The Experiences of a Haitian-American Unionist in Trump’s America

by Marie-Paule Florestal (Haiti Liberte)

I’ve just returned to the New York metropolitan area after working as a Democratic Party campaigner in rural Michigan for the two months leading up to the Nov. 8 election. This is an account of the deep anger, ignorance, and racism I encountered in the American heartland.

            Based in New York City, I am a Haitian-American organizer for the northeastern United States with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). The union released me to work with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) of Michigan from September to Nov. 9, 2016 as a part of the AFL-CIO’s Working America Coalition, which sought to encourage voters to vote for Democratic Party candidates.

            My job was to target specific groups of voters among Democrats, Republicans, and independents and then reach them via phone banks, mailings, and door-to-door canvassing.

            Using software that tracked the voting habits and histories of AFL-CIO union members and the general public, we identified voters whom we might encourage to vote for Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton as well as candidates for nine seats in the Michigan House of Representatives.

Nov. 20 Elections Thrown Into Doubt

by Kim Ives

           

A letter from Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) to interim President Jocelerme Privert suggests that the first round of do-over presidential elections as well as several legislative run-offs might not take place on Nov. 20 as currently planned.

            In the Oct. 27, 2016 letter, which was obtained by the Haitian daily Le Nouvelliste, CEP chief Léopold Berlanger gives Privert’s government ten days to repair 280 voting centers, make passable the roads leading to 161 others, and provide potentially tens of thousands of voter identification cards to people who lost them due to Hurricane Matthew.

            About 40 of the would-be voting centers – mostly schools – are being used to temporarily house people made homeless when Hurricane Matthew passed over the tip of Haiti’s southern peninsula on Oct. 4, devastating the geographic departments of the South, Grand-Anse, and Nippes.

UN’s Emergency Aid to Go Mostly to the UN and Foreign NGOs

by Jake Johnston

On Oct. 10, less than a week after Hurricane Matthew ripped across Haiti, the United Nations launched an emergency appeal for $120 million. As of this report on Oct. 24, donors have failed to fill the need, contributing just over 20% of the funds deemed necessary. But whom is the money being raised for? What planning or coordination went in to the $120 million ask? Are donors right to be hesitant?

            An analysis of UN Financial Tracking Service data shows that the vast majority of the funds raised are destined for UN agencies or large, international NGOs. Reading press releases, government statements, and comments to the press, it would seem that many lessons have been learned after the devastating earthquake of 2010: the importance of coordinating with the government, of working with local institutions and organizations, of purchasing goods locally, and of building long-term sustainability in to an emergency response.

UN’s Emergency Aid to Go Mostly to the UN and Foreign NGOs

by Jake Johnston

On Oct. 10, less than a week after Hurricane Matthew ripped across Haiti, the United Nations launched an emergency appeal for $120 million. As of this report on Oct. 24, donors have failed to fill the need, contributing just over 20% of the funds deemed necessary. But whom is the money being raised for? What planning or coordination went in to the $120 million ask? Are donors right to be hesitant?

            An analysis of UN Financial Tracking Service data shows that the vast majority of the funds raised are destined for UN agencies or large, international NGOs. Reading press releases, government statements, and comments to the press, it would seem that many lessons have been learned after the devastating earthquake of 2010: the importance of coordinating with the government, of working with local institutions and organizations, of purchasing goods locally, and of building long-term sustainability in to an emergency response.