Grange reports to the house on Haiti's withdrawal from football .

Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Hon. Olivia Grange has sought to clarify the issues surrounding the Haitian team’s withdrawal from the recently concluded CONCACAF under 17 football championship staged in Montego Bay, St. James.

Speaking in the House of Representatives at Gordon House, yesterday (March 1), the Minister said that the news of Haiti’s withdrawal from the tournament has been the subject of controversy, especially in Port-au-Prince, where there were street protests based on misrepresentations and misinformation. 

“The Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture has been involved in the dialogue as both Governments moved to end the protests and to preserve and strengthen the centuries old bonds of friendship between both countries,” Minister Grange said.

She said the Government regretted the circumstances that necessitated the withdrawal of the Haitian team from the CONCACAF tournament.  “I understand the pain felt by the Haitian delegation and the people of Haiti, particularly the young players,” Miss Grange said.

The Haitian team had to withdraw from the tournament after health officials confirmed three players were ailing from malaria.

In correcting some inaccuracies that have been reported about the treatment of the Haitian delegation, especially over the 72-hour period beginning February 14, Minister Grange noted that Jamaica did not single out the Haitian delegation for screenings at the airport. 

“As a routine, passengers from Latin America, South-East Asia, Africa, Republic of Haiti and the Dominican Republic are asked to fill out questionnaires and report about any abnormal symptoms on their arrival in Jamaica,” she explained.

Miss Grange further noted that there were no armed guards or armed thugs intimidating or restraining any member of the Haitian football contingent. 

“Two women police officers - a Senior Superintendent and an assistant - were present at the hotel for a maximum of 45 minutes on Tuesday, February 15, 2011.  They wore civilian attire.  They were not armed and at no time did they interact with any of the players.  No one was ever handcuffed,” the Minister assured.

She further informed that it was not a restrictive quarantine and that each member of the delegation was provided with food and had access to medicine, both at the hospital and in the hotel where most of the affected members of the delegation remained.

“The Government of Jamaica did not expel the Haitian football team.  The decision for the Haitian football team to withdraw was taken by the President of the Haitian Football Federation in consultation with CONCACAF,” she pointed out.

Following these events, Minister Grange noted that the Government of Haiti sent a special delegation to Jamaica on a fact-finding mission, between the 21st and  23rd of February.  The delegation had meetings in Kingston and Montego Bay with Government officials and other dignitaries.

“The delegation was given access to the Cornwall Regional Hospital to view the facilities and interview staff; and also viewed the facilities at the hotel where the football contingent resided and met with the manager of the property,” Miss Grange said.

Through those meetings and inspections, the delegation was able to get a full understanding of the events as they really happened, Minister Grange informed.

She said that based on the report of this special delegation, Haiti’s President Rene Preval, gave Prime Minister Bruce Golding the assurance at the CARICOM Heads of Government meeting in Grenada, that the matter was now closed.

“We are pleased that the misunderstandings have been clarified and the matter resolved,” she said.

She said that the Government was moving to arrange football matches between both countries “as we continue efforts to preserve and strengthen our relationship,” noting that she  would give more details as soon as the arrangements have been finalised.

In the meantime, the Minister congratulated the Jamaican team which advanced to the FIFA Under 17 World Cup Finals in Mexico later this year by finishing as one of the top four teams in the CONCACAF tournament.

“I offer congratulations to the other teams that qualified for the World Cup Finals from this tournament - United States, Canada and Panama,” she said.

She noted that the Government of Jamaica was also in full support of the Haitian Government’s proposal to FIFA and CONCACAF to give special consideration to the Haitian team to compete at the Under 17 World Cup Finals.

 CONTACT: ALECIA SMITH

Haiti cholera 'far worse than expected', experts fear

The cholera epidemic affecting Haiti looks set to be far worse than officials had thought, experts fear.
Rather than affecting a predicted 400,000 people, the diarrhoeal disease could strike nearly twice as many as this, latest estimates suggest.
Aid efforts will need ramping up, US researchers told The Lancet journal.
The World Health Organization says everything possible is being done to contain the disease and warns that modelling estimates can be inaccurate.
Before last year's devastating earthquake on the Caribbean island, no cases of cholera had been seen on Haiti for more than a century.
The bacterial disease is spread from person-to-person through contaminated food and water.
It causes severe diarrhoea and vomiting, and patients, particularly children and the elderly, are vulnerable to dangerous dehydration as a result.
Gross underestimateIn the three months between October and December 2010, about 150,000 people in Haiti contracted cholera and about 3,500 died.
Around this time, the United Nations projected that the total number infected would likely rise to 400,000.
But researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, say this is a gross underestimate.
They believe the toll could reach 779,000, with 11,100 deaths by the end of November 2011.
Dr Sanjay Basu and colleagues reached their figures using data from Haiti's ministry of health.
They say the UN estimates were "crude" and based on "a simple assumption" that the disease would infect a set portion (2-4%) of Haiti's 10 million population.
Dr Basu's calculations take into account factors like which water supplies have been contaminated and how much immunity the population has to the disease.
They predict the number of cholera cases will be substantially higher than official estimates.
"The epidemic is not likely to be short-term," said Dr Basu. "It is going to be larger than predicted in terms of sheer numbers and will last far longer than the initial projections."
But the researchers say thousands of lives could be saved by provision of clean water, vaccination and expanded access to antibiotics.
A spokesman for the World Health Organization said: "We have to be cautious because modelling does not necessarily reflect what's seen on the ground.
"Latest figures show there have been 252,640 cases and 4,672 deaths as of 10 March 2011.
"We really need to reconstruct water and sanitation systems for the cholera epidemic to go away completely.
"It's a long-term process and cholera is going to be around for a number of years yet."

By Michelle RobertsHealth reporter, BBC News

Haiti: Candidates dismiss fears over Aristide

Wednesday, 16 March 2011
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Haiti's two presidential candidates have dismissed concerns that the apparently imminent return of the exiled former president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, would disrupt the election, despite a warning from the US State Department that he could be a destabilising presence.
Michel Martelly, a pop singer known as "Sweet Micky", told reporters that he did not think Mr Aristide would influence the vote, although he would prefer that the former president wait "two or three days" and postpone his arrival until after the election.
"He is welcome to come back like Jean-Claude Duvalier did," said Mr Martelly, referring to the former dictator who made a surprise reappearance in Haiti in January. "I hope his return doesn't create instability for the elections."
Mirlande Manigat, a university administrator and former first lady, expressed no misgivings about the return of Mr Aristide, who has repeatedly said during his exile in South Africa that he wants to return home as a private citizen and work as an educator. Ms Manigat seemed even to encourage him.
"President Aristide is welcome to come back and help me with education," she said.
Both candidates have been Aristide opponents in the past. Now, both stress his right to return as a Haitian citizen under the constitution.

ROCK BAND ARCADE FIRE PLAN TRIP TO HAITI

Grammy Award-winning Canadian rockers Arcade Fire are planning a trip to earthquake-ravaged Haiti to jam with local musicians for an upcoming DVD release.
The group has teamed up with British photographer Leah Gordon, who published a book of pictures from Haiti in 2008, and will head to Haiti later this year.
Arcade Fire have pledged to contribute over $1 million to ongoing relief funds in Haiti, where band member Regine Chassagne's parents hail from.

Roberto and mom and band robbed at gunpoint in Domican Republic

Roberto Martino just got rob at gun point in DR. The Tvice lead singer guitarist just left  a restaurant with his mom, Jay Brooklin, Ti tambou when a guy on a motorcycle draw a gun on them. Roberto was robbed of his 16G  rolex watch and cash, La madre's purse with credit card money and cash wasp taken. T Tambou and Jay Brooklin also was search also at gun point. " he happened so fast that no one could nit even react " said Roberto. He said he is grateful that no harm was done and he is alive. Ironically, Roberto was the one warning his bandmade James Cardozo to be careful the night before because he was wearing his Cariter late at night. A police report was filled
                        From Haitianbeatz.com

Jimmy Jean-Louis excited about improvement in African cinema and his most important role yet!

2011 African Movie Academy Awards ‘Best Actor in a Leading Role’ nominee, Jimmy Jean-Louis was recently spotted with celebrities such as Nicole Richie and Kanye West at the Jean-Paul Gaultier show during the Paris Fashion Week Fall /winter 2012. The Haitian Hollywood star is currently in Paris shooting a new movie that he is doing in France and Martinique.
                                     Ghanaweb.com
Jimmy plays the role of Toussaint Louverture, the man who gave Haiti its independence from France in 1804. Toussaint-Louverture was the leader of the Haitian Revolution, the first successful revolution by a slave population in the Americas. He is noted for his military genius and political acumen which prepared the way for the creation of the independent black state of Haiti. The success of the Haitian Revolution had enduring effects on shaking the institution of slavery throughout the New World.
Jimmy Jean-Louis describes the role as his most important role to date. The actor who gained mass acceptance in Africa for his role as a Nigerian in the hit romantic comedy, ‘Phat Girlz’, continues explore African movies.  He starred in three of the movies that are currently gunning for honours at the 2011 African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA). Jimmy’s role as an abusive husband in the psychological drama, ‘Sinking Sands’, earned him a ‘Best Actor in A Leading Role’ nomination.
    Jimmy comments that it’s good to have an event like the African Movie Academy Awards in Africa because it is necessary to celebrate “ourselves” just so the rest of the world can pay attention. “The African cinema has great potential; it has improved a lot in the past few years. I took great pleasure in collaborating with very talented African film makers, inside and outside of the continent. ‘Precipice’ was shot in London by Julius Amedume (Ghana);’In America, The Story of Soul Sisters’ was shot in Boston by Rahman Oladigbolu (Nigeria),and ‘Sinking Sands’ was shot in Ghana by Leila Djansi (Ghana).”
Commenting on his chances of winning the Best Actor nod , Jimmy said: “I don’t know if I will win, I think all nominated actors are winners.”

Martelly offers a fresh start against the old failed system .

By Joseph Guyler Delva
PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Most Haitians refer to popular singer and presidential contender Michel Martelly as simply "Mickey". His rival in a March 20 run-off election, respected former first lady Mirlande Manigat, is granted the more formal sobriquet of "Madame Manigat".
The contrast between the brash entertainer and the soft-spoken opposition matriarch means the final stage of what has been a tumultuous presidential campaign in the Western Hemisphere's poorest state will be as much about competing personalities and style as policy proposals.
Although two decades separate 70-year-old grandmother Manigat from her younger rival, both are seen by analysts as right-of-centre candidates who share many similar views on how to put the earthquake- and cholera-ravaged Caribbean nation on the path of recovery.
Here are some of the things that separate, and unite, the candidates vying for Haiti's presidency more than a year after a devastating January 2010 earthquake:
EXPERIENCE, OR CHANGE?
The debate over experience is what most divides the two candidates, who were eventually declared the two front-runners from a chaotic, inconclusive November 28 first round vote that was fraught with vote-rigging allegations and unrest.
Manigat was the top first round vote-getter, but did not gain enough to win outright. She would be Haiti's first elected female president if she wins the run-off on Sunday.
Martelly, 50, is a political neophyte who was propelled into the run-off by a revision of the vote tally from the first round. He says he offers the fresh start that Haiti needs.
"Sweet Mickey", as he is widely known, says the post-quake recovery requires an energetic, courageous leader who can make a clean break with the bad habits of corruption, mismanagement and violence that have plagued Haiti's government for decades. The symbol of his Repons Peyizan party is a muscular bull.
A star of Haiti's catchy Kompa dance music, the charismatic shaven-headed Martelly projects himself as a "man of the people" in tune with a popular clamour for jobs, affordable food, clean water and housing, healthcare and education.
"In this election, you have a choice to make: a choice between a new way of thinking, a new breath and a new team, and a system that has been in place for 30 years," he said in a recent televised debate with Manigat.
She became a senator and first lady in 1988, when her husband Leslie Manigat won the presidency. Both were forced into exile by a coup soon after. Manigat stresses her Sorbonne education and expertise in constitutional law, which she contrasts with Martelly's glitzy showbiz background.
"You don't lead a country with your feet. You lead a country with your head and your heart," she says, in reply to critics' suggestions that she may be too old to spur Haiti into tackling its huge developmental challenges, a cholera epidemic and the task of rebuilding after the 2010 earthquake.
Manigat, who wears her silvery hair in a bun, has echoed questions about whether her rival has the gravitas to be president. His more outlandish antics as an entertainer have included donning diapers, wigs and even stripping in public.
Outside formal events where he wears suit and tie, he often leads his supporters in rallies and marches in the streets. He has an enthusiastic youth following, boosted by support from fellow musician and Haitian-American hip-hop star Wyclef Jean.
RECONSTRUCTION, AID AND DEVELOPMENT
Both candidates agree that Haiti needs significant foreign aid as well as local and foreign investment to rebuild its capital, revive the economy and house hundreds of thousands of homeless quake survivors. They also argue for decentralization so that funds can be more equally spread across the country.
Martelly and Manigat have faulted delays in post-quake recovery efforts, specifically by the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC) co-chaired by former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive.
"The commission can play a great role, but we have realized there is slowness and there is some disorder," Martelly said.
He and Manigat say Haitian interests risk being put aside in a rebuilding process where donors have such a big role, and that Haiti must shake off its long dependency on foreign aid.
Martelly advocates investment in tourism, while Manigat has education as a centerpiece of her platform and both call for modernization in agriculture, along with updated land records.
SECURITY, U.N. PEACEKEEPING
While the presence of a more than 12,000-strong U.N. force in Haiti is a sensitive subject -- critics talk of "occupation" and accuse U.N. peacekeepers of bringing cholera to Haiti -- neither of them is pressing for an immediate withdrawal.
Manigat says there would be serious security problems if the U.N. force had to leave now, although she adds there should be a plan for a progressive departure of the blue helmets, and their replacement by a Haitian security force.
Martelly goes further in saying that Haiti needs to have its own army, meaning the restoration of an institution disbanded in the mid-1990s by then President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, previously ousted in a military coup.
The subject is controversial as many remember the army as an abusive ally of past dictators and of a wealthy political and business elite. Aristide says he intends to return from exile, increasing worries about instability.
Manigat and Martelly say they want to closely involve the Haitian diaspora in the country's reconstruction, with Manigat advocating a constitutional change that would allow exiles to have double nationality, vote and hold political office.
(Writing by Pascal Fletcher; Editing by Kieran Murray)

     
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