GDP Measures the Wealth of Bankers
By Dady Chery, News Junkie Post | Haiti Chery. Libya’s gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 108 percent in 2012. By contrast, the growths of Japan and other developed countries, as measured by their GDP, have stagnated at values below three percent and sometimes negative. If you are shaking your head, thinking there must be a mistake in the World Bank’s computations, think again.
By Dady Chery, Haiti Chery | News Junkie Post. While Hurricane Sandy ravaged the Caribbean and the US eastern seaboard, Typhoon Son-Tinh tore through the Philippines, China and Vietnam. The dead from the mudslides, floods and violent waves were caught by surprise or lacked the wherewithal to move to higher ground. They were overwhelmingly poor.
Haiti’s Opposition Parties Draft a Manifesto
By Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. The Convention of Political Parties, headed by former senator Turneb Delpe, held a national conference of 30 political parties and civilian organizations in Cap Haitien on Monday and Tuesday October 15-16 to formulate solutions to Haiti’s current crises and counter the Martelly-Lamothe regime as a united front. Together the political parties and civilian organizations drafted The manifesto of Cap-Haitien. UPDATE: Full text of manifesto included in French and English.
Soaring Food Prices in Haiti (+ Video, Sep 19, 2012)
By Ricardo Pierre Placide, Le Matin | Translation by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. Over the past several months, Haitian households have faced an unprecedented 40% increase on average in the prices of essential commodities such as eggs, rice, sugar, and flour. (English | French).
By Staff, Prensa Latina. Peasants throughout Paraguay are demanding negotiations with the government for land plots on which to live and work. In Saltos del Guaira (east) about 1,000 small farmers and their families were forcibly evicted by police on Monday August 6 from a farm occupied by a Brazilian citizen.
Massacre at La Visite
By Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. Thirty six commandos from Haiti’s Departmental Unit for Maintenance of Order (UDMO), together with presidentially-appointed regional and local government representatives, arrived in La Visite Park, near the city of Jacmel (southeast Haiti) to evict 142 families by force on July 23. The small farmers, who had lived there since 1942, were offered $1,160 for each property. In the battle that ensued, 4-12 people were killed.
By Ivet González, with reporting by Patricia Grogg, IPS. Small farmers in Cuba are involved in developing improved seeds from local stocks, to obtain good harvests under difficult environmental conditions. These efforts are backed by the Program for Local Agrarian Innovation (PIAL), which has benefited some 50,000 farmers, with the support of international development aid. (English | Spanish)
Top Five Reasons Why Caracol Industrial Park is Disastrous for Haiti
By Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. The Caracol Bay area was slated to be a World Heritage site and park because of its breathtaking barrier reef, mangroves, and migratory birds. The area is also the site of several major archaeological finds, including Guacanagaric, one of the largest and most complete Taino Indian villages. Instead, the area has been converted into the massive Caracol Industrial Park (or Caracol Free-Trade zone, FTZ) that is expected to pollute the Trou du Nord River and the bay and get served by a deep-water port.
By Pierre Ricardo Placide, Le Matin. After a 20% drop in Haiti’s agricultural production last year, the agricultural sector is under threat of a more drastic reduction of food supply. This situation could exacerbate food insecurity in the most vulnerable households in the Departments of the North, Northeast, South, Artibonite and Central Plateau. (English | French)
Port Market Burns in Port-au-Prince Again and Again (UPDATED on July 13, 2012)
By Reynold Aris, Le Matin | Translation and editorial note by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. The Port Market in Port-au-Prince went up in flames early in the morning on June 18: exactly one year and three months after the previous fire. Traders at the market say they’ve received numerous threats about a fire, and the city’s Chief Prosecutor noted that three attempts to burn this market had recently been aborted. UPDATE: On the night of July 12-13, the same market fell victim to another suspicious fire. (English | French)
By Inés Benítez, Tierramerica, IPS, Global Issues. The economic and financial crisis afflicting the European Union (EU) countries has scarcely affected the sales of fair-trade products in Spain, especially foods from Central and South America. (English | Spanish | Portuguese)
U.S. and Dominican Republic Killing Haitian Organic Egg, Poultry Production
By Ronel Odatte (kft and rc), AlterPresse | Translation and editorial comment by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. Small farmers from Haiti’s Central Plateau are losing their livelihood due to a massive influx of eggs and poultry into the country from abroad; likewise farmers of freshwater fish from the same region are being driven to bankruptcy by a massive and incessant influx of fish from the Dominican Republic and United States. (English | French)
By Staff, Diario Libre | Humberta, Diaspora Women | Editorial comment by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. The Dominican Republic has the highest percentage of pregnant adolescents of all Latin American and Caribbean countries. According to the Statistical Yearbook of Public Health, there were 118,730 births in 2011, 60% of them to mothers under 18 years old. Moreover, 40% of these births were by Caesarian section. Instead of confronting these problems, Dominicans have focused on Haitian births.
Report, Interamerican Development Bank via Relief Web | Editorial comment by Dady Chery, Haiti chery. “Land tenure informality is widely considered to hinder agricultural productivity, limiting rural incomes.” – IDB. Meaning: Land tenure informality is an obstacle to grabbing Haitian lands for use by big agricultural, mining, and power companies. Cambodia recently underwent a process of mapping of land ownership similar to the one being proposed for Haiti. The land grabs and killings have begun in Cambodia. (English | French)