25696: Senou: (comments) Haiti and the Diaspora (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Senou <senou@yahoo.com>

Haiti and the Diaspora

Election is the only way to change government in a
democratic country; therefore, the Haitian people and
the international community need to work together and
peacefully to organize this upcoming presidential
election.  The field is crowded with candidates and
more to come and we wish all of them: Good Luck. Haiti
has organized the first free election in the free
world in 1990 and it could be great to reiterate that
exploit in this upcoming election.

We may choose to remain in the past or we may give the
country another chance. I urge you all to register and
vote for the candidate of your choice and the Diaspora
needs to understand that each country has its law and
by naturalizing you give some privilege. According the
U.S. constitution, one must be born in this country in
order to seek the highest office in the land;
therefore a naturalized citizen can never aspire to
become a U.S. president. In Haiti, the constitution is
crystal clear and we cannot change it to fit our own
interest. If the next Haitian congress has a desire to
allow naturalized citizen to run for public office or
even the highest office in Haiti, it would be the
right thing to do. As you know all, Haitian people
like politic and if they allow the Diaspora to enter
into the game, the country may not need outsider
assistance to finance the election. Just require that
each candidate in the Diaspora pays these fees to
register: President: $ 250,000; Senator: $ 50,000;
Deputé: $ 20,000. and the people who are willing to
vote in the Diaspora shall pay a $ 100.00 registration
fee with their birth certificate showing where they
were born in Haiti and College and Graduate Haitian
students $25.00.

Haiti could have used the Diaspora to finance the
election instead of begging foreigners for a few
millions. Remember my friends; your hard working money
is another form of expression. In everything, there
should be an ROI (Return On Investment). With the
right people in place, Haiti does not need foreign
support to finance its election.

Also, the State of Haiti does not need to spend a dime
to finance the three days Mardi Gras. People want it
and they will pay for it. There should be a committee
in place raising fund continuously not by asking
people for donation without offering anything in
return but by doing fund raising activities. Folks, do
not waste your time asking for plain donation money
without giving away a free T-Shirt, a hat, a cap, a
book, a CD from a well known artist, a cup, a pen or
pencil with the logo of your organization or something
that I can put in my private library. Public
Televisions are doing these types of fund raising in
your area please learn from them or duplicate what
they are doing. It cannot be only give me, give me and
give me my friend and stop putting a bunch of poor
people in your card to show me that you care while 75
cts on the dollar is spending on administrative cost.
And you know that you are dealing with a bunch of
limited people like you in this country and when they
see these pictures they have tendency to link it to
the whole country, you know you are lying and
defending your pocket. In doing so, you do more damage
to the tourist industry of the country. Please: Stop.
Folks, we have been living in the U.S. for over 20
years and most of us are a bunch of scholars or
graduate from prestigious Universities in the U.S. and
Canada and other places, please do not try to play on
people emotion. It is not going to work.

Whenever a Candidate comes to campaign in the U.S. or
ask for donation, we shall ask this question: are you
going to vote on the double citizenship law that will
give the Haitian in the Diaspora the right to vote.
Give me a reason why I should finance your campaign?
Over here, we play hardball and we hold the elected
officials accountable for all of his/her promises.
Many are afraid of the Diaspora and you just have to
deal with it my friends. You recalled Mrs. Kerry
shoved that deplorable reporter during the Convention
and the media was trying to make a big deal out of it,
she reminded them who she is and everyone back down;
my friends, rich and educated people do not play
nonsense.

There must be a vote on the law of double citizenship
or a presidential decree; I do not believe Haitian
nationals shall lost their citizenship in naturalizing
with the purpose in helping their family and their
native country. It is not fair and it must be
reversed.

Just take a look at these two articles

Article 13
Haitian nationality is lost by:
a) Naturalization in a foreign country;
b) Holding a political post in the service of a
foreign country;

ARTICLE 15:
Dual Haitian and foreign nationality is in no case
permitted.

Joseph Alfred
P.O. BOX 1022
Douglasville, GA 30133
Joe_Alfred@yahoo.com




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