Author: Opastaff
Haitian investigators are looking into new allegations of child sex abuse against an American man who founded an orphanage for boys in Haiti’s capital decades ago and who successfully sued a Freeport, Maine, man for defamation this summer. Police with an arrest warrant searched unsuccessfully Friday for Michael Geilenfeld at a modest private residence in a mountainside community above Port-au-Prince and the nearby Wings of Hope home for about 30 physically and mentally disabled children and young adults. On its website, the facility says it is a “critical part” of Geilenfeld’s charitable organization. Geilenfeld and his North Carolina charity, Hearts…
PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI—Haitians voted for a new president this past Sunday. A run-off looms, but whoever wins will face overwhelming challenges. What’s worse, the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola, is threatening to expel hundreds of thousands of ethnic Haitians. They ultimately could spill over America’s borders. Haiti was liberated in 1804 but never developed into a stable, prosperous democracy. Haiti’s economic problems are severe. The nation’s per capita GDP ran $846 last year, making the former the poorest nation in the region. Even an honest and competent president will have a difficult time transforming Haiti. According to the…
In 2010 the earthquake hit Haiti. Quarter of a million people died. The world promised to help the Haitians rebuild a new and better country. Yet something happened that day that has left those promises and the future of Haiti hanging in the balance. On January the 12th, the day of the earthquake, the national penitentiary held 4,500 inmates – powerful gang leaders and hundreds of their foot soldiers, men accused of robbery, kidnapping and murder. Terrified prisoners, packed 300 to a cell, tore open the gates with their bare hands facing them with the prison guards. As daylight faded the guards…
In 2009, on the eve of the Compas Festival, rumors began swirling that Georgy would reunite with her former Zin bandmates for a nostalgic performance at the festival. These rumors turned out to be true, and Georgy delivered a memorable performance. The stage interactions hinted at a possible reconciliation, but ultimately, nothing materialized. The successful performance led Venus International Promotion to produce “Zin Reunited,” featuring Georgy and several other former Zin members. Despite the seamless execution of the event, off-stage dramas unfolded. Reports surfaced of Georgy behaving like a diva, throwing tantrums and deviating from prior agreements regarding her wardrobe,…
Starting Tuesday, New Yorkers applying for jobs won’t initially need to disclose if they’ve previously been convicted of a crime. The Fair Chance Act, which was introduced in City Council in 2014 by Council Member Jumaane Williams, passed by the council in June and signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio in late July. The law, which the city said “strengthens provisions of the City’s Human Right Law,” allows employers to conduct a criminal background check only after they make a conditional job offer to a prospective employee. De Blasio said at the signings the “bill opens the door to jobs…
The NYPD has unofficially changed its blue uniform for the month of October showing a more compassionate side. NY1’s criminal justice reporter Dean Meminger says it’s a friendly competition within the department that’s addressing a deadly disease. If you’ve noticed a bunch of pink police vehicles around the city or officers trading in their standard uniforms for pink ones, it’s for a good cause. “I am a three time breast cancer survivor,” said NYPD Captain Maria Codd-Perez. “I was first diagnosed at the age of 28 in 1995, just after giving birth to my second child.” There are countless stories…
Port-au-Prince (Haiti): Voters in Haiti go to the polls on Sunday with ballot papers crammed with 54 candidates seeking to become the next president of the hemisphere’s poorest country. The vote to succeed President Michel Martelly next February is being held in a climate of insecurity and a shrinking United Nations peacekeeping force, and coincides with legislative and municipal elections. The winner will most likely emerge from the top three candidates, led by Jude Clestin, a Swiss-educated mechanical engineer who headed a government construction agency and is running under the LAPEH Party (Alternative League for Progress and Emancipation of Haiti).…
An intense, Haitian presidential campaign, which started slowly, has finally ended, finishing on a climactic note days before Sunday’s vote thanks to last-hour assists from two presidents and a world hip-hop star. Both former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and Haiti-born rapper Wyclf Jean surprised potential voters Friday by taking to the streets of the country’s capital in favor of their presidential candidates. Not to be outdone, President Michel Martelly, who has been campaigning for weeks on behalf of his hand-picked successor, also took to the stage in the final hours of the campaign. Whether the appearances, which forced unsuspecting motorists to…
Five years after throwing his support behind Haitian President Michel Martelly, Haiti-born hip-hop artist Wyclef Jean arrived in Port-au-Prince Friday to close out the campaign with his new candidate. Earlier this week, Wyclef endorsed Jude Celestin for the Haitian presidency. He announced the news in a rap song that immediately triggered a rap war on the eve of Sunday’s highly-anticipated vote. The first responder was Martelly’s son and sometimes budding rapper, Olivier, who dropped his own song. Olivier Martelly then soon got a response from a local rap artist, Mono. “Apparently I hold some kind of weight,” Wyclef joked with…
International rap artist, Wyclef Jean, who supported Haiti’s current President, Michel Martelly at the 2010 Haiti election, has jumped ship and is now supporting new presidential candidate Jude Célestin for his 2016 presidential bid. Wyclef also released a song titled “Le a Rive Map, Vote Jude Célestin” on his birthday this past October 17, proclaiming why he’s supporting Jude Célestin. Days after Wyclef released his single; Olivier Martelly, the son of the current president released his on track titled “Neg Banann lan”, taking jabs at Wyclef and openly supporting his father’s protégé, Jovenel Moses. A Wyclef supporter jumped…