Haiti: Creole Spoken, Creole Understood

By Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. Creole was certainly the tongue spoken at the 1791 Bwa Cayiman Vodou ceremony that launched the Haitian Revolution. Nevertheless, it was French that served as the text of Haiti’s Independence Declaration and as the country’s only official language until 1987. Why?

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Government Postpones School Year One Month | Le pouvoir repousse la rentrée scolaire au 1er octobre

By Staff (spp), Radio Kiskeya | By Stephen Ralph Henry, AlterPresse. Commentary and translation by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. Haitian PM Laurent Lamothe said Friday, August 3, 2012, during a working session in the Parliament, that the new school year originally set to start on September 3 would be postponed until October 1 because of economic difficulties. Parents and teachers’ organizations say they were not consulted. (English | French)

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The Man Who Planted Trees | L’homme qui plantait des arbres | El hombre que plantaba árboles | O Homem que Plantava Árvores

By Frederic Back, You Tube | Based on Jean Giono’s short story, The Man Who Planted Trees. Director Frédéric Back’s marvellous interpretation of Giono’s allegory won an Oscar for short animation. The story is a tribute to hard work and patience. (English | French | Portuguese | Spanish, 30 min.)

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Gerard Fortune: Art Imbued With a Passion for Life, Nature, and the Gods

Gérard Fortune is one of Haiti’s most imaginative self-taught painters. He was born in 1925 in Petionville, Haiti. He was originally a houngan (Vodou priest) and pastry chef and did not start to paint until around 1980. His work has been exhibited the world over and is described in most books on Haitian art.

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Aid as a Trojan Horse: On the Anniversary of the Haitian Earthquake

By Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. Long before the word sustainable became fashionable, before Henry David Thoreau noted that “A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone,” there was Haiti.

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Christmas Before Jesus: Birth of the Unconquered Sun

By Staff, Essortment | Edited by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. Christmas’ origins can be traced back to winter solstice celebrations like the Babylonian Feast of the Son of Isis, Roman Saturnalia, and birthday of Pagan sun god Mithras. In 350 Pope Julius I picked Mithras’ December 25 birthday as the date to celebrate Christ’s birth, although he was probably born in September. Hearty celebrations of the rebirth of the unconquered Sun!

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