Té’m Ba’w On Nouvel

“Té’m Ba’w On Nouvel” means “Let me give you some news”.

This weekly news segment I am starting, is my way of keeping my readers updated on what is going on in Haïti. I’m in my twenties, most people my age do not watch the news, this is a way to start. Some of the news will be positive and others, like today, not so much. I know the whole point of this blog is to promote the good things about the country, however, it would be very hypocritical of me to know about this issue and not say something about it, no matter how much it pains me to do so.

Unsanitary: Wake Up Call

Usually, a country’s capital is the “Star” city. Now, how would it make you feel to know that Port-Au-Prince, Haïti’s capital, was placed Number 1 dirtiest city in the world recently?

270 years ago, our country was called “La Perle des Antilles” and now?
Port-Au-Prince (P-A-P) is known for dealing with economic and administrative subjects and Cap-Haïtien is the first tourist city attraction. Yet, both of them are horribly overpopulated and unhealthiest cities of the country. Is this the image we want tourists to have when they visit? Even more importantly, how about the citizens OBLIGATED to live around dirt and mountains of piles of trash?

We are encouraging people to invest in Haïti while the country is heading straight downhill because of shantytowns, horrible traffic, degrading environment, polluted air, insecurity and much more. This city was not built to welcome large amounts of people, yet P-A-P holds two and a half million citizens. The city is on the verge of exploding.

I find it very funny, how when it comes to organizing major social events, all the mayors get together, but not when it is for something as serious as our city falling apart. When will people realize that something needs to be done about it?

Source: Marcel Gabaud, Le Nouvelliste.

Ambassador Guy François, far left
Chairman Comissionner Keon Hardman, middle right
Mayor Of P-A-P Youri Chevry, Far right

This article is to spread awareness. Everyone living in P-A-P should look for ways to help, if not for others, at least for their sake and health.
The situation is not totally hopeless. Mr. André François, Haitian Ambassador, posted on Monday, June 4, 2018, the Press Conference he participated in, that day. Concerning Keon Hardemon, Chairman Commissioner of the city of Miami, who generously agreed to give nine garbage trucks to Haïti.

“Press Conference”
Source: @tguyfrancois

7 to Port-Au-Prince
1 to Saint-Louis du Nord
1 to Cité Soleil.

“Workers”
Source: @tguyfraancois

“Garbage Trucks”
Source: @tguyfrancois

I hope the citizens are grateful, I know I am. If Mr. Keon Hardemon ever gets to read this post, I would like him to know that I thank him from the bottom of my heart for his gesture. This is the first step into a healthier city, hopefully more steps to come.

Source: Mr. Guy François.


In the same spirit of getting our cities clean, the 4Ocean company is looking for volunteers. This Friday on June 8, 2018, they will be cleaning up one of our beaches from 3 PM to 5 PM. Sign ups have already started, if you are in Haïti and it’s not too late to participate, you can send an email to info@4oceanHaiti.com. The details on exact location will be shared via email.

Even if you are overseas and still would like to help, you can always email them, write them on Instagram @4ocean or check out their website.

4ocean.com/

Flyer Seeking Volunteers
Source: @4Ocean

Source: @4ocean

Even though this article started negatively, I hope you can see the bright side. There are actions being taken in order to fix the problem and I’m very proud. Hopefully, when I go to Haïti this year, I’ll get to play a bigger part than I am right now. At this moment, I can only spread awareness. I hope you also noticed that this post does not contain negative pictures of the current state of the different cities mentioned in this article. Putting the light on an issue does not mean it’s necessary to promote the ugly things. All we need to do is talk about the problem and find solutions to fix it.

This was, “Té’m Ba’w On Nouvel”, by Tiff.
“Unsanitary: Wake up Call” edition.

Blog Schedule

Every Wednesday, weekly News “Té’m Ba’w on Nouvel” 

“Kantè”
Taken by @jgcphotography

 “Machan Frésko”
Taken by @jgcphotography

Every First of the month, short article:

Do’s & Don’t’s

Pages to follow

Social Events

Restaurants to try

“Nos Frères et Soeurs d’Ailleurs”

Every 15th of the month, long article:

Taken from @Rootz_Haïti

Taken from @Rootz_Haiti

History

 Arts

Music

Business 

Places to visit 

“Élèv Lékol”

Taken by @jgcphotography

Taken by @jgcphotography

Quick Introduction

  Starting a blog is one of the best ideas I had this year, I think.

It was on May 18, 2018, that it dawned on me, how passionate I am about Haïti. I mean, I always knew, but this time, I felt it more.

  Since it was Haitian Flag Day, I decided to dig out my old posts about Haïti on Twitter, then retweeted them on my time line. I had several of them, lots of beautiful pictures, many historical facts and also a few of them covered the current economical and sometimes political issues, the country is now facing.

  I asked my followers if they would take an interest in a blog about Haïti and at least 90 people said yes. Although 90 may not be much, it is more than I could ever hope for.

So here I am, starting a blog about my favorite country in the world.

  Unfortunately, I was not born there, but I did grow up in Haïti from 3 months old to the age of 12. Then went back for the first time in 2014, got hooked, now I try my best to go twice a year. 

So far, I’ve managed to do so for the past four years.

  My constant travels to the country, the friends I made there, my family who still lives in Port-au-Prince and my overall experiences have made me fall in love with this little piece of earth, more and more, after each visit.

  The purpose of this blog is to share this love, with people who feel the same way as me, people who’ve never been to Haïti, people who are afraid to go and people who once loved it.

I will write about many subjects, such as the “do’s & dont’s”, places to be/visit, pages to follow on social media, restaurants to try, the beautiful history, the art and music, but of course some news on the current state of the country.

  Haïti is not perfect, there’s a lot of change needed, for the first black country to ever get their freedom from slavery, we are not where we are suppose to be economically, touristically and so on, we need more progress, investments and people willing to make a difference.

  Regardless, I am hoping this blog will have you look at my country differently.

  It may not be the richest country in the world, but it is worth the visit.

  To me, it’s my happy place and to many of us it will always be HOME.

I thank you all for taking the time to read my “first” article because I take a lot of pride in this blog. Writing has always been one of my favorite things to do and I’m glad I get to share my love for words and Haïti with all of you.

This was “Quick Introduction”, written by Tiff.