#Haitian PM

[ghoooooooooooooooost]

this is my personal acct with my personal opinions follow my art-only acct if you're only here for art

🥩 ghooost - they/he/she - haitian

warnings: body horror, gore, suggestive art, talking a lot (a LOT)

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NOTE: 

1. if i mass delete art for a specific fandom post-2020 you’ll still find it on my itchio (or on youtube if it’s a video), if not you can potentially ask me to put it there. don’t reupload without asking me!!!

2. please try not to spam me too heavily! i used to block ppl over it srry.... (bc there were multiple cases of ppl literally going through 200 posts at once n it made me irritated/paranoid). i try to be chill abt it now but for certain fandoms its a chance for a hardblock (namely pm)

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^ there are other tags of this nature for other games or media, if they’re not on this post anymore it means i just moved on from them or haven’t used them in a long time

[beardedmrbean]

Haiti's government declared a 72-hour state of emergency on Sunday after armed gangs stormed a major prison. At least 12 people were killed and about 3,700 inmates escaped in the jailbreak.

Gang leaders are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, whose whereabouts are unknown since he travelled to Kenya.

Gangs control around 80% of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Gang violence has plagued Haiti for years.

A government statement said two prisons - one in Port-au-Prince and the other in nearby Croix des Bouquets - were stormed over the weekend.

It said the acts of "disobedience" were a threat to national security and said it was instituting an immediate night-time curfew in response, which started at 20:00 local time (01:00 GMT on Monday).

How gangs came to dominate Haiti

Haitian media reported that police stations were attacked, distracting authorities before the coordinated assault on the jails.

Among those detained in Port-au-Prince were suspects charged in connection with the 2021 killing of President Jovenel Moïse.

In the capital, gangs have erected barricades to prevent security forces from encroaching on their territory, while their strongholds in Port-au-Prince's vast shantytowns are still largely on lockdown.

Schools and many businesses are closed, and there are reports of looting in some neighbourhoods.

Police have set up roadblocks and there is much uncertainty on the streets.

The latest upsurge in violence began on Thursday, when the prime minister travelled to Nairobi to discuss sending a Kenya-led multinational security force to Haiti.

Gang leader Jimmy Chérizier (nicknamed Barbecue) declared a co-ordinated attack to remove him.

"All of us, the armed groups in the provincial towns and the armed groups in the capital, are united," said the former police officer, who is accused of being behind several massacres in Port-au-Prince.

Haiti's police union had asked the military to help reinforce the capital's main prison, but the compound was stormed late on Saturday.

On Sunday the doors of the prison were still open and there were no signs of officers, Reuters news agency reported. Three inmates who tried to flee lay dead in the courtyard, the report said.

A journalist for the AFP news agency who visited the prison saw around 10 bodies, some with signs of injuries caused by bullets.

One volunteer prison worker told the Reuters news agency that 99 prisoners - including former Colombian soldiers jailed over President Moïse's murder - had chosen to remain in their cells for fear of being killed in crossfire.

They have now been transferred to a different prison.

The US embassy in Port-au-Prince on Sunday urged its citizens to leave Haiti "as soon as possible". The French embassy said it was closing visa services as a "precaution".

While Haiti has been plagued by gangs for years, the violence has further escalated since President Moïse's assassination at his home in 2021. He has not been replaced and presidential elections have not been held since 2016.

Under a political deal, Mr Henry was due to stand down by 7 February. But planned elections were not held and he remains in post.

A spokesperson for the White House's National Security Council said it was "monitoring the rapidly deteriorating security situation" with "grave concern".

They said the path forward "lies with free and fair elections" and violence serves "only to delay a democratic transition while... upending the lives of thousands".

Speaking to the BBC's Newsday, Claude Joseph - who was serving as acting prime minister when President Moïse was assassinated and who is now head of the opposition party called Those Committed to Development - said Haiti was living through a "nightmare".

Mr Joseph said Prime Minister Henry wanted "to stay as long as possible in charge".

"He agreed to step down on 7 February. Now he decides to stay, despite the fact that there are huge protests throughout the country asking him to step down - but it's unfortunate that now those criminals are using violent means to force him to step down."

In January, the UN said more than 8,400 people were victims of Haiti's gang violence last year, including killings, injuries and kidnappings - more than double the numbers seen in 2022.

Many health facilities have stopped operating because of the bloodshed.

Anger at the shocking levels of violence, on top of the political vacuum, have led to several demonstrations against the government, with protesters demanding the resignation of the prime minister.

[reasoningdaily]

Lynn Garrison

March 10, 2024

I have been involved in an ongoing effort to guide Haiti out of the chaotic train wreck that has followed the loss of my good friend, Jovenel Moise. Our team started meeting during 2022 and became finely focused when Prime Minister Henry created the HCT – Haut Conseil de Transition, headed by Mirlande Manigat. The three member group, was projected as the element that would see a new situation created, through which the Nation could move forward towards some sort of regeneration.

A new cabinet… elections … perhaps a rewrite of the Constitution.

HOPE…. !

I can never recall who the other two members were/are but they really didn’t matter. It was Madame Manigat’s presence that offered a vehicle for survival. And so, we started to pressure the Prime Minister in the hope that he and Madame Manigat would create a new cabinet and set a date for elections.

From time-to-time there seemed some hope, but PM Henry never took the necessary step to get out of our Nation-Threatening situation.   There was always delay.   He allowed us to continue the slide towards the Abyss. Some members of his team got funds from Finance Minister  Boisvert and passed the cash along to gangs in a criminal effort to maintain instability, an instability the benefitted their personal position.

(Today Finance Minister Boisvert wants to become PM so he can perfect his criminality)

Some of these people did what they could to impair  efforts of DGPNH Elbie to acquire munitions, and equipment, required to coordinate security.

PNH officers and ordinary citizens died, because of these actions. Haitian businesses suffered. Schools could not continue. Hospitals closed. 

The Nation was/is dying!

Throughout this fiasco, the American government, with their puppets in the OAS/CARICOM made inane statements that only solidified a paralysis. 

And then, the recent collapse of Prime Minister Henry’s situation offered a door to survival. In any normal world, the PM was toast and we could move forward. The United States Government should have made a specific, easily understood statement – to the effect – the PM Henry MUST RESIGN!!!!

We had been dealing with Madam Manigat for months and it was now time to finalize the situation, and have her lead Haiti out of this endless spiral toward death and disaster.

I believed that Manigat was ready and willing to take the lead, solidifying the legacy of her and my friend President Leslie Manigat. 

I drafted a  simple statement  that would point the way. It is attached at the bottom of this note and it gave the International Community more than they expected. For example, it declared the commitment to hold elections in November 2024. This is possible if everyone focuses on the challenge. The suggested delay, until August 2025 is pointless. Somewhere, along the line, a few people could create a violent situation and delay the process.

We can have elections in 2024 just as efficiently as 2025 if the International Community supports us with the elements required.

We have the determination.

Even as Madame Manigat was poised to issue the statement, American Secretary of State  Antony Blinken blinked. He, and others, obfuscated in the support or lack of support for PM Henry. CARICOM zoomed through the sky.

And so, yesterday , I travelled to meet with Madame Manigat, with nine members of our team. She graciously received us at her residence. Our journey took us through several gang leader’s territories, where our transit was supported by the gangs.

Strangely, many of the gangs are really willing to  disband, if we could find a solution.

In any event, it was soon apparent that Manigat saw the confused, foggy, befuddled, misdirected, uninformed, ignorant and dangerous position of our supposed allies as to be a poor basis upon which to risk whatever legacy she might possess.

And so, Mirlande Manigat declined the opportunity to play Russian Roulette with her image.

Our team traversed a major gang area, personally led by the father of the key gang leader – to guarantee our security.

That is Haiti on a personal level! Always has been.

I don’t know where we go from here. People look to me, for my input, because I have been exposed to Haiti for something over 44 years. My understanding of the situation, and the one hundred percent ability of the Americans, to make the wrong decision, when it comes to Haiti, leaves me without much optimism.

In 1994 I personally coordinated the American plan that saw Aristide’s return, predicated upon a reequipped and trained FadH to act as a countervailing force to Aristide’s predicted grab for dictatorial power.

The Americans expected elections to be held in December,  1994 and Aristide would be eliminated.

Aristide, the guy who got 67% of the monstrous 337,000 ballots cast in 1990 – out of a voted base of 3,500,000 –  was returned, on the bayonets of 23,000 American soldiers in October, 1994.

November 18, 1994 Aristide disbanded the FadH, delayed elections and then cruised on to take dictatorial power, as predicted in the first place.

Then American propaganda created a terrible reputation, for the FadH and blocked any possibility of this Nation Saving Force to play a real part in our survival.

THERE MUST BE A LESSON HERE.

TODAY, THE NATION IS DYING. TOMORROW, IT’S PULSE WILL BE LESS. HOW LONG UNTIL THIS FLAT-LINES?

HERE IS THE DRAFT STATEMENT I PREPARED FOR MANIGAT’S CONSIDERATION:

I agreed to serve on the HCT, in the belief that Prime Minister Henry was honestly committed to initiating steps to bring Haiti out of the crisis that has effectively paralyzed the Nation since President Jovenel Moise’s assassination. Instead, we have been faced with delay, obfuscation and misdirection that leads nowhere.

We are wasting the valuable time of our 13, 000,000 citizens who deserve better.

Prime Minister Henry’s decision to bring foreign nations into Haiti appears, to many,  a simple tool to guarantee his continued, ineffective, unconstitutional hold on power. The Kenyan police, and 2000 soldiers from Benin, would be an adequate force to maintain him in power forever..

The Prime Minister’s promise of elections, during August of 2025, is no promise at all. The Nation could invest time and money in preparing for the vote, only to be disrupted by a few, within the Prime Minister’s office, who could initiate some acts of violence, justifying delays on towards Infinity.

It is my belief that elections could be held during the fall of 2024, just as efficiently, or  inefficiently, as those proposed for 2025. We should just declare a date, and work towards it.

We can do this.

I propose taking the authority given to me, but never exercised, to head a new government, creating a fresh cabinet whose members owe no specific loyalty to any political party or individual, as has been the past practice.

I would hope that all elements see the wisdom in this simple, straightforward approach to solving our challenging situation.

My solution will take major steps towards providing Haiti, and its citizens with the one building block required for any possibity to survive.

SEKIRITE.

Without SEKIRITE we can have nothing 

Our society is disintegrating with each passing day as gangs challenge us throughout the countryside. The foreigners look for complex solutions when the formula for Haiti’s salvation is one the world can understnd…  We must find a simple and direct solution to the Nation’s challenges;

ONLY ONE THING CAN SAVE Haiti –  the gift of SEKIRITE

Haiti cannot have anything without SEKIRITE

There is no transporation without SEKIRITE

There is no school without SEKIRITE

There is no Investment without SEKIRITE

There are no tourists without SEKIRITE

There can be no health services without SEKIRITE

There can be no business without SEKIRITE

There can be no HOPE without SEKIRITE

All Haitians must join our journey along the troubled path toward our Nation’s future –the vehicle is SEKIRITE.

JOIN ME NOW!

SEKIRITE POUR TOUS!!

________________________________________________

COMMENT: HAITIAN TRUTH.ORG

We have accepted this article from Lynn Garrison, for publication, because of his long-term involvement with Haiti – at all levels. He first visited Haiti, in 1980, with Burt Lancaster, to capture Voodoo’s secrets for an American TV series.    

From 1980 – 1991 he spent about one-third of his time in Haiti, generating a network of contacts.

When it looked like Diplomatic relations would be severed, in 1991, he was placed inside Grande Quartier Generale as the American embassy link with the Cedras team. Garrison remained there, from August 1991, through September 1994 when he escaped Aristide’s team and flew back to Florida.

Lynn Garrison returned to Haiti in 2004, with Aristide’s departure, and has functioned there since then.

He wrote VOODOO POLITICS- The Clinton/Gore Destruction of Haiti and ARISTIDE – The Death of a Nation. These covered his 1991 – 1994 experiences.

Garrison remains firmly committed to the fight for Haiti’s right to control its own affairs in today’s confused world.

[vanishingreyes]

[pm] Do you think bees have feelings? Like, if you kicked them out of their home (which was a vent in your room), do you think they'd be sad about it? Or would they be okay? Because I really don't want to hurt their feelings, but I don't want them to sting me, either. Do you think we could come to an understanding? Me and the bees. I don't speak bee. Do you speak bee? I mean, I guess alligators don't in general, but I don't know.

[pm] Felix?

Bees might have feelings. Most living things do.

I don't speak bee, only Spanish and Haitian Creole and English.

Not an alligator, last time I checked... don't think that's possible.

[stele3]

[iuicmontreal]

🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨PREMIERING TODAY AT 2:00 PM

Like, Comment, Share...!!SUBSCRIBE!!

https://youtu.be/j8B6Y8yP3iY

Them Shorts Will Get You Killed

#Dresscode #Modest #Haitian

#Laws

[ausetkmt]

US Amb. Dan Foote: Haitian PM Ariel Henry ‘will not survive’ if he returns ...

[gwydionmisha]

Haitian PM tenders resignation after Jamaica talks

[hicginewsagency]

Armed Ganga attacked prison in Haiti, demands for PM to resign

Haitians outside the national penitentiary in Port-au-Prince on Sunday, after an attack by armed gangs courtesy  image Haiti’s government declared a 72-hour state of emergency on Sunday after armed gangs stormed a major prison. At least 12 people were killed and about 3,700 inmates escaped in the jailbreak. Gang leaders are calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who has been…

[daisybellejpeg]

hi! this is regarding dr. shaw and the bright situation, so don't feel forced to answer this at all ^^ asking about 2 things

do you plan on rewriting the scp 963 article with dr. shaw? i know a lot of people say it's already not written the best, and i'm wondering if you'd give it some major rewrite or just sort of replace the character and leave it

the character dr. bright has been mentioned to be jewish, is dr. shaw as well? i'm not jewish personally but i know that, especially because he was such a well known character, a lot of jewish people (that i know at least) appreciated seeing that representation. ofc i understand that they're 2 separate characters so i don't expect them to be the same, but i'm curious because i've definitely seen mixed feelings on that aspect specifically

sorry for any poor grammar! i'm a bit sick atm but i wanted to send this ask in because i'd forget if i put it off. again, feel free to delete this if it makes you uncomfortable due to the situation, i've been through something similar and i get how hard it is to work through. wishing you the best!

Hey hey! Dw about asking, I don’t feel forced to answer any of my asks and love talking to people!

Onto what you’re asking:

1. As of now there is an article being made! Unsure if it’ll replace the original’s slot at the moment. I’m sure you’re aware kaktus put me on board with the project, he proposed strong arming staff into the article getting the original slot but I have no updates as to how that’s going as of now. It is to note that I’ve lost contact with him since late April. None of our mutuals know what’s up with him either. I’ve both quintupletexted him and asked around;;

I’m making my own version of the proposed article, once he pops up again I’ll cross ref with him and probably ask for help with formatting because I suck at computer stuff.

2. Ethnically Shaw is Mexican, specifically Chicano-Indigenous. I’m latine myself and live in a community with a Mexican kind of majority (lossa Haitian people too, unsure which demographic is more prominent). A ton of family friends are from Mexico with indigenous roots and I only have two other Mexican characters so I have the advantage of being able to ask my pals from my former parish alongside my usual deep dive research. As for the Roma aspect of his character I’ve been doing research on both Caló and Chicano Romani peoples for him and his mother (https://www.tiktok.com/@florida.florian?_t=8eDhq1agf51&_r=1 here’s a link to my favorite mainstream Romani content creator. His informative videos have been of major help for writing them as well as Dr. Carina and their mom. He even has vids on how to write Romani characters!!)

I don’t have a religion for him or Ansel yet? His mom, Dr. Soraya Zugasti, however, is a Muslim convert and is actually hijabi, not presumed hijabi like Evelyn was. At the end of the day to my knowledge Judaism is an open religion with the exception of some ultra orthodox communities and Shaw is the kind of person to be pretty open minded when it comes to spirituality. Statistically, as Ansel and Soraya immigrated from Mexico, the country has a Christian/Catholic majority, especially in the time that they lived there. There’s always the possibility that Shaw could be a convert like how his mother converted to Islam from being mostly agnostic. I’d have to think more on it but it’s a good chance that I’ll write that in!

I also have more Jewish characters if that gives you and your friends reassurance! Most notably Carina’s wife Commander Jezebel Diamandis and her kids, Dick and Rachel, as well as one of Carina’s Uncles, Agent Hannemann Charles. I’ll have to draw em up soon but I’d like to think they’re pretty cool 😎

Hope that answers your question! Feel free to pm me or reply to this if you have anything else to ask!

[haitilegends]

Join Us to Stand Against Hate!

🗓️ Wednesday, September 18th

By Ralph Cadet

Donald Trump is coming to Nassau Coliseum on Wednesday, September 18th. We are going to be there in full force to repudiate and denounce “racism, bigotry, xenophobia, homophobia, hate, etc.” Bring your Haitian flags. See you there!!! P.S. If you can’t get there at 3 PM, don’t worry, the protest will continue until the night (8/9 PM). No excuses!!!

________________

📍 Corner of Hempstead Tpke and Uniondale Ave (near McDonald's)

1110 Hempstead Tpke, Uniondale, NY 11553

__________________

Source:

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/123jyFGAtsv/

___________

#LunionFaitLaForce 🇭🇹

#Haitilegends

À 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐇𝐚ï𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐬, 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐞𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐞𝐭 𝐝𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐋𝐨𝐮𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞.

Nous vous annonçons que Donald Trump sera au Nassau Coliseum à Long Island New York, le mercredi 18 septembre 2024. Nous, Haïtiens et les amis d’Haïti, serons présents en force pour répudier et dénoncer avec fermeté « le racisme, l'intolérance, la xénophobie, l'homophobie, la haine et toutes les formes de discrimination et d’idéologies nocives que Trump et ses alliés véhiculent contre nous.

🇭🇹🇭🇹🇭🇹Apportez vos drapeaux haïtiens.🇭🇹🇭🇹🇭🇹🇭🇹

P.S. Si vous ne pouvez pas arriver à 5hr pm, ne vous inquiétez pas, la manifestation continuera jusqu'au soir (8h/9h PM).

Il n’y a pas d'excuses pour ceux qui habitent New York City, New Jersey, Connecticut, Philadelphie, Boston et tout l’état de Massachusett, Washington, Maryland, l’état de New York. Rhode Island etc… !!! ______ 📍

Rendez au:

Coin de Hempstead Tpke et Uniondale Ave (près de McDonald's) 1110 Hempstead Tpke, Uniondale, NY 11553”.

_Texte Anglais de:_

*Ralph Cadet*

_Traduction Française et ajouts_

𝕽𝕮𝕽

𝕽obert 𝕮harlot 𝕽aymonvil

[eltristan]

The oddest thing about the Republican Party and their response across all channels to the SOTU (last night) is how Republicans suddenly care so much about Haiti... About how sleepy Joe needs to "look to Haiti" (most common n-gram)... (Context: Haiti 🇭🇹 is currently an incredibly violent place with armed gangs engaging in a civil war to overthrow the PM -- who isn't in Haiti at the moment -- currently much of the fighting is their attempt to take Port-au-Prince's Toussaint Louverture International Airport.)

iirc the last time the most Russia-aligned political party used "Look to ———" as a talking point, it was "Look to Libya" 🇱🇾 in the 3 months prior to the Benghazi attacks, after Republicans uniformly decried Obama's use of military force in Libya as "an affront to our constitution" (another n-gram).

Earlier this week Biden slipped additional USMC MSCEG into Haiti, including FAST (Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Teams), without telling anyone or making a fuss about it -- or at least Republicans haven't gotten the memo. Expect a Haitian Benghazi-attempt in 3 months, approximately July 4th - August 8th.

While it seems to have been an attempt, Benghazi itself didn't derail Obama's reelection in 2012 (but it kept Republicans distracted and busy for a while). People forget that the future #45 was a presidential candidate for the 2012 elections, using the slogan MAG "Make America Great" (reused in 2016 as MAGA), but that he dropped out (Loser) ...to Mitt Romney! If you look at what Republicans were most mad about, about Benghazi, it's about the purported cover-up and how the attack didn't affect the US election that year!

But the timing and effort that were put in to embarrass the then-Secretary-of-State over Benghazi, at the time maybe paid off and ultimately it was used to great effect in the 2016 election against Hilary Clinton. Current Sec-State is Antony Blinken (who would make an outstanding president), fwiw. (Expect to see Haiti resurface in 2028)

[beardedmrbean]

Haiti is fast descending into anarchy.

Over the weekend, the violence in the capital Port-au-Prince ramped up once again. Heavily armed gangs attacked the National Palace and set part of the Interior Ministry on fire with petrol bombs.

It comes after a sustained attack on the international airport, which remains closed to all flights - including one carrying Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

He tried to fly back to Haiti from the United States last week, but his plane was refused permission to land. He was then turned away from the neighbouring Dominican Republic too.

Mr Henry is now stuck in Puerto Rico, unable to set foot in the nation he ostensibly leads.

Among those who did manage to get into the stricken Caribbean nation, though, was a group of US military personnel.

Following a request from the US State Department, the Pentagon confirmed it had carried out an operation to, as it put it, "augment the security" of the US embassy in Port-au-Prince and airlift all non-essential staff to safety.

Soon after, the EU said it had evacuated all of its diplomats, fleeing a nation mired in violence and facing its biggest humanitarian crisis since the 2010 earthquake.

Millions of Haitians, however, simply don't have that luxury. They're trapped, no matter how bad things get.

The situation is dire at the State University of Haiti Hospital, known as the general hospital, in downtown Port-au-Prince. There is no sign of any medical staff at all.

A dead body, covered by a sheet and swarming with flies, lies in a bed next to patients waiting in vain for treatment.

Despite the overpowering stench, no-one has come to remove the body. It is rapidly decomposing in the Caribbean heat.

"There are no doctors, they all fled last week," said Philippe a patient who didn't want to give his real name.

"We can't go outside. We hear the explosions and gunfire. So, we must have courage and stay here, we can't go anywhere."

With no prime minister and a government in disarray, the gangs' power over the capital is near absolute.

They control more than 80% of Port-au-Prince and the country's most notorious gang leader, Jimmy "Barbecue" Chérizier has again told the prime minister to resign.

"If Ariel Henry doesn't step down and the international community continues to support him," he said last week, "they will lead us directly to a civil war which will end in genocide."

Meanwhile, the police, outnumbered and demoralised, are struggling to keep looters at bay. The Salomon police station in Port-au-Prince was attacked and burnt out, and charred police vehicles lie outside the still-smouldering building.

US evacuates Haiti embassy staff amid gang violence

Haiti's main port closes as gang violence spirals

Haiti gangs demand PM resign after mass jailbreak

Nevertheless, even in the face of the total collapse of law and order, people must still venture out to make a living.

At a nearby market, several street hawkers told the BBC they had no other option but to leave their homes, even with gunmen roaming the streets.

"I have three kids, and I'm all they have - I'm their mother and their father," said Jocelyn, a market trader who also didn't want to give her real name.

"So, I'm obliged to take to the streets. Yesterday gunmen came here and stole all our money. A lot of vendors lost all their money. But there's no way to stay at home when you have three mouths to feed."

"The anxiety is killing me when I'm in the street," echoed an older woman selling fruit. "I keep thinking what if I get shot dead? Who will take care of my children then? I have no family to support me."

To the west, in one of Haiti's nearest neighbours, Jamaica, the dignitaries, diplomats and heads of state of the Caricom regional group are gathering for an emergency summit.

The instability in Haiti is a problem for the entire Caribbean community, and for Washington too. The idea of a nation of some 11 million people being run by gangs is of huge concern, particularly the potential impact on outward migration during an election year in the US.

It's clear Caricom favours seeing Mr Henry resign as soon as possible, from outside of the country if necessary.

The Biden administration in the US has publicly said the unelected prime minister - who had promised to hold an election in February - should return to Haiti, but only in order to stand down and begin a transition to a new government.

Privately, though, US diplomats are increasingly aware that it might now be impossible for him to return, and that even attempting to do so could further destabilise Haiti.

A UN-backed plan for a Kenyan-led rapid reaction force to tackle the gangs is still far from becoming a reality.

To add to the lawlessness, a week ago, around 4,000 inmates escaped after the gangs attacked the main prison in Port-au-Prince.

Those prisoners are now back on the streets and bolstering the ranks of their gangs.

In the aftermath, the cell doors are now wide open, the facility is virtually abandoned and there are blood stains on the ground after gunmen overpowered the guards.

A prime minister unable to return, violent gangs in control of the capital and dead bodies piling up on the streets: Haiti is currently a nation about as close to a failed state as it's possible to be.

[zvaigzdelasas]

FinancialTimes - "Dominican Republic calls for rapid international action to halt Haiti gang violence"

The president of the Dominican Republic has called on the international community to intervene in Haiti without delay to halt gang violence, instead of making speeches about helping the stricken Caribbean nation.[...]

“You have to help pacify Haiti,” Abinader said. “ . . . Not with speeches about we are going to help, but with real actions . . . The Haitians themselves can’t . . . The person who asked for a force was the Haitian PM. If he asks for it, it’s because he needs it.”[...]

Volker Türk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, last month called on the Dominican Republic to stop deporting Haitians and the US has criticised the mass detention of suspected illegal Haitian migrants for days in what it says are overcrowded detention centres, sometimes without access to food or lavatories.

Abinader was unrepentant about the policy, which has led to about 20,000 Haitians a month being sent home from the Dominican Republic since August. “We have a border with one of the world’s poorest countries, perhaps among the two or three poorest countries in the world, with a very weak government where a significant part of the territory is ruled by gangs,” he said. “As president of the Dominican Republic, I have to protect my country.”

Abinader’s government is building a security fence along the border to deter illegal migration. The first section will be finished next year and by 2024 it will extend across about half of the frontier, with surveillance technology covering more mountainous areas. The president rejected criticism of the border fence, saying “it’s the same as the US is doing with Mexico”.

11 Dec 22

[progressive-politico]

WIKILEAKS: U.S. Fought To Lower Minimum Wage In Haiti So Hanes And Levis Would Stay Cheap

Robert Johnson 

Jun 3, 2011, 2:49 PM

 A Wikileaks post published on The Nation shows that the Obama Administration fought to keep Haitian wages at 31 cents an hour.

(This article was taken down by The Nation due to an embargo, but it was excerpted at Columbia Journalism Review.)

It started when Haiti passed a law two years ago raising its minimum wage to 61 cents an hour. According to an embassy cable:

This infuriated American corporations like Hanes and Levi Strauss that pay Haitians slave wages to sew their clothes. They said they would only fork over a seven-cent-an-hour increase, and they got the State Department involved. The U.S. ambassador put pressure on Haiti’s president, who duly carved out a $3 a day minimum wage for textile companies (the U.S. minimum wage, which itself is very low, works out to $58 a day).

Haiti has about 25,000 garment workers. If you paid each of them $2 a day more, it would cost their employers $50,000 per working day, or about $12.5 million a year ... As of last year Hanes had 3,200 Haitians making t-shirts for it. Paying each of them two bucks a day more would cost it about $1.6 million a year. Hanesbrands Incorporated made $211 million on $4.3 billion in sales last year.

Thanks to U.S. intervention, the minimum was raised only to 31 cents.

These papers have come to light thanks to Haiti Liberte, a small Haitian newspaper with offices in Port-au-Prince and New York City.