Photos

One hundred and thirty three members of the 17th Philippine peacekeeping contingent stationed in Haiti since last October have left the country to their base. The Philippine Chief of Army Staff Gregorio Catapang Jr, personally has welcomed his men, consisting 8 officers and 125 enlisted personnel, in a simple ceremony held at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City, on the north of the City of Manila. Marineth Domingo, the Chief of Philippine Navy Public Affairs, has said that these 157 soldiers who were sent to Haiti in October 2013, had earlier faced situations of diverse armed conflicts over a period of a decade and a devastating earthquake in 2010. They went to Haiti as a part of U.N peacekeeping mission and served as evaluator on the effectiveness of security network (perimeter security forces) to the Force Headquarters of the UN Mission to Haiti. They have provided logistic, administrative, clerical and technical supports. Out of the 157 Filipino solders sent last year under United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) program, 24 have remained in Haiti to train a new batch of 157 Filipino soldiers composed of Navy and Marine personnel who left the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City on September 22, aboard an UN chartered plane for Haiti. The new batch will provide perimeter security, clerical, administrative and logistical services and security to VIP personalities.

On March 2012, the United Nations had awarded "peacekeeping medals" to Philippine soldiers and police officers serving in Haiti in recognition of their dedication and sacrifice in defending the cause of peace.

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This is what happened.and it is a lesson for all of us. A Haitian man who was flying from Boston to Paris last Friday got into a heated dispute with flight attendants over a reclining seat.

Edmond Alexandre who is 60 years old was involved in an argument with the other passenger. He pulled the flight attendant by the arm. As a consequence, Edmond Alexandre was restrained and arrested by federal air marshals aboard. The American airlines flight had to be diverted to Boston

He was charged with assaulting a flight attendant, U.S. prosecutors in Boston said

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Here is a picture of Haitian President Michel Martelly in Trou-du-Nord for the planting of the first seedlings of organic bananas .

The picture was taken on October 10, 2014. It is part of a project to organize together close to 3,000 farmers from different associations in the country to cultivate organic bananas for export.

The plan will cover thousand hectares ant it was made possible with the support of FEPA / Agritrans consortium that has modernized agricultural equipment, pumps for irrigation, artificial lake. The project is expected to create over 3,000 jobs.

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Here is the former Haitian First Lady Michele Bennett comforting a very close friend of the family during the funeral of former Haitian President Jean Claude Duvalier. The funeral which was a private ceremony in Port-au-Prince, Haiti took place on October 11, 2014.

The entire family was present, including Nicholas and Anya Duvalier

The Haitian government did not send representative to the funeral. The Haitian society got involved into a debate before the funeral as to the type of funeral to give to the former Dictator. At the end, it was decided that he would not receive either a National or Official one.

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Here is a picture of the son of Former Haitian President Jean Claude Duvalier and the Grandson of Dr. Francois Duvalier.

Francois-Nicolas Duvalier wrote an article that was published on April 19, 2013 in the Haitian newspaper giving tribute to his grandfather, Francois Duvalier. He wrote "In memoriam Dr. Francois Duvalier, President for Life". Francois-Nicolas Duvalier is currently working in the government of Michel Martelly. This was published in Le Nouvelliste. The tribute to Former Haitian dictator Francois Duvalier received lots of reaction from many members of the Haitian population.

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Here is a picture of Nicolas Duvalier at the Wake of former Haitian Dictator Jean Claude Duvalier.

There are rumors that Nicholas is likely to hold the legacy of his father and grandfather. Some people already announced that Nicholas Duvalier will be a candidate at the next Presidential election in Haiti. This has created a sense of panic in the Lavalas camp, according to statements obtained by some.

François-Nicolas Duvalier is currently working as a consultant. We have non verified information that he is currently providing his services to the Martelly-Lamothe Government. The Martelly government has embraced an economic development program similar to one adopted by Jean Claude Duvalier in tourism

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This is something we all can learn from. A great act of charity by Haiti women's national soccer team not is rewarded big time.

Trinidad and Tobago women's national soccer team who is in competition with Haiti women's national soccer team found themselves in a hard financial position. According to a message sent on social media, they had reached the point where the team was even unable to afford lunch.

Upon receiving information that the Trinidad and Tobago women's team might not even have enough money for lunch, with their very limited resources, the Haiti's team dig into their pocket to pull their last penny to help. They realized that they only had a total around $1,300. At that point, The Haiti Women Soccer Tean made the decision to turn it over to Trinidad and Tobago team.

Upon hearing of the story, the the Clintons Foundation got involved. The Clinton Foundation makes commitment to support Haiti women's national soccer team not just one time, but long term

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Gasoline affect many thing in Haiti. Due to the economic condition of the population, the Haitian Government has been subsidizing the price of petroleum products in the country. This practice was able to maintain a level of stability for many years. However, the Government of Michel Martelly has made the decision not to subsidize the price of gasoline and to let the price fluctuated based on the international market

There is one major problem with this. There has not been any improvement in the economic situation of the Haitian population. The unemployment rate remains at over 70 percent

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The Kore Etidyan program offers to students a subsidy for their education. Each endowment is 2,000 gourdes at a time, going up to 18,000 gourdes per student for one academic year.

Eligible students must be enrolled at the State University of Haiti, a Public University in Region, or in any other eligible higher education school. They must exhibit regular school attendance, have a cell phone and a National Identification card. Failure to comply to these criteria will mean ineligibility for the subsidy.

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September 24, 2014 marked a new part of Haitian history when the first staging of the The Vagina Monologues in French and Kreyol was put on by the Theatre Atelier Ecolosion. Under the leadership of Florence Jean-Louis, the event featured the talented performers giving discussions on the sexuality of women and their desires.

The event was hosted by the One Billion Rising for Revolution movement, and the audience consisted of parliament members and feminist supporters. Following the performance, a discussion on the legal reform of the domestic violence law took place.

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