By Allison Diva

Haiti, December 2010

My bags are packed and I am ready to go, this journey that started with an idea is on path to becoming a reality.  So many times we look at the news and the reality never impacts us as actually involving real people.  So I am out the door to discover what the media only hints at.

I get to the airport and it was different, I was the only one going on to Haiti, everyone else was journeying to resorts and family, I was on my own.  What a different story once I got to JFK, the waiting area was filled with Haitians going home all speaking in a language different from mine.  But you could understand the meaning, they were anxious to get going.

I can relate, I was as well.  We boarded the 3 hr + flight and the plane was filled to capacity about 300 people.  A handful of us were visitors or volunteers.  Do people visit Haiti as a vacation spot? I think not.  One goes back home, or one volunteers, but a travel destination it is not.

I realized that we were near Haiti when the people on the plane started cheering, looking down I could see what looked like a blanket of light fog.  It was 1:30pm in the afternoon; it wasn’t fog, it is pollution that covers an entire city stretching far into the mountains.  Plumes of smoke can be seen rising in the distance.  As we disembarked into the hot air you could smell the burnt smell that would never go away.  Looking around, no one seemed to mind that they were home.

The buses came then to pick us up.  Driving to the immigration area, one could see the devastation from the earthquake and other forms of destruction, cracked walls, broken loose wires, huge bins thrown aside.  The outside looks like someone’s messy back yard.

We get to the immigration section and off load, this is my first taste of Haiti and what the people deal with, there is no air-conditioning just huge fans circulating hot air, everyone jostles to get to the front, there are no real lines, people just push through.

I get to the immigration official and was all prepared for the questions.   I had my answers ready but there were no questions, indeed there was nothing spoken between myself (first time visitor) and the official.  My travel document was stamped and I moved on to collect my luggage.

All baggage to be collected was in one large room.  There were porters who took your baggage claim tickets and went in search of your luggage.  Everyone is looking for money and even when you don’t want help, you must take it as this is the only way  people make their living.  My porter introduced himself and showed me his name tag in limited English and off he went with my baggage claim tags.

Needless to say after 2 hours of looking we came to the conclusion that no bags had arrived for me, it was now on to the luggage people for location.  After waiting another hour behind 3 people, oh yes 3 people, I was told I had to come back the next day.  Lovely, I still had to pay my porter for the time wasted.  So in the meantime my car left and had to come back in another 2 hours.  I got to PAP at 1:20pm and did not leave until about 6pm, with no luggage.

On the way to the car it is a long barren walk with a high fence to the left. I don’t make eye contact with anyone outside the fence; they are begging for money, you become their sister, friend and  cousin all in the time it takes you to reach the other side to get your ride.  While waiting I was continually accosted by a woman smiling, smiling at me and making money signs with her hands, indicating that because she was there I should give her money.

One thing I noticed is that everyone is so skinny, the only reason they offer to help is because of the money, nothing else.  In a country such as this, 10million plus with very little means of income, begging is the only other means of survival.  Leaving the airport, the car is air-conditioned, the air outside is pungent with all types of smells, burning, food, pollution, exhaust and decay.  The windows must stay up at all times; I have that luxury in a country where less than 1% do.  There are so many cars, mostly SUV’s, trucks, buses, colourful pick-up trucks with people hanging from them in an effort to get to their destinations.

More colourful buses I have never seen.  They’re all brightly painted — the Haitians are very good artists, you see their art, from metal carvings to dried branches painted white for Christmas.  Stretch upon stretch of art line some of the streets, with every hue of the rainbow, making you want to buy all of them.  So many sellers and no buyers.  Everyone is selling something, everything seems to be covered in dust and dirt but so they press on.

What else is there to do?

The traffic is horrendous, dusty, smoky and smelly. The roads are of the like which I have never seen before, some so steep and rough, I don’t believe that there are paved roads in Haiti; the short cuts take the longest times.

Cars pass each other closer than a coat of paint.  I am holding on for dear life and people on the back of motorcycles are dialling their phones with one hand.  I don’t know how they do it.  I am impressed with this ability, to be on a motorcycle going up a track with potholes the likes I have never seen.

Steep hills up and down, winding roads and everyone is rushing, the roads are so narrow they can barely hold two cars. Vendors ply their goods in between the cars in the traffic with all sorts of items for sale on the road.  We don’t stop as it is about 2 hours to our destination.

We finally get to the house with 12 foot walls and steel roll-away doors guarded by an armed security officer.  This  is my base.  I will be escorted anywhere I go by a driver at all times. I am not allowed anywhere on my own, especially as I do not speak the language.

I made it I am here, now I await my luggage.

Stay tuned for Allison’s next dispatch.

The excellent people at 10,000 toys for Haiti are trying to bring joy to the children in Haiti who still live in tents, or worse, on the streets, and they need your help.

10,000 toys are 250 toys short of making their goal.  Allison Diva is asking that each of you either purchase one gift worth $10, or donate online at 10,000 toys for Haiti.

Now keep that feeling in your heart, and run out and buy a toy for a child in Haiti, or donate online if you do not have time.  Now.

It doesn’t have to be expensive, it just has to be something that will bring a smile to a child’s face.

Thank you.

The former journalist and governor general has taken office as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Special Envoy to her native Haiti.

The charismatic Jean, who acquired a sort of international celebrity status as governor general, will face the daunting task of helping rebuild a Haiti that is still recovering from the January 12 earthquake.

Although UNESCO’s headquarters are in Paris, Jean chose to remain in the capital, where the University of Ottawa offered her office space on its campus.

Jean was able to secure good relationships with world leaders through her travels as governor general.  She aims to use these connections to bring recovery issues in Haiti to light and coordinate sustainable, long-term aid programs.

Foremost on her agenda is rebuilding the country’s academic infrastructure, of which an estimated 80 per cent was destroyed in the quake.  Thousands of teachers and students were killed, and 1.5 million Haitians continue to be denied schooling.

Youth make up more than half of Haiti’s population.

Jean is optimistic that global leaders will continue to assist her homeland.   She offered, “As soon as my appointment was announced, many countries came to me and said ‘We are really willing to support this endeavor’.  So I’m really confident.  There’s no doubt that people will respond.”

Born in Port-Au-Prince in 1957, Jean arrived in Canada as a refugee in 1968 and grew up in Thetford Mines, Quebec.  After completing university, she worked as a journalist with Radio-Canada and CBC, while doing charitable work to assist victims of domestic violence.  In 2005, with the recommendation of Prime Minister Paul Martin, she was appointed governor general by Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada.

Reports out of Haiti have confirmed that a minimum of 138 people have died due to an outbreak of cholera.

Dr. Michael Thieren of the Pan American Health Organization has confirmed that it is an epidemic, adding that it was impossible to say whether the crisis had reached its peak.  So far 1,526 have been affected, with 138 dead.

The main outbreak area is just north of Port-au-Prince, but the government and its partners fear the disease may spread to quake survivors stationed at relief camps in the capital.

Cholera is an infection of the intestines that causes severe acute diarrhea and dehydration.  Transmission is usually through contaminated water and food and is unlikely to be from person to person.  The most typical source of transmission is untreated diarrhea discharge from cholera sufferers that makes is way into drinking water supplies and waterways.

Health Minister Alex Larsen has announced an emergency prevention program to address the threat of the disease spreading to the 1.5 million earthquake victims stationed in tents and tarpaulins in Port-au-Prince.

Right Honourable Michelle Jean, Governor General of Canada, speaking at the 25th annual BBPA Harry Jerome awards

Occupation:  Journalist and 27th Governor General of Canada (since Confederation)

Contribution: Michaëlle Jean knows what it’s like to help those in need. Her road to lending a helping hand started when Jean was 11 and her family fled the brutal Haitian dictatorship of Francois Duvalier (Papa Doc). Settling in Montreal, Jean attained several university degrees.

Her expertise with languages (Italian, Spanish, French, Haitian Creole and Portuguese) allowed her to assist and to reach out to victimized women and children from diverse backgrounds. She also conducted academic studies on sexually abused women. In the late 1980s Jean’s career shifted to journalism. During this time, she appeared on several Canadian television and radio shows. On Sept. 25, 2005, Jean was appointed the 27th Governor General of Canada (since Confederation), making her the first Black person in that post.

Inspiration:  “I think really working on reasons to believe and to hope in humanity’s possibilities is something that inspires me a lot … I believe in the power of ideas. I believe in empowering people. I like people and I love connecting. It’s a communion of ideas, values, ideals, and it’s magic. People crave for that.”

Message to Young People:  “Five years ago, when I assumed the post of Governor General, I made youth one of my mandate priorities. Throughout my visits from coast to coast to coast, I have had the immense privilege of meeting with young Canadians from all walks of life. Along the way, I have discovered a generation of passionate and daring young people whose imagination knows no bounds and who recognize that diversity and individual differences are a great source of mutual pride and enrichment.

I have also been impressed by young people’s ability to come up with solutions and to create networks of solidarity. In the face of every challenge, they represent a promise of renewal. They are agents of change — a living strength that wants to grow, to have its voice heard and to find its place in the heart of our communities.”

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LUCAS OLENIUK/TORONTO STAR

By Isabel Macdonald

Nearly seven months after a devastating earthquake killed upwards of 250,000 people in Haiti, UN special envoy to Haiti Bill Clinton told Associated Press on Aug. 6 that international donors have yet to make good on their promises of billions of dollars to help the country rebuild.

Haiti’s rebuilding could cost $14 billion, according to a recent Inter-American Development Bank study. Yet only “five countries — Brazil, Norway, Australia, Colombia and Estonia — have so far provided $506 million, less than 10 per cent of the $5.3 billion pledged for Haiti at a March donors’ conference,” according to an Aug. 6 AP article.

Today, dozens of leading academics, authors and activists from around the world proposed a bold solution to this desperate financial shortfall.

Why not reimburse Haiti for the illegitimate “independence debt” it paid France?

In an open letter to French president Nicolas Sarkozy published today in the French national daily newspaper Liberation, 90 leading academics, authors, journalists and human rights activists from around the world urged the French government to pay Haiti back for the 90 million gold francs Haitians were forced to pay as a price for their independence.

There are “powerful arguments in favour of the restitution of the French debt,” as Harvard medical professor Paul Farmer (who was recently appointed deputy UN special envoy to Haiti) pointed out in his testimony at the 2003 hearings in France on the independence debt.

This historic payment was patently illegitimate, and, on several different scores, it was also illegal, according to a 2009 paper produced by the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti.

Prior to independence, St. Dominique — the country that is now Haiti — was France’s most profitable colony, thanks in no small part to its particularly brutal system of slavery. In 1791, the slaves revolted, and in 1804, after defeating Napoleon’s armies, founded the world’s first black republic.

Following Haiti’s independence, former French slave owners submitted detailed tabulations of their losses to the French government, with line items for each of “their” slaves that had been “lost” with Haitian independence. In 1825, French King Charles X demanded that Haiti pay an “independence debt” to compensate former colonists for the slaves who won their freedom in the Haitian revolution. With warships stationed along the Haitian coast backing up the French demand, France insisted that Haiti pay its former colonizer 150 million gold francs — 10 times the fledgling black nation’s total annual revenues.

Under threat of a French military invasion that aimed at the re-enslavement of the population, the Haitian government had little choice but to agree to pay. Haiti’s government was also forced to finance the debt through loans from a single French bank, which capitalized on its monopoly by gouging Haiti with exorbitant interest rates and fees.

The original sum of the indemnity was subsequently reduced, but Haiti still disbursed 90 million gold francs to France. This second price the French exacted for the independence Haitians had won in battle was, even in 1825, not lawful. When the original indemnity was imposed by the French king, the slave trade was technically illegal; such a transaction exchanging cash for human lives valued as slave labour represented a gross violation of both French and international laws.

And Haiti was still paying off this “independence debt” in 1947 — 140 years after the abolition of the slave trade and 85 years after the emancipation proclamation.

A lawsuit launched by the Haitian government to recuperate these extorted funds was aborted prematurely in 2004, with the French-backed overthrow of the government that had the temerity to point out that France “extorted this money from Haiti by force and . . . should give it back to us so that we can build primary schools, primary health care, water systems and roads.”

The French government was similarly quick to suppress a Yes Men-style prank announcement last Bastille Day pledging that France would repay Haiti. On July 15 — one day after the hoax — a spokesperson for the French ministry told Agence France Presse that the French government was pursuing possible legal action.

The open letter to Sarkozy, signed by MIT linguist Noam Chomsky, Canadian journalist Naomi Klein, Princeton professor Cornel West, Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano, and several renowned French philosophers — Alain Badiou, Etienne Balibar and Jacques Ranciere — called the French government’s measures against those advocating restitution “inappropriate responses to a demand that is morally, economically, and legally unassailable.”

“In light of the urgent financial need in the country in the wake of the devastating earthquake of Jan. 12, 2010, we urge you to pay Haiti, the world’s first black republic, the restitution it is due,” stated the letter, which was also signed by European, French, Filipino and Quebec parliamentarians, and scholars, journalists and activists in France, Haiti, the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Germany.

The letter added that the sum France owes Haiti today stands at well over 17 billion euros.

Isabel Macdonald is a Montreal-based scholar whose research on Haiti has been published by the Canadian Journal of Communications, Development Journal and the Nation magazine. She helped draft the letter to French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Originally published on thestar.com

“After January 12th, the day after coming and being out here with my wife and picking up dead bodies from the ground, I felt that because of the youth of Haiti and the population, that this is not even Wyclef saying that I want to be the president of Haiti.”

At least one person is suspicious of his motives.  US actor Sean Penn, who has been living in Haiti since the January quake, says Jean has been a “non-presence” in the country.

Penn said, “What the Haitian people need now is a leader who is genuinely willing to sacrifice…One of the reasons I don’t know very much about Wyclef Jean is that I haven’t seen or heard anything of him in these last six months that I’ve been in Haiti.”

The people of Haiti will decide on November 28.

Watch the interview on cnn.com

Throughout his career, the Haitian-born star has been extremely vocal in support of the poverty-stricken country.

In 2005, Jean established the Yéle Haiti Foundation, which helped raised millions of dollars in aid following  January’s 7.0 magnitude earthquake.  Haiti’s current President Rene Preval named him goodwill ambassador to the country in 2007.

Candidates have until August 7 to register for the November election.

Do you think Wyclef would make a good president for Haiti?