"LA TRANBLAY", documentary Film by Raynald Delerme

"LA TRANBLAY"

a documentary film by Raynald Delerme

on the devastating January 12, 2010 earthquake that hit Haïti.

Infos: 305-942-8348

To order: www.haiticinema.org

If one picture is worth 1000 words, how much are worth 1000 pictures?

 If one picture is worth 1000 words,
how much are worth 1000 pictures?

Click here

Pres Préval wins State of Emergency Amendment in Lower Chamber

The Lower Chamber of the Haitian Parliament ratified Thursday afternoon the bill to amend the State of Emergency Law.  

Before the vote more than a dozen opposition members including Steven Benedict Arcene Dieujuste, Fabien Ogline Ezra and another member had left the meeting to protest against the rejection of a proposal calling for the release of the report on the first emergency period. 

Prés Préval elaborates on the electoral process

Pres Préval warns of many problems coming up with the electoral process due to flaws in the constitution, according to him.

He mentions having tried to get necessary amendements passed to fix some of the problems but, later this year, he warns that we will all pay the consequences.

Prés René Préval explains, according to him, how it will go down.

Watch...

Passenger in French plane stops deportation of a Haitian

A passenger aboard a French plane took the defense of a Haitian in the process of being deported to Haïti, feet and hands bound.
 
The incident occured at Orly Airport on March 17, 2010 around 10h30  on CORSAIR SS flight 0866,  destination Pointe à Pitre via Fort de France.  Frank Alexander, a French citizen, heard screams and shuffling from the back of the airliner. 

Will Pres Préval leave office in 2011? Watch the answer.

Will President Preval leave office in 2011? If you ask the average Haitian to the most intellectual, the answer will probably be "no."

To put an end to all speculation, Pres Preval has his say in the matter.

Instead of us telling you, watch him instead and see what he says.

Haitian trying to get to USA goes to jail

The doors of America (the USA) has been wide open to accept from the January 12 earthquake that devasted Haiti and TPS has been granted to many who were in the US before the quake.  But not everyone gets a free pass.  Wisly Bejean, a Haitian living in Canada, was walking on an isolated farming road just south of the Canadian border when his journey into the United States abruptly ended.

Mr Bejean is charged with trying to enter the United States illegally and he is going to jail.

US Vice President Joe Biden in Little Haiti for Easter

The message was clear.

"I want to to reassure you that we're in this for the long haul.  This wasn't about just showing up to deal with the emergency that existed at the time. We realize just because the earthquake may have receded from the front pages, and I say to you that, we'll be here even when the crawler under the CNN news headline does not continue to mention Haiti, We are going to stay." 
Read on to watch video of VP Joe Biden in Little Haiti.

Two Haitians carried Jesus' cross in Rome this year

In Rome, Good Friday is marked each year by two specific events presided over by Pope: 
1.  The celebration of the Lord's Passion in the early evening in St. Peter's Basilica, 
2.  The path of the Cross Coliseum.  

This is called "The Via Crucis."

This year coincides with the anniversary of the death, 5 years ago to the day, of Pope John Paul II on April 2, 2005. 

Haïti brings the US & Cuba to the negociating table

The time is not recent at all when top officials from the US sat down with top officials from Cuba to talk about anything.

Well, Haïti made it happen.

The Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez met last Wednesday in New York, a high U.S. official to discuss reconstruction efforts in Haiti. 
 


The Minister met with Cheryl Mills (on the left), Chief Cabinet Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the international donors conference for Haiti, held at UN headquarters March 31, 2010. 
 


Pres Préval wants Parliament to change state of emergency law to 18 months

President René Préval has introduced new bill to Parliament that will allow government to spend without going through regular procedures that are watchdogs for possible corruptions by government officials.

President Préval wants politicians change the law of September 9, 2008 on the state of emergency in order to take into account a period of 18 months. 

 Presently, the September 9 act authorizes the use of state of emergency only for a period of 15 days.  It can be renewed but the government has to go back to the Parliament each and every time to request it and provide good reasons for it plus account for previous spendings.

Tough warning to Préval and the Haitian gvt from Jean Jean Roosevelt

Tough words are coming out of this new song from famous Haitian singer Jean Jean Roosevelt.

"Be careful this time, chief" he says.  "We will forget all the money that were meant for schools, hospitals, roads, etc, but that went elsewhere.

This time, don't touch the money that is destined for the children of Haiti in this reconstruction effort."

Haitian Movie Nights kicked off well at Little haiti Cultural Center last Sunday

Many movie fans came last Sunday not only to view the new movie by Producer/Director Raynald Delerme but also to discover this wonderful cultural center in Little Haiti that costs almost 20 million dollars.

The evening started with a stand-up comedy by Jean-Claude Joseph (Papa Pyè), one of Haiti's best comedian and actor.

Papa Pyè is the famous main character in the popular television sitcom "La Vi Nan Bouk", (Life on the Farm), back in the 80s at the National Television of Haiti.

Jean Claude Joseph is also one of the main characters in the movie "Dyab Baba".  The comedy show was followed by the projection of the movie which got repeated applauses and laughters from the audience from begining to end.

The presentation of this movie is part of an agreement between the Haitian American Association of Filmmakers and the Little Haiti Cultural Center to showcase Haitian films every week-ends in the state of the art, 270 seats, movie theater at the center,
starting April 4th, when "Dyab Baba" will play again.

This time, it will be the movie only,
playing at 4PM, 6PM and 8PM.

Haitian films will play after that every Saturdays
with 2 shows at 4PM and 6PM,
and Sundays with 3 shows at 4PM, 6PM and 8PM.

Admission will be $7.00 / $5.00 in advance.

Tickets are available at the Center.

Pres. Préval fights back at accusation of corruption by his government

The Head of State of Haiti René Préval dismissed with a wave of hand the findings of a report published last week by the U.S. State Department, Haiti ranked among the most corrupt countries.
"I do not pretend that there is no corruption in Haiti, but I do not accept that we say that government is corrupt, that is to say: The executive, Head of state, premiers and ministers. "Said the president returned from his trip to the United States and Dominica.
The President of the Republic of Haiti, René Préval, in an effort to gain international trust for the reconstruction of Haiti, denies accusations of corruption against his team and requires to be provided with evidence.
René Préval takes for example, expressed confidence in his government by international financial institutions, through increased direct budget support.
In its latest report, the U.S. State Department noted that corruption within the national police, judicial and political institutions continues to pose a threat to human rights in Haiti.

The US Department of State strongly urges citizens to avoid travel to Haiti

Since the earthquake of January 12, four American citizens were murdered in Port-au-Prince. Most kidnappings are criminal in nature, and the kidnappers make no distinctions of nationality, race, sex or age.
Some hostages have been killed, sexually assaulted or physically abused. Despite improvements in the National Police of Haiti since 2006, the presence of a stabilization force (MINUSTAH) and the peacekeepers UN are essential to maintain an adequate level of security throughout the country. The lack of civil protection in Haiti, and the limited capacity of local law enforcement to solve the crime, aggravating the security threat to U.S. citizens.
"The Department of State strongly urges citizens to avoid travel to Haiti, emphasizing the" constant danger of violent crimes such as homicide and kidnapping.

Did President Préval make his case in Washington?

On Wednesday March 10, 2010, President René Préval went to Washington where he met with Secretary of State, Mrs Hillary Clinton, and President Barack Obama.  Mr Obama and Mr Préval spoke to the press after meeting at the White House to reaffirm their mutual commitment to rebuilding Haiti after January’s devastating earthquake.

After receiving many visits from heads of states of different regions in the world, Mr Préval only got the visit of the Secretary of State of the US and of former President Bill Clinton fromm the USA.  Many were waiting to see Pres Obama go to Haiti.  Instead, it was Pres Préval who had to go to the US.

Preval told The Miami Herald last Friday that though billions have been pledged, little has gone to the Haitian government.

Most of the aid going to Haiti are being channeled through non-government organizations for lack of trust in the Haiti government.    Haiti ranks very high when it comes to corruption by government officials and one the missions of Preval's trip was to convince his counterpart to give more of the over one billion dollars donated to Haiti to his government.   Did Preval make his case?

Watch the speech they both gave to the Press after they met in private.

Is nature warning Haiti about what's coming?

Two years ago, the rainy season devastated many parts of Haiti.  Did the government learn anything enabling them to make preparation and casualty prevention measures?

Well, the answer is not too clear looking at last year's rainy and hurricane season.

At that time, people in Haïti were leaving inside their homes.  Today, they are sleeping in the streets, most, under makeshift tents.

In a few weeks, the rainy season will start in Haïti.
How ready is Haïti's government officials to prevent more devastating casualties?
Well, nature has decided to give them a test, and, unfortunately, they failed.

Floods and mudslides killed at least 13 people in Haiti over the weekend, raising fears about the vulnerability of survivors of the January 12 earthquake.


Haiti's civil protection agency confirmed four people died when floodwaters triggered by torrential rains swept through Les Cayes, the country's third-largest city located on the southern coast about 100 miles (160 km) west of the quake-shattered capital Port-au-Prince.

Les Cayes was flooded by more than 60 percent.  Four more people were killed in nearby Cavaillon, four in Saint Louis du Sud and one in Aquin, the Haitian civil protection agency said. Three people were missing and close to 3,500 were evacuated from their homes, it added.


The January 12 Haitian earthquake wrecked large parts of heavily populated Port-au-Prince and surrounding towns, but also damaged towns to the south and west in the Caribbean country.

How ready will Haïti when the rainy season hits in March and the hurricane season starts in May?
So far, no specific plans have been announced by the Haitian officials or the International community.  It seems like there is no common plan.

The International community wanted to move the earthquake victims out of Port-au-Prince into shelters that would be built near but outside of Port-au-Prince, making removal of rubles and reconstruction much easier.

The President recently opted on moving the people back to their shattered homes, in smaller tent areas of 50 to 100.  The government ordered 5000 tents from China for that measure.  Is nature warning about what's coming to Haïti?  Is the government listening or paying attention to nature?

Well, history of the last 5 years shows that this government has not had a good ear to nature.  It has used casualties to ask for state of emergency measures in Haïti, allowing them to go into the financial reserves of the country and spend without going through proper channels and accountability.

As of today, no official reports have been given for the spending of the 197 millions dollars siphoned out of the Petrocaribe funds.

167 million dollars have been taken recently from that fund following the January 12 earthquake.  The President is asking for a renewal of the state of emergency but Parliamentary officials are requesting a report on government spending since January 12 before granting the renewal of that state of emergency measure.

Will Haïti be ready by May for more damage by nature?

Only time will tell and time may not be on the people's side.

Haiti's Seaport back in operation and performing twice as before

Haiti's main seaport at Port-au-Prince has managed to handle container traffic at a level higher than before the Jan. 12 earthquake, and full repairs to damage should be completed in April, a senior U.S. military officer said on Wednesday, according to Reuters.

The Caribbean country's main maritime terminal for import and export shipments was badly damaged in last month's quake, especially its south pier, initially blocking off a key entry point for urgently needed humanitarian supplies and imports.

Divers from the U.S. Navy and other countries have been working for weeks on repairs to clear debris and wreckage from blocked channels and berths, and contractors brought in floating piers to help unload containers.

"We've had several days where we've delivered 600 containers in a single day, so their capacity is ahead of where they were before the earthquake," said Major General Daniel Allyn, deputy commander of the U.S. military Joint Task Force participating in the international relief effort in Haiti.

Youri Latortue wants to know where the money went since Jan. 12, 2010

Senate Political Affairs Committee Chairman Yuri Latortue called for the publication of report on government spending since January 12. 

 According to the chairman, those reports and an action plan for the next emergency period are prerequisites for an extension of the state of emergency.


As the the Presdient of Haiti tries to get a renewal of the state of emergency, the Senate Committee on Political Affairs informs the report on the country's situation will be submitted to the Chief Executive this week.   

 Senator Evaliere Beauplan (PONT) denounced the procrastination of some elected officials, close to the President, who would not agree with the recommendations of the committee.
 
Several minority senators, including Rudy Herriveaux and Youri Latortue, are demanding a cabinet change to address the emergency. This proposal, called for strengthening the government by Senator Herriveaux, was presented by representatives of various sectors of the civil society.
 
These last three weeks, the Senate Committee on Political Affairs had working sessions with representatives of various sectors, including political parties, churches and associations.
 

The minority senators feel that their colleagues of INITE parliementary group want to boycott sessions to finalize the report. 

 According Evaliere Beauplan, the convocation of the Minister of Justice on Wednesday and met with the head of state Thursday are part of this strategy.
 

Senator Beauplan has indicated its commitment to submit the demands of nation to the head of the executive branch of government so that proper solutions can be brought to the urgent needs of the population.

Should Opposition be in on Reconstruction in Haïti?

Here's a new report by the Washington Post.
Tell us what you think at the bottom.

Opposition leaders want to help rebuild Haiti
Their objective is a unanimously supported plan

By Edward Cody, Washington Post | February 28, 2010

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Faced with a disaster of overwhelming proportions, Haiti’s fractious political opposition is trying to set aside its differences and work with President Rene Preval to reach a consensus on how to rebuild the devastated country.

The objective, several political leaders said, is to cooperate with Preval’s government in drawing up a unanimously backed reconstruction plan and an arrangement for broader political leadership during the emergency.

The plan, they said, would be presented to a donors’ conference scheduled for March 28 at the United Nations, and would be used in discussions with the international relief bureaucracy that has mushroomed here since a magnitude-7 earthquake shook Haiti on Jan. 12.

Running through the discussions is a widely shared sentiment that the destruction caused by the earthquake, and the expected arrival of hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid, should become a departure point for fixing the economic and political rot that for years has made Haiti one of the poorest, most unstable, and most corrupt countries in the hemisphere.

“For this exceptional situation, we need an exceptional government,’’ said Myrtho Bonhomme, an aspiring presidential candidate who is a former ambassador and rector of Haiti’s largely destroyed Diplomatic and Consular National Academy.

But Preval has shown no sign he is willing to include opposition groups in reconstruction planning or to agree to the special assembly - a “national conference,’’ perhaps, or a “state council’’ - that the opposition is mulling.

He has been working mainly with US and other foreign aid officials, out of sight of the Haitian public, to deal with the havoc caused by a temblor that killed an estimated 200,000 people and left a million homeless.

A spokesman for Preval, Assad Volcy, said he was unaware of the opposition discussions or of Preval’s attitude toward a broadened emergency leadership.

More deaths in Haiti 6 + weeks after earthquake. Why?

At least 11 people have been killed after heavy rain caused flooding in southwestern areas of quake-hit Haiti, according to officials.

Officials said on Saturday that heavy rains filled Haiti's third most populous city Les Cayes with more than one and a half meters of water.

The civil protection department said a prison flooded and more than 400 prisoners were evacuated.

In parts of the capital city of Port-au-Prince, hundreds of thousands of people are living outdoors after their homes were destroyed in January's earthquake.

UN peacekeepers are helping Haitian police for emergency supplies. Les Cayes was unharmed during the quake that devastated the Caribbean nation.

Last month, the magnitude-7 earthquake in Port-au-Prince killed more than 200,000 people, leveled nearly every government ministry, and made 1.5 million people homeless. (Report by Press TV )

From PVS Canal 16 Newsroom.

President René Préval has now a different view of the solution to the problem of big tent cities: move the people back to their neighborhood.  
According to Mr Préval, instead of having big tent cities of 1000 to 4000 people, it would be wiser to have smaller camps of 50 to 100 people near their homes.  How does that help in removing the rubles from the quake and rebuilding the country with those camps in every neighborhood? 

Is your house strong enough to go back to?

Ministry of Public Works, UN and United States Collaborate to Help Displaced Safely Return to Their Homes

On February 24-25, 10 senior Haitian engineers and over 25 international engineers graduated from a four-day joint coordinated training program on how to conduct structural assessments.  These engineers will train 200 additional engineers to become structural specialists by the end of next week.  Under the authority of the Ministry of Public Works, the structural specialists will inspect 100,000 homes over the next three months. 

The engineers will begin with the neighborhoods of displaced families who are currently in the largest, most crowded camps.  These assessments are an important first step to help families return safely to their homes. 

 671 homes have already been assessed in Turgeau in the last four days.

The Ministry of Public Works also has developed standard criteria and training based on approved structural engineering practices.    

Food for Spirit? War on Voodoo is back in Haïti.

The Associated Press reports that angry crowds in a seaside slum in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, attacked a group of Voodoo practitioners Tuesday February 23rd 2010, pelting them with rocks and halting a ceremony meant to honor victims of last month's deadly earthquake.
Voodooists gathered in Cite Soleil where thousands of quake survivors live in tents and depend on food aid. Praying and singing, the group was trying to conjure spirits to guide lost souls when a crowd of evangelicals started shouting. Some threw rocks while others urinated on Voodoo symbols.

When police left, the crowd destroyed the altars and Voodoo offerings of food and rum.

If you are thinking of taking or shipping donations to Haiti, get ready for the worst...

If you are taking or shipping donations to Haiti, get ready for the worst.  Just like my brother and I,  who head 2 small Non-Profit Organization in the US,
(Haitian American Association of Filmmakers and Polycarpe, inc.),
many of you are trying to find ways to take or ship to Haiti donations that you received to help the less fortunates.  We have tents, crutches, medications, clothes, food, and we daily make calls to different organization to see if we can move those donations to where it is destined.  Mine is specifically for Carrefour Haiti.

I just found out about the worst news that I could get.  And it's bad news for all of us who are trying to

Dominican Republic promises acceptance and financial aid to Haitian students

Haitian university students will be allowed to use facilities in the Dominican Republic and all Haitian students receiving higher education in the republic will be offered financial support, a visiting Dominican minister said on Friday.

"Since the catastrophe in Haiti, we have been seeking measures to help rebuild the Haitian higher education system," said Ligia Amada Melo, minister for higher education, science and technology of the Dominican Republic.

All education activities in Haiti were halted by the Jan. 12 quake, which killed more than 200,000 people and left more than a million others homeless.

Haitian Government shutting down private schools...

The Ministry of Education has prohibited the reopening of schools that have not been damaged or cracked during the earthquake of January 12.   Directors and owners of fifteen private schools protested against that decision.   Margaret and Patricia Cleri Rocourt, director of schools respectively Boucledart-Houses of children and Easterly have decried the behavior of that Department inspectors who closed the gates of some schools that were operating last week.   An inspector duly appointed by the Ministry of Education said: "Have you not ashamed to work, reopen your school when so many other students can not go to the school?"
 

However, these school officials are seeking departmental approval to begin to operate and accompany the children in these difficult times.
They also ask the Haitian State to take the necessary steps to clear the sites of destroyed schools in order to reuse their sites to install tents that will facilitate a gradual reopening of schools in the departments affected.
Those educators had sent an open letter to Minister of Education in which they expressed their concerns over a statement issued by the Department prohibiting the resumption of school activities without express permission.

Traumatised, many Haitian mothers stop breastfeeding.

The United Nations Fund for Children (UNICEF) provides in Haiti "baby tent" to provide mothers and their babies a safe and quiet place for breastfeeding.
Many beliefs have spread after the earthquake of January 12. According to these myths, the stress would cease production of milk or, poor maternal nutrition lead to a decrease in milk quality unsafe for the child. Traumatized by the earthquake or frightened by these urban legends, many mothers have stopped breastfeeding within.
Mothers therefore use more powdered milk to feed their children. Access to safe water is limited, the mixing of milk from unsafe water causes diarrhea dangerous for children and can cause premature death of infants.

Could the Marshall Plan be next for Haiti?

Catherine Ashton, High Representative of EU for Foreign Affairs announced today that the EU wants to launch a "Marshall Plan" for Haiti.
The Marshall Plan, officially called the European Recovery Program ", was a U.S. plan to help rebuild Europe after the Second World War.
"We must implement a sort of Marshall Plan for Haiti" declared Catherine Ashton during a press conference in Brussels after a meeting of foreign ministers of the EU. She also stressed that European support. The amount of EU funding to date amounts to 609 million euros (829 million) (EU budget and national budget), including 309 million euros (421 million) of aid Humanitarian (120 million from the EU budget, 189 million of EU states). 300 million euros (408 million dollars) for reconstruction and rehabilitation.
Ms. Ashton should go to Port-au-Prince next week.

What is exactly the Marshall Plan?

After the Marines, the Canadians are leaving Haiti...

Canada began the withdrawal of troops sent to Haiti to provide humanitarian emergency. The HMCS Halifax was off the coast of Jacmel left Haitian waters to return to Canada.  

 Canada had deployed just after the quake about 2,000 soldiers.  

Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defense of Canada, stated that the usual the

The Rain came, so did a new Earthquake...

What everybody and specially most Haitians dreaded happened.  The rain came, the tents weren't there for everyone, many ran back to their unsecured homes, and a strong quake of magnitude 4.7 on the Richter scale fell on Haiti on Monday at 4H35AM.  

Residents of metropolitan Port-au-Prince indicated that the intensity was comparable to the earthquake of January 12.
For 2 to 3 seconds, many houses were severely shaken, causing panic in parts of downtown.  Many citizens who were in their homes rushed into the streets with their sleeping children.

In an early evening downpour had forced many people, private tent, take refuge in their houses cracked.

Patrick Delerme, a psychologist leaving in Orlando Florida and CFA of a Non-Profit Organisation, Polycarpe, inc., says that this is just going to add to the stress of the many Haitians who are already suffering from bad PTSD.  Patrick Delerme recently went to Haiti on a volunteer mission to bring medical and mostly psychological relief to Carrefour had a chance to diagnose many people in the area.

Could you volunteer to help Haiti this summer?

This summer I plan to set time aside and volunteer my efforts in Haiti. I would love for you to accompany me. All of you who know me well know that I am "ubber Haitian". You also know that I enjoy helping people. Above all, I live for helping young people. I was introduced to the chance to work as a volunteer in Haiti this summer. What a wonderful way for us to service others.
I would love for you take this journey with me. If you follow the attached link you'll learn more. This is a school which was founded by my uncle, Gerard Delerme, in 1963. My father, Antoine Delerme worked at this school as a Math and Science professor. Its a well known school amongst the educated in Haiti's Port au Prince area. You do not need to be Haitian in order to help out. 

Human excrement to creating real helth threat in Haiti

Poor Sanitation in Haiti’s Tent Camps Adds to Risk of Disease

By SIMON ROMERO (New York Times)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — As hundreds of thousands of people displaced by last month’s earthquake put down stakes in the squalid tent camps of this wrecked city, the authorities are struggling to address the worsening problem of human waste. Public health officials warn that waste accumulation is creating conditions for major disease outbreaks, including cholera, which could further stress the ravaged health system.
Some American and Haitian public health specialists here consider the diseases stemming from the buildup of human waste in the camps as possibly the most pressing health threat in the city. Doctors are already seeing a spike in illnesses like typhoid and shigellosis, which arise from contaminated food or water.

Homeless in Haïti opting for their unsafe houses to the rain.

Thousands of Haitians gathered in the 600 makeshift camps in the metropolitan area have experienced a deterioration of their living conditions. Deprived of tents, these citizens cant protect themselves against the rain that continued to hit the capital and its environs.
Disaster victims camped at Silvio Cator stadium get soaked at every rain shower because their rudimentary tents can not protect them. Some people manage to find a place in the few sheets available while the majority remains standing in the rain.

Homeless fight for shelter near wrecks of Haitian Palace

PORT-AU-PRINCE (From Reuters)
Haitian earthquake victims traded blows and wrestled on Friday over plastic shelter materials being urgently distributed by authorities to improve flimsy survivors' camps before the onset of rains.
More than five weeks after the magnitude 7 earthquake that reduced parts of the capital, Port-au-Prince, to rubble, Haiti's government and its foreign aid partners say providing shelter for the more than 1 million left homeless by the quake has become the top priority.
Some downpours this month heralding the start of the rainy season in mid-March have added urgency to the need to improve shelter conditions for hundreds of thousands of quake victims camped out across the capital. The January 12 earthquake killed more than 212,000 people.
At the Culture Ministry, a government handout of packaged synthetic shelter material triggered fights between residents of a nearby sprawling survivors' encampment that carpets a square in front of the damaged presidential palace.