Two Years and Two Weeks Later: Join TransAfrica in Commemorating Haiti's Earthquake

January 20, 2012

Dear Friends,

It is hard to believe it has already been two years since the earthquake that shook Haiti and changed the lives of those connected to the country forever. 

Last week Haitians gathered to commemorate what they lost two years ago, but also to bear witness to the struggle they have been in since.

You can see the price of twenty-four months under tents on the faces and frail bodies of these men, women and children.

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Two Years Later, Where is the Outrage?

By Melinda Miles, Director, Let Haiti Live project

There is not enough anger for my anger,

 there is not enough grief for my grief.

As the two-year anniversary of the earthquake approaches, I am finding myself with a case of insomnia. Here I am, enjoying the perfect Haitian winter, lying awake with my head filled with thoughts I can’t escape. Sure, it’s natural to reflect on what has happened as another year ends, yet what I can’t seem to get away from is all the things that haven’t happened.

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In Memory of Dominican-Haitian Human Rights Activist Sonia Pierre

December 6, 2011--TransAfrica is profoundly saddened by the recent news of the passing of Sonia Pierre.  Ms. Pierre died following a heart attack at her home in Villa Altagracia, Dominican Republic, according to reports.  Ms. Pierre was the founder and general coordinator of MUDHA (the Movement of Dominican-Haitian Women) and the recipient of the 2007 RFK Human Rights Award.  MUDHA works for full citizenship rights and an end of racial discrimination faced by Haitians and their children living in the Dominican Republic. 

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Why We Should Not Support the Plan for a New Army

Last week, a proposal from Haiti’s President Michel Martelly to create a new Haitian army was breaking news. Haitians have been talking about the possibility of the former Haitian army, known by its French acronym as the FAd’H, being reconstituted since it was disbanded in 1994. In recent years, proponents for the reconstitution of the army have used the ongoing presence of foreign soldiers in the UN peacekeeping mission (known by its acronym, MINUSTAH) as one of the reasons to bring back a national military force.

President Martelly’s proposed plan does not resonate with Haitians, despite their desire to see MINUSTAH withdraw. This is because they know that Haiti doesn’t need a national army any more than it needs a foreign one. The necessary first step to withdrawing the MINUSTAH was the same in 2004 as it is today: the strengthening and professionalization of Haiti’s civilian national police. Haiti’s justice system has long been in need of massive reform as well

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Haiti Urgent Action: Fear of Eviction for 200 Families

Two hundred families have been threatened with eviction from their makeshift camp in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Amnesty International is concerned that they may be forcibly evicted at any time, without receiving alternative adequate accommodation.

Families living in a makeshift camp called Camp Mosayik in the Delmas municipality of the capital Port-au-Prince have been threatened with eviction. On the afternoon of 9 September four people claiming to represent the Delmas municipal authorities arrived at the camp. They proceeded to mark several shelters on the perimeter of the camp for demolition on 13 September. They subsequently told residents that the entire camp would be demolished on that day. No court order for the eviction or any other legal notice was presented. The eviction threat could also affect the neighbouring camp, called Camp Mormon. An Amnesty International delegation in Haiti was informed by the Delmas municipal authorities that they had not sent anyone to the camp to inform of evictions and believed that the individuals must be criminals looking to seize the land.

The residents of Camp Mosayik staged a demonstration on 13 September in order to protest against the recent eviction threat. Although the eviction did not occur that day, the families live in constant fear that at any moment their meagre shelters and possessions could be destroyed through an eviction process.

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