Four Haitian Rappers die in a car accident

Thousands of people marched on June 18th in memory of four members of a rap group called "Barikad Crew". The musicians died Saturday, June 14th, in a car accident. Other music groups have made, in memory of the deceased rappers, songs which were played by the local radio stations through out the week. Government officials have also payed tribute to the rappers and promised aid to their families.

The accident killed not only the musicians but also one of their friend who was driving the car. The names of the victims are Jn Walker Sénatus (K-Tafalk), Jhonny Junior Emmanuel (Dade), Junior Badio (Déjà-Voo), Wileterson (Djo) and Guichard Labranche. The fiancé of Jn Walker Sénatus (K-Tafalk) , Nathalia Léonidas Bertrand committed suicided 24 hours after the accident. After the suicide the government officials said they would provide psychological assistant the the victims' families.

All six funerals were celebrated simultaneously at the "Champs de Mars", at the "Kiosque Occide Jeanty" to be precise on Saturday, June 21th. Thousands of fans, friends, parents were present at the funerals. Wyclef Jean took part in the ceremony.

For a better school governance in Haiti

On Thursday, June 19th, Turbo System, a Haitian firm specialized in Engineering and Information System Integration fields, launched a new software package (and hardware) called "Turbo School". The big launch took place at the Hotel Montana in Petion-Ville, near the capital. Many school directors and educators took part in the ceremony which received large press coverage. Already other economical actors want to partner with Turbo System in a movement to improve the education system in the country.

School girls on their way home, in Port-au-Prince

The product was developed to allow a better governance within Haitian schools. It's the first time such a product is launched on the Haitian market by a Haitian firm. School directors who have been using the software package before the launch have praised its virtues. According to the engineers of Turbo System, the software package should allow school administrations to perform academic management, school fees management and payroll management. The company's ultimate goal in launching this software package is to participate in raising the level of school education in Haiti.

Kidnapping in Haiti

About two weeks ago, a sixteen year old boy's body was found, disfigured, on the streets of the a Port-au-Prince neighborhood. The body was brought to the State University Hospital's morgue where the boy was identified by his bracelet that has his name written on it, and by his school uniform. The body showed signs of torture.

The boy's name was Kareem Xavier Gaspard. He was a student(pupil) at the College Catts Pressoir. He had been kidnapped, right after getting out of school on his way home. His family paid a ransom for his liberation and waited all night hoping they would finally have him back. But the criminals who took him had other plans. They killed the young man and abandoned his body. One more life was taken.


Those lit candles that I added to this post are in memory of all the people who died in the hands of kidnappers in Haiti and around the world and for all those who've been victims of kidnappings. We should not forget all those who, today, are still being held captive against their will and their families.

Book Fair in Haiti - Livres en Folie

Today, May 22nd, 2008, is Corpus Christi, a Catholic holiday which is celebrated in Haiti. There is no work and no school. It's also the day chosen for a book fair called "Livres en Folie" which literally means "Books in Folly". Each year, "Livres en Folie" is held during Corpus Christi which is known here as "Fête Dieu".

During the fair, Haitian books are sold at 44% less than their normal cost, to the general public. Many authors come to sign their new an old titles. Last year, about 20000 books were sold during the fair. The event is a joint initiative of a local newspaper, "Le Nouvelliste", a local bank, "Unibank" and a local rum company, "Rhum Barbancourt". "Unibank" also offers an additional 10% rebate to its clients who use their credit cards to buy books at "Livres en Folie".

Picture of the fair in 2004 taken from sakapfet.com

Additionally to the one day event, an online store (in French) has been opened since May 19th for online buyers in Haiti and elsewhere.

This year a total of 1409 titles will be available with 60 writers who will be present at the fair to sign their books for their readers. It's the 14th edition of "Livres en Folie" which was first held in 1995 at the initiative of Le Nouvelliste. It's the most important book fair in the country.

Haitian-Dominican Friendship Rally

More than 100 Bikers from the Dominican Republic with guests from Puerto Rico, Italy and the United States of America, are currently in Haiti taking part in a Friendship Rally organized by the Hispaniola Riders Club of Haiti. The Dominican bikers participating in the rally are members of Harley Davidson clubs in the Dominican Republic. They came from Santo Domingo by road to visit Haiti. They arrived on Friday November 9th.

I caught them on my phone camera (I'm sorry for the bad quality of the photo) as they were getting out of their Hotel this morning and heading for Port-au-Prince where they will be riding the streets. There will also be a bike expo and many other activities before the bikers go back to the Dominican Republic.

You can read more about the rally in spanish here.

Hit by Tropical storm Noel

(pictures released by the UN forces in Haiti MINUSTAH)

Last weekend, the tropical storm Noel hit both the Dominican Republic and Haiti. My country (Haiti) was mostly affected in the southern regions by both wind and heavy continuous rains (as you can see in the pictures showing the city of Jacmel) .

In the capital, Port-au-Prince, where I live, we mostly had rains that started on Sunday evening and continued through out the week. We haven't had any sun shine since the weekend. Today, we had light rain in the morning. In some areas of the capital many house have been damage, I even hear someone reporting that his house had been taken away by the water. Unfortunately there have been deaths (about 34 were reported) as well.

The weather forecast says the sky will remain cloudy for the days to come with thunderstorms.

Weight carrying in Haiti

In Haiti, people often have to carry more or less heavy weights over a certain distance. Whether it's a bucket of water, a bag of cement or a stack of chairs, the top of the head is the preferred way of carrying weights for people who have to walk around with them.


Very often you will see young people carrying gallons or bucket of water on their heads; because most people don't have running water in their homes, they have to get the water from another location and carry it back with them. Many street sellers walk around with their merchandise on top of their head as well, only putting the weight down when selling to a customer or to take a break. As you can see those people have extraordinary balance.

The love of football

Greetings, I'm Marguerite Jasmin and I'll be writing about my country Haïti.

Haitians love football (soccer) very much, it's the most popular sport in the country. Sunday, July 15th, was a very important day for the many football fanatics in Haiti, particularly in the capital, Port-au-Prince. It was the day the Brazilian football team -by far the most loved football team of the country - faced the Argentinean football team -the second most loved-. It was the finals of the Copa America. Thousand of enthusiastic fans gathered in front of TV sets all over the city to watch this epic match.

Dressed in brazilian colors and celebrating Brazil's victory (picture from archive)

When Brazil is playing a major competition, if you are staying in Port-au-Prince you don't need to listen to the radio or watch television to know when the team scores. Not long after the match started on Sunday after noon, a very loud clamour alerted me that Brazil had already scored its first goal.

I don't know if the phenomenon is similar in other cities but in Port-au-Prince there is no escaping it. Every goal scored by Brazil is accompanied by loud cries of joy. Brazil won by 3-0. After the match came the time for the fans to celebrate the victory in the streets. In most neighborhoods groups of fans will gather outside for a while, singing, dancing and nagging fans of Argentina. In some big agglomerations where the fans are the most numerous, well organized and equipped, they take over the streets with music, dances, noise, gun shots etc... to celebrate the victory of their beloved team. Apparently Haitians always loved Brazil's football team but only in recent years have they celebrated its victories so fervently and demonstratively or maybe I was just too young and uninterested to notice?