Pepper Water and Protests in Haiti

Pepper Water and Protests in Haiti Scott Freeman Tear gas is not uncommon in Port au Prince. Over the past decade, whether it has been protests over food shortages, controlling political demonstrations, or ‘peacekeeping’ actions by the infamous MINUSTAH UN forces, tear gas and other methods of crowd control have been a reality of the…

Martelly at Howard University: A Concerning View on Poverty and Education?

Martelly’s speech last Wednesday at Howard University drew attention to his administration’s focus on free and universal education.  But while promoting both his education agenda and a nascent collaboration with Howard University, the President of Haiti also portrayed a disturbing depiction of the Haitian people. Both Martelly and the Howard University administration discussed planned educational…

Streaming video: (Un)Making a Dominican: The Context for Denationalization

“The Price of Sugar” screening was well attended, and for those who weren’t able to come, the film sparked a rather intense discussion about Dominican citizenship, and the current judicial and executive decisions affecting the country. As a follow up  to these discussions, we wanted to draw attention to an event occurring this evening (December…

Historical ‘Anti-Haitianism’ and the Rulings of the Dominican Constitutional Court

By Scott Freeman, Visiting Scholar The Constitutional Court decision made by the Dominican Republic two weeks ago is the most recent of the ongoing rulings that affect Haitian citizenship in the country (Reuters, BBC). The law stipulates that individuals of foreign descent born after 1929, the vast majority of whom are Haitian, could have their Dominican…

Focus on Haiti Introduces Series on Cholera

After a lull in media coverage, Haiti’s cholera epidemic resurfaced in international news. A new scientific publication has been released, citing that the most likely source of cholera in Haiti was MINUSTAH, the UN peace-keeping mission in Haiti. This goes against previous findings from the same council two years ago, and sparks further debate on…

Images and “Saving”

By Scott Freeman, Visiting Scholar As an anthropologist, and one that focuses on Haiti, it is imperative to think and reflect on representation: how we represent those we work with, and to what end. These representations are not some sort of post-modern exercise in self absorption (though in academia, anything can become an exercise of self…

C-SPAN link for Panel on Haitian Politics and International Aid

The discussion between a journalist, former ambassador, and aid executive was one of the most engaging conversations that has taken place this semester… Weren’t able to make it to the panel? Don’t worry, the most recent event put on by the Western Hemisphere Working Group at GW and Focus on Haiti will be archived online…

March 26th panel live feed on C-SPAN

Today, Tuesday March 26th, as part of the Western Hemispheric Research group at the Institute for Global and International Studies, we’ll be hosting a dynamic panel entitled “Big Trucks, Pop Star Politicians, and Consensus Building: The Politics of Development in Haiti.” The panel will feature Raymond Joseph, former Haitian Ambassador to the US, Jonathan Katz, journalist and author and Mark Schneider,…