‘Words, not guns’: learning brings hope to Haiti’s most notorious slum

Swamped by sewage and prone to floods, Cité Soleil is a hotbed for gangs and violence. But for a lucky few, an education initiative offers a glimpse of a better future

Billy Lafalaise has spent much of his 16 years avoiding the allure of gang life in one of the world’s most notorious slums. He was born in Cité Soleil, the sprawling shantytown of Haiti’s downtrodden and chaotic capital, Port-au-Prince.

“Everyone wants to be in a gang here,” Billy says, his mother Jinette nodding in agreement. “And every gang is always looking for recruits.”

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Haitians urge judges to find UN culpable for cholera outbreak that killed thousands

  • Supreme court consider whether to take up Laventure v UN
  • UN peacekeepers introduced disease after 2010 earthquake

Victims of the 2010 cholera outbreak in Haiti, which killed at least 10,000 people and infected hundreds of thousands more, are petitioning the US supreme court on Tuesday to hold the UN accountable for having brought the disease to the stricken country.

The nine supreme court justices will meet in conference to discuss whether to hear Laventure v UN as one of their cases of the new term. The petition goes to the heart of the question: should the world body be answerable in domestic courts for the harm it causes people it is there to serve?

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Haiti: photojournalist shot in face as senator opens fire outside parliament

  • Jean Marie Ralph Féthière draws handgun amid chaotic scenes
  • Chery Dieu-Nalio avoids serious injury; another man wounded

Two men including a photojournalist have been shot and injured by a Haitian senator who opened fire outside the country’s parliament, amid chaotic scenes as the government attempted to confirm the appointment of a new prime minister.

Chery Dieu-Nalio, an Associated Press photographer, was wounded in the face and a second man, Leon Leblanc, a security guard and driver, was also injured in the incident in the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, on Monday.

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Ghosts of tyrants past stalk proud Haiti as it slides towards the brink

A nation that suffered under the Duvalier dictators is collapsing as corruption and a failing economy take their toll

Last Sunday, Rony Marceline was riding his motorbike out of Ouanaminthe, a muggy, colourful town on Haiti’s border with the Dominican Republic, on a mission that within a few days has become commonplace: transporting yellow plastic containers of petrol. He hit a lorry and the canister split, enveloping him and his passenger, an as yet unnamed woman, in flames.

Until that moment, the newly necessary practice of carrying cans of fuel had been the subject of meme humour in this country where the petrol is running out and the usually intense traffic is stuttering to a halt. In one, an elegant woman carries a can under the caption: “the new accessory”. But now there is no joking: now the whole country is ready to explode.

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‘The poor are punished’: Dorian lays bare inequality in the Bahamas

The tourist destination relies on a life support system of fishermen, hotel workers and laborers. They’ve been hardest hit

Holidaymakers queuing at immigration at the Bahamas’ Nassau airport are still serenaded by three pink-shirted men playing jovial music. They are still sunbathing on the beaches and still swimming in the sea. It is as if nothing has changed in paradise.

Yet 40 minutes away by plane, on the Abaco Islands, heaven turns to hell. The Mudd, a shantytown that was home to the Bahamas’ biggest Haitian immigrant community, has been obliterated by Hurricane Dorian as if by a massive bomb.

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Oxfam failed to report child abuse claims in Haiti, inquiry finds

Damning Charity Commission report warns incidents in country were not isolated events

There were “serious problems with the culture, morale and behaviour” of Oxfam staff in Haiti according to a damning report which has found that the charity failed to disclose allegations of child abuse.

The Charity Commission report surveyed 7,000 pieces of evidence related to allegations that Oxfam had covered up its investigation into staff paying for sex while working on the response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

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Haiti in disarray as anti-government protests lead to prison breakout

Demonstrations over missing $4bn in development funds leave police overstretched, allowing 78 inmates to escape

The impoverished Caribbean nation of Haiti, hit by days of violent demonstrations that have claimed four lives, has suffered a mass prison breakout after 78 inmates escaped while police were dealing with protesters.

The demonstrations, the culmination of months of anti-corruption protests over the fate of almost $4bn (£3.1bn) in missing funds earmarked for social development – delivered via a controversial deal for Venezuelan petrol – have swelled in recent days under the slogan: “Kot kòb Petrocaribe a?” (“Where’s the Petrocaribe money?”).

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Haiti’s isolated and forgotten village – in pictures

Near the bottom of the island of Hispaniola in south-east Haiti is a forgotten village, cut off from its own country, and slowly emptying as its residents leave. As well as health services or electricity, Boucan Ferdinand also lost its only road to the nearest town, Bois Negresse, in devastating floods in 2004. Some of its residents have left for the capital, Port-au-Prince, while others cling onto a precarious life. Many have crossed illegally into the more prosperous neighbouring Dominican Republic

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Trump blasted over decision to repatriate 59,000 Haitians

President Donald Trump faced a backlash Tuesday over his tough immigration policies after announcing that 59,000 Haitians who took refuge in the United States following the 2010 earthquake must return home. Lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle blasted the decision to repatriate the Haitians within 18 months, removing the Temporary Protected Status they received after the disaster, which killed more than 200,000 people and destroyed much of Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince.

Commentary: Chronicles of a Chronic Caribbean Chronicler: Europe and…

European Slavery lasted over 400 years on estates in the Caribbean and The Americas. Now the descendants of African slaves are demanding not just apologies but also atonement for the greatest crime against humanity ever known to mankind By Earl Bousquet The recent furor in Grenada over whether slave history has a role in tourism promotion is an important development that fits smack in the middle of the ongoing Caribbean discussion on reparations from Europe for slavery and native genocide.

US seeks evidence of Haitian crimes as it weighs their stay

The Trump administration is taking the unusual step of hunting for evidence of crimes committed by Ha... . FILE - In this Jan. 26, 2010, file photo, Haitian police use sticks to try and keep the crowd in order at a food distribution point in the Cite Soleil neighborhood in the aftermath of the Jan. 12 earthquake in Port-au-P... .

Peacekeeping: Fiction vs. Reality

The word peacekeeping is like the word terrorism: it is meaningless on its own and able to be molded to serve the interests of a political clique. Like Alex P. Schmidt's description of terrorism in The Routledge Handbook of Terrorism Research , peacekeeping "is usually an instrument for the attempted realization of a politicala project that perpetrators lacking mass support are seeking."

The Latest: US helicopters sent to Haiti after hurricane

The commander of U.S. forces in the Caribbean says nine U.S. military helicopters are being sent to Haiti in response to the government's request for help with damage from Hurricane Matthew. Adm. Kurt Tidd told reporters at the Pentagon on Wednesday that the helicopters are to arrive in Haiti on Thursday, weather permitting, by way of the Grand Cayman Islands and Jamaica.

Haiti welcomes UN admission, plans to assist cholera victims

In this Oct. 21, 2010 file photo, cholera patients receive serum at the St. Nicholas Hospital in Saint Marc, Haiti. A U.N. acknowledgement that it played a role in introducing cholera to Haiti and vows to aid victims were welcomed Friday, Aug. 19, 2016, in the Caribbean nation, which has experienced the worst outbreak of the disease in recent history.