food off-site for its own restaurants. Sam Nazarian, the founder and chief executive of SBE Entertainment, a major hotel and restaurant management company, has formed a new unit, C3, to add to SBE’s collection of restaurants worldwide, in part by using this model.
Its umbrella already covers Umami Burger, Sam’s Crispy Chicken and Krispy Rice, all its own brands. So when someone orders from Umami Burger, the food will be prepared in one of the outside kitchens, where there is no Umami Burger storefront.
Mr. Nazarian’s company has signed the chef Dani García, who ran a restaurant in Spain that won three Michelin stars, to help develop more food-service restaurant brands, including Minük, for quick service.
The company’s portfolio also includes restaurants by the chefs Masaharu Morimoto, José Andrés and Katsuya Uechi. Some of those restaurants will be opening, pandemic restrictions permitting, at Citizens, a 48,000-square-foot food hall designed by David Rockwell that is expected to open in the next few weeks as a centerpiece of Manhattan West, the Brookfield Properties development across 10th Avenue from Hudson Yards.
For C3’s virtual kitchens, one of which has already opened on West 57th Street in Manhattan, the company is taking advantage of its partnerships with the hotel chain Accor, and Simon, a company that owns malls and other facilities. With a goal of 200 kitchens by the end of the year, it is finding underused spaces like catering kitchens at some of the hotels.
“This all takes a big investment, but I think we’ve already made all the mistakes,” Mr. Nazarian said. Because of the scale of his operation, he said he is able to negotiate reduced delivery fees with big platforms like Grubhub and DoorDash. The company is also working on the kind of specially made packaging that suits delivered meals.
“Even before Covid, consumer habits were changing,” he said. “With delivery, they now want high quality.”
Mr. Boulud recently dusted off one of his operations, Daniel Boulud Kitchen, which at one time sold kitchen equipment and other products, and has turned it into the delivery division for his brand, efficiently offering only one menu that changes frequently. The preparation is done in a work space attached to his Daniel restaurant on the Upper East Side, where there is now sidewalk dining.
Mr. Boulud said that with delivery, he has been able to rehire some chefs he laid off at the beginning of the pandemic shutdown. “I’m looking for it to expand on a wider scale,” he said. “I’m happy to have the business.”
For deliveries beyond the New York region, he has just signed on with Goldbelly, a seven-year-old e-commerce company that ships specialties like pies and lobster rolls nationwide from hundreds of restaurants and food companies, usually fresh, and is now selling more elaborate dishes. Mr. Boulud’s lavish bouillabaisse, delivered ready for a final heating, is one of them.
In the past few years, other groups of ghost kitchens for restaurants to rent have been established, including Kitchen United, and CloudKitchens, which was started by Travis Kalanick, a co-founder of Uber.
DoorDash is also getting into the virtual-kitchen game with DoorDash Kitchens. It has a division, Kitchens Without Borders, that supports restaurants owned by immigrants and refugees, giving them discounted rates. And a consulting firm, The Food Corridor, is ready to help restaurants navigate the increasing number of kitchen options.
“Delivery is part of our whole life now,” Mr. Nazarian said. That goes for the restaurant and the consumer as well.
Georgia ministry opens hospital in Haiti
Opening a mission hospital in Haiti while operating out of Northeast Georgia was never going to be easy.
Doing so as a pandemic spread across the globe, hindering travel and the ability to gather groups together, made it even more difficult than Love Him Love Them Ministries co-founder Linda Gunter could have imagined.
But with a truckload of faith, selfless giving from dozens of people, businesses and organizations and a shipping container loaded to the brim with medical supplies, Valley of Hope Hospital is set to open Saturday, Aug. 29 in Gallette Chambon, Haiti.
Gunter admits the daunting task of coordinating the shipment of supplies needed to open the hospital was almost too much to take.
“We almost gave up,” she said.
Medical care in an underserved area of a developing island nation during a pandemic was too important, however, so the opening of the hospital was moved to an earlier date than originally planned.
Travel restrictions were discouraging and raising the money needed to open the hospital and ship supplies was difficult, Gunter said, especially considering the primary fundraiser for Lavonia-based Love Him Love Them, a tour of the Haitian Orphan Choir comprised of youth from the ministry’s orphanages and schools, had to be canceled for 2020.
She soon learned to lean on her faith and let God handle things, Gunter said.
“I really believe God was saying, ‘You think you know what’s going on? I’ve got this under control,’” she said.
Much like the ministry itself, which was born out of desperate need following the 2010 earthquake that ravaged Haiti, Valley of Hope’s opening later this month was spurred by tragedy.
A young woman in labor came to a Love Him Love Them school and church facility in Gallette Chambon on the back of a motorcycle, hoping to find medical care.
The school did not have the resources she needed.
The nearest medical care facility was more than an hour away.
Despite the best efforts of Pastor Maxeau Antoine and others, the woman and her child both died before they could the get the necessary medical attention.
“This was our sign,” Gunter said.
Completing the mission would not be without its challenges.
She and her team knew that, but the Lord had called them to provide the people there a better option, she said.
The Hart and Hall county health departments each had donated items to the ministry previously and still had more to offer.
Love Him Love Them has a storage facility in Lavonia filled with donated supplies and an organization called Missionary Flights International donated even more.
Local doctors from St. Mary’s Hospital and from around the region had provided supplies like a centrifuge and microscopes so the hospital could operate a lab to aid in diagnosing patients.
The Hart County-based organization, Acts 1:8, also got in on the action and set aside some supplies to its orphanage in Haiti.
Now they just needed a way to get it all to Haiti.
Lisa Welshman, executive director of Love Him Love Them ministry, said a group of dozens of volunteers from area counties, including Stephens, Franklin and Hart, showed up ready to load the shipping container bought with donations, but its arrival was delayed that day.
“It was amazing how we got it down there. It was nuts,” Welshman said.
So the team put everything on pallets and organized it all to be prepared for when the container did actually arrive in a few days.
Then the driver from the company Unity on a Mission, who was donating his time to transport the container from Franklin County to Miami, got sick.
A new driver stepped up and a much smaller group of about nine people gathered again at a later date to load the container and see it on its way.
Thankfully, Welshman said, the truck arrived a couple days later in Miami and successfully made it to Haiti.
“It took over 100 volunteers, three trips between Lavonia, Gainesville and Hartwell to pick up supplies, coordination of donations being dropped off at all hours at the office and our storage area,” Welshman said.
“Plus, then truck driver No. 1 gets sick so we have to pray for another driver. That comes through and so he drives from Lavonia to Fort Pierce, Fla., to pick up five donated pallets of medical supplies then heads to Miami to the dock,” Welshman said.
It was enough to get the hospital going, but Welshman said there is still plenty more needed to make it operate as the ministry plans.
“We need major stuff now,” she said, adding that the group still needs beds, ventilators and other more substantial medical care items.
Gunter, who founded the ministry with her husband David, said the hospital opening despite the challenges is a testament to God’s love and power.
“We were literally in a spiritual battle,” she said about the effort to open Valley of Hope. “The big deal of opening the hospital is for spiritual care.”
Patients will come and receive medical care, but in the end, their spirit will be uplifted as well, Gunter said.
“Satan wants us to quit, but we have to keep fighting,” she said.
Gunter said the ministry “literally works off faith,” and relies solely on donations.
To donate to Love Him Love Them Ministries or to learn more about their missions, go to lovehimlovethem.org<http://lovehimlovethem.org> or call Linda Gunter at 706-599-7525.
Haitian center a refuge for transgender people
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Prejudice and discrimination against transgender people is common in Haiti, but at least one organization is providing a haven where they can feel welcome.
The Kay Trans Haiti center in the capital, Port-au-Prince, provides lodging and care for up to 10 transgender people. Funded by a Spanish healthcare company and the United Nations Development Program, Kay Trans Haiti is open to transgender people who have been victims of verbal or physical abuse. It provides services including a psychologist free of charge, and allows residents to stay for up to a year.
Transgender Laurent Voltus braids the hair of her roommate Vlajimy Cesar as they sit on the porch of the Kay Trans Haiti center where they live, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
Once people graduate from the center, the program pays their rent for up to a year, after which they must become self-sufficient.
Residents say the neighborhood surrounding the center has gradually become more accepting of them, creating a safe island in a city where they can often feel vulnerable and subject to abuse at any moment.
Haiti’s LGBT community continues to experience social stigma. Thousands of people in July marched against gay and transgender rights in a rally organized by some churches demanding that President Jovenel Moise rescind a decree that rewrites the 185-year-old penal code recognizing same-sex unions and tacitly allowing homosexuality.
In 2016, an LGBT cultural festival in Port-au-Prince was canceled after organizers received threats and a local official, calling it a violation of moral values, sought to ban it.
In 2017, Haiti’s Senate passed two bills targeting LGBT Haitians. One would formalize a ban on same-sex marriage, and prohibit public demonstrations in favor of LGBT rights.
Residents of the Kay Trans center can bring their partners there, go out to clubs, and shop without fear of mistreatment from neighborhood shopkeepers, who have become increasing friendly and welcoming.
One of the residents, Semi Kaefra Alisha Fermond, 24, said she had a traumatic childhood because neighbors didn’t want her to play with their children.
“I am proud of myself now because I can wear women’s clothes and go everywhere,” she said. ‘’At my mother’s home I can’t be like that.’’
Utah Symphony performs virtual duets with Haitian youth
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Musicians all over the world have continued to make music together, using click tracks and editing apps, during the pandemic. Chances are, few of those performances, though, have been as meaningful as a series of duets with two members of the Utah Symphony and a group of young musicians in Haiti.
Four years ago, Utah violinist Yuki McQueen and cellist John Eckstein traveled to the island nation – the poorest in the Western Hemisphere – to teach at a music camp sponsored by the non-profit BLUME Haiti.
With the help of their Symphony colleagues, they eventually started the Haitian Orchestra Institute – an annual workshop for young Haitian musicians.
“What the program has done for music in Haiti is extraordinary,” said Janet Anthony of BLUME Haiti, who helps organize HOI. “It creates another image of Haiti that’s very, very positive.”
“Our goal has never been to create virtuoso musicians,” Anthony said. “It’s more to play a small part in helping to develop their civil and civic society.”
The year 2020 marked a series of anniversaries for the island – the 10th anniversary of the 2010 earthquake among them – and it was going to be a big year for HOI. It was to include the workshop and a music festival.
Salt Lake’s Baldassin Pianos restored a donated 1932 Beckstein grand piano for the event.
But in March, with the festivities less than two weeks away, they were forced to postpone their plans.
McQueen was heartbroken, but not as disappointed as Haitian cellist Emantero Valbrun.
The 20-year-old musician taught himself to play the cello by watching YouTube videos, something which mystifies Eckstein.
“It’d be like looking at a baseball player and deciding I want to be in the MLB,” Eckstein said. “You just don’t do that.”
Valbrun is now so passionate about the instrument that he practices 10 hours a day, and last year, didn’t let a three-hour motorcycle ride with a cello strapped to his back and an armed holdup keep him from attending the workshop.
Because of poverty, political instability and physical isolation, Valbrun and other Haitians just don’t have other musical opportunities like HOI.
Isolated by the pandemic, Valbrun posted a series of solos on Facebook.
“It was like he was crying out in the wilderness by himself with his cello,” McQueen said. “I could just feel his isolation and his loneliness just looking at those videos.”
She thought maybe Valbrun and the other Haitian musician didn’t have to play alone.
McQueen arranged a series of duets – “duets at a distance” – Eckstein and herself performing with Valbrun and students John Karly Fils Menard, Jericho Pierre Noel, Berlande Alexis, Sarah Colimon, Alexandre Santya, and Getro Joseph.
Playing side-by-side with professionals, even if doing it virtually, meant a lot.
Emantero Valbrun, speaking through an interpreter, said he was hopeful.
“Yes, we still have hope. It is this hope that gives us life. Corona, the virus, is not eternal,” said Valbrun. “If we always work at home and have contact with international teachers, it will be ok.”
Prominent lawyer in Haiti is shot and killed at his home
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — A prominent lawyer in Haiti was shot and killed at his home, police said Saturday.
Monferrier Dorval, head of the bar association in the capital, Port-au-Prince, was attacked on Friday night, police spokesman Garry Desrosiers said. He said an investigation was underway.
Haitian President Jovenel Moïse denounced the killing, saying on Twitter that it was a “great loss for the country.”
Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe said Dorval’s killing followed attacks on other Haitian citizens in recent days and that authorities will work to bring the perpetrators to justice.
VENNY ETIENNE ON HIS NEW COLLECTION AND DESIGNING FOR BEYONCÉ’S “BLACK IS KING”
We can’t get enough of his edgy yet feminine designs.
Manifest has become a trendy word lately, sparking people to almost believe their dreams into existence. Fashion designer Venny Etienne is proof that if you combine that with hard work, it may actually work. The young Black creative set his sights on Beyoncé years ago, posting on Facebook in 2015, “(Speaking in existence) Beyoncé WILL wear one of my garments by 2020.” Right on target, you can catch Beyoncé in her “Already” video donning a floral jacket that looks like a cross between armor and a sundress, designed by Etienne himself.
Born of Haitian descent, Etienne grew up in Brooklyn designing clothes for church fashion shows. He counts Alber Elbaz, formerly of Lanvin and Tom Ford, as inspiration, reminiscing on watching their fashion shows on Full Frontal. “I was amazed with the effect of what garments can do and how you can have a ‘moment’ with clothes,” says Etienne. Post fashion school, he studied under haute couture experts in Paris and Milan-based designer and pattern maker Shingo Sato.
Fast-forward a few years, and after a stint on Project Runway that landed him in the final seven, Etienne has designed for clients including Cardi B, Niecy Nash, and most recently, Beyoncé. He debuted his latest Collection #003 at New York Fashion Week, sponsored by Essence magazine, earlier this year. His line LEVENITY emphasizes the contrasting nature of modern women who are simultaneously strong yet soft. The coat Beyoncé wore, which actually inspired his current collection, Etienne describes as “the summary of [his] aesthetic.”
Can you tell us a little bit about your career trajectory?
“I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. My parents are from Haiti and they migrated here. I grew up in the church, and really that’s where I started with fashion. The church that I went to, we would have fashion shows and I was a part of creating the shows. The pastor would give us funds, and we would purchase things from, let’s say, H&M that were of a modest point of view because, you know, it’s a church. We would be our own models, and once the fashion show was over, we would donate the clothes. The organizer or the one who created the show asked who amongst us wants to go ahead and do their own clothes. I knew that I kind of wanted to do something because I would look at all these fashion shows and all that stuff, so I volunteered. My mom and I went to the Salvation Army and bought a couple of sports jackets and blazers—we would deconstruct them, add some fabrics to the lapel or to the pocket. We would make these paper-bag-waist skirts, which was in at the time. The response from the audience kind of made me feel like I could actually make this into something that could be more long-term.”
What would you describe as the aesthetic of your collection?
“Sophisticated and edgy are always the two words that pop up in my head, in terms of the type of clothes that I like to create. I love architectural lines. I love sophisticated structure. I love outerwear. I love wovens. I love sportswear and separates for a strong woman who has a nice, soft touch.”
Where did the name LEVENITY come from?
“So, my name is Venny Etienne. LEVENITY is really just a mixture of my name intertwined. It has all the letters of my name except the L. The L makes it feminine. It’s basically just saying who I am encoded in the brand.”
So Beyoncé’s stylist calls you and says she wants a coat. Where did you go from there?
“I submitted a couple of sketches to see where Zerina was in terms of what she wanted. She said she wanted something strong, something with an exaggeration, whether it’s the hips, the shoulder, the arm. I’m an ’80s baby—I love the ’80s. A strong shoulder is always great. Then it was time for me to source what fabrics. Zerina said something floral, something in the lavender field. It was hard because I’m sourcing here in Dallas. New York or L.A. are much more accessible in terms of choices, but I only had like, a week. This is how fashion is—you only have like, a couple of hours. There’s no excuses.
“When I was constructing it, I still was kind of shy in terms of how extended she wanted the shoulders, but then she was just saying, ‘No, we need it bigger.’ So I kept it bigger. That’s when I reached out to a good friend of mine, Garo, who was also on Project Runway. He is much more knowledgeable in terms of garments that have this understructure that’s outside of the normal figure. It took a total of 68 hours for me and my team to complete. Those hours in the beginning, I was up 48 of those hours—like, I didn’t sleep. I used two five-hour energy drinks. I was listening to Beyoncé the whole entire time, and it was good.”
The contrast of the purple and yellow in the coat’s design is so interesting:
“If I had to summarize my aesthetic, it’s that coat to [a] T. In the beginning, when I first started as a designer, I didn’t really understand the power of color. A lot of my collections, they’re almost all black. I didn’t want to delve into the color part of creating looks because I didn’t want to mess it up. Now, for the past two years, I’ve been playing with color. I’ve been playing with texture. This particular coat is like the summary of my aesthetic because it’s a strong shoulder, it’s a very flirty, feminine flounce bottom, and it’s a floral print, but whoever wears it still feels strong, still feels feminine.”
What did it mean to see Beyoncé in one of your pieces?
“Oh my gosh—I had a couple of crying moments, of course. Any designer would. I’m a Christian, so I’m a very firm believer in faith and seeing things through. We had to submit garments [for consideration], just like when Jason Wu was waiting to see who Michelle wore for the inauguration ball. He didn’t know if she was going to wear it, so he was just waiting. That was me, too. I’m pretty sure every designer experiences that. It was amazing to realize that they aired it—that’s when the tears just started flowing. If you look at any articles that I’ve always been on, when someone asks who is the person that you want to dress, it was always Beyoncé. Always Beyoncé.”
How did your time on Project Runway prepare you for your current experiences?
“Project Runway was definitely a learning process for me. It was also amazing. The reason I loved it so much was because it showed me discipline. It showed me how I could really push myself. When you think you have all the time in the world, you use all the time in the world. But when you don’t have all the time in the world, you’ve got to get shit done. I really loved the relationships that I was able to get from the show. So me and Elaine, if ever I need advice or if I need to reach out to someone, she’ll sometimes even help me and reach out to that person for me. Brandon Maxwell, we communicate. Also, all of the contestants, we have this group text where we always check in on each other. It’s just great to have that support system, especially in this industry where it’s kind of hard because everyone’s busy trying to get there, you know, that we could have this little family.”