Orchestre Septentrional: For 6 Decades, the Sound of Good News in Haiti

STM Productions
A concert in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, top, in the film “When the Drum Is Beating,” about the Orchestre Septentrional.

Since the founding of the Orchestre Septentrional in 1948, the band’s homeland, Haiti, has endured the nearly three-decade Duvalier family dictatorship, 26 other governments, a foreign intervention, a devastating earthquake and, most recently, a cholera epidemic.

Through it all Septen, as the group is known to its fans, has been that rare Haitian entity that functions flawlessly.

Onstage, whether playing an elegant ballroom or an outdoors festival in the countryside, Septen is a dynamo, with a heady combination of drums and horns driving dancers onto their feet. But to Haitians, Septen’s ability to thrive when all else seems to be falling apart makes the orchestra something more — a bulwark and a solace.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/11/arts/music/when-the-drum-is-beating-about-orchestre-septentrional.html?_r=2

View more photos here: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2012/04/11/arts/20120411SEPTEN.html

Haiti prime minister nominee clears second hurdle

The Associated Press
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Haiti’s Senate has taken the first step toward installing a new prime minister by ratifying a foreign affairs minister for the position.

The favorable vote of 19-to-3 Tuesday night means the candidacy of Laurente Lamothe must now go before the Chamber of Deputies for final approval.

The 39-year-old Lamothe is a close friend to President Michel Martelly and ran a telecommunications business before turning to politics. Lamothe also is co-chair on the government’s economic advisory board.

Martelly’s government has been without an official prime minister since February. The caretaker official, Garry Conille, abruptly resigned after sparring with the president.

The absence of a prime minister in Haiti has done little to speed up reconstruction efforts following the massive January 2010 earthquake.

Read more here: http://www.theolympian.com/2012/04/10/2064661/haiti-prime-minister-nominee-clears.html

Teledjol rumors unnerve Port-au-Prince

Friday, 06 April 2012
Rumors circulating about the future stability of Haiti’s leadership have unsettled daily life in the capital of Port-au-Prince, according to recent reports from residents to the National Weekly.
…
The rumors include government corruption allegations, a pending resignation of President Michel Martelly, the parliament’s delay in accepting Foreign Minister Laurent Lamothe’s appointment as the new prime minister, and the pending arrest of former Prime Minister Bertrand Aristide over his alleged involvement in a telecommunication bribery case heard recently in Miami.

One Port-au-Prince teacher, who also requested to remain anonymous, said in the absence of a government leader, many people expect a serious crisis. The rumors, he said, are spread by Haiti’s well-developed “Teledjol” (“telemouth” in Kreyol) – a rumor mill system of radio, cell-phone texting and online. The effects of the teledjol, already a strong influencer in the city, have magnified because of the current lack of information from the government. According to an AP report, one recent incident last month, caused by vague statements made by Haitian officials on the radio, led many schools and shops in the city to close.

The Port-au-Prince business woman believes that the rumors, especially over the radio, are meant to destabilize Martelly, who she believes is losing grip on the government. She hopes Martelly will address the nation soon, “so the country can undertake the needed development that has lagged since the 2010 earthquake.”
Read more:http://www.cnweeklynews.com/la-section-haitienne/87-la-section-haitienne/3568-teledjol-rumors-unnerve-port-au-prince

MSF opens new emergency health clinic in Haiti

A man stricken with cholera waits for relatives to visit at a cholera treatment centre run by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in Port-au-Prince October 21, 2011. REUTERS/Swoan Parker

10 Apr 2012
Source: alertnet // Julie Mollins

LONDON (AlertNet) – Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has opened a new emergency trauma, orthopaedic and visceral surgery referral centre in Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince, the medical aid charity reported on Tuesday.

The surgical referral centre is the third emergency treatment facility opened by MSF in the capital since a devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the country in January 2010.
…
The 107-bed Nap Kenbe, or Staying Well, centre was completed in February this year to treat trauma related to falls and road accidents, and victims of violence, such as beatings, assaults and bullet wounds.

Its official inauguration will be celebrated on Wednesday in conjunction with Haiti’s health ministry.

“MSF is now supporting the Ministry of Public Health and Population with 600 hospital beds in Haiti for emergency care,” said Gaëtan Drossart, MSF’s head of mission in Haiti.

“This is still far from adequate, but is nevertheless an advance.”
Read more: http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/msf-opens-new-health-emergency-clinic-in-haiti

Helping Haiti’s Equines

HSI’s work in Haiti represents a brand new movement in animal protection there. We’re able to efficiently reduce suffering of many animals through projects like this one training Haitian veterinarians on equine care. With thanks to Days End Farm Horse Rescue and Best Friends for their expertise and support.

HSI is offering Haitian veterinarians training in equine medicine and working with them to educate owners about how to take better care of their animals.

Watch a video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZ-VzmkF91w

Celebrating with Pawol Jen Yo (Youth Speaks)

On March 16th, the awards celebration for the Pawol Jen Yo (Youth Speaks) artisanal competition took place at Institution Mixte Bernoulli in Croix-des-Bouquets. It is thanks to the leadership and effort of Jean-Ruben Magloire that this event achieved great success and affected hundreds of school children and their families and friends. Twenty schools in the area participated and the general public came as well to celebrate and hear the winners speak and accept their awards.

Many of the youth and volunteers wore handsome new shirts celebrating the occasion.

The excitement built as the day progressed and everyone wanted to discover who the top winners were!

At last Monsieur Magloire announced the first prize winner. Dorlean Marc Scheuder, from Ecole Presbytérale de la Saint Enfance, received a laptop for his Camion Métallique, a detailed truck with moving parts.

A close-up shot of the finely detailed vehicle.

The top three winners posed for the cameras: (left to right) JEAN Fils Emmanuel from La Maison des Aigles was the winner of a bicycle, Dorlean Marc Scheuder, and Pierre Richard from Istitution de Formation E. St Lot was the winner of a camera.

There was such talent that 4th, 5th, and 6th prizes were also given!
4th: MERVIL Kerby

5th: VALCIN Dienie

6th: Merilus Christopher M.

Twelve more worthy participants also earned consolation prizes.
Special thanks to Laura de Reynal for her photography skills!

Haitian founding document

By EMERY P. DALESIO
Associated Press Writer

For years, Haiti’s government has sought out the pamphlets on which the country’s founders declared that they had thrown off their colonial masters, ended slavery and created the world’s first black republic. Now historians say a graduate student has found what could be the only copy left.

The leaders of Haiti’s revolution sent their Declaration of Independence to other governments in the days after the island country’s 1804 birth. But copies from that original printing have been lost in the centuries since, and the country’s national archivist said he’s traveled abroad looking for any that might have survived.

Duke University said Thursday a graduate history student found what could be the only surviving copy. Julia Gaffield made the discovery in February while combing through early 19th Century correspondence collected in Great Britain’s National Archives in London, the archives and Duke said.

The director-general of Haiti’s National Archives, Wilfrid Bertrand, said that he was not aware of any surviving official originals of the declaration, not even in the possession of the government in Port-au-Prince. An original copy had been rumored to exist in London, Bertrand said, but he could not find it when he went looking himself about 10 years ago.

If the document proves to be authentic, Bertrand said he would like to see it returned to Haiti.

“It is a very important document for our country,” said Bertrand, who first learned about the find on Thursday. “It has every bit the same importance as the American Declaration of Independence.”

Read more:http://www.skyhidailynews.com/article/20100401/APA/1004011500