HaitiXchange Teledjòl ForumCopyright (c) 2013ExpressionEnginetag:haitixchange.com,2013:02:263 Years Later - The Ground Still Shakestag:haitixchange.com,2013:index.php/forums/viewthread/.96812013-02-25T20:04:28ZCoolP
I've been in PAP for a couple of weeks and was just sitting down in my kitchen, minding my own business when the ground shook for about a second. It was definitely strong enough to notice. No sure how I'm going to sleep tonight. My phone is ringing off the hook, from people comparing notes. It appears to have been felt across he entire city, and in some places stronger than others.
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Hot 97 Playing Konpa Musictag:haitixchange.com,2010:index.php/forums/viewthread/.41772010-01-14T12:04:30Z2013-01-17T21:14:03ZCoolP
Hot 97 Radio in New York City is playing Haitian music from 12 to 1pm. They are also raising funds for Yele at the same time. I'm a little put off by the fact that they can only play Haitian music because of a tragedy, but appreciate the motion. Their hearts are in the right place.
Added link.
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Melissa Harris-Perry: Who Is to Blame for Haiti’s Ongoing Crisis?tag:haitixchange.com,2013:index.php/forums/viewthread/.95562013-01-14T16:56:53Ztisolda http://www.thenation.com/blog/172208/melissa-harris-perry-who-blame-haitis-ongoing-crisis#
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Haiti’s earthquake generated a $9bn response – where did the money go?tag:haitixchange.com,2013:index.php/forums/viewthread/.95532013-01-14T12:46:28Ztisolda
Guardian - Saturday marked the third anniversary of the tragic earthquake in Haiti that claimed between 230,000 and 300,000 lives. The grim landmark has prompted much discussion about the struggles surrounding reconstruction and also some hope about what may come next.
Most observers agree that the international response to the quake was overwhelming. Haiti received an unprecedented amount of support: more than $9bn (£5.6bn) in public and private donations. Official bilateral and multilateral donors pledged $13bn and, according to the UN Office of the Special Envoy for Haiti, almost 50% of these pledges ($6bn) have been disbursed. Private donations are estimated at $3bn.
Where has all the money gone? Three years after the quake, we do not really know how the money was spent, how many Haitians were reached, or whether the desired outcomes were achieved. In a policy paper published in May, and in a more recent blogpost, we unpacked the numbers, many of which came from the UN Office of the Special Envoy.
We found that about 94% of humanitarian funding went to donors' own civilian and military entities, UN agencies, international NGOs and private contractors. In addition, 36% of recovery grants went to international NGOs and private contractors. Yet this is where the trail goes cold – you can look at procurement databases to track primary contract recipients, but it is almost impossible to track the money further to identify the final recipients and the outcomes of projects.
Breaking the figures down by donor isn't much better: 60% of US-disbursed recovery funding is "not specified" (pdf), as is 67% of Canada's aid to Haiti (pdf). Data for the European commission shows that 67% of humanitarian funding and 43% of recovery funding is to "other international NGOs" (pdf). Data reporting becomes even more opaque when one looks for the specific organisations, agencies, firms or individuals that have received grants or contracts in Haiti. Detailed financial reports and rigorous impact evaluations are hard to find.
There are some exceptions, but most organisations only publish case studies or other descriptions of their work; negative outcomes or failures are almost never documented. Of the thousands of projects being run in Haiti, we found only 45 organisation- or project-level evaluation reports at the end of 2011. A total of 23 reports do not have specific project data and only four have any specific detail about how the money was spent.
It is a contradiction that the Haitian government is asked to improve transparency when the international aid community itself fails to provide adequate information to the public. Pierre Erold Etienne, director general of the Haitian finance ministry, said: "[The] real problem is that we do not have – or, I should say, we have only very little – overall information on aid (pdf) … We are required to be transparent. We publish the financial information relevant to the execution of our budget. All we ask is for the same transparency from our donor friends, which should help both us and them."
It is very hard to achieve good outcomes when we cannot determine who received the money and how it was spent. Haiti received an amount almost equal to its gross domestic product, but several hundred thousand people remain in tent camps set up in the aftermath of the quake. Port-au-Prince still lacks good roads, electricity and safe drinking water. The problems that characterise the delivery of development assistance to Haiti are not unique – tracking exercises in other countries would probably produce similar results.
The situation in Haiti highlights the need for greater transparency, and we are hopeful that existing initiatives can be used to meet this goal. Particularly important tools for the donor community are the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI), a multi-stakeholder scheme with a standard for publishing information about aid spending, and Publish What You Fund's aid transparency index.
Transparency is a critical step towards better project design and implementation in Haiti and other poor countries. Donors, NGOs, private foundations, private contractors and other civil society organisations must report to IATI and must do so in a timely manner. We can and should do a better job of helping people to regain control of their lives in the aftermath of disaster or conflict.
January 12, 2013 is the third anniversary of the Haiti earthquake. The video above is a montage of some of the videos shot by HaitiXchange during the weeks and months following the earthquake.
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Port-au-Prince Charlestag:haitixchange.com,2010:index.php/forums/viewthread/.55882010-10-12T09:48:23ZGwoboukihttp://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/10/prince-charles-haiti-architecture
Prince Charles drafted in to help rebuild quake damaged Port-au-Prince
Robert Booth
The Guardian
Sunday 10 October 2010
Everyone from Ben Stiller to Bill Clinton has promised to help, but now Haiti's homeless have a new would-be saviour. Eight months after Port-au-Prince and its residents were devastated by a powerful earthquake which killed more than 230,000 people, the Prince of Wales has responded to a plea for greater assistance from the Haitian government and deployed his architecture charity to help rebuild a swath of the capital's historic centre.
The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment will lead the planning of a makeover of the capital's old quarter, with the prince's aides travelling to the island to start the design process in December.
Sources close to the project in the Caribbean country have warned that the move risks embroiling the prince in Haiti's complex and often corrupt politics.
The country's flagship rebuilding programme is being overseen by Lesley Voltaire, an architect by profession who is standing for president in the 28 November general election, and who is said to have spoken directly to the prince about the scheme.
Last week the prime minister, Jean-Max Bellerive, trumpeted the prince's charity's involvement, telling reporters: "The contact has already been made, there is an informal agreement."
The prince's architecture charities have helped redesign historic centres in difficult conditions before, including Kabul and Kingston in Jamaica, but Haiti will be his biggest challenge yet.
Last week, an engineer working for a charity building shelters at a refugee camp was shot dead by robbers shortly after he cashed his pay cheque, and a British architect working full-time in the country reported he travels everywhere with an armed guard after being attacked on several occasions.
"We are honoured to have been given the chance to help create a better future for Haiti after the suffering and devastation of the earthquake," said Hank Dittmar, chief executive of the prince's foundation. "We hope to play a small part in bringing hope and benefit to the city by maintaining its authentic character, reducing its environmental impact and helping train local people in construction skills that equip them for future employment."
But there is suspicion locally that the prince's charity may have been drafted in by Haiti's government to score political points.
"There is no way he has chosen Prince Charles because he offers the kind of architecture he wants," said a source close to the project who spoke on condition of anonymity. "He [Voltaire] has done it to help burnish his image and grab headlines."
The foundation was approached amid growing concern about the international response to Haiti's medium and long-term problems. Bellerive has estimated there are 1.3 million homeless earthquake survivors living in camps in and around Port-au-Prince and has been critical of the international response, saying last month: "I need more, I need better and I need it differently."
He has estimated that building decent housing for the victims could cost $10bn (£6.2bn), almost all of the foreign aid promised so far, and is seeking a "coherent" rebuilding plan for a capital notorious for its chaotic layout.
The prince's foundation will work with Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company, planners and architects based in Miami and Washington, to run a workshop involving local professionals, property owners and representatives of the Haitian-American communities among others. The result will be a masterplan including homes, streets, public spaces and amenities.
Regardless of the political subtext of the prince's involvement, his decision to work in Haiti puts him at the forefront of British involvement in one of the biggest problems facing Haiti, the construction of solid, earthquake proof and hurricane proof homes to replace the lightweight structures devastated in January.
The only British firm of architects working in Port-au-Prince is thought to be John McAslan and Partners, which is redesigning the historic Iron Market adjacent to the Prince's Foundation site. It is also overseeing an international competition to design templates for new homes that will be built using funds from the Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission which is overseen by Bill Clinton, the UN envoy to Haiti, and prime minister Bellerive.
"There simply aren't many British firms there," said Andy Meira, who runs McAslan's operations from a surviving apartment in the largely collapsed Montana Hotel where 200 people died. "In terms of construction and design we are the only ones."
The firm has worked with British engineering firm Arup to kick-start the development of cheap housing on behalf of the Haitian government, producing designs for 150 rapidly buildable and environmentally responsive homes costing only £3,000 each. Designs by nine firms of British architects, including Proctor and Matthews and Jestico and Whiles, which are experienced in building social housing in the UK, have been accepted by the Building Back Better Homes competition which is being run by McAslan on behalf of the Haitian government. Individual British architects have been volunteering through the charity, Architecture for Humanity which is active in Port-au-Prince.
"I hope that we're going to see Port-au-Prince as a huge construction field," said Haitian central bank governor Charles Castel last week, adding funds freed up by an International Monetary Fund cancellation of $268m (£167m) of debt would help in the reconstruction of the city's administrative heart.
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7 places where the earthquake money did and did not gotag:haitixchange.com,2012:index.php/forums/viewthread/.87022012-08-05T20:15:36ZTi-Joe Gro Nen
http://www.haitiaction.net/News/BQ/1_3_12/1_3_12.html
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Overcoming the culture of charitytag:haitixchange.com,2010:index.php/forums/viewthread/.55852010-10-09T11:12:40ZFood-Sovereignty-Haiti
L'artisanat pour s'affranchir de la culture de la charité
Les grands rendez-vous culturels ne sont pas restés sous les décombres; le tremblement de terre du 12 janvier n'a pas occasionné la démission de nos artisans. « Ane sa a atizan yo travay rèd - Cette année, les artisans ont travaillé durement ». Les organisateurs de Artisanat en Fête, l'Institut de Recherche et de Promotion de l'Art haïtien (IRPAH) et Le Nouvelliste n'auraient pas trouvé mieux comme slogan fédérateur d'énergie autour de cet événement.
Haïti: Après Livres en Folie qui a mobilisé la grande foule, le jour de la fête Dieu, Artisanat en Fête passe le cap de la quatrième édition. Pendant deux jours, les 16 et 17 octobre 2010, le Parc historique de la Canne à Sucre à Tabarre accueille deux cents artisans environ, des artisans qui n'ont pas baissé les bras et qui donnent espoir à Haïti. Ce sont des gens qui travaillent avec leurs mains, autrement dit, mettent la main à la pâte pour transformer les matériaux en oeuvres utilitaires.
Remarquons que beaucoup d'artisans, hormis ceux qui ont une renommée locale et internationale, sont des gens du peuple qui triment afin de faire oeuvre qui vaille. Artisanat en Fête permettra à chacun d'ouvrir son marché, de saisir l'occasion d'agrandir sa clientèle. Et, avouons-le, plusieurs artisans tableront sur cette fête de l'artisanat pour envoyer leurs enfants à l'école. La récolte de ces rudes travailleurs ne découlera pas de la charité internationale, mais sera le fruit de leur sueur. Ils restent chez eux et travaillent entre pairs, seuls ou en famille, ces hommes et ces femmes qui donnent un sens à la production nationale. On les verra au Parc historique de la Canne à Sucre, paysage familier à ces braves gens.
Innovation à Artisanat en Fête
Cette année, Artisanat en Fête innove. Les artisans travailleront à chaud sous leur tente. On les verra ciseler le métal, sculpter la pierre, peindre sur le bois, sur le tissu, sur le verre, etc. Chaque artisan, de son côté, permettra au visiteur de découvrir le monde dans lequel il évolue. Autant d'artisans, autant de mondes : métal découpé, peinture et applique sur tissu, pierre taillée, sculpture sur bois et en bois, sculpture métallique, bois peint, jouets en bois, banéco, vannerie, tissage en pite, filigraphie, objets perlés, pailletés, décoratifs, bijoux en bois, en corne, en cuir, lingerie, ustensiles de cuisine en bois, ornements, céramique, hard board, photographie, etc.
Un sens à la production nationale
« Le secteur de l'artisanat est un marché et mérite le regard de l'Etat haïtien », a fait observer la présidente de l'IRPAH, Martine Blanchard, lors d'un point de presse, la semaine dernière, à Pétion-Ville. Regard juste, quand on considère tout le travail fournit par ces hommes et femmes qui donnent un sens au mot production nationale, cantonné au rang de slogan.
Il y a beaucoup d'artisans à travers le pays qui survivent de l'artisanat. Un appui significatif de l'État à ce secteur rendrait énormément service au pays et, par la même occasion, plusieurs problèmes inhérents à ce secteur se résoudraient dans le développement de ce marché.
Le marché n'est-il pas, dans une certaine mesure, générateur d'intérêts matériels et de bien-être ? A l'inverse, si rien n'est fait, ils n'iront pas loin. Les palabres, les belles promesses prononcées la main sur le coeur ne contribueront pas à faire avancer la cause des artisans.
Dans un pays où tout s'écroule, cette armée d'artisans résiste dans une République dominée par une économie de l'humanitaire alimentée par les organisations non gouvernementales (ONG). Les artisans misent sur leur capacité de produire et sont à la recherche des marchés pour écouler leurs oeuvres. Ce sont de telles démarches économiques rationnelles qui sont la locomotive d'un peuple aspiré à sortir de la pauvreté, de l'indigence et de la culture de la charité.
Claude Bernard Sérant
serantclaudebernard at yahoo dot fr
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYliQP0gDIY[/youtube]
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163 Haitians arrive in Senegaltag:haitixchange.com,2010:index.php/forums/viewthread/.55932010-10-14T00:25:25Z2010-10-14T00:38:39ZCoolP
Remember right after the earthquake, when the president of Senegal offered to relocate Haitians who wanted to make the trip? Well, he’s kept his promise and the first batch of refugees received a hero's welcome. Read the article and speak your mind - Di Sa’w Vle!
DAKAR, Senegal — Senegal is one of the poorest countries in the world and its GDP is only marginally higher than Haiti's, but that hasn't stopped the government from going ahead with a plan to offer a new home to 163 victims of Haiti's catastrophic earthquake who arrived on a chartered jet Wednesday.
The young men and women stepped off the plane to a raucous welcome, including dancers that pounded the pavement in costumes made of cowrie shells and traditional praise singers who shouted accolades into megaphones. Senegalese students waited by the dozens holding up signs that said: "Welcome to the home of your ancestors."
The 163 students are the first batch of arrivals from Haiti in a grand scheme that began when President Abdoulaye Wade saw images of the devastated Caribbean nation following the January quake.
He was moved to help, arguing that Haitians are the sons and daughters of Africa because their ancestors were taken from the continent as slaves. French is the main language of Senegal, while Haitians speak French-derived Creole.
He initially offered free land to the quake victims, and the attempt to help them has become one of the main planks of Wade's larger goal of creating a global African community, which includes a proposal to unite the continent into a single country.
He was criticized at home when he went so far as to say that he would be willing to hand over a region of Senegal if a large number of Haitians were to agree to relocate here. The project has since been scaled back and the students will receive free housing — not land. They will also be offered scholarships in a nation where the campus of Senegal's largest university is frequently paralyzed by strikes because of the late payment of scholarships.
The students walked out of the airport wearing baseball caps and T-shirts that said: "Thank You President Abdoulaye Wade." They were led onto tour buses that drove them through the neighborhood of Almadies, the westernmost point of Africa which juts out into the Atlantic.
The bus climbed a hill overlooking the ocean, and let them out at the feet of an enormous statue pointing West in the direction where they had come from.
"Your ancestors left here by physical force," Wade told the students. "You have returned through moral force ... When the slaves embarked on the ships, this is the last piece of African earth they saw ... Dear students, it is on this point of land that sticks out farthest into the Atlantic that we have chosen to receive you," he said. "You are neither strangers nor refugees. You are members of our family."
The students said they felt overwhelmed by the welcome. Peterson Paul, a 22-year-old sociology undergrad from the destroyed Delmas 19 neighborhood of Port-au-Prince said he lost his house in the Jan. 12 quake and was living under a tarpaulin when he learned of Wade's offer. He filled in an application and went through two rounds of interviews before being selected for the trip.
"It's true that Senegal is not that much better off than Haiti," he said. "But our educational system was rocked by the earthquake. It's in a precarious state. I think it will be better for me here ... and I had no idea that they would do all of this for us."
Masses of people crowded on the tiered staircase leading to the 160-foot (50-meter)-high bronze statue. They banged djembe drums and clapped when the students arrived. Their welcome was broadcast to seven neighboring African nations, and besides Wade, the president of the West African nation of Guinea-Bissau was there to greet them, as was the prime minister of Niger.
The mammoth statue depicting a man, woman and family rising out of the ground was another one of Wade's pan-African projects: It cost $27 million and was billed as the world's largest statue. It is supposed to symbolize Africa's renaissance.
Like the relocation of the Haitians, it got mixed reviews locally and it has become more a symbol of wasteful government spending.
"This is a historic day," said airport security guard Abdou Salam, who leaned against the peeling blue wall of the airport's VIP room in the hours before the chartered jet landed. "But it's a little weird. We're chartering a plane and giving them free scholarships, and yet we know that our own students can sometimes go six months without seeing their payments."
Last year, students angry at not receiving their scholarships seized municipal buses as they entered the campus of Cheikh Anta Diop University in downtown Dakar. They blocked roads and were beaten back by police. The university's dorms are so overcrowded that rooms made for two often house four or more, forcing students to sleep in spoons on twin-sized beds.
Others say that Senegal's poverty — where nearly half the working age population is out of work and where even those that do have jobs bring home around $130 a month — is in fact the reason it should be helping Haiti.
"We are giving the rest of the world a lesson in humanity. Senegal has shown that it's in the hearts of the poor that you can find the gift of generosity," said historian Iba Der Thiam, currently vice president of the National Assembly. "A country that is neither rich nor developed has agreed to share the little it has with its brothers."
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