Le sous-sol haïtien recèle des richesses qui pourraient valoir jusqu’à 20 milliards de dollars et sa mise en valeur est l’une des priorités du gouvernement haïtien.
Following the death of former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier, also known as ‘Baby Doc,’ on October 4th, Development and Peace supports the call of its partners in Haiti who are asking that the victims of his regime not be denied the justice they seek.
Bien que la population de Papaye ne s’élève qu’à seulement 500 habitants, la contestation que l’on retrouve au sein des institutions du MPP est constante et féroce. Lieu de réunion des grands événements protestataires, la communauté de Papaye s’active, chaque année, à rassembler des centaines, voire des milliers de paysannes et paysans afin de faire connaître, à la population haïtienne et à la communauté internationale, leur mécontentement quant aux multinationales, aux institutions financières internationales et à la mondialisation du secteur agroalimentaire.
Last Thursday, Development and Peace had the privilege of participating in a conference entitled Haïti: analyse et perspectives de l’aide (Haiti: analysis and perspectives on aid) organized by the Concertation pour Haïti (CPH), a network of organizations working in Haiti that includes Development and Peace.
Gilio Brunelli, Directeur of International Programs
On the eve of the fourth anniversary of the earthquake that struck Haiti, there are neither particular preparations nor special expectations in the streets of Port-au-Prince. There are no plans on the part of civil society, and there are only rumours that the government will organize something to commemorate this sad event. But three days before the fateful moment, we still do not know what the nature or scope of this “thing” will be. Nobody has the heart for it anyway.
Gilio Brunelli, Director of International Programs
No need to be in Haiti itself to realize that the world of reconstruction of this country is both disparate and complex, and to see the variety of initiatives that have burst on the scene there. In Miami airport, where I wait for my flight to Port-au-Prince, I notice a group of men and women dressed as "volunteers." It says in red and bold characters on their shirts “Volunteer work for Haitian children." In their case, it's clear; they are going to Haiti for the children. I then observe a couple in their fifties with a guitar.
Gilio Brunelli, Directeur Service des programmes internationaux
Nul besoin d’être en Haïti pour se rendre compte de l'univers complexe et bigarré de la reconstruction de ce pays et pour s’apercevoir de la variété des initiatives qui y déferlent. À l'aéroport de Miami, où j’attends mon vol pour Port-au-Prince, je remarque un groupe de femmes et d'hommes habillés en « volontaires ». Est inscrit en rouge et en caractères gras sur leurs chandails « Action bénévole pour les enfants haïtiens ». Eux, c'est clair, s'en vont en Haïti pour les enfants. J’observe par la suite, un couple âgé d’une cinquantaine d’années et muni d'une guitare.
April 17th marked International Day of Peasant Struggles. This day was launched in Eldorado dos Carajas, Brazil, in 1996, after the assassination of 19 peasants who were members of Brazil’s Landless Rural Workers' Movement (MST), a Development and Peace partner. Around the world, peasants are struggling daily against deforestation, land grabbing, the polluting of water and soil, but also to improve their living conditions.
Since the earthquake of January 12, 2010, Development and Peace has been supporting a number of reconstruction projects put forward by various Haitian civil society partners. So, after more than three years, where are we in this extremely complex process of rebuilding a society that was already socio-economically vulnerable and whose weakness was exacerbated even further as a result of this natural disaster?
On the occasion of the Good Friday Fast, a number of people are preparing to raise funds in solidarity with Development and Peace so as to support our partners in Africa, Asia, Latin American and the Middle East. Hundreds of Canadians from all across the nation will be taking part. Fasting represents a symbolic choice in favour of solidarity with the poor, the oppressed, and the hungry, and provides a time-out to concentrate on what really matters.
