21104: Senou: Haiti needs to Open more Consulates in the U.S., Canada and France (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Senou <senou@yahoo.com>

Haiti needs to Open more Consulates in the US, Canada
and France

For instance in the diplomatic front, Haiti needs to
open a consulate in Atlanta, Orlando, and California
and many other places. A consulate or embassy shall
not be used for passport only but it should be used to
promote Haiti, to bring tourists and investors to
Haiti and also to reduce the gap between Haitians born
in the Diaspora and the new comers. Atlanta is located
three hours from Savannah where Mr. Daniel Fils-Aimé
and the Haitian American Historical Society are going
to put in place a Haitian Monument on October 9, 2004.
This strategic place is very important and it could be
also a great opportunity to boost the African American
tourists and investors to the Island.

Most Haitian Communities do not have a center; the
Consulate shall be used as a Community Center as well
and shall be self-sufficient. These new consulates
shall function in the evening and weekend at the
beginning and anyone working in these consulates must
be a tax payer (which means, they must have a job in
the U.S.) in the long run, a secretary when there is
enough cash flow and eventually in the next five to 10
years a full blown consulate, the secretary for the
community center can do both.  The only upfront
spending the state of Haiti shall do: rent a building
for one year and that consulate shall generate some
income to pay the rental fee thereafter.

The country is broke and it shall not spend a dime and
there is a way to add consulates in various areas in
the U.S., Canada and France without costing a dime to
the state of Haiti. The country needs to use existing
resources in the Diaspora and Opening a Haitian
Consulate in Atlanta and other places in the U.S.,
Canada, and France can increase the tourists and
investors in the country.

A consul man/woman cannot be based on friendship but
on abilities and capacities. We have in the past a
bunch of folks who don’t know “crap” in Miami for
instance, we used to have a consulate office that took
some distance from the Haitian community;
consequently, these folks could not really play a role
in reducing the gap between Haitians born over here
and the new comer, they could not promote the Haitian
language and culture; they only thing these folks were
doing was making passport and this was a waste of the
country money. Also, a poor country like Haiti does
not need a bunch of employees in its embassies and
consulates. My friends, you don’t have money;
therefore, you cannot spend money. Period.

For instance, Alliance Française in Atlanta works side
by side with the French Consulate and HCR project in
Atlanta is very similar to Alliance Française. We do
not have to reinvent the wheel; we just need to apply
it for our own benefit.

Our Plan is below; take a good look at it
Again, It is a plan but it will take dedicated and
committed people to make it a reality. Most of you are
or were members of Alliance Française, there is no
reason why we cannot do something similar.

HCR will portray Haiti positively no matter what

Activities & Services include:

Traditional Haitian Day: Independence Day, Toussaint
Louverture, and Flag Day
Guest speakers from Haiti and other countries
Art exhibits with opening receptions
Concerts, recitals, Haitian movies, and Plays
Trips to Haiti, Africa, Europe and other friendly
countries
Monthly dinners at a selected restaurant
Symposium  (October 4, 2003) Done and more to come
Convention  ( June 25-26, 2004) Coming up
Town Meeting
Book & Poetry Club
Encourage citizen to register and vote
HCR School: Learning Creole and the French Languages,
Literacy Program, ESOL, Computer literacy, Haitian
History, Haitian and Francophone Literature including
African Literature and le mouvement de la Négritude,
Music  & Art Lesson Lessons.

http://www.sos.state.ga.us/elections

Joseph Alfred, Educator
Founder/CEO
of
Haitian Community Relations, Inc
P.O. BOX 334
Smyrna, GA 30081
Email: hcrinfor@hcronline.org
URL: http://www.hcronline.org


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