According to the Cable, former U.S. President Bill Clinton will be named a U.N. special envoy to Haiti this week. Clinton made his fourth trip to Haiti in March with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon. He had told the Miami Herald, "I've been following this country for more than three decades...the message I want to send is Haitians work hard and they work smart. Haiti is a good place to invest."
The Haitian Education and Leadership Program (HELP) is Haiti's largest provider of scholarships for talented youth who would not otherwise be able to afford a higher education. Digicel, a major supporter of education programs, has taken note and provided HELP a $10,000 grant as well as two new phone lines with $1,200 of prepaid talk time. In addition, an anonymous donor has recently offered HELP a $25,000 challenge grant. This is an excellent opportunity for HELP to expand educational opportunities to a new generation of future community, corporate, and government leaders.
It takes more than elections to have a healthy democracy. There are many other important factors, one of which is freedom of the press. This is something that we often take for granted in the United States. In countries like Haiti, journalism has historically been a dangerous business, especially when it informs and empowers the poor. In the lead up to World Press Freedom Day on May 3rd, Freedom House released its 2009 International Press Freedom report, which noted improvements in Haiti. This is good news indeed.
According to Marketwire, Digicel is celebrating the third anniversary of its launch in Haiti with a customer base of 2.1 million. Digicel's initial investment of US$260 million is the singled largest (legal) investment ever made in Haiti. Digicel is proof that foreign investment can be accountable, profitable, and benefit society. We hope it is a model others will follow.
Many papers, books, and presentations have covered in great detail how Haiti came to be deforested. Fewer have focused on what Haitian government and civil society should do, with the support of the international community, to reverse the environmental destruction. Doing so is neccesary for food security, disaster prevention, nutrition and public health, social/economic stability, and ultimately security. The attached report by the International Crisis Group lists concrete actions that could be taken in the short and long term to promote security through rehabilitating the environment.
It has been a busy month for Haiti. The Donors Conference turned out reasonably well. At the Summit of the Americas meeting, members of the Organisation of American States (OAS) expressed their willingness to offer long-term support to Haiti. OAS Secretary General José Miguel welcomed the focus on Haiti, noted that the Haitian government drafted a plan on how the international community can help. As he put it, 'Now you know exactly what you have to support…I think things are really going to begin to happen for Haiti.'' We hope so as well.
Patrick Farrell won a Pulitzer Prize for his photos of the devastation caused by a series of tropical storms that devastated several cities throughout Haiti, though none so much as Gonaives and Cabaret. His stark photography captures the heart-ache of the many families who lost loved ones. As is usually the case in Haiti, children pay the heaviest price for inaction.
There was an interesting post on Corbett's List today which described how Jimmy Jean-Louis, who plays "The Haitian" on NBC's Heroes, is kicking off a campaign to fight human trafficking in Haiti. The campaign intends to raise awareness concerning the 200,000 children in Haiti who are the victims of modern-day slavery, trafficking and exploitation. You can visit the website here.
Last week, a blogger named Tynan wrote about his experiences couch-surfing in Haiti. He was initially nervous about visiting Haiti due to the images of burning tires and protests one sees so often on the television and news-paper. Couch surfing allowed him to see some of the most positive aspects of Haitian culture such as the warmth, hospitality, and humor. His trip to Haiti went without incident. Ironically enough, he was mugged durng the next leg of his trip in the Dominican Republic. The blog entry is copied below.
Delegates from 28 countries and multilateral organizations participated in the 2009 Haiti Donors Conference. Given the global economic downturn , now is a tough time to hold such an event. Donors pledged to provide $324 million in additional aid to Haiti over the next two years, of which $41 million is for budget support in 2009. Not as much as hoped for, but if the Haitian government can spend it well, this may open doors for increased support from donors later on.
