More than a year after the devastating earthquake, one question still occupies my mind “where is the money?” I am still baffled by what we call progress, thousands still live in inhuman condition. I ask myself repeatedly if I am dreaming. Unfortunately it is not a dream; it is the reality of more than a million of men, women, and children that still live in makeshift tents. After the earthquake UN provided an estimation of the aid requirement:

After seeing these numbers I was skeptical however, I was convinced we Haitians, the people of pride, would join hands to make Haiti the first priority. Needless to say that was a naïve thought, look at Haiti now, too many deep pockets to fill, too many see this tragedy as a way to lavish into money. That greed we have that causes the suffering of so many and hangs like a dark cloud over our nation will take us straight to the path of our own destruction. Today I am inviting you to be the voice of Haiti, the voices of those ones that cannot speak. How can we stand to look at this dreadful picture that is painted with the vivid color of agony and sorrow of so many Haitians? We can no longer afford to be Haitian by circumstance. We should not let this moment define us, Haiti still needs our help. Although Haiti is no longer on the news flash on CNN, FOX new, and the tragedy does not make the afternoon news, death for many of our brothers and sisters is still around the corner, and hope is nothing but a fantasy. Their situations do not change as quickly as the headline news. This has never been more evident to me, sadly, as it is right now “out of sight out of mind”. We quickly forgot it, like it was only a nightmare. We always said “l’union fait la force[1]” where is that sense of fraternity? If I may ask. I want to remind you that if during and after the earthquake thousands of Haitians die, it is our fault.

Some days I want to cry, however the character engraved in me by society prevent me from doing so I hold in the tears one thing is sure the pain does not go away, it is strengthened each day. I shared each one of the tears of my brothers and my sisters I felt their pains the day that tragedy knocked on their door even a year after I still feel their pain. I want to offer them my voice so you can understand their agony, their sorrow, and their everyday hardship. My loyalty and my love toward Haiti will be questioned undoubtedly; the question that will be posed is why I am doing this, why not giving up? Poets, and musicians have tried they have begged for a better tomorrow with no avail. We all have heard and seen these words before; they brought back memories that empoisoned our soul with sadness, sometimes it takes the length of the reading to forget everything, sometimes it might only take a day or maybe longer. One thing is for sure we always forget too soon.

Haiti did not become the poorest nation in the western hemisphere after the quake, this only worsen the situation. This tragedy exposed the weakness of this small nation, and the greed of our politicians; this is by far our darkest era. We have faced tragedy before; our politicians have failed us many times before, we have put our soul and heart into their hands they crushed them. Our children, our brothers and sisters have been killed by them in numbers, oh we know, our students have been beaten to death in the streets for dreaming of a better tomorrow, we know they have killed our journalists for telling the truth, they have forced into exile our brightest. What they are doing now is beyond my understanding.

It is time to say enough is enough – bourik la pran trop kout baton li bouke[2].I have one rather simple and complicated desire it is to see corruption no longer be the everyday norm in Haiti. A UN report confirmed billions being pledged for the relief efforts and to help with this effort the IHRC was created which was co-chaired by the former president William J. Clinton and the Former Prime Minister Jean Max Bellerive. Again in this report it is said that at the end of the year 2010 over 74 developments projects worth a (whapping) 3 billion US dollars were approved by the commission. Out of this $3 billion only $1.6 billion were funded. What left me speechless is that during an interview Mr. Bellerive declared “The problem is I don’t know who is receiving aids, what they are doing with it, and where it goes” this is ironic given he is a member of IHRC. If the government claimed they never received the money, who is then? Who is coordinating this effort in Haiti? Many of the pledges to Haiti failed to see any daylight due to the economic downturn around the world however many other countries fulfilled their commitment to this dying nation.  This was a humanitarian crisis, and still is, thanks to the nations that responded to the call of my anguished people. Countless individuals responded by giving their times and their hard earned money. The question that is burning inside me and many other Haitians is “where is this money?” Why is nothing being done …

Pi bel pase ou nan pwen[3] these were the words our folkloric songs attribute to Haiti. And if today you are feeling discomfited by what is happening in Haiti now and discomfited by what I’m writing then I accomplished my task, however if today what I’m saying does not take you aback or does not interest you I just want you to know that I really am sorry for you.

Fund for Haiti source: http://current.com/185d44c;http://current.com/185d44c

http://fts.unocha.org/pageloader.aspx?page=emerg-emergencyDetails&appealID=926 http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/minustah/documents/un_report_haiti_2010_en.pdf

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/haiti/index.html

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[1] It is on the Haitian flag: Unity symbolizes our strength.

[2] The donkey has been beaten for far too long, she is tired: In the Haitian custom in the villages donkeys are used for transportation.

[3] No other beauty can compare to yours

Michel Martelly: From a Skirt to a Tie

Mr. Martelly who is considered to be part of the elite, decided to come forward and fulfill his duty as a Haitian and declared himself runner for the presidency of Haiti in July 2010. Before this political aspiration, Mr. Martellly was a very popular musician. During his musical career Mr. Martelly under his adopted stage name “Sweet Micky” has portrayed himself as an unsophisticated individual to say the least. This very talented and self-taught Haitian musician is one of the most well known personalities in Haiti especially for his controversial behavior. His behavior on stage was not the only controversy in his life, his affiliation with certain past members of the Haitian government has raised some eyebrows in the Haitian community, such as the notorious Lt. Col. Michel Francois. Despite his wigs, his controversies, and his slurs in public, Michel has always proven to be a true Haitian, and a very concerned one for that matter. We believe that he loves Haiti.  However, now he is the commander in chief.  Is he up for the task? That’s the million dollar question.

We all have heard it before, where there is a will there is a way, this is true in some cases, but in the case of Mr. Martelly and the progress of Haiti, this does not hold much water. Without any reasonable doubt in my mind I have to say that Michel’s intention toward Haiti is well guided by his passion for the people of this country. This has been showcased in one of his songs when he talked about the dysfunction of the government and our crippled economy, “mayi ak diri produit de luxe nan yon peyi pendant yon pep chita la l’ap peri.” He never once denied Haiti and we know that he does not shy away from expressing his opinion. However are his passion and his will adequate enough to bring change to Haiti? His limited experience and education gave me reason to be skeptical about the future of the country. If we take a rather quick look at Mr. Martelly’s short and unimposing education, with all do respect, we can see clearly he does not have much to show for. After graduating at Saint-Louis de Gonzague one of the most prestigious high schools in the region, he went to the Red Rocks Community College in Lakewood, Colorado for one mere semester before returning to Haiti to pursue his musical career. Some might dare to say it is unfair to pass judgment on our new elected president sole based on his education.  What I would say to those people is that, Michel’s education is not the only thing that incapacitates our new president, when he comes to the governance of this devastating country which has been sucked dried to the bones by animals such as Rene G. Preval, Jean Bertrand Aristide, and last but not least our most recent dictator Baby Doc.  The subsequent lost of several of Mr. Martelly’s estates through mortgage default also gave me great reason to be worried. Like many of you I want to be optimistic, I want to believe that tomorrow will be better.

Where do we go from now?

We surely cannot ignore the complexity of the political, economical, and social condition Haiti is in now. No one should be naïve and expect everything to change in a blink of an eye. Haitians showed time and again through many of their actions a lack of patience.  Sometimes I ask myself if it is not due to our politicians downplaying the intricacy of pulling this country out of this situation. We need to see the reality in front of us and it will be an uphill battle against our corrupted politicians, against a broken judicial system, and against hunger. We cannot afford to be a bystander “fok tout moun mete men noun nan pat.” I must say I admire the optimism of Mr. Martelly when he said “we are going to work together for change.” I don’t know how much time and how much sacrifice it will take for us to push aside our corrupted leaders who are so eager to fulfill the head of the innocent people with so many lies. They come in so many forms, in the form of teachers, pastors and even priest

 One thing for certain we need to work on our differences no matter what it takes, we have to for the betterment of tomorrow. Our newly elected president is going to need the help of each and every one of us no matter how small or how pathetic we might think it might be. In the political scene Mr. Martelly is an outsider and his political skills are practically non-existent to say the least.  He went in a matter of a few months from a skirt to a tie. We need that fraternity and that unity that our ancestors once had for the sake of this country. According to the New York Times, Mr. Laurent Dubois a professor of French studies and a Haiti scholar at Duke University said as best it could be said “He (Mr. Martelly) is entering a particular complex, multifaceted, and contorted political landscape.” We need to move with cautious, should we succeed our president would have to surround himself with very competent people that can be a foil for his passion he has claimed for Haiti. He has to realize what is at stake, the life of millions of Haitians. 

Schlegel Pierre.

Un Pays Agonisant

Maintenant on ne peut plus chanter la beauté d’Haïti, il ne reste plus rien. Je me vois astreindre par mon amour patriotique de peindre un tableau de mes frères perdus dans l’indigence. Malgré tout je ne puis oser de dire d’avoir compris leur problème mieux que vous qui lisez mon “blog”. Si j’écris un “blog” la simplicité de mon action est évidente, mes écrits c’est mon arme peut être que vous, vous pouvez utiliser un autre moyen qui peut se prouver mieux agissant que le mien pour conscientiser nos compatriotes haïtiens. La tache est difficile et long le chemin. Les obstacles vont se montrer en grands nombres. Il y aura des jours qu’on va se sentir abattre mais une chose est certain on ne peut surtout pas baisser les bras, on ne peut pas tourner le dos à Haïti, on doit tendre l’oreille à son cri:

Cri Moribond

Le relent de la détresse trône

La disgrâce d’un pauvre pays

Le désespoir l’endeuille

A titre d’une chélidoine flétrie transpercée

Par l’odeur charogne de la ruine

Son sort est celui d’un chien errant mourant

Allongé sur un trottoir

Il vautre sur son grabat

La douleur cinglante lui tend la main

Ses plaies puent

Les pieds, la tête nue, il est déchu,

Ses pas se dirigent vers le trépas

Son espoir s’est évincé par la soif inassouvie

De ses propres progénitures

Il pleure son malheur

Guigné par la malchance

Il a connu toutes sortes de turpitudes

Le brasier de la vaillance s’est agonisé en lui

Le supplice du feu de la misère consume ses entrailles

Qui va par son amour cicatriser ses entailles ?

Nos rancœurs causent le carnage de ses pas d’autrefois

Qui va lui redonner la foi ?

Ecrit Par: Pierre Schlegel

The Challenge of Rebuilding Haiti: Former Prime minister Jean Max Bellrive ”the problem is I don’t know who is receiving aids…”

More than a year after the devastating earthquake, one question still occupies my mind “where is the money?” I am still baffled by what we call progress, thousands still live in inhuman condition. I ask myself repeatedly if I am dreaming. Unfortunately it is not a dream; it is the reality of more than a million of men, women, and children that still live in makeshift tents. After the earthquake UN provided an estimation of the aid requirement:

After seeing these numbers I was skeptical however, I was convinced we Haitians, the people of pride, would join hands to make Haiti the first priority. Needless to say that was a naïve thought, look at Haiti now, too many deep pockets to fill, too many see this tragedy as a way to lavish into money. That greed we have that causes the suffering of so many and hangs like a dark cloud over our nation will take us straight to the path of our own destruction. Today I am inviting you to be the voice of Haiti, the voices of those ones that cannot speak. How can we stand to look at this dreadful picture that is painted with the vivid color of agony and sorrow of so many Haitians? We can no longer afford to be Haitian by circumstance. We should not let this moment define us, Haiti still needs our help. Although Haiti is no longer on the news flash on CNN, FOX new, and the tragedy does not make the afternoon news, death for many of our brothers and sisters is still around the corner, and hope is nothing but a fantasy. Their situations do not change as quickly as the headline news. This has never been more evident to me, sadly, as it is right now “out of sight out of mind”. We quickly forgot it, like it was only a nightmare. We always said “l’union fait la force[1]” where is that sense of fraternity? If I may ask. I want to remind you that if during and after the earthquake thousands of Haitians die, it is our fault.

Some days I want to cry, however the character engraved in me by society prevent me from doing so I hold in the tears one thing is sure the pain does not go away, it is strengthened each day. I shared each one of the tears of my brothers and my sisters I felt their pains the day that tragedy knocked on their door even a year after I still feel their pain. I want to offer them my voice so you can understand their agony, their sorrow,

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[1] It is on the Haitian flag: Unity symbolizes our strength.

and their everyday hardship. My loyalty and my love toward Haiti will be questioned undoubtedly; the question that will be posed is why I am doing this, why not giving up? Poets, and musicians have tried they have begged for a better tomorrow with no avail. We all have heard and seen these words before; they brought back memories that empoisoned our soul with sadness, sometimes it takes the length of the reading to forget everything, sometimes it might only take a day or maybe longer. One thing is for sure we always forget too soon.

Haiti did not become the poorest nation in the western hemisphere after the quake, this only worsen the situation. This tragedy exposed the weakness of this small nation, and the greed of our politicians; this is by far our darkest era. We have faced tragedy before; our politicians have failed us many times before, we have put our soul and heart into their hands they crushed them. Our children, our brothers and sisters have been killed by them in numbers, oh we know, our students have been beaten to death in the streets for dreaming of a better tomorrow, we know they have killed our journalists for telling the truth, they have forced into exile our brightest. What they are doing now is beyond my understanding.

It is time to say enough is enough – bourik la pran trop kout baton li bouke[1].I have one rather simple and complicated desire it is to see corruption no longer be the everyday norm in Haiti. A UN report confirmed billions being pledged for the relief efforts and to help with this effort the IHRC was created which was co-chaired by the former president William J. Clinton and the Former Prime Minister Jean Max Bellerive. Again in this report it is said that at the end of the year 2010 over 74 developments projects worth a whopping 3 billion US dollars were approved by the commission. Out of this $3 billion only $1.6 billion were funded. What left me speechless is that during an interview Mr. Bellerive declared “The problem is I don’t know who is receiving aids, what they are doing with it, and where it goes” this is ironic given he is a member of IHRC. If the government claimed they never received the money, who is then? Who is coordinating this effort in Haiti? Many of the pledges to Haiti failed to see any daylight due to the economic downturn around the world however many other countries fulfilled their commitment to this dying nation.  This was a humanitarian crisis, and still is, thanks to the nations that responded to the call of my anguished people. Countless individuals responded by giving their times and their hard earned money. The question that is burning inside me and many other Haitians is “where is this money?” Why is nothing being done …

Pi bel pase ou nan pwen[2] these were the words our folkloric songs attribute to Haiti. And if today you are feeling discomfited by what is happening in Haiti now and discomfited by what I’m writing then I accomplished my task, however if today what I’m saying does not take you aback or does not interest you I just want you to know that I really am sorry for you.

Fund for Haiti source: http://current.com/185d44c;http://current.com/185d44c

http://fts.unocha.org/pageloader.aspx?page=emerg-emergencyDetails&appealID=926 http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/minustah/documents/un_report_haiti_2010_en.pdf

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/haiti/index.html

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[1] The donkey has been beaten for far too long, she is tired: In the Haitian custom in the villages donkeys are used for transportation.

[2] No other beauty can compare to yours

We All Have Failed You (Haiti)

Nous sommes tous coupable de ce qui se passe en Haïti maintenant, que ce soit par nos illusions ou par nos cupidités nous sommes tous coupable. Nous avons jugé bon de rester indifférent à la misère noire de ce pays .Ces haïtiens (intellectuels) me dégoutent ils me donnent envie de vomir, ils ne peuvent faire qu’une seule chose, critiquer. Vous vous appelez intellectuels, dites à quoi ca sert votre intelligence si vous ne pouvez même pas venir à l'aide de votre pays. Haïti se trouve plonger dans une misère noire, il est temps de prendre le chemin du progrès. Je ne vais pas ignorer que Monsieur Wyclef n’est pas un intellectuel, dites à l’exception d’un petit nombre, les intellectuels d’avant qu’est ce qu’ils ont fait pour Haïti? Je peux vous aider à répondre cette question, rien du tout. Si maintenant on se trouve dans l’obligation d’élire comme président un homme qui n’est pas digne de ce nom il faut comprendre qu’on est tous coupable.

WE ALL HAVE FAILED YOU

More than 200 years have passed since you have been liberated (country) from the chain of slavery by our brave ancestors. Dessalines, Toussaint and countless of others have fought to achieve 1804. Not one single word could describe their pride; with their chin upward facing the infinite sky (unbounded horizon) heroically they call themselves Haitians, the first black nation to call itself independent, free from the oppression of the west. With enmity they, our oppressors, brought upon us a dark cloud, we saw our darkest day, trying to defend what our ancestors earned courageously against all odds. Although we paid dearly for what many rivals of our independence called insubordination, we never stop fighting for a better tomorrow. We tried to our best knowledge to build a nation but like an animal affected by a fatal plague we were isolated. Years have passed, crisis after crisis, along the way we forgot our main purpose, Haiti. Corruption becomes our guide for a better tomorrow. Our constitution becomes a laughing matter, and those who chose and dared to embrace it were shot, it became a death sentence to seek for justice, to seek for equality, and fraternity. That union that once gave us our strength no longer exists. We all have betrayed you “ma patrie” whether it was by our bad judgment of character or by doing nothing to stop that cancerous corruption we all have failed you. Many of you have given up; many have left and never looked back.

We have betrayed you for burger kings and McDonald, KFC that can take us to our grave. We are chasing the American dream, what about the Haitian dream?

We need to hear that shell blowing again; we need to hear Makandal “neg maron” calling upon us for a last time.

The enemy we face now is more powerful, it is no longer the napoleon’s army. It is no longer the west. The enemy is within each and every one of us, we are our worse enemy. Our illusion blinds us. Stop believing in those “Candida bout manit”, we need to stop, we have to stop. We have been fooled for too long by those who call themselves patriots.  

I am calling you out now, all of you Haitians, if you cannot hear the agony of this nation then stop calling yourself Haitian.

A country that was once called the pearl of the Caribbean is now the poorest nation in the western hemisphere. We have been hit by so many natural disasters, in 2008 Leogane our small city located about 15km west of the capital was flooded many have lost their loved ones, many have lost their homes, and any bit of savings they had. I was saddened deep in my soul to see my sisters and brothers dying in the streets, some parts of me were gone with them. We were once a nation of pride, many of our singers and poets glorified all that in their songs and poetries, what happened to us, what happened to Haiti? How can we let our greed brings upon us such a destruction, we should not let that happen, we cannot let that happen. We have to fight we cannot stop, have we ever thought about what our grandchildren would be saying about us? I do I am ashamed

Schlegel Pierre