Here are some stories that have caught my attention lately:
- Dumas Simeus, the Haitian-American, did not qualify to run for office in the recent election but he is organizing a summit of the Haitian Diaspora in Port-au-Prince. That's what this Radio Kiskeya story says (FR). The forum is being organized right as a National Commission is getting ready to exclude other haitians who have taken up other nationalities from running in the future, says Radio Kiskeya. It is being organized by Dr. Serge Parisien who was a campaign aide to Simeus. Topics they plan to tackle include the Constitution, voting rights and parliamentary representation for diaspora Haitians. Now the recently elected president said he supported double-nationality while campaigning. Was that just a campaign promise? And what will his involvement be with that commission that plans to prevent diaspora haitians from running in the future?
- The Bahamas wants to do some bilateral labor agreements with Haiti.
- Haiti's being considered for debt relief by the WB and IMF.
- A Haiti-based not-for-profit dedicated to reproductive health, Fondation pour la Sante Reproductive et l'Education Familiale, recently received a UNFPA (UN Fund for Population Activities) award. "Formed in 1988, it provides reproductive health care for more than 1.2 million people through a network of 26 centres. The organisation has provided basic training on reproductive health to 500 teachers and 6,500 young workers, and created a network of 30,000 young volunteers who disseminate information on reproductive health, including HIV/AIDS", says the story.
haiti - haitian-american - haiti diaspora - bahamas - reproductive health - debt relief
Interesting post. What do you think the role of the diaspora is?
ReplyDeleteI guess I don't know what KiskeyAcity means. I named my blog Renegade Eye because the good names were all taken.
The diaspora is sending about a billion dollars in remittances a year which affect the livelihood of a lot of haitians. It is constantly rethinking what its role should be beyond that.
ReplyDeletekiskeya= name native arawaks gave the island now called hispaniola which encompasses Haiti and the DR
ReplyDeletekiskeyAcity=state of being from that island (and the ones surrounding it) while also inhabiting and being from the big *city* (whether paris, new york, boston or wherever)