Modern Woman Revisited-#3 in the Basket Women Series

This is woman can go from the market and then to a party after work.
Hand done collage. Copyright Mirlande Jean-Gilles 2011

Modern Woman-#2 in the Basket Women Series

She is a traditional, yet fashionable. She has the modern necessities needed to handle her business.

This is a collage and it was all done by hand.

Voices from Haiti

Check out this interview I did with Katia D. Ulysse for her website Voices from Haiti.

http://voicesfromhaiti.com/Mirlande_Jean-Gilles.html

Sky Basket

Sky Basket
Collage from the Basket Women Series
Copyright 2011 Mirlande Jean-Gilles

Haiti's new President

Sweet Mickey is presently president of Haiti. Primped and polished with a pink dress shirt and peace sign. He is professional and poised. There is another side. There are only a few salacious videos of him left, his internet presence scrubbed clean. The other side is carnival crazy. Wearing a diaper and mooning his musical audience with an eyeful of hairy man parts. He is a grinding and gyrating, gypsy. He says his presidency won’t be like the performer Sweet Mickey.

He ran on education reform. He wants free education for all children on the island. Almost all the schools in the country are private.

Some of the people rioted during election frenzy. They took to the streets chanting Tet Kale! Tet Kale! Tete Kale wins after contested results and a runoff with a woman who shares my first name Mirlande Manigat.

Haiti needs infrastructure, jobs for the people, rebuilding of homes, trees, hospitals and schools. There is so much that needs to be done. There are still dead buried beneath the concrete. Earthquake debris is everywhere. There is rampant homelessness and disease.

A year from now, if the hungry, homeless people are still living in the same conditions as today will their anger rise to the surface by way of a coup? Will another president be deposed?

Sweet Mickey President of Haiti

Michel Martelly aka Sweet Mickey has won his bid to be president of Haiti.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/04/05/2149983/sweet-micky-martelly-reportedly.html

Aristide is going back to Haiti

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/americas/03/12/haiti.aristide/index.html

Two Candidates Chosen in Haiti

Foreign Powers Praise Haiti Election Decision

by The Associated Press

February 3, 2011

Haiti's decision to eliminate the government-backed candidate from a presidential runoff won praise from foreign powers Thursday, and the U.S. and others signaled they would agree with President Rene Preval staying in office for a few months past the end of his term.

The move ended a weekslong standoff with international donors. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had made a last-minute visit in the midst of the Egypt crisis to reiterate personally to Preval that Washington supported the Organization of American States recommendation that ruling-party candidate Jude Celestin be dropped from the ballot.

The early morning announcement that first-place candidate Mirlande Manigat will face popular singer Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly prompted cheers of relief in the surrounding suburbs of the capital, where residents had feared a repeat of pro-Martelly riots in December after preliminary results showed Celestin as the
No. 2 vote-getter.

That joy was surpassed by the reaction abroad.

"It's a great day in Haiti today again. We had some positive results from the (electoral council) earlier this morning," U.S. Ambassador to Haiti Kenneth Merten told reporters in Washington. "We are pleased to note that they seemed to have been very diligent in following the OAS verification mission's report's recommendations."

Governments that have collectively spent billions on Haiti's stalled recovery from last year's earthquake, and pledged billions more for reconstruction, wanted to see an acceptably elected government in place to continue with their investment, aid and reconstruction plans.

International frustration with Preval was high. The U.S. suspended visas to a number of officials in the lead-up to the final results as rumors swirled that Celestin would be given a spot in the runoff. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice said support depended in part on following the OAS recommendations.

On Thursday, U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the final results and "encouraged all actors to take advantage of this opportunity to move forward with the electoral process."

An OAS expert team was brought in to sort through a messy first round election on Nov. 28 that was nearly derailed by fraud, disorganization, voter intimidation and calls by candidates, including Martelly and Manigat, to throw out the vote while polls were open.

Though international observers initially said problems had not invalidated the election, the Dec. 7 announcement that Celestin could advance and subsequent rioting prompted immediate statements by the U.S. Embassy and others questioning the results. Some, including members of the U.S. Congress, called the OAS report a whitewash and foreign meddling in Haitian affairs.

On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters said the United States, Canada and France "used [their] tremendous power and influence to determine the outcome of the first round" and denied Haitians "the opportunity to express their will."

The left-leaning Center for Economic and Policy Research called it "a big setback." Both said the race was fundamentally flawed because it excluded the party of exiled former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who remains popular among many Haitians and has a dedicated following overseas.

But many Haitians, especially in the capital, said they were happy with the result.

"If people didn't vote for the candidates, we wouldn't have had these problems" in the streets, said Adlair Saintil, a 28-year-old bread vendor.

He supports Martelly because of promises to move government services and jobs to areas outside Port-au-Prince.

"A lot of people died because they had to leave their hometowns," Saintil
said.

The second round, originally slated for January, is now expected March 20 with campaigning set to begin Feb. 17. Final results — the naming of Haiti's next president — is not foreseen until April 16.

Preval's five-year term is supposed to end Monday. He extended his term for up to three months through a law passed by members of his party in an expiring Senate. Haitians fed up with his government protested and he pledged to step down on time, but more recently reversed course and said he wants to remain until a successor is elected.

"If him continuing in his position until a new president is elected supports stability and peace in the country then I think it's a good thing,'' OAS Assistant Secretary-General Albert Ramdin told The Associated Press by phone. "But this is a decision to be made by the Haitian authorities."

Merten, the U.S. ambassador to Haiti, agreed.

"Our goal is again to support what the Haitian people want and for there to be a
peaceful turnover of power from one legitimately elected president to another," he said.

Asked about Preval's plans, his chief of staff, Fritz Longchamp, told the AP: "We have to wait until he makes a public statement."

Despite a crowded and fractured field, candidates of Preval's Inite, or Unity, party advanced to runoffs or won outright 68 of 99 races for the lower house of parliament and all but one of the 11 open Senate races.

Opponents allege Inite used fraud in those races as well. But Ramdin said that was an internal matter and that the OAS expert team focused solely on the presidential race.

Parliament ratifies — and can remove — the presidentially nominated prime minister, who serves as head of government under the president, who is head of state.

A beaming Martelly said after the runoff announcement that justice had been done.

"I don't think [foreign governments] have decided the political future of Haiti. I think that the support that they have brought to Haiti matches the people's will toward change," he said at a news conference.

Most people were just glad to have not added another problem to their often insurmountable daily struggles: poverty, the lack of rebuilding, a cholera epidemic and the lack of basic institutions.

"Everyone is very happy that the country woke up calm," said Ronald Joseph, a 37-year-old mechanic. "Hopefully we can have a second round and things will move ahead."

Duvalier taken into custody

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/americas/01/18/haiti.duvalier/index.html?hpt=T1&iref=BN1

Duvalier back in Haiti!

This man who was a brutal dictator for thirty years in Haiti, killed thousands who opposed him, stole millions from the country...has come back. Why? Why is this man even allowed to travel freely he should be in prison. Some Haitians are happy he is back. Many, many, many are upset.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/18/world/americas/18haiti.html?_r=1

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/americas/01/17/haiti.duvalier/index.html

No follow through on all those pledges to Haiti

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/13/world-turns-its-back-on-haiti_n_808660.html

Haiti-One Year Later

A year after the earthquake things are still dire in Haiti. There has been some progress, but it is very slow. Hundreds of thousands still live in tents and sprawling tent cities. When hurricane season was in full effect the cities flooded. Tarps and tents didn't offer any protection against the winds and pouring rain.
There are people making a difference, individual Haitians who have taken it upon themselves to help their people. Today I heard an NPR story on Dr. Rodrigue Mortel who is Haitian and has a school that educates and looks to educate the poorest of the poor in Haiti. He is associated with Catholic Charities in Baltimore and he also has his own foundation. They feed 19,000 children two meals a day. Listening to him on the radio made an impact me.
Link to his foundation.
http://mortelfoundation.org/

http://www.highhopesforhaiti.org/


A year later there is still hope for change and something better. Haitians have faith.
The temporary shelters cannot become permanent. The corrupt government that steals the aid and shuffles their feet as the people suffer must be taken out, all the government all the way up and down. All the infrastructure, from phone lines to a sewage system needs to be built. The task is monumental, to build a crumbled city back up while millions of people still live there.


New York Times images of Haiti Before and After and Now

http://www.nytimes.com/packages/flash/newsgraphics/2011/0109-haiti-map-html/?hp&ref=haiti

Edwidge Danticat talks about Haiti one year later
The Haiti earthquake, a year later: newyorker.com

Danticat: Yes, Haitians are tired, but they are not defeated - Other Views - MiamiHerald.com

Hope for Haiti

/www.npr.org/2011/01/05/132672856/foreign-policy-why-there-is-hope-for-haiti

Haitian crafts at Macys

Images of housewares produced by Haitian artists that are being sold at Macy's it's called Hope for Haiti.

http://www1.macys.com/shop/for-the-home/special-shops/shop-for-a-better-world/heart-of-haiti?id=52472&noScript=seo#!fn=sortBy%3DORIGINAL%26productsPerPage%3D40&!qvp=iqvp

Haiti votes

This is a simple article describing what is happening now in the Haitian elections. Though "Sweet Mickey" is not the winner the article focuses on him. The current results show that he is in 3rd place. Protesters, his supporters went out en masse to show their displeasure and screamed election fraud. They were destructive and had Haiti in chaos for a few days.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/12/12/haiti.elections.martelly/index.html

Elections in Haiti

In Haiti everything is in flux. Amidst homelessness and a cholera outbreak the citizens of Haiti have voted. There were places where there was voter intimidation, fraud, closed polling places but the people will not stop their voices from being heard.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2010/11/haiti-election.html


http://www.caribbean360.com/index.php/news/haiti_news/51633.html

Cholera gets worse

Cholera is spreading in Haiti. It has been confirmed that the Nepalese troops working with the UN have been found to be the source of the outbreak. If the citizens complaints about the stench coming from behind their headquarters, the sewage being dumped had been taken seriously could it have been contained before it has turned into the major catastrophe that it is?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/19/AR2010111905427.html

Hurricane Tomas

Hurricane Tomas is a devastating hurricane heading towards Haiti and Jamaica. The folks in Haiti who are already homeless and living in tents and tent cities are now being told to evacuate. These folks do not have any place to go. The little they have will either be destroyed by the hurricane or demolished, stolen, anything can happen. People are not even sure if they can return to their tent/tarp homes. This is very sad.
There are very few safe structures in the capital that can be used to shelter all those people from this ferocious storm. Not enough has been done since January to improve the lives of the people in Port au Prince. They are left vulnerable, homeless, jobless and becoming more and more hopeless.

News links
http://www.dailyfinance.com/article//confusion-fear-as-haiti-camps-evacuate/1088914/?cid=13

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/11/04/tropical.weather/index.html?hpt=T2

Cholera in Haiti

Cholera is a terrible and painful disease. https://health.google.com/health/ref/Cholera
It hasn't been found in Haiti for many years. The Nepalese army is being investigated as the source of the outbreak. They might have inadvertently contaminated a major water source with their waste products.
Without proper sanitation, like clean water and soap to wash hands the disease will spread. There are no public water works on the island.

Cholera clinics are being burned down by worried residents.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/28/world/americas/28haiti.html

NPR has comprehensive coverage of the outbreak.
http://www.
npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130731239

A great article by Ezili Danto
http://www.opednews.com/populum/linkframe.php?linkid=120863

Democracy Now coverage of cholera outbreak
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/10/26/partners_in_health_physician_cholera_will

It's very sad to watch the people of Haiti suffer so much. It's event after awful event striking an already stressed population. There was so much aid promised after the earthquake and yet there has been no change in the condition of the people in terms of jobs, housing, removal of rubble, food and water security.

Gnarls Barkley - Going On