Barrick in the Dominican Republic

By Staff, Protestbarrick. As the opening date approaches for the Dominican Republic’s Pueblo Viejo mine, controversy around this mega-mine has continued to grow. According to the president of Maimón’s municipal committee, the funds Barrick has transferred to the municipality are less than the costs of the damage it has caused. Community members complain that the workers in the mine are overwhelmingly foreigners. Recently Barrick was accused of blocking the performance of the protest song “De Pascua Lama” (video included) at a Dominican Festival.

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Poor Little Rich Haiti to Be Fleeced of Copper-Silver-Gold Via Caracol Deep-Water Port

By Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. Plans are under way for Canadian and US corporations to mine Haiti’s northeast area near Caracol, which has been discovered to contain a wealth of silver and gold, in addition to copper. As in the Dominican Republic’s Pueblo Viejo project, construction of the mines will involve dynamiting of mountains, and the ore will be extracted by an opencast (or open-pit) mining process that contaminates large volumes of water with cyanide. UPDATES: Attempts to issue mining permits to the US’ VCS Mining LLC and Canada’s SOMINE SA, without any environmental impact assessment (EIA) were thwarted by Haiti’s Senate in January 2013. Plans to dredge a deep-sea port in the pristine Bay of Fort Liberte were scrapped in April 2014.

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Strengthened Haiti-Venezuela-Argentina Collaboration | Renforcement de la coopération entre Haïti, le Venezuela et l’Argentine

By Amos Cincir, Le Nouvelliste | Translation by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. A tripartite agreement of collaboration was signed at Haiti’s National Palace on Wednesday, April 25, 2012 between Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Lamothe, Deputy Foreign Minister of Venezuela Temir Porras, and Ambassador of Argentina to Haiti Marcelo Sebaste. The aid will consist of agricultural tools, an identification system, and literacy education. (English | French)

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Chilean Farmers Fight Brazilian Billionaire’s Plans for Thermoelectric Plant In Area of Rich Marine Biodiversity

By Marianela Jarroud, IPS, Tierramerica | Haiti Chery. Plans to build the Castilla Thermoelectric Project, near an area of rich marine biodiversity has sparked fierce opposition from the Chilean farming town of Totoral, which has scored its first victory in court. Behind the Castilla project is the energy company MPX, a subsidiary of the EPX Group owned by Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista.

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Breadfruit With Okra – Tomtom ak Kalalou Gombo – Veritab ak Gombo

By Jean Edner Dorvil in: A Taste of Haiti (Hyppocrene books, NY) | Commentary by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. Tomtom ak Kalalou Gombo is traditional to the town of Jeremie, in southern Haiti, but in colonial times this was the everyday dish of the Haitians. It is never eaten alone.

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Nicaraguan Women and Their Revolution | Mujeres y su revolución en Nicaragua

By Tortilla con sal, You Tube. Nicaraguan women talk in this inspiring video about leaving behind a past as domestic servants and factory workers. Now women feel encouraged to study to improve themselves, still raise children alone but with hope for the future, and exercise political power in their communities.(English | Spanish)

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Saramago’s ‘Lost and Found in Time’ 2nd Novel Claraboya Published | ‘Claraboya’, novela inédita de José Saramago, se publica en español

By Walfredo Angulo, Prensa Latina | Granma | Haiti Chery. Jose Saramago wrote Claraboya in the 1950’s but received no word from the publisher for 40 years. The dictatorial regime of Antonio de Oliveira Salazar in Portugal had probably censored the novel. It has just appeared in Portuguese and Spanish (English | Spanish).

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New Haitian Transport Decree Will Damage Small Agricultural Vendors | Un nouveau décret de transport en Haïti endommagera les petits vendeurs agricoles

By Staff, AHP | Commentary and translation by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. When the foreign press considers a bad road accident in Haiti, which caused no harm to their nationals, to be newsworthy, something is afoot. Two fatal Haitian road accidents immediately resulted in a ban of transit vehicles from transporting passengers with their goods and livestock. (English | French)

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Haitian Senate Suspects Counterfeiting Operation for Executive Branch | L’exécutif aurait son propre réseau de faussaires, soupçonne une commission sénatoriale d’enquête

By Staff (rh gp), AlterPresse | Translation by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. According to one of Michel Martelly’s passports, the former singer traveled to 21 countries that did not affix any seal of entry. Another passport is dated 1981 to 1991, although a Haitian passport is valid for only 5 years. (English | French)

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Poison Seeds, Herbicides, Pushed Again on Haitian Farmers | Des semences empoisonnées et des herbicides encore forcées sur les paysans haïtiens

By Edner Son Décime, AlterPresse | Benjamin Fernandez, Le Monde Diplomatique | Marie-Monique Robin, YouTube | Commentary and translation by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. Monsanto hybrid and genetically modified (GMO) seeds are once again being pushed as aid. Together with expensive fertilizers, and harmful pesticides, and noxious herbicides, these seeds represent a project to convert Haitian farmers from producers into helpers. (English | French)

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Paramilitary Gangs Join UN Force in Preying on Haitian Population

By Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. It is hardly worthwhile to entertain some notion that the U.N. force MINUSTAH and the new paramilitary gangs are somehow at odds with each other. Both are supported by the U.S. and France, and both prey on the Haitian population and National Police. MINUSTAH’s abuses are given as the reason why a Haitian army is needed to defend the national sovereignty, and the threat of abuse by paramilitaries serves to justify MINUSTAH’s continued stay.

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Argentina Remembers Children Stolen During Dictatorship: Trial Finally Under Way | Memorias de la dictadura argentina: las pruebas sobre el robo de bebés

By Marcela Valente, IPS | Staff, Cuba Debate. The Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo are finally getting heard in court after 35 years of demanding their stolen grandchildren. Eight former officials of the brutal Argentinian dictatorship that began on March 24, 1976 and lasted 7 years, are accused of “taking, retaining, hiding and changing the identities of” 34 children born to political prisoners held in clandestine prisons during the dictatorship. UPDATE on Mar 27th: Closing arguments. (English | Spanish)

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Cave Paintings With Rare Red Pictographs Discovered in Eastern Cuba

By Orfilio Peláez, Granma. Three Cuban cave painting sites were discovered in a nature reserve in Imías municipality, Guantánamo province, in February 2012, by the Cuban Speleological Society. A use of the color red, found in these paintings, is rare and presumed to be linked to important events in the lives of the original pre-Columbian inhabitants.

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