Author: Noel Stevens

I’m pretty happy with my reporting but have concerns about the structure and if everything flows logically. I’m interested if you all think I should include more interviews, because I have a few I could go back over.

I’m also considering turning this into a radio story, so I’d definitely appreciate feedback on whether this piece would work for that or not.

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Foreign Aid in Haiti

photo and subtitle

The United States’ humanitarian relationship with Haiti has spanned decades. According to the U.S. Embassy for Haiti, the United States has invested a total of $6.7 billion in the last 20 years. Additionally, there are innumerable charities in the U.S. concerned with Haiti, spanning many issues like public health and economic growth.

Success has varied. Sometimes clerical problems arise from a lack of transparency. Other mistakes are more devastating. The ongoing cholera endemic in Haiti, for example, has killed at least 9,000 people and was traced to United Nations peacekeepers who were deployed following the 2010 earthquake. Despite once being a powerful force in the Caribbean, Haiti has struggled to build itself back up amid both internal struggles and outside interference.

Jean Pierre-Louis is a Haitian immigrant who currently lives in Brooklyn, New York. He is the founder and executive director of Capracare. The non-profit organization’s mission is to promote access to healthcare in Haiti, using teams and infrastructure established both there and in New York.

Pierre-Louis left Haiti at the age of nine but found himself drawn back to his home country as he got older. Bleak American press coverage of the island and taunts from his classmates growing up, especially in reference to the stereotype that developed in the 90s of Haitians spreading HIV, prompted him to establish his organization. As the COVID-19 pandemic grew early in the year, Capracare was in a unique position to help.

“We are an organization that has a big component on prevention education,” said Pierre-Louis. Their doctors and nurses on the ground in Haiti began pushing the importance of hand-washing and other early strategies for avoiding the coronavirus in early February.

Once the country started shutting down in March, Capracare, instead of closing their doors, responded by putting together kits of PPE and handmade hand sanitizer and distributing them door to door. “Many of the other organizations during that time were not as prepared,” said Pierre-Louis.

His organization’s success speaks to a concern many people have when examining humanitarian aid: the worry that an insider will always do it better than an outsider. Some have criticized American-led aid efforts in Haiti, viewing them as an interference in Haitian affairs or as serving an ulterior motive.

Herold Dasque is a Haitian immigrant and the director of community relations for Haitian Americans United for Progress, a non-profit community resource center operating across several boroughs in New York City. He considers himself opposed to the Republican party but was unwilling to vote for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. He cited the Clinton family’s involvement in the US’s post-earthquake humanitarian efforts as the reason.

“No one knows whatever happened to 9 million dollars that was raised to rebuild the country,” said Dasque. Following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti that prompted fundraising efforts from nations all around the world, then-President Obama tasked former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton with overseeing US fundraising efforts, and Clinton was named as the United Nations’ special envoy to Haiti. The Clinton Foundation alone claims to have raised $16.4 million of immediate aid after the earthquake. Where all this money went is unclear.

Millions of dollars and two years later in 2012, Clinton stood in front of a new industrial park in Haiti and praised its opening as an example of what the US has done for the island nation. He viewed the project as an economic boon, saying “I know a couple places in America that would commit mayhem to get 20,000 jobs today.” Caracal, Haiti, where the park is located, was completely unaffected by the earthquake.

“A lot of the funds that was raised during the earthquake was raised to help Haiti’s infrastructure, and we felt like the transparency of how that money was spent didn’t do justice for what it was put forward for,” said Pierre-Louis.

This oblique system is what led to another scandal involving the Red Cross, one of the largest humanitarian non-profits in the world. Following the earthquake, they raised almost half a billion dollars. Then, reports emerged in 2015 of widespread failures, including one allegation that the organization had built only six permanent homes since 2010. The Red Cross has since responded, acknowledging that the building of only six homes outside of Port-au-Prince was technically true but claiming that it was due to a change in strategy.

Many people, including Haitians, have accused the Haitian government of corruption and mishandling of funds. However, others believe government officials received very little of the aid that was raised. “I think the Haitian government got a bad rap,” said Pierre-Louis, “but if you didn’t get the funds, how can you spend it?”

Dear Sia Michel (Deputy Culture Editor, New York Times),

I hope you have been doing well since we last spoke. I’ve been following your Twitter feed and have gotten an idea of the direction in which you are taking your department. I’ve been doing a good amount of reporting in New York’s Haitian community and believe I have a story that will fit into your culture section. It focuses on the complicated relationship between Haitians and the United States and speaks to the broader issues of what it is like to be an immigrant in America.

Many immigrants can find common ground, but each person also carries the specific baggage of their own life and country with them when they arrive. Haitians face challenges such as the prospect of succeeding as dark-skinned individuals in America and an atypical language barrier—people in their home country typically speak neither English nor Spanish fluently. Many Haitians come to the US for the chance at a better life, but this hope is not blind. Every Haitian immigrant I have spoken with so far has expressed a definitively nuanced immigrant experience. The relationship with their adopted nation will never be black or white, purely good or purely bad.

Principally, I want to cover the general attitude of Haitian immigrants in New York towards both their home nation and the US. Interviews, GDP figures, and the prevalence of remittance payments back to Haiti will establish the former, while interviews with Haitian immigrants, diaspora data, and immigration statistics will ground the latter aspect of the story. Furthermore, I want to analyze how the US has interfered in Haiti over the last few decades, usually under the guise of humanitarian aid. This will contrast well with one source of mine, a Haitian immigrant who established a healthcare-focused, non-profit organization with infrastructure in Haiti. Going from there, I would also like to delve into what happened between the nations after the 2010 earthquake and Haitian’s attitudes towards the Clintons and American politics.

Please let me know if you have any follow-up question or ideas on how to adapt it for your publication. I look forward to hearing from you!

 

Sincerely,

Luke Stevens

I attended the noon briefing today, October 13th. I don’t know the normal duration, but it was pretty short, only about 20-25 minutes. The first section was led by the Spokesperson of the UN Secretary-General, Farhan Haq. He began by expressing condolences for Kuwait and the royal family after the country’s Emir passed away. He then explained a climate report by several countries that called for assessment of weather to evolve from, “what the weather will be to what the weather will do.” He then talked about a report of increasing conflict and climate problems in Africa’s Great Lakes region, which consists of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and others. He then moved on to a UN support mission in Libya that has pushed forward the appointment of 5 women judges. Next, he discussed issues in the Middle East. There is continued fighting in Afghanistan resulting in mass displacement, 208,000 this year, and about 200 deaths among those refugees. It is estimated that there are about a million refugees in Iran, many of whom are Afghan. Food prices have shot up creating a health and poverty crisis, which ties into a report by WHO and other agencies that the pandemic has caused an unprecedented risk of poverty across the world.

Haq answered a few questions. One was about a prisoner being held without charges who went on an 80-day-long hunger strike, to which Haq reiterated the UN’s stance that everyone deserves a speedy trial. Another question was about the UN’s preparedness against cyber attacks. The UN’s communications and technology department assures Haq that they are well-prepared and are able to deal with problems as they arise.

The floor was then turned over to Brenden Varma, the Spokesperson for the President of the General Assembly. He again began with remarks about Kuwait’s late Emir. He praised the leader’s history of humanitarian aid. Varma then named the open seats up for election in the 75th assembly and somewhat explained the process of election. He was then asked by Edith Lederer when the announcements of these elections would happen and he explained the election results would most likely be announced without warning. He then took a question about how seats were allocated to member states and more questions about the process of the election. He then signed off.

One question I found to be tough was the question directed at Mr. Haq about the prisoner on hunger strike. Haq condemned the matter but the topic was somewhat shuffled aside, and I wasn’t able to get any more information. However, I think the most interesting topic and hard-hitting question was directed at Mr. Varma. A journalist asked him about the discrepancies in how countries are selected for seats on the assembly. For example, why is a seat allocated to China or Russia, when they have been condemned for human rights violations. Varma explained that it was the Human Rights Council’s responsibility to assess member states and that oversight primarily fell on each country’s own leadership. In regards to how seats were chosen, his message seemed to boil down to, “we have to choose the lesser of evils.”

The Divided Island

The two Caribbean nations of Haiti and the Dominican Republic share an island but not much else. Both have endured political unrest, civil conflict, and even brutal colonization. However, there is surprisingly little commiseration between the two. With their differing national identities, a sharp cultural divide remains to this day.

Many Haitians report experiencing racist treatment from the Dominican Republic. Some consider it a part of daily life on the island, and it’s so prevalent the term antihaitianismo has even been coined. The Dominican Republic has also continued to implement discriminatory immigration and citizenship policies against Haitians. In fact, the United States’ Overseas Security Advisory Council warns that the border areas between the countries, “are often regions where nationalistic tensions can result in violence.”

Conflicts on the island of Hispaniola have always existed, and the history between the two nations is complicated. Haiti’s past specifically has been especially tumultuous. It has endured natural disasters, countless regime changes, and even a successful slave-led revolt against its French colonizers in 1791. Despite both nations overcoming their European overseers, the effects of colonization persist. Once divided, the two nations never came back together in any meaningful way.

Why exactly these neighbors cannot cohabitate well is nuanced and cannot be attributed to just one historical event or another. Herold Dasque is the director of community relations for Haitian Americans United for Progress, a non-profit community resource center spanning multiple boroughs in New York City. Mr. Dasque immigrated from Haiti in 1984 and points to historical resentments as the reason, saying “there was a time when Haiti was more politically dominant.”

The two nations were briefly unified after Haiti won its independence in 1791, but the Dominican Republic then fought for their own freedom against Haiti in 1844. Now, the Dominican Republic is doing better with a richer economy, whereas Haitians are poorer and, as Dasque puts it, “are more favored by the big powers that give them more money,” which adds another layer of resentment.

Some Haitians would also blame the prevalence of colorism, a facet of racism. Vernette Garçon, a Brooklyn-based baker and Haitian immigrant, maintains that it is a problem, both across the island and within the Haitian community. “You have people who are light-skinned thinking they are better,” she says. The more prevalent this attitude is, the more likely people from either side of the island are to accept racism.

Despite hostility, a lot of Haitians still seek out the perks of their neighbor. The Dominican Republic has long sought out foreign laborers to work for sub-minimum wages, especially in the agricultural sector. However, the two nations’ ethnic identities are slowly bleeding into one another.

According to a 2017 national survey conducted by La Oficina Nacional de Estadística, the Dominican Republic’s official statistics office, there are upwards of 750,000 Haitian immigrants living there. This only amounts to approximately 7.5% of the population. However, in 2019, the country’s minister of Public Health, Rafael Sánchez Cárdenas, reported that 24% of newborns in the Dominican Republic were birthed by Haitian mothers. This suggests that the positive ties between the nations cannot be fully gleaned from workforce statistics. “I’m sure a lot of people in the Dominican Republic have Haitian ancestry,” says Ms. Garçon. She finds a lot of the prejudice unfounded, stating, “I know for a fact there is a lot of Haitian influence on the Dominican Republic.”

The relationship between immigrants from these nations is much less divided. Martine Paulynice, a 35-year-old science teacher in the Bronx, immigrated from Haiti with her mother 18 years ago and believes interactions between Haitians and Dominicans are drastically different in New York versus in their home countries. “I still harbor the same feelings that I do not like the people that are there (in the Dominican Republic),” she maintains, “however, if we are here in America, the Dominicans that I know here, I have no problems with.”

Ms. Paulynice claims to know many Dominicans but could only think of one person in her 18 years in New York who had said anything derogatory to her. In reference to attitudes of Dominican immigrants, she says, “I feel like they don’t support what the Dominicans on the island are doing to the Haitians so that makes it easy to interact with them.”

The improving relationship between these groups can be partly attributed to their shared experience as immigrants, but there may be a generational element as well. With second-generation immigrants and even younger Haitians and Dominicans on the mainland becoming more educated and graduating college more frequently, these past grudges are slowly dissolving. Mr. Dasque agrees that tensions between the ethnic groups don’t usually persist in America and suggests that the communities are on the right path. When asked about the larger issue of social justice movements in America, he praised his son’s generation for breaking down these types of barriers. Mr. Dasque says he sees them fighting for, “dignity, and more humanity, and more respect.”

Although I will probably end up at the Photoville exhibits under the Brooklyn Bridge at some point, I attended one of the online seminars this weekend. I chose “The Gravity of Inclusive Storytelling” with photojournalist Cheriss May. I didn’t realize she would be a primarily domestic political photographer, but her remarks still very much reflected where I want to go with my career. May is a self-taught photographer; she originally hadn’t intended on going into journalism as she had attended Howard University in DC for marketing, where she is now also a professor.

Her photography work has covered many culturally relevant subjects such as the White House, both Obama and Trump’s, daily life as an African American, and the BLM movement. When talking about inclusivity, May was mostly referring to her experience as a black woman and how that shapes her work. She spoke about how important it is for young black children to see themselves represented. Even as a white male myself, this spoke to me because the last thing I would ever want to do is tell only one perspective or one kind of story.

            I think the most important point she made was that you have to be aware your surroundings and be sensitive to whatever situation in which you find yourself, whether you are at a protest or on the White House lawn. She told an incredible story, among several, about meeting Dr. Maya Angelou. May attended an event honoring the late poet, and there was only one other photographer, a white male, covering the ceremony. They asked a couple questions about how to take pictures, and the staff asked respectfully that they wait until Angelou took out the tubes of oxygen from her nose. As soon as Angelou was wheeled onto the stage, the male photographer started taking shots as loudly and rapidly as possible while May had to just stand back uncomfortably. He was asked to leave, and shortly after, May was able to meet Dr. Angelou. She was incredibly gracious and allowed May to do a portrait of her. I thought the story powerfully illustrated that if you are respectful in your profession, you will go far.

Dear Michael Slackman (Assistant Managing Editor, International Section, at the NY Times),

I hope you have been well since we last spoke. I’ve been following your tweets and really appreciate how you continue to urge people to wear masks and social distance. The more voices speaking up about this, the better. I know it’s a strange time for everyone. Despite everything going on, I have been doing some work with the Haitian community in Brooklyn and have come across a story that I believe would interest the Times.

 

Haiti and the Dominican Republic share an island, but their relationship has historically been anything but peaceful. The past these two nations share is one that is complicated, nuanced, and everchanging. From tribal feuds, to colonial land disputes, to modern-day discrimination, each country has been both the victim and the oppressor. Discriminatory rhetoric has been developed, and cooperation is rare. Immigrants from both countries face a myriad of similar problems when entering the United States, but once here, what they share usually doesn’t bring them together. Whether here or in their home country, prejudice trickles down from generation to generation.

However, younger Haitians and Dominicans are changing this. Whether it’s intentional or unintentional, these divides are disappearing. Elders in the Haitian community have witnessed younger, second-generation Haitians coming together with other Caribbean immigrants, specifically Dominicans, in ways that were previously unheard-of. With their tenuous pasts in mind, why and how are these ethnic groups now bridging the gap between them? The Trump administration’s restrictive immigration policies and recent social justice movements, such as Black Lives Matter, have shed a light on larger issues that affect both communities. These newly minted challenges have demonstrated how pointless these historical biases can be and pushed these cliques closer together than they ever were before.

 

The piece will become more fully formed once I speak with some people from the Dominican Republic, but the principle idea behind the piece is to get an idea of what the future holds for these two communities in New York City.

 

Sincerely,

Luke Stevens

How many live in the US? In the tristate area? How many in the home country?

As of 2018, there are approximately 687,000 Haitian immigrants in the U.S. There are about 1.2 million individuals if you count descendants. The number of immigrants in the tri-state area is said to be 163,000, with the diaspora being well over 400,000. The population of Haiti is over 11 million.

In the tristate area, where do they live?

The largest Haitian population is in Brooklyn, with the most concentrated area being a micro neighborhood in Flatbush now termed Little Haiti.

What jobs do a significant percentage of them have?

About 77% of Haitian immigrants are working age in the U.S. Haitian immigrant labor statistics suggest 37% of them work in the service industry, with 23% in management, business, STEM, and arts, 16% in office management and sales, 18% in production and transportation, and 6% in construction and maintenance.

Why did they come? When?

Data suggests the main period of Haitian immigration was in the 1960s and 70s in response to the oppressive dictatorship of François Duvalier and his son, Jean-Claude Duvalier.  Surprisingly, the 2010 earthquake did not cause a significant migratory event.

What are some major organizations/advocacy groups/resources in this community?

• Haitian American Caucus
• Haitian Americans United for Progress
• Friends of Haiti in NY
• Haitian American Community Coalition

Do they have local media house/s? If so, list them.

The Haitian Times operates out of Brooklyn. It was founded in 1999 by Pulitzer-prize winner Garry Pierre-Pierre and is concerned with the Haitian diaspora around the world. This was the only publication I found that was both based in New York and seemed organized and legitimate.

List/link the major media houses in the home country.

Radio seems to be the most popular news outlet in Haiti. Major radio stations include, Caraïbes FM, Radio Ginen, Vision 2000, Radio Lumiere, Radio Métropole, and Radio Nationale d-Haïti. Major television outlets include Télé Caraïbes, Télé Ginen, which is the companion station to Radio Ginen, Télé Métropole, and Télévision Nationale d’Haïti. Le Nouvelliste is Haiti’s only daily newspaper and is by far the most popular. Le Matin is the leading weekly paper.

How strong are relationships with the home country? How significant are remittances to the home country’s economy?

Remittances accounted for 38.525% of Haiti’s GDP in 2019. In terms of percentage of home country’s GDP, Haiti is actually the second highest receiver of remittances in the world, behind the Tonga. This suggests very strong relations between Haitian immigrants and their home country. The establishment of many charities and advocacy groups concerned with Haiti specifically also supports this notion.

In the homeland what is the GDP per capita? Where does that rank in the world? What are the major industries?

Haiti’s GDP is 9.659 billion USD, which is 868.34 USD per capita. As of 2018, Haiti ranks 173rd. This is out of 196 countries; therefore, Haiti is one of the world’s poorest nations.

What is the system of government? When did this system come into place? Was there a colonial power? (Or was it the colonial power?)

Currently, Haiti is a semi-presidential republic. This system was established in 1987, but Haiti has a long history of political unrest and structural messiness, even recently. The country was first colonized by the Spanish and then by the French, until the Haitian revolution, which lasted from 1791 to 1804. The country has remained autonomous, except for a period of U.S. occupation lasting from 1915 to 1934. Although, it is apparent the U.S. has continued to intervene with varying effects since then.

Name of the NY consul general. How long has he/she been in the role?

Charles A. Forbin is the consulate general of New York’s Haitian embassy according to one website. This information may be outdated, but I have sent an email to the consulate and will update this post if they respond to me.

Give three potential story ideas. (Doesn’t need to be a fully fleshed-out pitch yet but should be well thought-out.)

1: I would like to do a story about how Haitians view the interference of the U.S. in Haiti. For example, I have come across some controversy concerning Haitians’ feelings towards the Clintons. I would like to report on the country’s attitudes all the way back to the early 1900s if I am able to find people who are educated about the U.S. occupation or had family that lived through it.

2: If I am able to find a good number of Haitian immigrants who came to America both before and after the 2010 earthquake, I would like to report on how the earthquake might have influenced the decisions of those who came afterwards and what it was like for those who were here before to have to deal with such tragic news from afar. The core of the story would simply be, “why did you immigrate to the U.S.?” But I want to go further and center it around the earthquake. Did people flee? Did people in the U.S. actually go back to help? From a Haitian’s perspective, how well did the media cover the disaster?

3: I’m interested in the tense relationship between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. How far back in history does the conflict go? What caused such a divide? Was it simply that they could not coexist on the same island? Does the everyday Haitian have opinions or prejudices towards Dominicans? Do opinions differ by age group or length of stay in the U.S.?