Black Immigrant Daily News

Cuban President Miguel D?az-Canel acknowledged Saturday that the island faces “tremendously difficult challenges,” as he arrived for a visit in Mexico.

The Cuban leader blamed the problems on the “blows of nature” and US economic sanctions.

“I once again thank our brother nation for its solidarity with the Cuban people, who have faced tremendously difficult challenges in the last few years and months, due to a combination of the blows of nature and the effects of the toughened blockade,” D?az-Canel said at a welcoming ceremony in the Gulf coast city of Campeche.

D?az-Canel mentioned plans to export crushed stone ballast to Mexico for a train project and said the two countries “will analyse new goals in areas of common interest.” He also mentioned the Cuban doctors that have been sent to Mexico, and said he would visit some of them during his visit.

In 2021, Cuba’s autocratic government faced historic protests amid a severe economic crisis, shortages and blackouts. According to nongovernmental groups, about 1,300 people were arrested following the protests. About 700 sentences have been handed down related to the protests, with some ranging up to 30 years in prison for sedition.

And in 2022, a deadly fire destroyed at least half of a large oil storage facility in western Cuba and further weakened the island’s already fragile electricity system. Mexico sent firefighting assistance during that blaze.

Mexican President Andr?s Manuel L?pez Obrador called D?az-Canel an “distinguished and admired guest” and is expected to award the Cuban leader with the “Order of the Aztec Eagle,” Mexico’s highest medal, later Saturday.

The award — the country’s highest honour for foreigners and decided mainly by the president — has previously been given to leaders ranging from Fidel Castro to the Shah of Iran.

L?pez Obrador has praised Cuba for sending doctors to Mexico, some of whom serve in dangerous or remote areas. But those doctors, and the salaries they are paid, have raised controversy in Mexico. Some said the jobs should go to Mexican doctors, while other suspected that much of their salaries would go to the Cuban government.

As president, L?pez Obrador has gone out of his way to buy as much as he can from Cuba. But his purchase of everything from Cuban crushed stone ballast to the Abdala coronavirus vaccine have raised eyebrows.

Mexico bought 9 million doses of the Cuban-made Abdala vaccine in September 2022, with the doses arriving at year’s end, when Mexico’s vaccination efforts had already tailed off.

L?pez Obrador’s administration is using the Cuban vaccine as a booster, even though it was designed for coronavirus variants circulating in 2020 or 2021, not current variants. Few Mexicans have shown up to get the Cuban booster shots.

In the rush to build his pet project, a tourist train that will run in a rough loop around the Yucatan peninsula, L?pez Obrador has said he will import boatloads of crushed stone ballast from Cuba at great cost.

The ballast is needed to stabilise the ties of the train tracks. Local stone in the Yucatan is not the right kind, and much has been shipped to Yucatan ports from Mexico’s own Gulf coast.

L?pez Obrador has long been a fan of Cuba, and frequently plays Cuban “nueva trova” music at his daily news briefings.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Statement by Sir Ronald Sanders, Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda at Special Meeting of the Permanent Council on Haiti — 10 February, 2023

Mr. Chairman

The Antigua and Barbuda delegation has been pleased participate with other colleagues in drafting and negotiating the text of the Resolution that is now before this Permanent Council.

The situation in Haiti is grave.

The activities of more than 200 gangs and their control of large parts of Haiti, including more than 60 per cent of the Capital; their utter contempt for the rule of law; and what amounts to their reign of terror cannot be tolerated by any of our member states.

Action must be taken urgently to address the situation.

My delegation deeply regrets that the United Nations Security Council has failed to respond to the security and humanitarian crises that now engulf Haiti and the Haitian people.

At the same time, we are also concerned that the authorities in Haiti – and other parties – have not been able to achieve the unity of purpose and common cause that Haiti urgently needs.

While my delegation welcomes the Accord, which was signed on December 21st, 2022, by representatives of the Haitian governments and some representatives of the private sector, political parties and civil society, for an “Inclusive Transition and Transparent Elections”, we are troubled that the process is not inclusionary enough.

We are troubled by reports of collaboration between some politicians and members of the private sector with some of the criminal gangs.

If, indeed, these reports are true, they do not bode well for a swift end to the rule of crime and terror that now overwhelms the country, especially its law enforcement agencies.

We are also worried that Haiti no longer has an elected legislature and that its judiciary is dysfunctional.

That there is no oversight or accountability by the those who form the government is unhelpful to the building of national confidence and national consensus.

This situation cannot continue.

For without national confidence and strong national support for the institution of government, it will be extremely difficult – if not impossible – to challenge and overcome the criminal gangs, and their collaborators, who now hold the entire country hostage.

And, we caution Haitian leaders, from all sectors, that the world expects them, acting together, to create the blue print for Haiti’s future.

Friendly governments can help, but Haitians must do the necessary and constructive work.

Mr. Chairman

This Resolution before our member states commands the support of Antigua and Barbuda because of the concern it strongly shows for the plight of the Haitian people, and the readiness of member states – each within their own capacity – to act urgently in providing assistance to efforts of the Haitian authorities to restore order and security.

The Resolution acknowledges that not all of our states have the same capacity, but within the means of each of us, we are prepared to help.

In this regard, my delegation places on record its appreciation to the Governments of Canada and the United States of America, which are giving logistical and other support to Haiti’s law enforcement efforts.

We would remind other states, that are permanent observers of this Organization, that they, too, have an obligation, born of their historical role in Haiti, to be generous in their help.

Mr. Chairman, under the provisions of this Resolution, this Permanent Council will not sit on its hands.

We will establish a Working Group which, with the assistance of the General Secretariat, will convene a Security, Humanitarian, Electoral, and Democracy Assistance Dialogue with the participation of the Government of Haiti and the High-Level Transition Council that was recently established in Haiti.

The purpose will be to gather information, on the priority assistance that is required, so that each of our member states and permanent observer countries, could determine how best each can help to enable, and ensure, inclusive participation of Haitian stakeholders in arrangements for free, fair and credible elections and democratic transition in Haiti.

Mr. Chairman,

Five million people in Haiti currently experience food insecurity; reported kidnappings soared to more than 1,200 last year, more than double the number in 2021; and there were 2,200 homicides in 2022, a dramatic increase over 2021.

We cannot ignore this appalling situation.

The Haitian people must know that the eyes of the world are upon Haiti, and that the international community is anxious to see democracy established and nurtured in their country for their collective benefit.

That is why, this Resolution by the Permanent Council of the OAS is vitally important.

It is imperative, Mr. Chairman, that the people of Haiti, who have suffered much under self-enriching dictatorships, and from historical conditions of external exploitation, should not feel alone or abandoned.

They must not feel alone or abandoned.

To the extent that each of our countries has the resources and capacity to help, so must we act… and act urgently.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Dozens of children are stuck in orphanages across Haiti, unable to leave the increasingly volatile country and start new lives with adoptive parents because a U.S. policy change has unleashed a rush for passports at Haiti’s main immigration office.

U.S. President Joe Biden announced last month that the U.S. will accept 30,000 people a month from Haiti, Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela if they pass a background check and have an eligible sponsor and a passport to travel.

The ensuing demand for Haitian passports has overwhelmed Haiti’s passport office in the capital, Port-au-Prince, where people with appointments cannot squeeze through the aggressive crowd or secure new appointments.

Meanwhile, adoptive parents say the U.S. State Department has declined to grant passport waivers as they worry their children will succumb to hunger, cholera or gang violence.

“It’s infuriating,” said Bryan Hanlon, a postal inspector who lives with his wife in Washington.

They became the legal parents of Peterson, 5, and Gina, 6, last year and fear they won’t be able to secure passports for the children and fly them out of Haiti, which has been in a downward spiral since the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Mo?se.

Last year, the number of reported kidnappings in Haiti soared to 1,359, more than double the previous year, and 2,183 killings were reported, up by a third from 2021, according to the United Nations. Gangs also are raping women and children at an alarming rate, including those as young as 10, officials say.

More than 1 million children are not going to school as a result of social unrest and other issues, with 72 schools reporting violent attacks since October, compared with only eight during the same time period the previous year. Armed groups have attacked more than a dozen schools and set one on fire, and they also have killed one student and kidnapped at least two teachers, according to UNICEF statistics released Thursday.

Haiti also is fighting a deadly cholera outbreak and a spike in starvation.

Last year, 5-year-old Peterson became malnourished and had to be taken to a clinic, where he was treated for a couple of months.

Then in October, the siblings had to flee the orphanage with a caretaker as gangs raided the neighborhood, killing dozens of civilians and setting homes on fire. The violence that erupts as gangs fight over territory has left tens of thousands of Haitians homeless.

“That was the worst day of our lives,” Hanlon said. “We didn’t know if they were alive or dead.”

With their orphanage abandoned because of the violence, the children had been taken by one of their caretakers to her home in southern Haiti, where they have remained, he said.

Hanlon said he and his wife send money to the caretaker, but that “some days, there is just no food to buy or no fuel to cook it.” Other times, she cannot leave the house to pick up the money because it’s too dangerous, he said.

Brooke Baeth, an elementary school speech therapist in Minnesota, understands the fear and frustration. She and her husband became the legal parents of a 5-year-old girl in Haiti nearly a year ago, but they don’t know when they will be able to meet her.

In late January, her daughter and caretakers flew from their orphanage in northern Haiti to Port-au-Prince only to encounter a huge crowd at the immigration office. Despite having an appointment, they could not get inside, nor could some of the office’s own employees, Baeth said.

“It’s just devastating,” she said, adding that like the Hanlons, they haven’t been able to obtain a passport waiver from the State Department. “It feels like our voices are not being heard.”

A spokesperson for the State Department said intercountry adoption is one of the agency’s highest priorities and that it uses all appropriate tools to identify and overcome barriers.

“We understand that it is currently difficult for prospective adoptive parents to obtain a Haitian passport,” the spokesperson said. “We remain committed to helping prospective adoptive parents navigate the often-complicated journey of intercountry adoption. We will continue to engage with the Haitian government on this issue.”

Hanlon noted they are the legal parents of Gina and Peterson, not prospective adoptive parents.

He shared email messages with The Associated Press in which the U.S. government denied his request for a waiver by noting that both Haiti’s immigration office and the Ministry of the Interior were open for business, and that passport waivers are for use only on a case-by-case basis and as a last resort.

Ryan Hanlon, president and CEO of the U.S. National Council for Adoption who is not related to Bryan Hanlon, said in a phone interview that the State Department’s manual calls on officials to prioritize adoption cases.

“Can we even say we prioritize adoption when we have legal options that we choose not to utilize?” he said. “It’s the safety of the children that’s the concern here.”

Given the ongoing crush at Haiti’s main immigration office, government officials recently opened two makeshift offices in a gymnasium and a soccer field elsewhere in Port-au-Prince. They also implemented a schedule setting aside specific days for groups including women and the elderly. Saturdays have been reserved for children.

Officials say they don’t know how many Haitian children are in this situation, but two of 11 U.S. agencies that are main providers of adoption services in Haiti say a dozen or more of their children are affected and the number has been rising. From 2016 to 2020, people adopted 827 children from Haiti, according to the most recent statistics from the State Department. Only 96 children were adopted in 2020, down from a high of 227 in 2017.

At one adoption agency, Colorado-based A Love Beyond Borders, at least 13 children in Haiti have been adopted but have been unable to obtain passports amid a processing backlog that is growing every day, said Stephanie Thoet, the agency’s Haiti program coordinator.

She noted that even Haiti’s Ministry of the Interior has been unable to access the passport office to manually deliver the files of adopted children and worries about officials being killed or kidnapped by gangs as they travel back and forth with paperwork that has taken years to complete.

“I am terrified every time they go,” she said.

At another agency, Utah-based Wasatch International Adoption, at least a dozen children who already have been adopted can’t obtain a passport, and the number is growing, said Chareyl Moyes, the agency’s Haiti program manager.

“The situation is dire,” she said, adding that she worries about a child or caretaker being killed. “Do we want to wait until it’s at that point?”

Baeth said it’s hard for her daughter to understand why it’s taking so long to be together. They tell her how much she means to them and send her images of the snow, prompting her to excitedly ask if she could eat it. The girl, who wants to be a unicorn rider when she grows up, has sent them videos of her doing cartwheels and somersaults.

Hanlon said his daughter knows what is going on: “She understands enough to be frustrated.”

He recalled how Gina was upset one day and told her caretaker: “I don’t want to talk to them in videos anymore. I want to talk to them in person.”

His son, however, is younger.

Hanlon said when the boy is told he can’t travel to certain parts of Haiti, he tells the other children not to worry, assuring them: “My dad’s like Superman. He’ll fly down and kill the bad guys.”

Hanlon paused as his voice broke.

“Some days, I feel like I’m letting him down.”

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