On October 1, 2012, the Medical School at UNIFA began its second academic year.  A new video highlights UNIFA’s progress and goals. 

Two hundred and fifty-four candidates successfully passed the admissions exam and were accepted as first year medical students.   One hundred and eighteen second year students returned to campus for their second year of studies (out of a total of 126 students who began in the fall of 2011).   A dozen new teachers joined the teaching staff, raising the faculty’s total teaching staff to over 18.

UNIFA offeres a full complement of science and medical coursework.   Language study (French, English and Spanish) continue to be requirements.

UNIFA was able to offer all second year medical students a partial scholarship to assist with their tuition.   A memo from the Office of the UNIFA President, Dr. Aristide, informed students that it was indeed the university’s goals to seek out scholarship aid for its students, as it announced this response to needs impatiently expressed by students.

UNIFA offered all second year medical students a partial scholarship.  A memo from the Office of the UNIFA President, Dr. Aristide, informed students that it was indeed the university’s goals to seek out scholarship aid for its students, as it announced this response to needs impatiently expressed by students.

Thanks to generous fundraising efforts in the US sponsored by the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund and Partnership for Education, Health and Democracy in Haiti, significant improvements were able to be made on campus: the auditorium was renovated; electric and plumbing infrastructure in the classroom building was repaired; new student desks were purchased; benches and outdoor seating were installed under shaded trees in the courtyards around the Medical School.

 SCHOOL OF NURSING

In early November 2012, the UNIFA launched its new nursing program.   Haiti faces an acute nursing shortage, exaccerbated when hundred new graduates of the state’s nursing school were killed in the January 2010 earthquake.  UNIFA’s nursing program aims to address this shortage.   UNIFA admitted 73 first year nursing students to its program.  These students  will complete a 4- year nursing program.  Five additional teachers joined UINFA’s teaching staff, while faculty from the medical school covers some core courses like chemistry and anatomy.  A simulated nurse’s practice room is being set up on campus.   In November, UNIFA held exploratory meetings with two US nursing schools to explore collaborative programs.

VISITING FACULTY

During the fall semester Dr. James Hudspeth, an instructor in Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, conducted a week long seminar to the second year students focused on HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.  These two diseases are very common in Haiti, and are an important source of illness for doctors working in any aspect of medicine to know about.  The students learned essential information about both diseases, including molecular biology, epidemiology, history, diagnosis, prevention, and therapy.  This information will inform their subsequent 4 years of study and helps to frame a number of the other illnesses they will learn of in the years to come.

After classes, Dr. Hudspeth spent time with students, extending class discussions.

Professor residences at UNIFA

During the week, Dr. Hudspeth was housed on campus at one of the professor’s residences refurbished last year and set aside for visiting instructors.  His visit is part of UNIFA’s partnership with the Boston-based health organization Physicians for Haiti.  The group has a going a data bank of of physicians, nurses and instructors interested in teaching at UNIFA.  Four more visiting faculty will offer courses in the Spring of 2013.

The second semester of Medical School at UNIFA began on January 9.   After three months of intensive Spanish language training,  core first year medical school courses began: anatomy, embriology, histology, medical ethics, physiology and bio-chemistry. Haitian doctors Francis St. Hubert, Pierre Gaetjeans and Lantz Etienne joined their Cuban counterparts on the UNIFA medical faculty.  Newly purchased laboratory equipment – microscopes, prepared slides and anatomical models, also arrived mid-semester as teaching supplements for the first year curriculum.  The 126 students, initially divided into 4 sections for were put into two, groups, Group A and B.  Students continue their study of Spanish in the mornings, while the core Medical School courses are taught in the afternoon.   An English course has been added, to provide proficiency at a time where English is increasingly gaining ground in Haiti; and a French writing class (two class hours a week) devoted to strengthening writing skills has also been added.

Students are in class from 7:30 to 5:00, five days a week. Newly installed internet access will broaden research capacities and the availability of online teaching material.

Visiting Professorships: Partnership with Physicians for Haiti

Since its founding in 2001, one of UNIFA’s goals was to open its doors to ideas and teachings beyond Haiti through hosting international lecturers. That is why 22 professors’ residences were constructed less than a 10 minute walk from the main classrooms and administration building, and in close proximity to the student dorms. In early December 2011, Dr. Aristide met with six members of Physicians for Haiti, a Boston-based health organization, to explore the possibility of a partnership that could begin to bring visiting professors and lecturers to UNIFA on a rotating basis. The founding members of the group understood that the long term solution to Haiti’s health crisis – worsened by the earthquake – lay in training more Haitian health care professionals. They committed to focusing their skills and energy on medical education in Haiti on the principles of “partnership, bidirectional education and health equity.” On January 19, 2012, a memorandum of understanding was signed to implement a partnership for medical education between UNIFA and Physicians for Haiti. One of the key terms of this agreement is a commitment by the organization to create a pool of visiting instructors who will teach medical students at UNIFA. During their stay, these visitors will be hosted by UNIFA. The teaching program will be monitored and evaluated by both institutions. In addition, the agreement signed provides that the two institutions will collaborate on research projects.

Dr. Lopa Basu, the first visiting instructor recruited by Physicians for Haiti arrived in March.  She holds a masters degree in public health and is currently in the medical residency program at Johns Hopkins University. Prior to that, she was a research associate at the Johns Hopkins Center for Public Health & Human Rights. Dr. Basu taught the first half of a two week class (20 class hours) titled: Introduction to public health and social determinants of health. During the second week, she was joined by Dr. Ruben Frescas, who also holds a masters degree in public health and was a teaching assistant at Loyola University School of Medicine. The focus of Dr. Frescas’ lectures was the social determinants of health.

Professors’ residences

Dr. Lopa and Dr. Frescas spent their two weeks as visiting lecturers at UNIFA in one of the eight newly renovated professors’ residences on campus. The 22 residences are individual bungalows with a kitchen, living space and 2 to 3 bedrooms. The residences, like the dorms, were once occupied by victims of the January 20, 2010 earthquake seeking shelter. From July to September UNIFA worked with the families in the professors’ residence, the local magistrate’s office and various international groups to help these individuals relocate. Renovations started in December 2011. Cuban instructors and an attendant reside in five of the other buildings.

Cafeteria service

The long days on campus (7:30-5:00) necessitated offering students, faculty and staff food services at an affordable price. Space was identified for a cafeteria and estimates received on the cost of equipment and construction. However, UNIFA was not financially prepared for this expense. Evelyn Perrard, UNIFA secretary general and former director of the country’s national school lunch program could not wait. With a small staff of two cooks, 2 assistants, four servers and someone at the cash register. Mme Perrard set up a breakfast and lunch program capable of serving the entire UNIFA community. Balanced meals that include a fresh fruit, a vegetable and as much local produce as possible, are prepared in one facility and carried to the auditorium where chairs and tables are set up to temporarily serve as a cafeteria. Breakfast costs 20 gourdes (about .50 USD), lunch 60 gourdes (1.42 USD); or both meals for a discounted 75 gourdes (1.78 USD).

By June the Medical School at UNIFA will have completed its first full academic year in since the coup of 2004 and the earthquake of 2010.   It has taken tremendous hard work and persistence on behalf of all the students, staff and faculty to begin once more under very difficult circumstance and with limited resources.    We would like once more to thank Partners in Health and the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund for their financial support.    Students fees fund a portion of UNIFA’s budget, but we count on supporters internationally to fill in the rest.   If you would like to support UNIFA you can make a tax deductible donation via the Partnership for Education, Democracy and Health in Haiti.  Donations can be sent to:  Partnership for Education, Democracy and Health in Haiti,  PO Box 490271, Key Biscayne, Florida 33149.

March 8, 2012 was the 16^th anniversary of the Aristide Foundation for Democracy.  To mark the anniversary and International Women’s Day, the Foundation organized a health fair.   Dr. Jessy Pierre, the medical director for the day, coordinated  32 doctors and 15 nurses who consulted over 600 people during the six hour clinic.    The medical staff included two optometrists and a dentist.  Students from 29 area schools came to the Foundation for the day for one-on-one consultations with physicians and also to hear health education talks.   This health fair was organized in conjunction with  29 schools in the La Plaine area– whose students don’t often get the opportunity to consult with physicians.

While students waited for their consultations, the doctors present offered medical educations talks.  Dr. Marie Antoinette Gauthier (surgeon and former member of Haiti’s national football team) stressed with students the importance of physical activity and encouraged them to find creative ways to stay active – all the while conscious that many schools don’t have any outdoor space, the few public parks that exist in Port-au-Prince are still occupied and walking on the streets dangerous with cars and taxi-motorcycles (taxi-moto).  As students waited, doctors and/or nurses spoke to small groups about general hygiene, and with the rains approaching, the risks of cholera and cholera prevention

March also saw the inauguration of ‘Klinik Alo Dokté’  (Hello, Doctor Clinic)

Alo Dokte (Hello Doctor)  is a public health education program on the Foundation’s radio station,  Radyo Timoun.  The program, which was launched in January, is hosted by 5 doctors  and one dentist, who take calls from the public on health topics.  All of these doctors are part of the corps of 745 Haitian physicians who were trained in Cuba since 1996.

The radio programs runs for one hour, 5 days a week. the program begins with a  discussion of a health related topic (AIDS prevention, How to recognize Cholera, etc.)  Phone lines are then open to callers.   Adults and children then call in with very specific and sometimes very serious questions about their own health or the health of a family member.   The doctors offer advice and answers to questions.   The doctors also give out their personal cell phone numbers and get calls well into the night, even after they’ve left the radio station.

The tremendous response to the show has led to a decision to to create a clinic in the Foundation linked to the show where instead of calling, members of the community can come in person for a consultation with any one of the participating doctors.

Medical Students Registering at UNIFA - Sept 2011

On September 26, 2011 the Medical School of UNIFA (the University of the Aristide Foundation)  officially reopened its doors to a new class of future Haitian doctors.  Seven years after the school’s forced closure in 2004,  and four months after the return of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to Haiti, medical education resumed at UNIFA.

Over the summer of 2011, the Faculty of Medicine (pictured below) was repaired and refurbished after sustaining mild damage in the 2010 quake.

UNIFA MEDICAL SCHOOL

In late August, recruitment of students began.  A week-long registration period brought thousands of young applicants to UNIFA and the Aristide Foundation where initial registration was held.  Nine hundred students whose grades and scores on the Baccalaureate exam met the minimum requirement went on to take an entrance exam.

Sitting for the Medical School Exam

Exam Results Posted at UNIFA

From the 900 applicants,  126 students who received the highest test scores were selected.

UNIFA was founded in 2001 in response to the desperate need for more doctors and health professionals in Haiti.  A fundamental part of its mission was and is to begin to break down long traditions of exclusion of the poor majority in Haiti from access to higher education.   Even before the earthquake there were very few spots in medical schools in Haiti (private or public).  Gaining entrance to Medical School was nearly impossible for students without connections or financial means.    The earthquake destroyed or severely damaged 80% of the institutions of higher education, most are still struggling to resume full functioning.   All of this made the reopening of UNIFA a priority.   Today UNIFA still aims to  combat social exclusion by recruiting students from families who have historically been unable to access higher education, from all ten departments of Haiti, and with a commitment to equal gender representation.    Without financial support from the public sector, UNIFA can no longer offer Medical education free of charge.  However tuition at UNIFA is just one-third of what private medical school in Haiti charge.

On September 26, 2011 Dr Ginette Lubin the new Dean of the Medical School welcomed the new students to the campus.

Dr. Ginette Lubin welcoming students to UNIFA Sept. 26, 2011

New medical students gathered the UNIFA auditorium September 26, 2011

Classes began the next day.  This fall the students completed a 3-month intensive Spanish language program.  As was the case before 2004, UNIFA’s medical curriculum is based on the curriculum used in Cuba, which has trained thousands of doctors from Latin America.   UniFA’s faculty today consist of a mix of Haitian and Cuban medical and languages specialists.  A select group of UniFA alumni, doctors from the original three classes of medical students who went on to complete their medical studies in Cuba after the 2004 coup d’etat, are assisting in the classrooms.  The long term goal is that some of these young doctors will go on to get pedagogical training and eventually become faculty members at UNIFA.

UNIFA Classroom

After completing the first phase of their language training the new class began the Medical portion of their studies in January 2012.   They are expected to complete their studies in three to four years.

The reopening of UNIFA war financially possible due to two generous donations.  We are deeply grateful to Dr. Paul Farmer and Partners in Health for their steadfast support.  We are also grateful to the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund for the faith and dedication they have shown to the AFD and to UniFA.

We congratulate this first class of medical students for their success in gaining entry to UNIFA.  We salute the sacrifices that they and their families are making to allow them to attend.  We also salute the tremendous hard work of everyone involved, the staff and faculty of UNIFA,  for coming together, rebuilding and reopening in such a short time.

Dr. Ginette Lubin w/ UNIFA faculty members

Roger Noel and Jacques Solon Jean of the Soulaje Lespri Moun Project at the APA Convention in DC

by Leah James

In early August, Roger Noel and Jacques Solon Jean joined me (Leah James) in Washington DC to give a presentation at the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association. Our talk focused on the development, implementation, and evaluation of Soulaje Lespri Moun (SLM – Relief for the Spirit), a lay mental health worker project housed by the AFD.  Roger, the project manager, Solon, the project psychologist, and I have worked closely over the past year and a half with a dedicated team of Ajan Sante Mantal (lay mental health workers) to provide coping skills seminars for residents of camps for internally displaced peoples (IDP camps) in Port-au-Prince.  The Ajan have worked in 7 camps, with nearly a thousand residents, providing education about natural disaster safety and common responses to stress and trauma, and teaching relaxation techniques and other coping strategies. Participants in the seminars are given exams, and if they pass, receive certificates. They are then prepared to run their own support groups for other camp residents. This model allow for time- and cost-efficient dissemination of information.   We have also found that for camp residents to re-engage with their own stressful and traumatizing situation with new skills and in a helping role has therapeutic properties in itself.

Roger and Solon working with a group of camp residence at Carradeux

Our presentation was very well-received, and we met many interested and enthusiastic people. Although thirteen thousand people from all over the world attended the conference, Roger and Solon were the only attendees from Haiti and were honored to represent their country and the AFD. They were always surrounded by curious people asking them about their experiences and expertise. In addition to our main presentation, we were also asked to give a conversation hour for Division 56 (the trauma division) of the APA. Roger and Solon had been awarded funding from Division 56 and from the APA’s International Office – we were very thankful for their support and warm reception. We now have many new friends and collaborators, including two Haitian-American doctoral students.

The trip was not entirely business – this was Roger and Solon’s first visit to the US, so we were sure to do plenty of sightseeing as well. We visited the White House, the Washington Monument, the Natural History museum, saw a 3-D showing of Captain America, and ate as many different kinds of food as we could find. Solon’s favorite was burritos, while Roger liked sushi and Ethiopian food.  A successful trip on all accounts!

Note: Presentations about SLM have also been accepted at the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) in Baltimore and the Caribbean Regional Conference of Psychology in the Bahamas, both in November 2011.

Jacques Solon Jean, Roger Noel, and Leah James at the APA Convention in DC

On February 2, 2011 The Aristide Foundation inaugurated a Youth League under the banner: Youth Action, Integration and Cooperation. The purpose of the League is to create a space for debate, intellectual and cultural exchange, and practical training for young people who want to assist in the rebuilding of their country. More than 1,500 people attended the official launch, with 132 representatives coming from each of Haiti’s ten departments. Since February the league has grown by leaps and bounds, holding weekly training seminars and events to mark days of national importance.

On February 23, 2011, 1632 young people were invited to participate in an all day work session to reflect on different areas of future activities including, Psychology, Health, Economics, Communication, Education, Sports, culture, and Justice and Human Rights. After six hours of brainstorming, discussion n and debate each working group presented their conclusions and suggestions for moving forward.

Since February 23, the league has more than doubled in size, mainly through word of mouth. On March 22, another 1700 young people joined, and each week since hundreds of new young people have joined, gathering weekly at the Foundation to listen to speakers on a range of topics. The current membership is over 6,000. Many of these young people are participating in classes organized at the foundation in the following areas: music lessons, driving school, cholera prevention seminars, first aid, and computer courses.

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In addition to weekly meetings, the league sponsors events to mark important national dates. For International Women’s Day the league sponsored a debate on the active participation of women in the economic and political life of the country. On May 1, (agriculture day in Haiti) agronomists, Dejean and Mésidor presented a conference on environmental degradation and reforestation. Participants received seedlings for planting at the end of the conference. On May 18, rather than having an outside speaker, two Youth League members from the Political Science working group presented the history of the Haitian flag.

On May 28, 2011, a delegation of five teachers traveled to Jacmel to offer a training session for 115 new young people who had enrolled in the league in the South East.

Since June 11, leaders of the Youth League, which includes some of the Cuban-trained doctors who are UniFA graduates, and other young professionals have been meeting every two weeks to harmonize the administrative and technical structures of the league while laying the foundations for coordinating efforts in all ten provinces of Haiti.

On July 15, to mark the birthday of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and in response to the resurgence of cholera in the country, the Youth League, led by 60 doctors, many of them UniFA graduates, held a huge cholera prevention seminar, with a mass demonstration hand-washing, followed by a free medical clinic for area residents.

Most of those who have joined the Youth League are between 16 and 25 years old. According to Merry Roche, the Foundation’s coordinator of youth activities, young people are flocking to the Foundation for a variety of reasons. The welcoming atmosphere at the Foundation attracts them, as does the possibility of finding a spot in a practical training session. Many also hope that one day they may be able to study at UniFA (the University of the Aristide Foundation, whose Medical School is scheduled to reopen in September). Most of all they are looking for a way to contribute, a vehicle for channeling their energies into building a better country.   Foundation staff has been impressed at the dedication of the young people who have formed the League. Most have either completed their Rheto or Philo exams (Exams given during the final two years of high school – reaching this academic level in Haiti is already a major accomplishment.) These are young people with high aspirations. They are creative and cooperative and feel great pride in belonging to the youth league. The Foundation has been overwhelmed by both the turnout and the dedication of these young people and is struggling to create programs to meet their aspirations.

It is already clear that UniFA, once it reopens will be able to accommodate only a handful of these young people. The Foundation is exploring the possibility of expanding vocational training programs beyond the computer school, which already operates at the Foundation. We are looking at possibilities in plumbing, carpentry, electricity, silk-screening, administration, accounting, and perhaps most importantly entrepreneurial mentoring to assist groups of young people in the creation of micro enterprises in the above fields.

If youth is the hope of all countries, the youth league of the Aristide Foundation for Democracy is a profound demonstration of Haiti’s potential. More than half of Haiti’s population is below the age of 25. Each year tens of thousands graduate from high school. Baccalaureate exams are taking place right now across Haiti with more than 130,000 students participating. (If they pass the two-year cycle of exams they are qualified to go to University) Yet, there are only places for a handful of these students at Haiti’s Universities and nearly all of Haiti’s Universities have been hit very hard by the quake. There is massive pent up demand for access to post high school education or training – whether University level or vocational. The energy of Haiti’s young people must become the engine that drives Haiti’s recovery. The question facing both the Foundation, UniFA and really the country as a whole is how do we answer their call?

On March 18, 2011, former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and his family returned to Haiti after seven years in exile.  He was greeted at the airport by tens of thousands of Haitians who then accompanied him to his house in Tabarre.  In an outpouring of unrestrainable joy, they made his house their own, as you can see from the photos here.

People in the courtyard of Aristide's house surrounding the car as he emerged. Photio Paul Burke

People welcoming Titid and his family at their house in Tabarre, photo Paul Burke

photo Paul Burke

From the airport just after he landed, Aristide addressed the Haitian people in a speech carried live on Haitian radio.  He emphasized the need to move from a politics of exclusion to a one of inclusion of all social classes in the political, economic and social life of the nation.  We reprint here the full text of speech as it was delivered primarily in Creole, with section in English, Spanish, Zulu, Swahili, and French.

Speech of Jean-Bertrand Aristide just after his arrival in Port-au-Prince, March 18, 2011

Sè m, Frè m, Onè ! Respè !
Otorite ki nan Leta Peyi d Ayiti,
Reprezantan Gouvènman Afrik Du Sud,
Anbasadè Matu ak Sè nou Matshidiso,
Otorite ki nan òganizasyon
Nasyonal kòm entènasyonal,
Sè m ak Frè m
Ki nan kat kwen peyi a ou aletranje,
Mwen kontan salye n nan lonbraj
Ayeropò Toussaint Louverture.

Sè m, Frè m,
Onè ! Respè !
Onè pou ou !
Respè pou Ayiti !
Ala kontan m kontan fè youn avèk
Minouche, Christine, Michaëlle pou
Salye ou e anbrase ou fratènèlman !
Sè m, Frè m,
Si w te ka poze men w sou kè mwen,
Ou ta santi kijan lap bat pi vit, pi plis
Pou di w : Bravo! Mèsi! Bravo! Mèsi!
Bravo pou kouraj ak entèlijans Pèp la !
Mèsi mil fwa pou akèy san parèy sa a !
Bravo pou tout bèl leson Pèp la deja bay !
Mèsi mil mil fwa pou bèl solèy solidarite
Ki pa te janm kouche dèyè mòn egzil sa a.

A warm welcome to :
Ira Kurzban, Dany Glover, Laura Flynn,
James Early, Selma James, widow of
CLR James, Margaret Prescod, Paul Burke.
Greetings to:
Honorable Deputy Maxine Waters,
Randall and Hezel Robinson,
Brian Cancanon, Claude Ribbe.
Peace to:
John Maxwell and the victims of
the disaster in Japan.

Onè ! Respè !
Onè pou ou e respè pou memwa
300.000 viktim tranbleman tè a !
Respè pou memwa tout moun ki
Viktim kolera ou katastwòf politik.
Men nan la men, bradsou bradsa,
Ann trese yon bèl kouwòn onè respè
Pou Rev Pè Gérard Jean-Juste ak
Tout lòt ewo ki sakrifye lavi yo nan
Defann diyite Ayiti ki malad grav.
Sè m, Frè m,
Pèmèt mwen pataje chalè remèsiman an
Ak anpil zanmi ki pa fèt an Ayiti, men
Ki renmen Pèp Ayisyen ak tout kè yo.
An 2004, gen nan yo ki te al chèche n
Nan peyi Afrik Santral pou akonpaye n
Rive nan peyi Jamayik an natandan
Prezidan Tabo Mbeki te chwazi depeche
Pwòp avyon prezidansyèl Lafrik Di Sid
Pou n te retounen nan bra manman Lafrik.
Yon gwo gwo mèsi pou Prezidan Zuma,
Prezidan Mbeki, Prezidan Mandela ak Tout lòt sè n ak frè n k ap viv nan peyi
Afrik Santral, Jamayik ak Afrik di Sid.
Jan m te di l, anvan n kite Afrik di Sid
Nan lang isiZoulou ak lang Swahili :

(IsiZoulou)
Yize iHaiti ikude naAfrika, asisoze sazikhohlwa
izimpande zamasiko ethu. Ngesikathi zonke
sizobatshela abantwana nezizukulu zethu :
Manikumbule lapho okoko bethu bazalelwe khona.
Niqubele ngokubona lendawo eya eAfrika.
Niqonde ngqo ngalo mgwaqo.

(Swahili)
Umoja ni nguvu,
Utengano ni udaifu.
Mtu ni watu.

Sa vle di :
Menm si Ayiti lwen l Afrik,
Nou pap janm bliye rasin kilti nou.
N ap toujou di pitit ak pitit pitit nou yo :
Sonje kote Zansèt nou yo te fèt.
Kontinye gade nan direksyon l Afrik.
Kenbe wout sa a drè, nèt ale.
Linyon fè lafòs, divizyon fè lafeblès.
Ki di youn nan nou di nou tout.
Sè m, Frè m,
Jan nou konnen, rekonesans fè sans.
Pou tout lòt vrè zanmi etranje nou yo
K ap viv nan divès lòt peyi sou latè,
Nou pwofite voye yon mèsi espesyal.
Vrè zanmi etranje ki la avè n jodia
Ak anpil lòt ki prezan nan lespri yo
Se moun ki toujou chèche konprann
Ni mwèl soufrans, ni mwèl diyite
K ap sikile nan langaj Pèp Ayisyen.
Pou m konprann kijan sèvo moun
Ki pale 8 a 10 lang fonksyone,
Mwen anrejistre ond sèvo a ak yon
Aparèy yo rele elektwoansefalogram.
Pou vrè zanmi sa yo konprann kijan
Langaj Pèp Ayisyen chaje ak di plis
Tankou mwèl diyite, mwèl soufrans,
Yo fè ni kè yo ni brenn pa yo mache
Jis yo konn tonbe damou pou Ayiti.

To understand how the human brain processes 8 to 10 languages, I use an EEG machine and record the brain waves. But to understand the Haitian meta-linguistics, true friends of Haiti such as the members of this prestigious delegation, use both their brain and their heart. I think that the bonds linking them to Haiti are deeply rooted in a real love story. What a clear reflection of true love and true friendship! A friend in need is a friend indeed. Thank you so much.
As the brain takes only 100 ms to detect happiness, you may already realize how your presence contributes to make the Haitian people so happy today. In 1804, the Haitian revolution marked the end of slavery. Today, may the Haitian people mark the end of exile and coup d’état while peacefully we must move from social exclusion to social inclusion. Once again, thanks from the bottom of our hearts.

Un saludo muy caloroso y un abrazo fraternal a nuestros hermanos y hermanas de Cuba, especialmente los médicos que se han entregado sin cansancio en la lucha en contra del cólera? Quién sabe cuantas víctimas del cólera ya hubieran muerto, si no fuera por su asistencia médico?
Rechazando la propaganda y acercándose cada día más a los enfermos, Uds cristalizan una fuente de vida y un tejido de solidaridad humana. ! Ojalá que la luz de este testimonio guíe los pasos de tantos hombres hacia un mundo mejor ! A Uds todos, gracias, muchíssimas gracias!

Sè m, Frè m,
Si w te ka panche tèt ou sou kè mwen,
Ou ta tande aklè kijan li ap chante
Yon melodi konsolasyon pou Ayiti.
Ayiti manman nou ki bezwen respire
Oksijèn diyite pou lawont pa toufe l.
Tank mwen kontan pou wè nou tout,
Se tank dlo soufrans nou yo ap koule
Tankou yon larivyè doulè nan tout kòm.
Tank mwen kontan pou wè nou tout,
Se tank larivyè doulè viktim yo anvi
Dechire kè m pou l vin ponpe nan je m.
Si mwen menm ki fenk retounen lakay,
Se konsa m santi m, ou pa bezwen di m
Kijan manjezon doulè sa a rèd pou ou.
Depi tranbleman tè goudougoudou a,
Si m te ka transfòme chanm kè m an
Chanm kay, tout viktim tap jyenn kay
Pou sispann dòmi nan lari, nan labou,
Anba tant chire kole pyese moso prela ,
Moso dra, moso katon IMILYASYON.
Wi, imilyasyon yon Ayisyen,
Se imilyasyon tout Ayisyen.
Lè diyite you Ayisyen blese,
Se nou tout Ayisyen ki senyen.
San nou se san Tousen Louvèti,
Nou pa ka trayi san nou. Non !
San nou se san Tousen Louvèti,
Nou pa ka trayi san nou. Non !
Sè m, Frè m,
Jodi a, akouchman retou a fèt
Anba lonbray Tousen Louvèti.
Lè yo te kidnape l pou egzile l
Nan mwa jen 1802, li te deja di :
Rasin libète yo anpil e yo plante fon.
Koupe pye libète sa a se youn, men
Rive elimine tout rasin yo, se jamè.
Ochan pou Jeni sa a ki te leve lonè
Tout pitit zantray Manman Lafrik !
Ochan pou tout rasin libète ki fleri
Anba dekonm pou n te ka retounen.

Jodi a, anba lonbray Tousen Louvèti,
Nou kontan vin kanpe ak tout jèn yo,
Nou menm nouvèl jenerayon ki vle :
Edikasyon nan diyite ,san esklizyon.
Nou gen rezon paske
Si n pa sove diyite nou,
Diyite n ap sove kite n.
Wi, nou gen rezon paske
Pwoblèm nan se esklizyon,
Solisyon an se enklizyon.
Esklizyon Fanmi Lavalas
Se esklizyon majorite a.
Esklizyon majorite a egal
Koupe egzakteman branch
Ke nou tout chita sou li a.
Pwoblèm nan se esklizyon,
Solisyon an, se enklizyon
Tout Ayisyen san patipri
Paske tout moun se moun.
Donk,vòt tout moun konte.
An 1804, apre lendepandans,
Te gen 20 medsen ak 2 dantis
Pou 400.000 moun nan peyi a.
Jodia, pa menm gen 2 doktè
Pou chak 11.000 Ayisyen.
Sa a, sa a se youn nan rezilta
Mòd edikasyon esklizyon an.
Pou lonè Papa Jan Jak Desalin,
Nou vin pote ti konkou pa n.
Si balon edikasyon an santre
Sou teren diyite, fòk wè pa wè,
Nou mete esklizyon awoutsay.
E lè sa a nouvèl jenerasyon an
Pra l kòmanse benefisye nan
Richès k ap dòmi nan zantray
Peyi d Ayiti nou an, kidonk :
Lò, kwiv, iranyòm, boksit,
Ajan, poutzolan, mab elatriye.
Kabonat kalsyòm ki nan Payan,
Miragwan, depase $ 23 milya.

Rezèv petwòl la, san dout,
Pi plis anpil pase sa nou kwè.
Dayè nou menm menm Ayisyen,
Nou se pi gwo, pi gwo richès la.

Sè m, Frè m,
Pandan 7 an, nou kominike a distans.
Jodia, nou la pou ansanm ansanm,
Nou simen lapè toupatou, tout tan,
Tout kote pou tout fòm vyolans kaba.
Nou menm Ayisyen ki renmen lapè,
Nou kondane tout kalite fòm vyolans
Pou edikasyon jenès la ka debouche
Sou lapè nan tèt ak lapè nan vant.
Sè m, Frè m,
Pandan 7 an, nou kominike a distans.
Jodia, nou la, nou la ansanm, kòtakòt.
Nou la, lakay, paske lakay se lakay.
Nou la ak nou tout ki la pou nou al la :
La kote mizè, grangou, chomaj,
Ensekirite, kidnaping, koripsyon,
Dwòg, vyolans, trayizon, enjistis,
Rasis, esklizyon ak esklavaj modèn
Pap toujou kanpe la pou fè n delala.
Ayiti nou an malad grav anpil.
Soti 29 Fevriye 2004 rive jodia,
Maladi a malerezman vin pi grav.
Men, byen mal pa vle di lanmò :
Pi gwo espwa Ayiti, se Ayisyen.
Pi gwo remèd Ayiti, se lanmou.
Apre 7 ane egzil sa yo, nou deklare
7 fwa 77 fwa 7 fwa se Mèm Amou.
Mèm Amou pou ou ki isit an Ayiti.
Mèm Amou pou ou ki aletranje.
Si jodia nou youn retrouve n
Nan bra lòt, isit, isit la menm,
Se gras a ou ke m renmen amò.

Jeunesse de mon Pays,
Vous, Jeunes Héros et Héroïnes d’Haïti,
Vous, amoureux, amoureuses de la liberté,
Soyons tous présents au rendez-vous
De la Première République Noire,
Tapie sous le poids de ces 25.000.000
De tonnes métriques de décombres.
Si l’éclosion du crocus dépend des rayons du soleil,
L’éclosion d’Haïti dépend du soleil de notre amour.
Haïti nous unit à cette terre comme le pétiole relie le limbe à la tige.
Tige de liberté conquise, combattue, battue mais jamais abattue.
Tige de liberté dont la nervure principale symbolise notre dignité.
Tige de liberté dont la sève est et demeure l’amour par excellence.
Si l’éclosion du crocus dépend des rayons du soleil,
L’éclosion d’Haïti dépend du soleil de notre amour.
Haïti, Haïti, plus je m’éloigne de toi, moins je respire.
Haïti, Haïti, je t’aime et je t’aimerai toujours. Toujours!

Sè m, Frè m,
Lè w tande deklarasyon damou sa a,
Se bò sèvo goch ou ki kapte pawòl la,
Pandan bò sèvo dwat la kapte emosyon
Ak mizik ke pawòl la pote pou ou a.
Kidonk, chak pati nan kò a gen wòl li.
Wòl pa m se sèvi ou nan lanmou.
Wòl pa w se viv pou Ayiti pa mouri.
Wòl bon patriyòt se renmen peyi l.
Bon tan, move tan:
SE MEM AMOU !
An egzil ou lakay :
SE MEM AMOU !
Avè w pou toujou :
SE MEM AMOU !

On the roof at Arsitide's house March 18, 2011, photo Paul Burke

photo 1997©Jennifer Cheek Pantaléon

By Jean-Bertrand Aristide

Haiti’s devastating earthquake in January last year destroyed up to 5,000 schools and 80% of the country’s already weak university infrastructure. The primary school in Port-au-Prince that I attended as a small boy collapsed with more than 200 students inside. The weight of the state nursing school killed 150 future nurses. The state medical school was levelled. The exact number of students, teachers, professors, librarians, researchers, academics and administrators lost during those 65 seconds that irrevocably changed Haiti will never be known. But what we do know is that it cannot end there.

On February 23, the newly formed Youth League met for second day under the banner of Youth-Action-Integration-Cooperation.   Over 1000 young people attended and spent the day working together to shape and define the future of the organization.   An opening ceremony  in the Auditorium of the Foundation began with a spiritual invocation, sung by  Jean Marie Claude Germain, the current minister of the environment, accompanied by Kolonb Dor (the musical troupe of the Aristide Foundation), followed by the national anthem preformed by Kolonb Dor.

Minister  Jean Marie Claude Germain, then gave a keynote speech on climate change and the future of the earth.  Professor Wladimir N. Constant spoke on the leadership of the young.

The young people assembled then broke up into working groups, and spent the rest of the day brainstorming ideas for potential activities the Youth League might undertake.    The  Ad-hoc committee of the Youth League  which planned the days event organized breakout sessions in 10 areas of action: Pyschology,  Justice & Human Rights, Culture, Communications, Political Science, Environment & Agriculture, Health,  Educations, Sports, Cooperation and Integration. At the close of the day,  each of the ten work groups  formed a committee of 15 young people to lay out a plan of action over the next three months for the Youth League in each of the 10 sectors.  A visiting delegation of students from California attended the event and offered their solidarity and support for the new Youth League.

Press Release in French:

Jèn/Aksyon/Entegrasyon/Koperasyon (JAEK)

Auditorium Fondation Aristide

23 Février 2011

La cérémonie a débuté par une prière rythmique avec comme texte de fond *DIEU TOUT-PUISSANT* chanté par l’artiste Ing. Jean Marie Claude Germain, actuel Ministre de l’Environnement et accompagné de la chorale Colombe d’Or de la Fondation Aristide.

Suivant l’ordre du jour, une jeune artiste solo membre de la chorale Colombe d’Or Mademoiselle Elmate Révolte a fait trembler l’auditoire en interprétant l’hymne national.

Il était prévu d’organiser la séance de formation en deux étapes : Une première étape pour exposer les thèmes faisant l’objet de la séance de formation.

1.- Rechauffement de la planète TERRE par l’Ing. Jean Marie Claude Germain.

2.- Leadership de la jeunesse par le Professeur Wladimir N. Constant.

La deuxième étape consistait à regrouper les jeunes en atelier. Le comité central Had Hoc formé de jeunes a pu organiser 10 ateliers en les identifiant par Secteur d’activité ou discipline. Il s’ágit :

1.- Secteur d’activité/Psychologie

2.- Secteur d’activité/Justice et Droits Humains

3.- Secteur d’activité/Culture

4.- Secteur d’activité/ Communication

5.- Secteur d’activité/ Science Politique

6.- Secteur d’activité/ Emvironnement et Agriculture

7.- Secteur d’activité/ Sports

8.- Secteur d’activité/ Education

9.- Secteur d’activité/ Santé

10.- Secteur d’activité/ Coopération et Intégration

En guise de résolution après les dicussions en atelier, 10 comités Had Hoc de 15 membres sont formés pour gérer pendant les 3 prochains mois qui suivent les destinés de la ligue de la jeunesse par secteur d’activité ou discipline.