Watch: Did This Reporter Just Blame Haiti's Deforestation on Tree-Eating Starving Children?

“They take all the trees down, they burn the trees,” Delgado said. “Even the kids there, they’re so hungry they actually eat the trees.”Needless to say, it did not take long for many people to come forward and demand an apology for the insensitive comments.Haiti is known for being extremely impoverished, but that does not mean that generalizations about the people can be so confidently made (and on national television, no less). After all, there is only one Lorax, and Jennifer Delgado does not speak for the trees.http://https://youtu.be/JZbRIcYqL5o

Haiti corruption, drug trafficking: Former leader banned from leaving country

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Former Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide and several of his former allies have been banned from leaving the Haitian territory as part of a criminal inquiry into serious cases of corruption, misappropriation of public funds and drug trafficking from 2001 to 2004, as several dozen have been summoned to appear for questioning in the Caribbean country, HCNN has learned.Nearly 40 people, many of them linked to the Aristide Foundation for Democracy from 2001 and 2004, have been summoned to appear before investigating judge Lamarre Belizaire who banned the suspects and persons of interest from traveling abroad, according to officials familiar with the issue at the Immigration Office.The judge’s ruling, banning several dozen people from leaving the country, was issued on August 4, 2014 and would not personally include former president Aristide, even though he is considered the main suspect in the ongoing criminal investigation.The list includes former director of Aristide Foundation for Democracy, Mirlande Libérus Pavert, Marie Carmel Latouche, former Finance Minister Faubert Gustave, former Palace security Chief Jean Nesly Lucien, for Prime minister Yvon Neptune, former security Chief Oriel Jean, former Aristide’s close ally Ginette Céant.“It is at the same time sad and amazing to see how much money Aristide and his allies have stolen from the State treasury and the scheme they used to dilapidate the funds,” an independent administrative investigator, who worked on the case in 2005, told the Haitian-Caribbean News Network (HCNN).Several suspects and persons of interests in the case will be heard by judge Belizaire, on Thursday, while Oriel Jean was interrogated on Wednesday afternoon.Huge sums of money extracted from the State treasury have been embezzled through the Aristide Foundation for Democracy and figureheads and other bogus organizations allegedly set up by Aristide and his allies to misappropriate public funds, according to documents produced by the Financial and Economic intelligence Unit, known by its French acronym UCREF, and other reports.“We are talking about huge, but very huge sums of money transferred to fake commercial enterprises and other organizations for services that were delivered and also huge sums transferred to correspondents abroad,” stated the investigator who spoke to HCNN on condition of anonymity.He explained his shock and that of other colleagues of his when they first found out about the facts.“Of course, as professionals we did our work with all the serenity necessary, but as citizens we were so shocked to discover what we found out,” reported the investigator who said he once was sympathetic with Aristide for the inspiration and the hope the former leader created when he first came in power in 1991.Aristide, through his private secretariat at the presidential Palace, would have transferred most of the funds through bank accounts hosted at the Popular Bank of Haiti (Banque Populaire Haitienne, BPH), under the leadership of bank general manager, Rodnée Deschineau, who acknowledged many of the accusations during a hearing with Administrative investigators, according to documented testimonies.Then the money would have landed on the bank accounts of fake enterprises such as Se pa’n Provisions Alimentaires, Quiskeya store, a so-called VGLS company, Socol S.A., COCSOBFO, all linked to the Aristide Foundation which had also directly received significant amounts, according to an official administrative report“I was never involved with partisan politics, but when president Aristide first came in power, I was still a student and I saw my image in him when I consider where he came from to get where he was,” he stated. “Probably, that is why my shock was even greater,” he added.Several of the people targeted by the investigation and concerned by judge Belizaire’s conservatory measures are no longer living in Haiti. That is the case for Mirlande Libérus Pavert who is living in Florida.Judge Belizaire has refused to answer questions or to comment about the case for “legal and ethical reasons”, but HCNN has confirmed with judicial sources that accusations against Aristide have been very well documented and that administrative investigations conducted years ago show concrete evidence of misappropriation of public funds and money laundering.The investigation started in 2005, following the ouster, in Feb. 2004, of Aristide who was inaugurated in 2001 for a second five-year presidential term, after serving as president in 1991 before being toppled on September 30, which had marked his 7th month in office.A new anti-corruption law, pushed by Prime minister Laurent Lamothe and solemnly promulgated by president Michel Martelly, was passed earlier this year to toughen punitive measures against those in the public administration and others found guilty of corrupt practices.

Haiti has Deposits of Gold and Copper and a whole lot MORE, experts say

According to mining experts from South Africa, Haiti has significant deposits of gold, copper, manganese, nickel, silver, bauxite, platinum and more... A map of mineral deposits has been submitted to the Government of Haiti...

Experts from the South African public company, Council for Geoscience have, over the last 6 months, assessed Haiti's mineral potential. The first map of occurrences and metal deposits in Haiti was recently submitted to the Haitian authorities who plan to adopt new measures to modernize the Haitian mining sector.

Geologist Booz Walemba indicates that in the momentum of exploration Haiti should start producing gold and copper and other ores in the coming years. Gold ore, copper and manganese are the most important, he insists.

The most important deposits are listed in several departments. The North East contains gold and silver, some regions in the Plateau Central contain copper, gold and zinc. In the south are mainly nickel and bauxite.

He reveals that his company discovered spectral signatures that are conducive to mineralization in other parts of the country. These deposits are not visible but are buried deep, he said.

American Airlines Flights to Cap-Haitien Haiti begins October 2014

Haiti Tourism Minister announced last month during Gouvenman Lakay ou Miami that American Airlines would begin Flights to Cap Haitien Haiti in October... on 28 July 2014, American Airlines issued a Press release to confirm that AA Flights between Miami International Airport (MIA) and Cap-Haitien, Haiti (CAP) officially begins 02 Oct 2014...

This is wonderful news for all Haitians in Northern Haiti who had to travel all the way to Port-au-Prince in order to catch a flight to Miami...

In the press release, Art Torno, American Airlines senior vice president for Mexico, Caribbean and Latin America says...

"We have proudly served Haiti for more than 40 years and believe this new service is important not only for our customers, but also as an important catalyst to develop the north coast and open up this historically significant destination"

Haiti Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe says...

"We are thrilled that American Airlines has decided to launch the first nonstop service from the United States to Cap-Haitien. This new route represents a tremendous opportunity for significant economic impact for our country by connecting Miami directly to the second city of Haiti."

Here is the Daily MIA-CAP American Airline Flight Schedule (all times local):

AA 1632 Departs MIA at 9:50 a.m. ET, Arrives at CAP at 11:50 a.m. ET

AA 1659 Departs CAP at 2 p.m. ET, Arrives at MIA at 3:59 p.m. ET

New York Eye Doctors Bring Free Eye Care to Jacmel

By Haitian Times  Sight Keepers International (SKI), a Long Island nonprofit that provides eye care services in developing countries, partnered with the Health Care Ministry to bring eye care services to residents of Jacmel.From June 29 to July 26, a team of ophthalmologists will travel to Majj Ecole Primaire Mixte de Grande Savanne in Jacmel to provide free examinations, glaucoma screenings, and dispense eye medications to local residents.“While many relief agencies provide medical care in Haiti, eye care is often overlooked,” Dr. Wisly G. Augustin a Brooklyn ophthalmologist and SKI’s president and founder, said. “SKI is excited to fill that void.”According to the Global Eye Project, a nonprofit that works to educate people about eye care and preventative measures, Haiti has roughly 50 ophthalmologists for a country of 10 million – that works out to about 1 eye doctor for every 200,000 people.“As an ophthalmologist and eye surgeon from Brooklyn, where so many of us Haitians live, I was among a group of early responders who travelled to Haiti immediately after the earthquake,” Augustin said. “I was alarmed that survivors who sustained eye injuries were receiving negligible attention because eye care services were not available.”The ophthalmologists will also distribute free eyeglasses, which they collected during a campaign earlier this year. The campaign, which launched on Haitian Flag Day, was held at Erasmus High School in Brooklyn.“We’re grateful to everyone who contributed to making this mission possible,” Augustin said. “We anticipate an even more productive humanitarian mission in Haiti.”

Haiti - Kidnapping Becoming a Thing of the Past

Great News... Kidnapping is at an all time LOW in Haiti - A couple of years ago, kidnapping was Haiti's last name... Nowadays there are more FAKE kidnappings reported in Haiti (people who pretend to be kidnapped then turn around and defraud family members in the diaspora asking them to send money to pay ransom) than the real thing, according the latest news reports from Haiti...Haiti's police is taking all the credit for this VERY steep decline in kidnapping cases. According to Haitian Police Chief Godson Orelus there was only 5 cases of kidnapping reported in Haiti from January to June 2014... Compare that to 44 cases reported for same period last year...You're probably reading this saying "Oh yeahhh... I haven't heard about that in a while!" and you're right... LOL...Haiti Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe made very it clear in a video reportage I saw on youtube recently that this government does not mess around with kidnappers... although... If you speak to Haiti senator Moise Jean Charles, he will tell you something completely different LOL...I guess the figures speak for themselves... Don't you think so?The good news is, Kidnapping in Haiti has dropped significantly, so much so that you hardly hear about it anymore... Right or Wrong?May the government and the Haitian police continue the work they are doing so that Haitians, Diasporas, and Tourists can feel safe... That will definitely bring more money into the country.What do you think about that?Reply with your comments

Bad News - 18yr Old Haitian-American Tennis Player Victoria "Vicky" Duval diagnosed with Cancer

Shocking news for Haitians and the world of Tennis... 18-year-old Haitian-American Victoria Duval has been diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma, a cancer originating from white blood cells...Duval learned the news of her diagnosis after her first round win in the qualifying draw at Wimbledon, .tennisworldusa.org reports, but continued to play on, winning 2 more matches in qualifying and one match in the main draw.Vicky Duval stunned the world back in 2013 at the US Open when she beat Tennis champion Samantha Stosur.Also read: TENNIS - 17yr Old Haitian Girl Victoria Duval wins BIG at the 2013 US Open!There is a little bit of good news though... According to a statement released by her agent, the cancer was caught in a very early stage and Duval "will undergo treatment right away and due to her overall good health and isolation of the cancer, the prognosis is a full recovery in a few months.Duval learned the news of her diagnosis after her first round win in the qualifying draw at Wimbledon but continued to play on, winning 2 more matches in qualifying and one match in the main draw.Pray for her will you...What do you think about this?

Son of Haitian lawyer Osner Fevry found Dead in Haiti

Osner Fevry Jr., the son of reputed Haiti layer Osner Fevry was found dead not far from his home Tuesday 01 July 2014 in Kenscoff Haiti.His body was found with a bullet wound to the head and a gun was found next to the body.Police are saying it looks like a suicide but family members do not think so.What do you think about this?Reply with your comments

Refrigeration in Haiti - Why do Haitians in Haiti simply hate leftover refrigerated food?

In America, Haitians in the Diaspora call leftover food "YESTERDAY" but in Haiti they call it "Manje Dòmi." Nobody wants to eat manje dòmi... I have a cousin who likes his water freezing cold but he will not eat any food if it spends one night in the refrigerator... Why is that so?"Manje a gen gou fwèt," (the food taste cold) he says with his funny smile, "li ban-m dòmi nan je" (it makes me sleepy)But wait... there is a Microwave in the house but NO WAY will he use that... "Bagay saa bay cancer," he says... LOL...Most Haitians households in Haiti cook every day... Every single day... and none of that food gets stored away for another day.To many Haitians, even those in the Diaspora, this is normal. BUT... an Italian-American man once told me that's what refrigeration is for..."Once upon a time in America, we had housewives," he said. "my these days are long gone. Thank God for refrigeration."What do you think about that?You think Haitian men in Haiti will ever get used to eating some "Yesterday?"

Haitians Start Online Petition against Digicel action to Block VoIP services like Viber, Tango and Nimbuzz

Many Digicel Haiti mobile customers are upset over the company's decision to block Voice over IP (VoIP) trafic to services like Viber, Tango and Nimbuzz. One customer has started an online petition. Over 400 people have already signed the petition which spreading quicky via social media...The petition, translated from French, says:Following the decision of the Digicel to block the use of VOIP applications on the grounds that they are unlicensed.Me being a consumer, user and supporter of free software and applications for digital media such as: Computers, tablets, phones etc ... I run this petition to say no to this arbitrary decision.The message is clear,"No blocking of free apps, we pay for internet data, we have the right to use them as we see fit, with applications that make us happy. It is not up to Digicel to impose on us what we must do."See the Petition here...

UNESCO sending Experts in Haiti to Check Possible Columbus Ship

A team of experts from UNESCO will examine a site off northern Haiti that an explorer believes may be the wreckage of the Santa Maria, the U.N. cultural agency said Monday.Also read: Shipwreck found off Haiti Coast may be Christopher Columbus' flagship Santa MariaUNESCO officials said the technical team will explore the site in the coming months at the request of the government of Haiti, which is seeking assistance to preserve the possible wreckage of Christopher Columbus' flagship vessel.Also read: The Very First Spanish Settlenemt in the New World was near Caracol Haiti!U.S. undersea explorer Barry Clifford said in May that he believes he found the Santa Maria near present day Cap-Haitien based in part on the location of the remaining material and Columbus' diaries, but experts have expressed caution.Read more from abcnews.com]

News Flash: Sean Penn "Haiti Is on the Upswing"

The country has made tremendous progress, but needs more support to defeat cholera and homelessness.By SEAN PENN The rains have come to the Caribbean and hurricane season is upon us. But for the first time in four years, the nearly 60,000 people who sought refuge on the Petionville Club golf course after the earthquake are now under solid roofs in safer homes.Our team at J/P Haitian Relief Organization continues to support these families as they rebuild resilient, sustainable and self-sufficient communities. Elsewhere in Haiti, Doctors Without Borders has brought health care to the most remote areas of the country, and the Haitian government has developed new building codes as part of a national housing policy.Port-au-Prince, the capital city, has made remarkable progress. Nearly all of the 10 million cubic meters of rubble that buried the city have been cleared from the streets. More than 90% of the almost two million people left homeless have moved from tent camps to more permanent housing.Haiti’s economy is among the fastest-growing in the Caribbean, as the government continues to make economic development a priority. Hundreds of kilometers of roads are now paved, thousands of homes built and tens of thousands of damaged homes repaired or retrofitted. Crime rates have dropped, and in May 2011, one political party transferred power to another peacefully after an election for the first time in modern history.The people of Haiti have come a long way, which may shock those who watch the news. Headlines continue to spin Haiti as a dark, poverty-entrenched no-man’s-land. Even on the left, efforts at economic development have been portrayed as colonization by corporations or occupation by a foreign force.Such cynicism sells papers and entices people to click, but at the cost of Haitian lives. This coverage scares away would-be investors, hindering economic development and reinforcing prejudices that Haiti is beyond help. And those who work every day to overcome the country’s challenges become gun-shy about discussing the real challenges, fearing that they will perpetuate the negative stereotypes and invite even more criticism.This is tragic, because there are two urgent problems that need to be addressed: postearthquake homelessness and cholera.Less than 10% of those initially displaced remain in camps, but that’s still almost 140,000 people—a big number that when taken out of context makes Haiti’s recovery so easy to criticize. Rather than cynicism and apathy, these families need help to leave the camps, find safe homes and return to a normal life.At J/P HRO, we intend to ensure that each of these families makes it home. In partnership with the Haitian government and other organizations such as the International Organization of Migration and the Red Cross, we have helped develop a successful conditional cash transfer program. It gives displaced families the money they need to move out of the camps, while also injecting much-needed capital into the local economy. We’ve come so far, but flagging financial support is preventing the remaining families from returning home. They should not have to endure the deluge of another hurricane season homeless.Haiti also is suffering the largest cholera epidemic in the world. Death from this bacterial infection is preventable, and with soap and safe water, infection is avoidable. Nevertheless, many in Haiti play down cholera for fear of scaring away tourists and deterring economic investment. Yet Kenya, India, Thailand and China also are fighting cholera. None of these countries is forced to bear the stigma Haiti endures.To eradicate this disease, Haiti needs international support. We support a two-pronged approach, which Haiti’s government has already begun implementing. In the short-term, health education, vaccinations and treatment supplies can prevent further deaths. In the long-term, the country needs assistance to strengthen its health-care system and build better sanitation infrastructure. All organizations on the ground will have to coordinate their efforts with the government and international institutions. None of us can do it alone.Cholera has already spread to the Dominican Republic and Cuba. If the epidemic is not stopped it will spread to the rest of the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and beyond. The only thing we have to fear from cholera in Haiti is the tragic consequences of our own inaction.Haiti has made tremendous progress after one of the greatest natural disasters in history, but there’s still a long road ahead. In collaboration with local and national government leaders, other international NGOs, U.N. agencies, donors and the community members themselves, the team at J/P HRO will continue to fulfill our mission of “saving lives and building sustainable programs with the Haitian people quickly and effectively.”And with continued support and investment, our resourceful and inspiring neighbors in Haiti will overcome post-earthquake homelessness and cholera. With more help, they will soon be prospering on their gorgeous tropical island just 90 minutes from Miami.Mr. Penn is an actor, director and the founder of J/P Haitian Relief Organization.

Bipartisan Leaders Urge Expedited Haitian Family Reunification

 By Haitian Times President Barack Obama received three new pleas for the Department of Homeland Security to create a Haitian Family Reunification Parole Program (FRPP) to speed entry into the United States of nearly 110,000 beneficiaries of DHS-approved family-based visa petitions who remain on wait lists of up to over 12 years in Haiti.Democrat Alcee Hastings and Republican Mario Diaz-Balart co-sponsored a May 30 letter to the President signed by 63 members of the U.S. House of Representatives urging him to create this program “to save lives and accelerate Haiti’s recovery efforts.” Signatories included Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, former Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, seven of her Foreign Affairs committee colleagues, Immigration subcommittee ranking member Zoe Lofgren and three subcommittee colleagues, the entire South Florida congressional delegation and many others. The letter cites dire conditions including the ongoing deadly cholera outbreak and “what the U.S. Coast Guard knows all too well. Desperate Haitians are increasingly abandoned and dying at sea as they resort to smugglers to cross perilous routes… including the notoriously treacherous 80-mile-wide Mona Passage strait toward Puerto Rico.”“Creating a Haitian Family Reunification Parole Program would not only save lives and reunite families, but empower individuals to actively assist in Haiti’s recovery. Haitians remit about $2 billion annually, mostly from the diaspora in the United States, and Haitian parolees would be able to obtain work permits and send much-needed remittances back to Haiti.”The letter urges the President “to put an end to the indefinite waiting lists as soon as possible” through the creation of this program.In his May 31 South Florida Sun-Sentinel op-ed, “Create plan for Haitians equal to one for Cubans,” Archbishop Thomas G.Wenski of Miami also urged immediate creation of a Haitian FRPP. Citing the years-long wait periods for Haitians as an example of a broken system, he noted not only conditions in Haiti but the direct precedent of the Cuban FRPP created by DHS in 2007 under which tens of thousands have entered the United States.And on April 28, Congressional Black Caucus members U.S. Reps. Frederica Wilson, Yvette Clarke, Maxine Waters, Barbara Lee and John Conyers wrote President Obama urging immediate creation of a Haitian FRPP to “provide a lifeline to Haiti’s economy and reunite tens of thousands of Haitian families.”They called its creation “well rooted in need, precedent, and … critical for Haiti’s economic development. Creation of a Haitian FRPP, similar to that previously established for Cubans, would immediately boost Haiti’s economy, bolster the international effort to create sustainable growth in Haiti, and reunite tens of thousands of Haitian-Americans with family members already approved by [DHS].”“We respectfully request a meeting with you to discuss this much-needed action,” they urged the President. “The creation of a Haitian Family Reunification Parole Program is an executive action that would have strong support from members of Congress, other elected officials throughout our nation, non-profit organizations, and millions of American citizens. Congressional colleagues have joined us in sending letters to your Administration urging the creation of this program.”

United Nations Secretary General Sued Over Cholera Outbreak

 In the aftermath of the January 2010 earthquake nearly 9,000 Haitians died from a cholera outbreak that hit the already devastated country. After months of speculation,  the general consensus was that the source of the outbreak was the very body of people that were supposed to be helping the small island nation–the United  Nations (UN) peacekeepers.In an unprecedented move, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was served on June 20 with court papers as he entered an event at the Asia society in midtown Manhattan.  The complaint,  which is a part of a Brooklyn federal lawsuit, was filed against Ki-moon and the UN over the cholera outbreak that killed thousands of Haitians.“This is a significant development in the fight to hold the United Nations responsible for the tragic events in Haiti,” said Stanley Alpert, an attorney representing more than 1,500 Haitian plaintiffs who filed suit against Ki-Moon and the UN. They are seeking compensation for victims and for the UN to bring critical sanitation systems to devastated Haitian communities.Ban Ki-Moon, Credit: United Nations“The United Nations now must directly respond to the fact that they have repeatedly waived immunity for their actions in Haiti,” said Tim Howard, another lead attorney for the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs’ lawyers cite a statement made by the UN  in a 1996 report that implies the “assumption of liability is not a new concept for the UN.”According to the UN secretary general’s 1996  Report of the Secretary-General, Administrative and Budgetary Aspects of Financing of  United Nations Peacekeeping Operations,  the UN assumes “liability for damage caused by members of its forces in the performance of their duties.”“The UN explicitly agreed to set up a compensation process when they entered Haiti,” said Howard.”They now must face a U.S. federal judge and explain why they feel they are immune from fulfilling that agreed-upon responsibility.”The plaintiffs argue the UN failed to adequately screen troops headed for Haiti after the earthquake; and  failed to engage in “sanitary practices of waste disposal.”“Silence is the worst weapon,”Gustavo Gallon, a United Nations’ independent expert on human rights, said. “The UN must take responsibility and “fully compensate victims.”By Vania André

Jimmy Jean-Louis Joins the Cast of “Extant” on CBS for Multi-Episode Arc

By Haitian Times Jimmy Jean-Louis has been cast on the new CBS sci-fi thriller, Extant. The actor, known for his role as “The Haitian” on the hit TV series Heroes will play astronaut Pierre Lyon, alongside Academy Award-winner Halle Berry, who starts an astronaut attempting to reconnect with her family.The highly-anticipated series is about astronaut Molly Watts (Berry), who returns from a year-long solo space mission, and attempts to reconnect with her husband and son in their everyday life. Produced by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television and CBS Television Studios, Extant is scheduled to premiere Wednesday, July 9 on CBS. The show also stars also stars Goran Visnjic and Pierce Gagnon as Berry’s husband and son.Jean-Louis garnered critical acclaim starring in Philippe Niang’s Toussaint Louverture, a film about the 18th century leader of the Haitian Revolution, who changed the course of history.Jean-Louis starred in the popular NBC show Heroes and more recently, Arrow (CW). His film credits include Tears of the Sun with Bruce Willis and Monster in Law with Jane Fonda and Jennifer Lopez. He also co-starred with Academy Award-winner Mo’Nique in the movie Phat Girlz. Jimmy Jean-Louis is the founder and President of Hollywood Unites for Haiti, a non-profit organization established in 2008 to help the underprivileged youth of Haiti. 

Twelve-year-old Brooklyn Girl Dead After Hit-and-Run

By Haitian Times A twelve-year-old Haitian-American Brooklyn girl is dead after she was rundown by a hit-and-run driver. Joie Sellers was standing at a bus stop on Flatlands Avenue with her mother Marcia Landais and sister Charli, when they were struck by Robert DeCarlo on July 2.Robert DeCarlo Credit: NYPDSellers and her mother were walking to the bus stop to pick up Charli, who was on her way home from summer camp on Long Island, Ronald Pierre, Landais’ cousin said. DeCarlo, 26, was behind the wheels of a stolen 2005 Dodge Caravan when the vehicle jumped the sidewalk hitting Sellers, her mother, 38, and sister Charlie, 9, shortly before 5 p.m. last Wednesday. The incident took place on Flatlands Avenue near East 46th Street. After the crash, DeCarlo fled on foot while onlookers followed questioning him.Credit: Joie Sellers performs in The Nutcracker 2013 Frederick PiccarelloAll three were rushed to Kings County Hospital where Sellers was pronounced dead. Charli and Landais are in critical, but stable condition, according to hospital officials. Charli, who’s been transferred to New York-Presbyterian/Columbia hospital in Manhattan, is unaware that her sister is dead, Pierre said.DeCarlo was apprehended the following day, July 3, on Kings Highway, according to the NYPD. He is charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, assault, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and in injury, grand larceny, reckless endangerment and unauthorized use of a vehicle. He also received citations for speeding and running a red light.He expressed remorse for the fatal hit-and-run.“As a man, as a human being, I’d like to say, ‘I’m sorry,’ ” DeCarlo said to the Daily News. “I took a life. I have to pay for that. I have to pay for a life.”DeCarlo made an initial court appearance on Thursday night and is being held without bail.

Haiti slum blooms into urban oasis

Written byThe Guardian  "Plant moringa; harvest community harmony" could be a good motto for Jaden Tap Tap, a green oasis in the tough, garbage-strewn eyesore that is Cité Soleil. The slum, in the north of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, is often described as the one of the most dangerous in the western hemisphere.The Jaden Tap Tap, with its rows of quick-growing, nutritious moringa, known as the Tree of Life, is a community garden. Walking in from the sunbaked wasteland that is Cité Soleil, it is noticeably cooler. Like a leafy cocoon, it provides a shield from the harsh reality of life outside its walls. Its name is Haitian Creole for Garden Taxi – tap taps are the distinctive, brightly painted vehicles that ply the roads of Port-au-Prince.The garden was created three years ago by three men with a dream, but without any official backing or even enough money for an irrigation pump. They still do not have a pump and the authorities allegedly remain uninterested in the project and its potential, but Daniel Tillias, Jaden Tap Tap's director, is philosophical."Making a garden is about more than cultivating plants, it's about cultivating people," he says, quoting the late Japanese philosopher Masanobu Fukuoka, famous for his book The One Straw Revolution.Tillias, Herode Gary Laurent and Franz Francois, all of whom grew up in Cité Soleil, laid the first seeds in the garden on a couple of acres of landfill.Tillias says the history of the land they started to till is symbolic of some of Haiti's political turmoil. "People say that some wealthy businessmen abandoned the T-shirt factories that were here. People from Cité Soleil destroyed and ransacked everything after the overthrow of [President] Aristide in 2004. It became a landfill and the place in the neighbourhood where killings would happen."From the outset, the garden recycled decorated urban waste, with brightly painted tyres used for pots, for example. Also crucial was the willing labour of people who live in the tent camp across the road.They straggle across, tilling and planting in the quiet green space, eventually harvesting the vegetables for the family cookpot, sharing fairly and equitably. They take home seeds and plants, and start container gardens. For them, it's a chance to leave behind, even if briefly, the stifling reality of their lives in the plastic tents."I love to come here. It's a pretty space for the community," says Joseph Fanie, an elderly lady who appeared in the garden, hoe in hand, with other Cité Soleil residents. "I've started my own garden," she says proudly.It is proof, if any were needed, of the powerful example set by the Jaden Tap Tap, Haiti's largest urban garden with aspirations to link up with American urban agriculturist Will Allen's Growing Power movement."We want to give the people of Cité Soleil a model of success. Something to do. And something to eat too," says Tillias. The garden's abundant produce is shared by the community in an ad hoc but honourable fashion. There are 20 types of vegetables and herbs – aubergine, peppers, chard, radishes, potatoes, parsley and basil. And there is the moringa tree, its leaves rich in protein and vitamins, which poor Haitians add to juices, soups, cornmeal and rice. The Jaden Tap Tap shows that "something positive can come out of Cité Soleil", says Tillias.It is a bold statement. The neighbourhood, which is mostly hardscrabble land, with plastic tent camps as far as the eye can see, is routinely on every diplomatic mission's red zone or no-go list."We're trying to turn it from a red zone to yellow and then green," say Jaden Tap Tap's creators, pointing to at least 25 smaller copycat gardens that have sprung up in the slum.Next to the garden is Sakala, a youth group that teaches peace and development initiatives using basketball. Young children from Fraternité, a church primary school next to Jaden Tap Tap, use the oasis to learn how to grow the future.In the sewage-littered surrounds of Cité Soleil, the moringa forest is still just spindly rows of 10ft tall trees. "But they will grow to 20ft and they are a huge resource. Really the Tree of Life," says Tillias. "Almost every part is of some use to man or animal."Part of the garden is a moringa nursery and people are encouraged to grow a mini forest in an old tyre. "You don't need space to garden, we tell people, you just need to want to," says Tillias.

Haiti Elections in Doubt as Ex-Presidents Stir Pot

Written byRANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD (NEW YORK TIMES)PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — When he returned to Haiti from exile three years ago, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the former priest turned president turned deposed president, promised to stay out of politics. Yet the political party he founded and continues to inspire has routinely sent thousands of people into the streets to protest the current government, demanding the resignation of the prime minister.When the former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier returned from exile a few months before Mr. Aristide, he kept largely to night spots and defending himself against an investigation into human rights atrocities during his rule. Yet not long ago he showed up in a seaside village to inaugurate a new political party that, however small, got a lot of people talking.And the current president, Michel Martelly, remains locked in a standoff with political opponents over long-overdue elections, attracting waves of international dignitaries in recent weeks to try to defuse a crisis that could leave the coup-prone country without a parliament and with a president ruling by decree, an ominous echo of its autocratic past.The story of the delayed reconstruction of Haiti after the January 2010 earthquake is largely one of unmet pledges of billions of dollars in aid from the international community. But the simmering, uncertain politics that perennially push the country to the brink of instability — and sometimes over it — have taken a more hidden toll, thwarting the kind of private investment vital to long-term development and improving its image, and laying bare yet again the fragility of democracy here.“It’s a constant frustration to see Haitian leaders more interested in fighting each other than coming together to work together for the future of Haiti,” said Robert Maguire, a George Washington University scholar and longtime observer of Haiti politics. “Opportunities are being squandered in Haiti, right when it needs them more than ever, because the politics are so polarized.”Mark L. Schneider, a Haiti expert at the International Crisis Group, an independent organization that analyzes conflict zones, said many investors who have expressed interest in Haiti have not followed through in part because of the unsettled politics, unfulfilled changes to business law to ease investment, and weak institutions.“People are just holding their breath,” Mr. Schneider said. “Until the political uncertainty is resolved, a lot of people do not want to invest.”Mr. Martelly and Parliament cannot agree on how municipal and legislative elections intended for October would be run. Without the election, Parliament could be dissolved in January, throwing the country into political chaos.Even if the election could be pulled off, things could get unwieldy: Two-thirds of the 30-member Senate, all 99 seats in the lower chamber and hundreds of municipal offices would be at stake.Both sides blame the other for intransigence. Mr. Martelly, his opponents say, has always wanted to rule by decree and so until recently, facing tremendous international pressure — including an Oval Office urging by President Obama — he has dragged his feet on negotiating for elections. Martelly supporters counter that members of Parliament have stalled because they wanted to extend their terms and weaken the president ahead of the presidential election in 2015.Mr. Martelly, who has made little secret of his disdain for Congress, is now attempting to push forward with the elections by naming his own council to run them, including last month appointing a Duvalier friend and lawyer to the panel, drawing new fire from opponents worried about the influence of the old dictator.Although a handful of new hotels have opened or are under construction, a few new garment and other industrial factories have opened, and, officials assert, crime has dropped, there is a sense that Haiti’s redevelopment should be farther along.Electricity still comes and goes, roads remain choked and potholed, refuse clogs drainage canals and 137,000 people remain in encampments — though that’s down from 1.5 million after the earthquake.On the streets people complain that the halting rebuilding has not done enough to narrow the deep chasm of inequality that has long bedeviled the country and often stirred political dissent.“In the media they say they are doing this and that, but not around here — it is all the same,” said Jean Lucknef, 38, an unemployed laborer in the Fort National neighborhood, one of the hardest hit in the quake. “No matter who is elected it is all the same. The government was supposed to create jobs, and we have none while we all have children to worry about.”He swept his hand around a group of idle young men, some smoking marijuana, who admitted they have participated in protests but denied, as some Martelly supporters have said, that they were paid to do so.“We want the change that we were promised,” said one, who declined to give his name out of fear of reprisals from the police.Mr. Martelly met last week with members of the Senate to reach a new compromise for elections, but talks ended without an agreement.Haiti’s newly appointed Cardinal Chibly Langlois had mediated a previous agreement to hold the elections, but it has not been ratified by the Senate because six members refuse to sit, denying a quorum for the vote.As part of that agreement, reached among some 50 political parties but boycotted by some of the largest Martelly opponents, Mr. Martelly’s prime minister, Laurent Lamothe, agreed to shake up the cabinet — the third one in two years — in a bid for more openness with the opposition. Haitian journalists, however, could find few if any dissident voices among the new appointees.Mr. Aristide’s Fanmi Lavalas party was conspicuously absent from the agreement.The party has splintered over internal disagreements since the return of Mr. Aristide, a touchstone figure of the left here and abroad who ushered in Haiti’s first democratic elections in 1991 in a coup-interrupted first term but left on an American military airplane in his second term in 2004 as dissent threatened to topple him.Maryse Narcisse, the party’s coordinator and a potential candidate for president, said Mr. Aristide, who did not respond to an interview request, remains the “charismatic leader” of the party and offers advice as someone who “has a lot of political experience,” but mainly focuses his time on his educational foundation. She denied the party was sowing chaos but instead, like a smattering of lesser-known parties protesting in the streets, was exercising its right to hold the government accountable.“Lavalas will continue to mobilize with the people of Haiti,” she said.Less certain is what Mr. Duvalier is up to. Several people with ties to his regime have served in the Martelly administration or advised it, and his sudden, if fleeting, reappearance on the political stage was seen among analysts as a tweak to Mr. Aristide, a bitter enemy and political opposite.Amid all the uncertainty, an array of international leaders — including ambassadors, former world leaders and members of the United States Congress — have visited Haiti in recent weeks to push for the elections and avert a worsening of the crisis.The lack of elections this year “would engender yet another political crisis, with unpredictable consequences for the future of Haitian democracy,” said a statement by the United Nations and the Core Group of ambassadors from the United States, France, Canada and other primary supporters of Haiti.The stalemate could go on. The president of the Senate, Simon Desras, has not sounded conciliatory, publicly accusing Mr. Martelly and Mr. Lamothe of violating the Constitution at best, corruption at worst. He has not pushed a vote on the accord because, he said, it is unconstitutional.“It is the dream of the government to rule by decree,” he said in an interview. “They don’t see the danger in the streets, that many senators and members of Congress could become militants. The country would plunge into chaos if there are no elections.”

Dominican Republic President signs bill paving way for citizenship for Haitians

The following editorial appeared in the Miami Herald on Friday, May 30:The plight of Haitians who sail hundreds of miles to try to enter South Florida is well-known.Unlike Cuban refugees who have the protection of the Adjustment Act of 1966 or the wet-foot-dry-foot policy, Haitians who try to make it to the United States in pursuit of a better life are often turned back or deported. It's been as enduring a policy as it has been unfair.On the island of Hispaniola, which Creole-speaking Haiti shares with the Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic, the question of inequity is also in the forefront of an ugly immigration feud. South Florida has a dog in this fight because of the high number of Haitians and Dominicans who call this region home.It began in September when the Dominican Republic's highest judicial body issued a shocking ruling denying citizenship to generations of people born to Haitian parents living in the country. Those affected, a number placed in the tens of thousands, were in jeopardy of being left in citizenship limbo.In effect, the Dominican Republic had set a path for creating a large stateless population within its borders. The Constitutional Court's decree, which could not be appealed, would likely worsen already acrimonious relations between the Dominican Republic and Haiti.The ruling reached back to cover people born since 1929 - a category that overwhelmingly included Haitians who arrived in the Dominican Republic to work on farms, settled and then had children there.Now, an obvious injustice is slowly being corrected, thanks to D.R. President Danilo Medina and members of two legislative chambers who had worked to carve out a solution, one that, it is hoped, will help to improve the troubled relationship between the small, neighboring countries. Commend President Medina for introducing long-overdue fairness to the process.Advocacy groups did speak out, charging the high court's ruling was based on bigotry against predominantly black Haitians by largely racially mixed Dominicans, who have long feared being dragged down economically by their poor neighbors' problems.International eyebrows were raised. In March, Vice President Joe Biden was set to visit the Dominican Republic and urge Medina to find a resolution. Biden canceled his trip because of the crisis in Ukraine.Under the new, corrective legislation, the children of undocumented immigrants born in the Dominican Republic can register to acquire citizenship; in addition, Haitians living in the country can apply to enter a path for legal residency, provided they have no criminal record."This is progress, but the devil is in the details," University of Miami professor David Abraham, an immigration expert, told the Miami Herald Editorial Board. The Dominican Republic gets to decide who meets citizenship eligibility. He added the U.S.' interest in the issue is concern that Haitians unwelcome in the Dominican Republic will head to Florida.Nations have the right to decide who deserves citizenship, but the Dominican Republic could not absolve itself of moral responsibility by merely declaring that its constitution did not automatically give citizenship to those born there.For decades, Dominicans relied on that Haitian labor on sugarcane plantations to make their land profitable. To suddenly turn those workers and their descendants away was unjust, not to mention hypocritical.  The following editorial appeared in the Miami Herald on Friday, May 30:The plight of Haitians who sail hundreds of miles to try to enter South Florida is well-known.Unlike Cuban refugees who have the protection of the Adjustment Act of 1966 or the wet-foot-dry-foot policy, Haitians who try to make it to the United States in pursuit of a better life are often turned back or deported. It's been as enduring a policy as it has been unfair.On the island of Hispaniola, which Creole-speaking Haiti shares with the Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic, the question of inequity is also in the forefront of an ugly immigration feud. South Florida has a dog in this fight because of the high number of Haitians and Dominicans who call this region home.It began in September when the Dominican Republic's highest judicial body issued a shocking ruling denying citizenship to generations of people born to Haitian parents living in the country. Those affected, a number placed in the tens of thousands, were in jeopardy of being left in citizenship limbo.In effect, the Dominican Republic had set a path for creating a large stateless population within its borders. The Constitutional Court's decree, which could not be appealed, would likely worsen already acrimonious relations between the Dominican Republic and Haiti.The ruling reached back to cover people born since 1929 - a category that overwhelmingly included Haitians who arrived in the Dominican Republic to work on farms, settled and then had children there.Now, an obvious injustice is slowly being corrected, thanks to D.R. President Danilo Medina and members of two legislative chambers who had worked to carve out a solution, one that, it is hoped, will help to improve the troubled relationship between the small, neighboring countries. Commend President Medina for introducing long-overdue fairness to the process.Advocacy groups did speak out, charging the high court's ruling was based on bigotry against predominantly black Haitians by largely racially mixed Dominicans, who have long feared being dragged down economically by their poor neighbors' problems.International eyebrows were raised. In March, Vice President Joe Biden was set to visit the Dominican Republic and urge Medina to find a resolution. Biden canceled his trip because of the crisis in Ukraine.Under the new, corrective legislation, the children of undocumented immigrants born in the Dominican Republic can register to acquire citizenship; in addition, Haitians living in the country can apply to enter a path for legal residency, provided they have no criminal record."This is progress, but the devil is in the details," University of Miami professor David Abraham, an immigration expert, told the Miami Herald Editorial Board. The Dominican Republic gets to decide who meets citizenship eligibility. He added the U.S.' interest in the issue is concern that Haitians unwelcome in the Dominican Republic will head to Florida.Nations have the right to decide who deserves citizenship, but the Dominican Republic could not absolve itself of moral responsibility by merely declaring that its constitution did not automatically give citizenship to those born there.For decades, Dominicans relied on that Haitian labor on sugarcane plantations to make their land profitable. To suddenly turn those workers and their descendants away was unjust, not to mention hypocritical.

Haiti announces legislative elections for October

 The Haitian government Tuesday announced that legislative elections will be held in October, three years behind schedule amid a slow earthquake recovery process and gargantuan logistical woes.The election delay also has fueled the anti-government demonstrations which have rocked the Americas' poorest country.The first round of voting for 112 deputies and 20 senators is scheduled for October 26, a presidential spokesman said on national television. The date for the second round will be set by the electoral board.Thousands of people demonstrated in the streets of Port-au-Prince Tuesday calling for the resignation of President Michel Martelly and his chief of staff Laurent Lamothe, before police broke up the demonstration.Four years after a devastating January 2010 earthquake, the deeply impoverished nation is still struggling to recover from the widespread devastation that killed 250,000 people.The tragedy originally left about a million people homeless.Four years on, nearly 200,000 people are still living in dire conditions in temporary shelters, and residents complain of having received little help since most NGOs left the country. Donors pledged billions in aid, much of which has not materialized.