Author Archives: Emann Joasil

Apr 19 2011

RECONCILIATION: MICKY & TITID SHOULD MEET

President-elect Martelly

I believe there have been sentiments of discord and strife between President-elect Martelly and former President Aristide. This is now the time for a cease fire to be called between the two men to reconcile the nation with itself. I am glad President-elect Martelly is taking the lead on the reconciliation mantra.

In an interview to La Press, published yesterday, Monday, April 18, 2011, President-elect Martelly, talking on the fate of the two former presidents -Jean Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier and Jean Bertrand Aristide –said in French:

I would simply said that we will be able to eventually look at amnesty only if those who had been hurt in the past understand the necessity for the nation to reconcile with itself. Before we could get to that, we need to try to place ourselves in the victims’ shoes to understand them and respect their sentiments.

So we are not rushing into taking any decisions, though public opinion wants that I stand on the side of amnesty and clemency, a way to focus on the future, not the past. But we must always keep the past in our minds so that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past.

I think President-elect Martelly, in his effort to bring the country together, needs to be the bigger person to hand to the former president an olive branch; he needs to make peace with him.

Former President Aristide

Former President Aristide is a resourceful person whom President-elect Martelly could use in many capacities to help rebuild the country. We find strength only in unity, not in division and bickering.

The former priest’s rhetoric may have been too inflammatory during his tenure as president, but he could be a great asset to be put to good use if he is really honest about his ambition to serve the people and help move the country forward.

If his rhetoric and policies were being viewed as too far to the left, it was because he was in a position for whatever he said and did to matter much. He is not in that position anymore, President-elect Martelly is. In other words, Martelly is the coach to call the play now, not Aristide.

President-elect Martelly must not let these vultures, those who have never acted in the best interest of Haiti, dictate him who amongst us he should befriend and who he should ostracize. He is now the president of every single Haitian; therefore, he must act in such manner.

Now that he is elected president, in his post-election consultations, he should ask to meet with all the former presidents currently living in Haiti, including former President Aristide. That should take place prior to his inauguration ceremony, which all of them will be invited to attend.

It would be preposterous to think that a man in the caliber of Aristide could be pushed to the side. He can still be useful to Haiti so long as he is willing to play by the rules.

While I am for reconciliation between the two men, only for the sake of bringing all the sons and daughters of Haiti together to do what needs to get done, I am also urging President-elect Martelly to not be naive and let Aristide loose; he needs to be kept on check. I am sure Mr. Martelly will keep him in a tight and short leash. So I am not going to even worry about him acting up.

Apr 16 2011

A WARNING TO INITE: COHABITATION OR DISINTEGRATION

Senator Lambert of INITE

Per Joseph Jasmin, a member of the leadership of the Party INITE, talking this Friday, April 15 to Le Nouvelliste, the relationship between the Martelly administration and the legislative, which his party is poised to control, will be harmonious, meaning “there will be neither blockade nor barrage to President Martelly. We are looking to working with him […] We will give him our full support so that he could best serve the interest of the people.”  

Plan A is to take what he said at face value. The National Palace cannot just assume that he is only playing politics. No matter what President Martelly chooses to do, he must keep his guard up. In the event that the politics of collaboration, cohabitation and facilitation Jasmin promised his party will develop in Congress is no longer in activity, President Martelly is gonna need to proceed with plan B, which is to implement a strategy of disintegration of INITE inside the two chambers.

With that, all he is going to have to do is to plant his intel inside that bloc of power which Lambert is in charge of to get the job done. He can work with someone in the caliber of Edo Zenny, a close and longtime friend and ally, to get this done in the Senate.

Let’s hope we will not have to go that route since President Preval has clearly ordered his vassals in Congress to work with President Martelly. Jasmin, in an interview in French to Le Nouvelliste this Thursday, outlined and reiterated the recommendations of President Preval. He stated, “President Preval has told us that the majority that we have is one of cohabitation, collaboration and facilitation so that the executive and the legislative can work together to serve the best interest of the people.”

So it will be in everybody’s best interest for President Martelly and Senator Lambert of INITE to work together to get the people’s business taken care of. If they deviate from the clear and unambiguous order given to them by Preval, plan B needs to be activated, and that will be to weaken INITE’s influence in the legislative body before such plan expands itself notionally. In other words, that party should be so pulverized, weakened and crippled nationally that it cannot even get one deputy or senator elected.

Apr 6 2011

KONPA MUSIC COULD BE THE IMPETUS FOR AN ECONOMIC RENAISSANCE IN HAITI

All these large scale Konpa events -Konpa on Broadway, LNDJ, Konpafest, etc… with potential economic development -need to take place at home, in Haiti. Our Haitian economy is in a desperate need for a money transfusion to keep it alive.

If the promoters of these events refuse to make the transition, which will inject into the economy all these dollars being spent, we need to boycott them by holding in Haiti a similar event on the same day -in front of each and every single one of them.

I do believe that now is the time for us do start selling a new image of Haiti to the world; it is our responsibility, not that of the foreigners, to make it Happen. So if it is about large scale Konpa events or Haitian cultural manifestations, it should take place at home -unless it is about benefiting some people’s selfish personal gains.

I don’t see the American Music Award, BET Music Award, the Oscars, Spring Break, etc… being held on foreign lands. I don’t see all the big-time Reggae events being held outside Jamaica. It is because these people have always tried to keep the money in their economies by any means necessary, which is the way to go. Why can’t we do the same thing?

You have something called Konpafest, which is held in Miami every year around our Flag Day, on May18, where Haitians all over the world fly to Miami to show their solidarity and spend money. Imagine if we could channel all these people -Haitians and foreigners with money in their hands to spend -to come home every year to spend in our economy. It would be the start of an economic renaissance or rebirth for the Haitian people.

I know what the excuses are going to be to justify the ridiculousness of holding these events abroad, away from home.

Excuse #1: You are going to argue that Haiti does not have the logistics (hotel rooms, restaurants, transportation, electricity, etc…) to cater to the needs of the people that will be traveling over there for the events. Nonsense!!! There may not be the need to invest in more upscale restaurants and hotels now because the demand is not there. And the demand is not going to create itself; we the people of Haiti must generate it.

Business people are opportunists, meaning wherever there is a potential demand, you can expect to see heavy investments being poured into that sector of the economy.  Why the demand is not there? The demand is not there because we refuse to create it. We rather keep our butts abroad awaiting the foreigners to come do it for us while the country is dying of a severe economic anemia.

Excuse #2: The insecurity makes it impossible to encourage people to travel to Haiti. Here is another nonsensical argument. I am not trying to dismiss the insecurity plague. It would be very dishonest on my part to argue that it is not an issue. However, in terms of crime/murder per capita, according to the nationmaster.com, Haiti is safer than Jamaica, a country with a booming tourism industry. Yet, that is not preventing the foreigners, you Haitians included, from traveling over there to spend money.

Most of the crimes committed in Haiti are what I would call “necessity crimes,” crimes perpetuated by people because they want to survive or feed their families. That’s basic human behavior when it comes to securing one’s survival. And, for the most part, they take place in Port-au-Prince, the capital city. But if money was being poured into the economy, more jobs would be created for them to make a living, meaning less of these crimes would occur.

The international media has done a tremendous job destroying our image abroad. But it is all our responsibility to prove them wrong by showing and selling a different Haiti, which must start with OUR efforts and involvement.

In conclusion, my advocacy is not to destroy or endanger anybody’s business; it is, rather, a way for us to start caring for ourselves again as we used to in the 1960’s and 70’s, which is the only way we can challenge the destructive campaign being waged against us by the international media.

They can tell us all the lies in the book about our home, but it is our choice to believe in them or not. Our home is our home. The way we care for it is exactly what is going to get the foreigners to come visit us in there. And when they do come, they come with goodies and gifts in their hands for us.

Let us stop all the baseless justifications for not investing into our economy. These big-time cultural events being held in the Diaspora are somewhat hurting the economy back home, because they are not being held there to help the economy moving forward. If we are willing to travel from all over the world to the US to attend some Konpa event, we can do the same if it is happening at home, in Haiti.

Source:

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_percap-crime-murders-per-capita

Apr 4 2011

MICHEL “SWEET MICKY” MARTELLY DID IT BIG!

President-elect Michel J. Martelly

I am speechless. I hope I can find the words to express my contentment for such a great victory by the Haitian people. Michel J. Martelly has won the presidency in Haiti with an avalanche (Martelly: 67.57% against Manigat 31.71%), which makes him now the newly elected president of Haiti.

I would like to personally take this moment to congratulate him for such a great and unbelievable victory over his rival Mirlande H. Manigat. He is the one to finally harmer the last nail to the coffin of the status quo. Now we can be certain that the old generation, which has never missed the opportunity to fail the country, has been buried. No more of these old faces. A new chapter now has begun for the Haitian people.

Martelly is an inspiration. He inspires me to always believe in yourself even when the multitude doubts you. When he entered the race, many, myself included, could not take him seriously. But he managed to transform himself in a very short period of time to reshape the attitude or sentiment of the electorate and get them to accept him. That is beyond political ingenuity.

He was being called all sorts of condescending names –immoral, uneducated, idiot, brute, moron; he never gave in. He had made his case to prove his opponent wrong. Do not take my word for it. Trust the latest poll. According to the official poll issued by the Provisional Electoral Council, the immorality argument, which he was arguing against, failed badly.

Now, to the Manigat supporters: the campaign is over. We cannot be on campaign mode beyond the campaign. We must switch mode. I am calling on all of you to come join hands with the new president so together we can take the country out of the abyss it has been for decades. We can do it only if we work together as one nation. I am sure you all love Haiti with the same fervor as President Martelly. So you have your seats around the table. We are all Haitians, in spite of our politics. But this is not about politics; we have something greater than that to live for, and that is our beloved Haiti.   

I have one message for President Martelly: DO NOT DECEIVE US. We will accompany you to the promise land. As long as you stand with us, you cannot go wrong. Together we shall make it. The job you just got hired for is not going to be easy; you already know it. But you can only succeed IF you lead with the people. The moment you decide to turn your back on us, you can prepare to live your own demise.  DO NOT BE AFRAID; WE ARE WITH YOU.

Mar 31 2011

KONPA DIREK IS DOOMED WITHOUT ITS HISTORY

Nemours Jean Baptiste, father of Konpa Direk

If Nemours Jean Baptiste could use his musical ingenuity to create and leave behind for us Haitians something as precious and valuable as Konpa Direk, this musical genre we all love so much, there is no reason as to why we should not develop and expand its portfolio.

The history of the evolution of Konpa Direk, the Haitian people’s most popular musical genre, is yet to be documented; it is still in its oral state.

After over 50 years of the creation of the music, there is not much one can find out there in terms of written historical facts on its origin and evolution.

There are no scholarly written documents or books one can put their hands on to satiate their crave for knowledge about Konpa Direk. We only have a few guys here and there, Mario Devolcy is one of them, showing off their knowledge whenever someone cares enough to interview them. This is not the way it should be.

If we dream to see our music going somewhere in the future, we need to start building the library of Konpa Direk. And the most effective way to do so is by documenting the facts about the music, which we are not doing effectively as of yet.

The history of our Konpa Direk, as I stated above, unfortunately, is still in its oral state. Nothing is being documented, and that is after half of a century of its birth. What are we waiting for to make it happen? Are we waiting for the “Blancs” to come do it for us as they did for our history as a people? We know already all the lies they have reported about our history, so the idea of having them write for us the history of our Konpa would be foolish to say the least.

If I am to research on the history of Konpa Direk, and I decide to go to my city library or my university library to collect books on the music -to enable me to document my work -would I find anything to ease the burden and facilitate my work? I strongly doubt it. Yet, you bet if I am to research on the history and evolution of Jazz, Rock and Roll, Blues, R&B or Rap, I will find an array of written documents. If I refuse to give in to the obvious lack of available documents and decide to break all the barriers and move forward with the research, I will have to interview a guy like Mario Devolcy, whom I consider as a Konpa oral historian, and have him empty his brain to me until he passes out.    

Nothing took place if it was not documented. We need to keep that in mind. It is not too late to reengage and move the history of our music forward, meaning from its oral to literary state for the generations to come to have a foundation they can be proud to build on.

I would not mind volunteering my service in whatever capacity for the realization of such project, and I am certain others would be delighted to take part in it. After over 50 years of the existence of Konpa Direk, it is despicable to still have its history in its oral state. We need to be publishing the facts about the music –from its inception to what it has become today. So I am thinking of a way we can make that happen. I see someone like Mario Devolcy as a living resource. We can work with him to help us to make the idea of publishing the books on the history of Konpa Direk become a matter of reality. Are we waiting for him to expire before we can start working on that? I hope not as such effort is long overdue.

Mar 20 2011

MARTELLY WAS NOT AN EASY CHOICE FOR ME

Michel J. Martelly, Haitian presidential candidate

I am not Martelly’s friend, and I am too young to have been his classmate. During his 25-year tenure as an entertainer, I only attended two of his live performances. So I am not going to tell you that I grew up with him or he is a family friend. He is only a Haitian citizen who, undoubtedly, loves his country with all his heart and is willing to die for it.

I had dismissed his candidacy at first because, like most, I could not take his candidacy seriously.

How did I end up becoming a strong supporter of his? Well, it was not an easy decision for me. I studied both of them and became convinced that he is the right person for the job for the moment to put Haiti back on track.

Unlike Manigat, his opponent, he is a man of character. Throughout the campaign, he had always kept it honest. When the tough got tougher, he would stand on his two feet to fight. I had never seen him back down or try to apologize for the things he had done and said on and off stage during his entertainment career. When he used to be wrongly and unfairly accused of the fabricated things, he would fight them with all his strength. You need that level of character and stamina in your leader to inspire trust and confidence.

He is a strong, disciplined and no-nonsense type of guy. He is not someone to be messing with, for if you do, you will regret for having stepped on his big toe.

He is a unifier, not a divider. He can bring our divided country together, under the same roof, for a common purpose –regardless our socioeconomic, religious, political and ethnic differences –to inspire all of us to do for ourselves what we have been waiting on others to for us.

Martelly is a leader, not an intellectual. He is a doer, not a fancy talker. That’s how I ended up buying into his candidacy. I consider myself a smart buyer -one who would weigh the pros and cons of anything before closing a sale. I am not the type to be buying anything for the fun of buying.

So my decision to support Martelly for president of Haiti, someone whose candidacy I did not take seriously at first, was well thought of; it was not a simple and easy decision. That is why I could give it my unconditional support. He will be the next president of Haiti, and he will be an amazement to all those who did not believe in him and a matter of pride to all of us who had stood by him to get him elected.

Mar 19 2011

“FOK MWEN ALE” BY P-JAY feat FLAV: THE REVIEW

From left to right: Flav & P-Jay

This video clip of the song entitled Fok Mwen Ale by P-Jay featuring Athlet “Flav” St. Fleur of the Konpa band Gabel, produced by RKM Recordz and directed by LC Studios, is a breakthrough in the way videos are being produced in the Creole Rap circle.

Anyone who listens to the song can easily depict this basic fact that it is a love-story-based one brought to us in harmony initially on CD and now on the screen only to cater to our needs.

The interaction between the rapping skills of P-Jay and the R&B spice of Flav added into the mix makes a perfect combo, and it is deemed to play well on the sensuality of the ladies.

This piece would not be honest writing if it fails to address the professional touch the directing party, LC Studios, brings into the filming and editing of the clip. From the actors’ audacity and boldness (to keenly play their roles) to the craftsmanship of the directing party, everything is perfectly assembled.

Fok Mwen Ale, whether or not it is based on a true story, is yet to be determined. One thing we know for certain, however, is that it is exposing a very serious issue, one many out there have dealt with in the past or are currently dealing with.

 

The story is about P-Jay and Ms. Sariah, who were in a romantic relationship for some time. And like the majority of the relationships out there, theirs was going great initially until something happened that got him to be doubtful of her faithfulness; he had a gut feeling that she was having an affair outside the relationship but was not sure who the person was. In his effort to uncover the “whole” truth, he hired Garou, a private detective, to help him get to the bottom of it. What transpired from Garou’s report was that, indeed, she was having an affair with this woman named Kira. When P-Jay got the breaking news, he went ballistic and still would not believe it until he saw with his own eyes that the two women went out on a date and, on the table where they sat at, found two glasses of wine with red lipstick on them.

What could possibly have gone wrong in the relationship to push her to cheat on him with a woman? Could it be that she has always been a closeted bisexual or he pushed her to turn to someone of the same sex to give her the things she has been craving for in the relationship?

However divided we can be in the rationale we tend to use to get the situation to make sense to us, we all can agree on one thing: this is very humiliating; no one man would want to be in such predicament.

Most men would rather see their woman cheat on them with another man than with a woman; such brings their ego and pride down and makes them feel less than a man.  

Unlike P-Jay, who sees no other alternatives but to leave the relationship, some men would have stayed and possibly allowed themselves to be taken in sandwich by the two women. To these men, P-Jay lacks in his manhood for leaving the relationship; he needs to step his game up.

See, while most men would find issues with their woman cheating on them with a woman, it is a big accomplishment or ego-booster for them to be in a ménage à trois with her, where the women are doing each other.

There is a reason why this video is one of the most viewed Creole Rap videos on Youtube for the two weeks or so it has been released. The reason is that -aside from the niceness of the song itself and the professional touch of the video director -there is a story being told in it, and the sex acts are or appear to be real (with real kisses and touches), at least as far as our eyes can see.

Whatever your moral acuity is, do your best to watch it with an open-minded attitude and enjoy it for what it is –a video clip. You may call the cheating woman, Ms. Sariah, immoral for what she did, but she may not see it that way. In her eyes, she may see it as embarking on a quest for happiness. After all, what she thinks of her action is what matters.

Mar 17 2011

MANIGAT: PRESIDING JUDGE IN IMMORALITY COURT

Mirlande H. Manigat, Haitian presidential candidate

I wonder what Mirlande Manigat had said to her husband, Leslie F. Manigat, when he shared with her his intention to run for president in Haiti in the election of January 17, 1988, which was rejected by 96% of the electorate.

Your inquiry minds may be asking why is it that only 4% of the electorate participated in that election. Well, I am going to tell you why, and I hope you are taking notes.

There was to be a presidential election on November 29, 1987 -the very first democratic election to be taken place in the country after the collapse of the Duvalier regime in 1986. The population was extremely motivated and enthusiastic to participate in that election; the turnout was to be unprecedentedly huge.

On Ruelle Vaillant, in Port-au-Prince, on the day of the election, there was a voting precinct; early in the morning, there was already a long line of people standing and waiting to cast their votes. As the line was getting increasingly long and thick in numbers, a truck loaded with armed military personnel, under the command of Colonel Jean Claude Paul, drove by and massacred between 30 and 300 unarmed innocent civilians, which has suscitated the annulment of the election.

The entire country fell in a state of consternation and trepidation; we were mourning for months the death of these innocent and honorable human beings.

There was an outcry from the population calling for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. But as it is customary in Haiti, an endless investigation was said to be on the way, and, until today, no one has ever been arrested and tried.

These innocent civilians did not do anything to deserve such horrible fate; they were only standing in line to vote and thereby fulfill a civic duty.

After the carnage, slaughter or bloodbath (however you want to call it), the National Council of Government (French: Conseil National de Gouvernement), presided by General Henri Namphy, decided to call for another election to be taken place on January 17, 1988. This time, the electorate was not in tune.

A call to boycott the election was issued by most of the grassroots organizations and political parties at the time. Only a very few political parties, including the RDNP of Leslie Manigat, participated in that election.

It was a simulacrum, for which only 4% of the electorate turned out. That election was a farce only to hand the presidency to Leslie Manigat, who was going to be toppled in a coup by the military five months later, precisely on June 20, 1988.

Now, throughout this contentious presidential campaign, Mirlande Manigat has put his rival, Michel J. Martelly, to trial. She has managed to make this election a referendum on Martelly’s morality.

In my humble opinion, I think she has been given a free pass as though she is a purist. No one, not even the press, has taken the time to find out things about her; they are too busy digging into Martelly’s personal life. It is a conspiracy against Martelly.

I think it is time to have a serious conversation on morality in this country. What is considered moral and what is not? Are the rules of morality only address the behavior of an artist who, in his stage performance, happens to be pulling his pants down, wearing a mini skirt, and/or bombarding the ears of his fans with profanity? I refuse to believe so.

Leslie Manigat, by his participation in the shameful January 17, 1987 election, has proven to be a man of no character -one who would accede to power at any cost, even if that means putting in jeopardy the sovereignty of the nation. He must have told his wife, Mirlande Manigat, of his intention to run for president in that election, and she must have approved of it.

When it comes to morality, Mirlande Manigat is in no position to put anybody to trial in a morality court. She has no moral authority to preside over such body. She is just as immoral as the person she is accusing of being immoral, because in the eye of the just, being a person of no character is in itself immoral. So she needs to retire her morality argument.

Suggested sites: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_presidential_election,_1988

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_presidential_election,_1987

Mar 16 2011

MANNIGET AP FET POU MANIGAT GEN ELEKSYON AN

Listwa pa janm bay manti, sitou lè l ap repwodwi tèt li. Moun ki pòte atansyon ak listwa, kè moun sa yo pa janm sou biskèt paske yo gentan wè sa k ap vini an pou yo ka prepare tèt yo.

An nou fè yon ti listwa pou nou ka byen konprann jwèt sa k ap jwe la a.

29 Novanm 1987, pèp souvren reponn an mas pou l patisipe nan eleksyon demokratik ki ta sipoze fèt kòmsadwa. Eleksyon sa yo te anile aprè lame te debake e masakre moun ki te kanpe sou lin pou yo te al vote. Chif yo mete deyò ta fè konnen te gen ant 30 a 300 moun ki te arrive pèdi lavi yo nan jou eleksyon sa yo, nan Riyèl Vayan.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_presidential_election,_1987

Aprè yo te fin anile eleksyon 29 Novanm yo, Jeneral Henri Namphy, ki li menm te nan tèt Konsèy Nasyonal Gouvènman an, te deside fè yon lòt eleksyon le 17 Janvye 1988. Te gen yon mobilizasyon jeneral ki te lanse pou te bòykote eleksyon sa yo. Pèp la pa t reponn ak apèl a; nan moun ki te nan laj pou vote yo, se sèlman 4% ki te ale nan eleksyon sa yo.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_presidential_election,_1988

Nan eleksyon bidon sa yo, eleksyon pèpè sa yo, eleksyon degrenngoch sa yo ki te fèt 17 Janvye 1988 la, Leslie Manigat, ki se mouche Madan Mirlande Manigat, ki gen pou kontre kòn li ak Michel “Sweet Micky” Martelly nan eleksyon 20 Mas 2011 yo, ak 10 lòt kandida san konsyans te deside benyen nan san konpatriyòt sa yo ke lame te asasine jou 29 Novanm 1987 la; yo te deside patisipe nan eleksyon sila yo.

Nan danse kole avek  KNG a, nan anpil zak anba tab ant Leslie Manigat ak gouvènman an plas la, yo te arive chwazi Misye Manigat pou yo fè l prezidan.

20 Jen 1988, kidonk 5 mwa aprè l fin prete sèman kòm prezidan, menm lame sa a ki te bay li mayèt la deside bay misye yon pakala yo retire l nan men l atravè yon koudeta. Kidonk, lame dekapote Misye Manigat epi pimpe do l voye nan kanpe lwen an ekzil.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Manigat#1988_Haitian_Presidential_elections

Jodi a, nan eleksyon sila yo ki gen pou dewoule andedan peyi a jou 20 Mas 2011 lan,  Madan Manigat jwenn sipò Inite, ki se pati politik Prezidan Preval la, ki se prèske menm jan sa te pase an 1988, kote pouvwa an plas la te kanpe dèyè Leslie Manigat pou yo te fè l prezidan.

Kòm ou kapab wè, moun Manigat sa yo toujou rantre anba vant pouvwa an plas la pou yo kapab pran pouvwa a nan kèlkeswa eleksyon yo patisipe ladann an.

Lè w wè yon sitwayen tankou Jean-Henry Seant, yon ansyen kandida ki t ap kouri pou chèz boure a nan eleksyon 28 Novanm pase yo, di w gen manèv anba tab k ap fèt ant manm sosyete sivil la, KEP a ak Madan Manigat pou yo volè eleksyon an nan men Martelly, misye kapab konnen sa l ap pale a. Alòs, si Martelly pa pran tout dispozisyon pou anpeche sa pase, si se lè l fin pase a ki pou se lè sa misye ap rele bare, li ka pa ka defèt li ankò wi. Peze sou lenk sa a pou w ka li deklarasyon Jean-Henry Seant te fè a.

http://www.hpnhaiti.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2453%3Ajean-henry-ceant-craint-des-fraudes-au-detriment-de-martelly&catid=18%3Aelections-2010&Itemid=28

Mwen, m wè bagay la yon lòt jan. M di nou deja ke Preval pa kanpe sou bit pou li bay pouvwa a. Men ki plan m sispèk misye gen anba men l:

Misye konnen trè byen ke se si yo volè eleksyon an sèlman pou Martelly pa prezidan. Epi ankò li konnen trè byen ke Martelly pa p jwe ak eleksyon sa a.

Misye ap deklare Manigat prezidan, mas pèp Martelly a ap kanpe mande krase brize, 2 kan yo ap batay youn ak lòt, epi li menm l ap envite kominote entènasyonal la vin envestige jan kontaj bilten yo te pase, kidonk menm jan li te fè pou eleksyon 28 Novanm yo. Rezilta envestigasyon kominote entènasyonal la ka abwouti ak 2 posiblite: a) Yo arive wè te gen magouy ki te fèt kont Martely, yo deklare se misye ki gen eleksyon yo; b) Preval wè sa ap yon anbarasman pou li, li deside anile eleksyon yo; li mande pou kat la rebat.

Nenpòt sa ki arive sòti a, Madan Manigat pa p aksepte l paske li di ke KEP a te konte tout vwa yo e ke yo jwenn se li ki gen eleksyon an.

Si tout fwa Preval ta kanpe pou l anile eleksyon yo, Manigat ap di pèp la vote deja, kidonk fòk chwa pèp la respekte; se li menm pèp la chwazi. L ap di ke rezilta eleksyon yo bay deja, e ke se li ki prezidan. E si l di sa, l ap gen tout rezon l paske si Martelly te nan menm pozisyon an se konsa l t ap di tou; li pa t ap janm vle pou yo anile yon eleksyon aprè yo fin deklare l ofisyèlman kòm moun ki genyen l. Sa pa t ap janm fèt.

Kounyè a nou vin tonbe nan yon kriz, yon tchouboum elektoral san parèy e san limit ankò k ap fè Preval rete sou pouvwa a ap vale teren jiskaske pa janm gen yon prezidan ki monte pou ranplase l.

Men m ba nou plan m sispèk Preval gen anba men l a. Alò, n a fè sa pou n fè avèk li. M pa konn sa kanpay Martelly a ap fè, men m ta swete yo rete vijilan pou yo pa kite yo pran yo nan yon kou pa konprann, pou yo pa kite Preval woule yo nan farin. Si nou pran pòz egare nou, nou pa louvri je nou, se afè k gade nou. Men nou pa p ka di ke nou pa t konnen.

Mar 10 2011

MY IMPRESSION OF THE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

Manigat and Martelly, Haitian presidential candidate

I spent over one hour or two watching this Haitian presidential debate on www.Haitinetradio.com, having put on stage the two candidates -Martelly and Manigat –who will be on the ballot on March 20. I am going to try to give you my impression of it.

I am not sure what the organizers were trying to achieve with the event and whether or not they reached the objective, but to tell you the truth, it was a waste of time. To me, that was not a political debate; it was more of an exhibition of knowledge –I know more than you do in this field and all this nonsense.  

I think, for a first debate, Martelly did well. He just needs to work on his posturing a little, which is something that can come with practice. This is our first experience with political debates in our political culture, so this is new to almost all of these politicians.

Martelly did exactly what he came out to do, and that was to keep his votes. He did not win nor lose any as a result of his performance, which I think was a little too abrasive.  

We knew from the start that he was not going to be more rhetorical than Manigat, a university professor. That is undisputable. However, one thing he did better than his opponent was that he answered the questions in a way to allow him to have a better connectivity with the people.

Throughout the debate, Martelly inspired confidence in his answers, which I think was his major highlight. I like his toughness; I would feel safer with him driving me than I would with Manigat.

I don’t know what Manigat’s strategy was, but it was not to win votes. She came to show off her intellectual superiority; I don’t think that’s what the people wanted to see from her since they already knew about her intellect.

She failed short to connect with the people. She was boring, and her answers were too rhetorical for the average Haitian Joe in Cite Soleil and across the country to even come close to comprehend. So she missed the goal big time.

At some point in the debate, I had the impression she was talking to her university students, not to the people whose votes she desperately needs. I would hire her over Martelly to be my professor, but not my president.

Where Haiti is right now, we need a tough guy figure or a no-nonsense type of guy to be on the wheel driving the people. We don’t need another weak head like Preval -with no real power to get the country back on track and restore the authority of the state.

We must not make the mistake of seeing these political debates through the perspective of American politics. Staging political debates is a new concept to all of us, including these politicians. So let’s not be too demanding.

Both candidates did fine, but Martelly resonated better with the people. He did what he came out to achieve. Manigat appeared more like a teacher in a lecture hall than a politician trying to win the hearts of the voters, which was Al Gore’s problem in 2000 and Kerry’s in 2004, explaining the reason why Bush won over the two of them.

Overall, the debate was a waste of time. In a sense, it was positive in that it will show the two candidates what they need to work on for next time. Martelly just needs to work on his temper and protocol big time; Manigat needs to work on her ability to communicate in a language the people in the street can relate to. If I were to choose a winner, it would be Martelly for the simple fact that he achieved what he came out to do.