ROOSEVELTJEANFRANCOIS

Leadership • Language • Justice • Purpose

Haitian Creole Legal Language Specialist, storyteller, and community builder helping you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and create meaningful impact.

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  • 7 Mistakes Attorneys Make When Working With Haitian Creole Interpreters

    By Roosevelt Jean Francois
    Legal Interpreter & Translator | Haitian Creole Legal Language Specialist

    In legal proceedings, words carry consequences. A misunderstanding during a deposition, hearing, mediation, or trial can affect testimony, credibility, strategy, and sometimes the outcome of a case itself.

    Yet one of the most overlooked components of legal preparation is how attorneys work with interpreters.

    Haitian Creole interpretation presents unique challenges because Haitian Creole is often misunderstood, underestimated, or incorrectly treated as a variation of another language. Effective communication requires more than simply placing a bilingual individual in the room.

    Here are seven common mistakes attorneys make and how to avoid them.

    1. Assuming Haitian Creole Is the Same as French

    This is one of the most common misconceptions.

    Many people assume Haitian Creole is simply simplified French or a dialect of French. It is not.

    Haitian Creole is a distinct language with its own grammar, vocabulary, structure, and cultural context. While it contains vocabulary with French roots, fluency in French does not automatically mean fluency in Haitian Creole.

    A witness may understand a few French expressions and still be unable to fully understand legal concepts presented in French.

    Better approach:
    Confirm the exact language preference of the client or witness before the proceeding.

    2. Using a Bilingual Person Instead of a Trained Legal Interpreter

    Speaking two languages and interpreting legal proceedings are not the same skill.

    Legal interpretation requires:

    • Neutrality
    • Accuracy
    • Memory retention
    • Understanding of legal terminology
    • Ethical standards
    • Mastery of first-person interpretation

    A bilingual assistant, family member, or friend may unintentionally summarize, omit, or alter testimony.

    In legal settings, even small omissions can create major issues.

    Better approach:
    Use qualified legal interpreters who understand legal procedure and ethics.

    3. Waiting Until the Last Minute

    Many attorneys focus heavily on exhibits, strategy, and witness preparation while arranging interpretation services at the last minute.

    Last-minute scheduling often creates:

    • Limited interpreter availability
    • Reduced preparation time
    • Increased stress
    • Potential quality concerns

    Better approach:
    Schedule interpretation early whenever possible and provide case information in advance.

    4. Not Sending Key Documents Before the Proceeding

    Interpreters do not need confidential strategy discussions, but they benefit from context.

    Helpful materials may include:

    • Pleadings
    • Names of parties
    • Medical terminology
    • Technical terminology
    • Exhibits
    • Unusual vocabulary

    Preparation improves consistency and accuracy.

    Better approach:
    Share relevant terminology and documents before the proceeding when appropriate.

    5. Speaking Too Fast

    Attorneys sometimes enter questioning mode and maintain rapid pacing throughout a deposition or hearing.

    The result:

    • Increased requests for repetition
    • Interpreter fatigue
    • Reduced precision
    • Potential misunderstandings

    Interpreters can manage a significant amount of information, but accuracy decreases when speech becomes continuous and excessively rapid.

    Better approach:
    Pause naturally after several sentences.

    A brief pause often saves time compared with repeated clarification later.

    6. Speaking to the Interpreter Instead of the Witness

    Attorneys occasionally say:

    “Ask him where he was that day.”

    or:

    “Tell her to explain what happened.”

    Professional legal interpretation generally operates in the first person.

    Instead:

    “Where were you that day?”

    This creates a direct communication flow and preserves the integrity of testimony.

    Better approach:
    Speak directly to the witness as if no interpreter were present.

    7. Underestimating the Interpreter’s Role

    Interpreters are often viewed as passive participants sitting quietly in the corner.

    But in reality, interpreters function as communication bridges.

    They help ensure:

    • Accurate testimony
    • Equal participation
    • Due process
    • Meaning—not merely words—is transmitted correctly

    A proceeding can only be as strong as the communication within it.

    Better approach:
    Treat interpreters as professional members of the legal process.

    Final Thoughts

    Good legal interpretation should almost feel invisible.

    When done correctly, the focus stays where it belongs: on the facts, testimony, and legal issues—not on language barriers.

    The goal is not simply translation.

    The goal is understanding.

    Because in a courtroom, deposition room, or hearing, accuracy is not a luxury.

    It is essential.

    Roosevelt Jean Francois
    THE JF TEAM
    Legal Interpreter & Translator
    English • Haitian Creole • French
    Accurate • Confidential • Professional

  • Wealth Thinking Lessons: The Leadership of Money Flow

    I once heard money described as a machine powered by a crank. The crank is your effort — your mornings, your attention, your time. You turn it, and cash flow appears. If the crank stops, the flow stops.

    Leadership, however, has always been about building systems that outlive effort. Leadership has always been about how we handle flow.

    Not influence. Not followers.
    Flow.

    Money comes in. Money goes out. The rhythm repeats quietly in the background of every life. We think the story ends there: work harder, earn more, repeat.

    But leadership begins the moment we ask a different question:

    What happens after the money arrives?

    That question changes everything.

    Great leaders don’t just work harder; they create structures that continue working when they step away.

    The same is true with money.

    You turn the crank not to spin forever — but to build a machine that eventually turns itself.

    The first principle is clarity.

    An asset is not just something you own. It is something that comes back carrying more than you sent out.

    An expense is not evil. It’s simply complete — the story ends when the money leaves.

    Leadership is the discipline of directing flow toward what multiplies.

    It’s a mindset shift that sounds small but acts like leverage. The moment you begin sending dollars with purpose instead of emotion, something subtle changes. Chaos starts to organize itself.

    Then there is the second principle — the one few people talk about.

    Giving.

    Every strong leader understands this instinctively. Generosity is not a loss; it is alignment. It reminds you that money is a tool, not a master.

    Giving keeps the heart from hardening.

    It transforms accumulation into stewardship.

    And strangely, leaders who practice it often describe the same thing: clarity increases. Decisions become easier. Fear decreases.

    The third principle feels almost old-fashioned.

    Freeze the fruit.

    Imagine the harvest of your effort — years of work turned into income. Most people consume the harvest immediately. Some borrow against future harvests that don’t yet exist.

    But wise leaders preserve part of what they produce.

    Not for excitement. Not for growth. Simply for stability.

    You freeze the fruit so it will survive when conditions change.

    This isn’t about speculation. It’s about independence — building a foundation no external system can easily tamper with.

    Leadership is always thinking beyond the immediate season.

    And here is where the manifesto becomes uncomfortable.

    Many people believe financial discipline means living small — less joy, less freedom, fewer experiences.

    Yet the opposite often happens.

    When expenses shrink, and assets grow, life expands. The pressure decreases. Choices multiply.

    I have seen people drowning in debt, surrounded by things that never truly satisfied them. And I have seen people living with intention whose lives feel spacious, even without extravagance.

    Leadership isn’t about having more.

    It’s about needing less from what you have.

    Eventually, something remarkable happens.

    The crank slows.

    Not because you became lazy — but because the machine has begun to move on its own.

    This is the real objective.

    Not endless hustle.
    Not work-until-you-die discipline.

    But the creation of a life where effort becomes optional instead of mandatory.

    Where time returns to you.

    Where leadership moves from survival to legacy.

    In the end, money reveals leadership character more than it creates it.

    The flow tells the story.

    Where it goes.
    What it builds.
    What it preserves.
    What it gives.

    And maybe the deepest truth is this:

    Leadership is not about controlling people.
    It is about directing energy — your own first.

    Because once you learn to direct the flow downstream of your effort, you stop living at the mercy of the crank.

    And that is where freedom begins.

  • A Day OUT

    A few days ago, South Florida was cold.

    Not metaphorically cold. Actually cold. The kind of cold that makes you retreat indoors, wrap your hands around a warm cup, and postpone the idea of being outside. The park benches were empty. The air carried a sharp edge.

    And then today happened.

    The sun returned like it had something to prove.

    It didn’t blaze. It flowed. Waves of warmth settle on skin, deliberate and steady. You could feel it — not just as temperature, but as energy. The kind that reminds you that seasons shift whether you’re ready or not.

    Sensei Yaniv Rosenberg gave us a simple assignment:

    Under the sun

    Go outside.
    No music.
    No distractions.
    Just be there.

    It sounded almost too small to matter.

    But the smallest disciplines often reveal the largest truths.

    So I walked.

    No earbuds. No podcast. No phone in hand, performing productivity. Just silence.

    And when you remove noise, something curious happens. You begin to notice.

    The birds were not background noise — they were conversation.
    A mother pushed her child in a stroller, moving at the unhurried pace of someone who understands that time is not the enemy.
    Children ran in widening circles, testing gravity and balance as if they had just discovered both.

    And then there were the trees.

    One in particular stood behind me — branches extended, but stripped. No leaves. Bare.

    Where are the leaves? I wondered.

    A few days ago, that same tree might have looked like it had lost something. Today, in the light, it looked like it was preparing for something.

    Sometimes you have to fall to regenerate.

    Leaves drop. Not as a failure. But as a strategy.

    Inside the trunk, invisible to everyone passing by, something is rebuilding. Energy is rerouting. Life is reorganizing itself for the next season.

    We mistake stillness for weakness.
    We mistake shedding for loss.

    But nature never confuses transition with defeat.

    As I walked, another thought surfaced — quiet but firm:

    Tough times do not last. Tough people do.

    It’s easy to repeat that line in a gym. It’s harder to feel it in the cold season. But standing under the sun today, feeling warmth where wind once cut through, it made sense differently.

    Weather changes.
    Circumstances change.
    Seasons rotate without consulting our preferences.

    The question is whether we rotate with them — or resist them.

    Being part of the One Percent Club isn’t about pushups. It’s not about supplements or reading ten minutes of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, though we do that too.

    It’s about training perception.

    With my friend Marcus Aurelius

    Marcus Aurelius ruled an empire. But his greatest discipline was not external command — it was internal governance. He understood that the only true territory a man controls is his response.

    Walking in silence today, I realized something simple:

    Community changes your standards.

    Left alone, you might skip the walk. You might rationalize staying inside. You might scroll instead of observing.

    But when a leader says, “Go outside,” you go. And in going, you discover you needed it.

    When you are part of a community of men striving to be better — across South Florida, the Carolinas, Europe — you rise slightly above your default setting. Not dramatically. Just one percent.

    And one percent, compounded daily, becomes transformation.

    I felt gratitude rising almost involuntarily.

    Grateful to feel the sun.
    Grateful to see.
    Grateful to breathe.
    Grateful for a teacher who understands that discipline is not always loud.

    Sometimes discipline looks like silence in a park.

    We are a small part of something vast. A tiny element in a much larger design. The trees rebuild unseen. The birds continue their rhythm. Mothers push strollers. Children run. The sun returns.

    And somewhere in that ordinary scene, a man decides not to drift.

    Not today.

    If you want to grow faster than you would alone, join a community that expects more from you than comfort does.

    Sometimes becoming stronger begins with something as simple as standing in the sun — and noticing that it never stopped shining. Never.

    #oss

  • “Do the Right Thing,” A life story lesson from Jiu Jitsu Sensei Yaniv Rosenberg

    This last Monday night, at YR Jiu-Jitsu, the dojo feels like a tide pool after a stormwarm air, soft light, bodies cooling on the mat.
    Drills finished. Sparring done.
    Breath replaces movement.

    We sit around Sensei Yaniv Rosenberg
    the way travelers gather around a small fire—
    quiet, tired, open.

    He looks at us, and in the stillness he says:

    “Awesome training, guys!”

    Everybody claps.

    Sensei looked at us for a long moment. Then he said:

    “It’s never the wrong time to do the right thing.
    It’s never the right time to do the wrong thing.”

    No technique.
    No demonstration.
    Just a story.

    The Test

    Years ago, in the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma,
    Sensei walked into a cold room at a bank—
    the kind without cameras,
    without witnesses.

    Under a table,
    a bag.
    Inside: diamonds.
    Thousands of dollars in stones.

    He was broke then.
    Desperate.
    The kind of desperate that makes wrong things look reasonable.

    He stepped outside, heart pounding.
    He called his father.

    “Dad, what do I do?”

    A quiet answer:

    “You already know.”

    And the line went dead.

    So he went back.
    Handed the bag to the manager.
    Asked him to write everything down.
    Left empty-handed,
    but not empty.

    The Return

    Two weeks later, his wallet disappeared into the hurricane wind.
    Gone.

    Until a brown envelope arrived—
    wallet untouched,
    cash untouched,
    everything returned.

    Months passed.

    A call from the bank:

    “We found the owner.
    She wants to give you $2,000.”

    He refused.

    Because the moment of truth had already happened.
    And truth doesn’t need a reward.

    The Lesson

    Sensei looks around the circle.

    “Maybe it’s money.
    Maybe it’s someone’s partner.
    Maybe it’s a position that isn’t yours.
    Whatever it is—
    walk away from what doesn’t belong to you.”

    He pauses.

    “When you build that kind of character,
    life notices.
    Blessings find you.
    Quietly.
    Unexpectedly.”

    The room is silent.
    No one moves.

    Jiu-Jitsu teaches technique,
    but it also teaches this:

    When pressure comes,
    be unshakable.
    When nobody is watching,
    stand straight.

    When choosing who you want to be—
    choose the one who returns the diamonds.

    Because in life,
    as in Jiu-Jitsu,
    the path is simple:

    Do the right thing.

  • A Way OUT Of The Debt Trap

    National economies worldwide used a financial system founded upon debt. This leads people to a life and death struggle with this monetary system created by the financial elites to maintain their power and plunder rules.

    “It is the long term trends that a debt-based financial system fosters a situation where the creation and supply of money is now left almost entirely to banks and other lending institutions,” wrote British monetary reformer Michael Rowbotham explaining the effects of the  debt trap upon our society today.

    Money is created in parallel with debt. When banks make loans, they create new money out of thin air to loan it to people who would spend their lifetime to pay it back with real work.

    “The stream of money generated by people, businesses and governments constantly borrowing from banks and other lending institutions is relied upon to supply the economy as a whole. Thus the supply of money depends upon people going into debt, and the level of debt within an economy is no more than a measure of the amount of money that has been created…” commented Rowbotham.

    He added that ‘bank-credit constitutes a dysfunctional form of money. Bank credit engenders financial dependence, injects instability and fosters growth-distortions, both within an economy and throughout the international arena.”

    A financial revolution

    Reforming the debt-based financial system is a major issue. It  involves a sly roundabout to gradually alter the very foundations upon which national and international economics is based.

    “The best thing for each person to do is launch a financial revolution where he lives below his means and wipes out ALL of his debs including credit cards, student loans, car loans, and even mortgages,” wrote New York Times bestselling author Orrin Woodward who just released a book named “Insidious: The Rise of The Financial matrix and the Fall of Economic Freedom.”

    “In the process of wiping out personal debt, one also reduces the money supply created by that debt,” Woodward said adding that “It’s really a simple, but not easy choice.”

    Our society dominated by the main media entertainment industry  wants products and services instantly that it will sell itself into debt-slavery in order to obtain them at the price of their long term gratification and wealth creation.

    That big debt problem creates a bib business opportunity for those who can educate themselves and to apply the three keys to wealth to their finances, as taught by Woodward and his community of leaders,  by taking a longer term perspective, delaying their gratification, and start leveraging the effects of compounding to their benefit.

    It all starts with the individual. When a person decides to end his debt-enslavement, he becomes the model for others to follow.

    Woodward coined the concept of “The Financial Matrix” to describe a web of debt trap that enslaved 95% of the people who work as employees or self-employed with no time and money leverage.

    Money is the lifeblood of the global economy. It affects directly nearly every person, business, and government on the planet.

    Since antiquity, there has been a continuous power-grab for the controlling of the money supply which is intentionally obscured and buried today under academic blessing and media approval.

    Illusion vs Reality

    “The Financial Matrix is the real system of control that enslaves billions of people. It does this by lending fake money to be paid back by real labor, all while making us believe that we are free.” wrote Woodward.

    The system makes us believe that our perception is reality. We have an optical illusion with the system playing in our brain that we are owners.

    Not only the system manipulated the individual human being but also nations around the globe just like john Perkins, author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man self-described his macabre plans to control developing nations.

    “…My real job…was giving loans to other countries, huge loans, much bigger than they could possibly repay… So we make this loan, most of it comes back to the United States (Banks), the country is left with a lot of debt plus interest, and they become our servants, our slaves,” wrote Perkins who incriminates himself as an economic assassin, an accessory to the criminal, unjust and fraudulent financial empire through manipulation, cheating, and seducing ignorant people.

    There’s a Way Out of the financial morass of the debt trap which relies on ignorance and apathy of the people in order to create its power and profits for the financial empire.

    Woodward makes it his lifetime purpose to expose the plunderous nature of our current financial system. In this sense, he follows Buckminster Fuller’s advice:

    “ You never change things by fighting the existing realty. In order to change something, you need to build a new model that makes the existing one obsolete.”

    Woodward is using the same academic and professional rigor that he used as a system engineer to lead a consumer rebellion community of business owners powered by a payment platform in partnership with hundreds of national brand stores.

    This is an alternative to the credit card system which is considered a gateway debt.

    This alternate system has already helped thousands of people terminate their debt and it can help others do the same and live the live they’ve always wanted.

  • A jujitsu moment with Coach Cyborg!

    It’s 10:00 am this Saturday morning at the YR Jujitsu Academy in Sunrise, Florida.

    Coach Yaniv Rosenberg is ending the children class preparing himself to introduce his Sensei. He called him “Mater Coach Cyborg,” who is the special guest to deliver a seminar to the academy students.

    Wearing his blue Gi, Master Coach Cyborg started with telling us what Jujitsu is:

    “a form of creative art to develop self-control, self-confidence and self understanding of the body, mind, and spirit,” he said reminding us, back in the ancient times, the Greeks used the  word “arête” to depict  “strong men” who also exhibited values such as  “virtue,” “excellence,” or “goodness.” 

    In a vibrant dojo filled with the sounds of applause for our coach Yaniv to receive his 3rd official stripe from Master Sensei Cyborg, the mats being struck and the laughter of students, Coach Cyborg stood at the center as he demonstrated a jujitsu move, a seamless fusion of technique and precision.

    “Remember, it’s not about strength,” Coach Cyborg instructed, his voice calm yet authoritative. “It’s about timing and leverage.”

    He proceeded to show a guard pass, effortlessly maneuvering around his partner, who struggled to keep up with the fluidity of the movement.

    As the students gathered around, mesmerized by the display, Coach Cyborg turned to them. “Now, who wants to try?”

     No hands went up. It was a moment of teaching for Master Coach Cyborg to educate us about the right mindset of the eager learner to be always ready to grow and to advance.

    He asked the question again. This time Chris left his hand and  stepped forward, clearly nervous.

    Coach Cyborg , his eyes softening, knelt down to the student’s level, his mechanical arm gently guiding them into position.

     “Let’s break it down step by step. Focus on your breathing and trust the process.”

    As they practiced, Chris felt the weight of his fears lift with each successful attempt.

    Coach Cyborg’s patience and encouragement transformed the moment into a powerful learning experience. 

    “Good! Now, remember to shift your weight. It’s all about balance.” With a deft motion, he demonstrated the technique again, this time allowing the student to feel the correct positioning. 

    The moment was not just about grappling; it was a lesson in resilience, trust, and the journey of self-improvement.

    Underneath the mechanical enhancements, Coach Cyborg’s true strength lay in his ability to connect and inspire those around him.

    As the session wrapped up, we felt beamed with newfound confidence.

    “This seminar was a lot more than technique; we learned a lot of life lessons and the philosophy behind the technique,” commented Coach Yaniv Rosenberg on our Whatsapp group.

    Coach Yaniv added: ”to understand why we do what we do is way more powerful than just doing it.”

    Thank you Coach!

  • Ouanaminthe, as a winner, sets the conditions for a new Haiti-Dominican Republic relationship.

    Between a closed border and a poisoned border, the people will choose the lesser.

    This is an unprecedented and historic victory. The inhabitants of the commune of Ouanaminthe, Haiti, who viscerally engaged in a struggle for dignity with the Dominican Republic (DR), entered triumphantly into the annals of history.

     President Luis Abinader, exhausted by the resilience of Haitians, abdicates. Faced with the invincible shield of a people that is its self-determination, the Dominican Republic renounces its vaporous, unjustified and ineffective diplomatic attacks.

    On Friday September 15, 2023, at the tempestuous orders of President Abinader, the Haiti-DR land, air and sea borders were completely closed. The strengthening of the military presence all along the border matched the exploits of Hollywood. As in an imperial verdict, President Abinader believed to seal the fate of Haitian trade and limit the movement of Dessalines’ descendants.

    Two days later, on Sunday September 17, the president of the DR reaffirmed that the border between his country and Haiti will remain closed. Finally, he insisted: “These measures will remain in force until we obtain a definitive halt to the construction of the canal.”

    Today, October 10, 2023, we read in the columns of the newspaper “Listin Diario”: “…la reapertura del mercado binacional con Haiti…” (The reopening of the binational market with Haiti).

    President Luis Abinader ordered the reopening of the binational market with Haiti. However, in Haiti, the construction of the canal continues vehemently, night and day. Like a hub, work intensified.

    However, the mouth which ordered the closure of the borders by setting a condition for reopening is the one which declared its reopening, without the essential condition having been respected.

     This is what we call a historic victory!

     As for the announcement of a partial opening, it is only the perfect euphemism to hide a bitter failure. If total closure could not shake Haitians in any way, they would make fun of a partial opening.

    Ironically, at the moment when President Abinader publicly signed his defeat, civil society in Ouanaminthe, Haiti, returned to the scene with other subsidiary demands.

    Not only will work on the canal continue, but civil society will refuse to allow border trade to resume its course in the same execrable, degrading and inhumane conditions. Otherwise, those who hold the financial capital will look elsewhere. The border will be open and soon there will be no one to enter.

    Furthermore, on Monday October 9, 2023, in Ouanaminthe, Haiti, a civil society unit met, made up of lawyers, entrepreneurs and journalists, after having objectively examined the history and relations of the two peoples, and agreed that the picture of Haiti-DR diplomatic and commercial relations is abominable, revolting and intolerable.

    Upon observing the devilishly lamentable border reality, the citizens present shouted: O diplomacy, oh infamy!

    Sacks of rotting meat leave Dominican territory and regularly cross borders. After making it impossible to obtain a Dominican visa through regular channels, every evening, certain senior officials in the DR organize clandestine trips at exorbitant cost. The next day, these same high-ranking officers demanded and obtained the mass deportation of Haitians who had already paid for the trip. And the sordid trade begins again in full view of President Abinader.

    In fact, almost all Haitian workers in the DR are subject to human trafficking. Human trafficking is a crime present in daily Dominican life. Skyscrapers are built on the blood of Haitians. However, the Haitian worker who prepares the concrete in the morning is deported in the evening, before he is paid.

    Dominican visas are sold to the highest bidder. Even passports are kept in consulates as a guarantee of the triple price of a visa which should have been a courtesy. Under penalty of deportation, Haitian students regularly admitted to a Dominican college cannot obtain a student visa for the entire duration of their studies.

    Without any digression, the participants at the October 9 meeting worked out and retained seven (7) first mandatory conditions, as parameters for redefining the area of diplomatic and commercial relations of Haiti with the DR.

    1. The DR must peremptorily recognize the right of use of the Republic of Haiti regarding shared water resources. In the event of concern about the method of use of a shared resource, a binational commission will be created whose work will be the subject of a memorandum of understanding or convention.  Any sanction or prior deprivation measure will be interpreted as an obvious obstacle to the search for an amicable solution.

    2. The binational market must be rebalanced. The rights of each state must be equitably distributed. Dominicans will benefit from a market day; the Haitians, as much;

    3. The Dominican state must respect the rules for deporting Haitians crammed into suffocating cages. Human rights violations including physical attacks, rape and human trafficking must stop. The perpetrators of these abuses, like the organizers of clandestine trips, must be brought to justice and their conviction widely published. Deportation acts must respect times, days, pregnant women and homes.

    4. Haitian students, regularly established in the DR, must benefit from a student visa for the entire duration of their studies, without the need to pay an entry tax monthly or quarterly.

    5. An international audit commission must be created to examine the geographical delimitation of the two States and report thereon to each Government.

    6. Goods coming from the DR and destined for Haiti must be particularly evaluated and approved by a Customs service. Their quality must be certified by the said service, a copy of the document of which can be obtained by any right holder.

    7. Haitian victims of immigration and any instance of the DR must be the subject of an investigation by a special “Justice and Truth” Commission, made up of Haiti, the Dominican Republic and other countries . Report will be sent to each Government.

    Furthermore, it is appropriate to recognize the manipulation of simulated geopolitical and economic interests, the victory in the primary elections of President Abinader, the adoption of the UN resolution authorizing a multinational armed force in Haiti, with the corollary the establishment of ‘a new class of entrepreneurs intended to replace those who are sanctioned, rightly or wrongly, the oligarchies of the two States which collide, not to mention those who take advantage of the game of internal politics to the point of deceiving the humble, are all considerations. In short, this absurd and criminogenic measure would have served something else, and everyone, as far as they are concerned.

    In the end, beyond all the geopolitical divisions, some less pronounced than others, the population of Ouanaminthe, Haiti, helped by the rest of the Haitian nation, inflicted a lesson in dignity on the Dominican president.

     Instead of complaining, the population transformed the DR measures into a vast synergy to remobilize the popular will to change things. The mystical silence of the Haitians, who we hoped to see massed in their thousands at the border, was enough to stir up the Dominicans. These increased the number of demonstrations and riots until the activities of CODEVI were blocked.

    The Dominican people now know that there is no measure taken or to be taken that is capable of influencing the will of a determined and reasoned people, claiming a just cause.

     That the closure and reopening of the borders are the works of Luis Abinader, without intervention or request from the Haitian people. That no one is above the law. That his arbitrary acts, already recorded in the bloody pages of history, will be the subject of an international trial that years, even after his mandate, cannot wither, like the trial pending in New York against barbarism, the genocide of the 1937 massacre, perpetrated by his counterpart Raphaël Trujillo.

    Moreover, the legal fight continues. Ouanaminthe, Haiti, only won one battle peacefully. In any case, the two neighboring peoples are condemned to live together. However, the Haitian people, through the population of Ouanaminthe, demands a new definition of diplomatic and commercial relations with the DR.

    Human trafficking, racial discrimination, mistreatment of Haitians are revolting. Recurrent and irregular mass deportation constitutes a crime against humanity. The products shipped to Haiti are execrably spoiled, poisoned with the odors of an imminent genocide.

    If corrective measures are not promptly adopted, incidents will resurface out of nowhere. Because there is no force or diplomacy that can contain an injustice that is at its height, like the larvae of an erupting volcano.

    Silence or retreat is only utopia. Only appropriate and just measures can generate lasting peace.

    Ouanaminthe, October 10, 2023.

    (English Translation from the participants and members  of the civil society unit who signed the above memorandum written originally in French: Mouvement Mutation Haïti (MMH), Albert Pierre Paul Joseph, Clément Pierre, Dionel Germain, Simpson Charles Amazan, Emmanuel Raphaël, Thony Desauguste, Hérald Myritil, Hervé Pierre, Patrick Emilien , Bélizaire James Dobson, Gérald Jean Charles, Saint Preux Rolanson, Roselène Pierre).

  • A visit to Philadelphia: The Capital of the Revolution

    I was in Philadelphia last week. I flew from Fort Lauderdale to Philadelphia airport where I boarded the train to the city.

    I am always in awe with the buzzing of this city where visitors congregate to visit historical landmarks such as Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell.

    The elegance and the beauty of the architecture of the buildings and the vibrant energy of the people make walking downtown Phila fun and enjoyable.

    It was a hot and humid day at the square place in this Independence Hall visit in Philadelphia The sun beat down on me, and I could feel sweat starting to bead on my ball forehead.

    Despite the heat, the scene was peaceful around me. Birds were chirping and fluttering about, picking at popcorn kernels scattered on the ground.

    Vagrants were sitting under the shade of the trees, seeking refuge from the heat of the day.

    The square was bustling with visitors making their way to Independence Hall. Families with children, couples holding hands, and groups of friends all walked by, eager to learn about the history of our nation.

    As I walked through the halls of Independence Hall, I marveled at the beautiful architecture and the historical significance of the building. I could almost feel the presence of the founding fathers who had gathered there so many years ago to create a new nation..

    Independence Hall was where both the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were signed, and it was a symbol of the birth of our nation.

    At that moment, I felt a sense of unity and community. We were all there to learn about and appreciate the history of our country.

    The vagrants, the birds, and the visitors all coexisted in this space, each with their own unique story and perspective.

    As I made my way towards Independence Hall, I felt grateful for the opportunity to learn about the sacrifices and struggles that had gone into creating our nation.

    And as I looked back at the square, I felt a sense of hope that we could continue to come together as a community, despite our differences, to create a better future for all.

    Roosevelt

  • Going to the dentist

    I went to the dentist this morning. A so called “wisdom tooth” has been bothering me for the last two months. I was told to extract it would be a solution.

    I have been putting off this visit for a couple of weeks. Not able to sustain this pain any longer, I finally decided to have this procedure done.

    Marijo, my wife searched online and found a walk-in clinic, led by Haitian dentist David Eugene, DDS, 10 minutes from my home.

    I woke up, ate breakfast, and drove to the location situated on a commercial plaza in Lauderhill, FL.

    I felt anxious and nervous entering the waiting room where two young ladies were scrolling their phones.

    A soft spoken young man welcomed me and asked me to write my name on the waiting list and to present my insurance card and driver’s license. He handed me some forms to fill out.

    I sat down, filled out the forms, and opened my book. I was reading Walter Cronkite’s autobiography: A reporter’s Life.”

    They called my name. I got in.

    David, the dentist, welcomed me cordially with a handshake, showing me the dental chair.

    I laid down on my back, opened my mouth while he was hovering a bright light over my face to see the inside of my mouth..

    David asked me a couple of questions and confirmed that I was there to extract my lower right wisdom tooth.

    David told me he has been in this location since 2009 when he bought this clinic from a fellow dentist.

    He examined my tooth and took an X-ray. He informed me that my wisdom tooth was impacted and needed to be extracted.

    I was nervous about the procedure, but the dentist assured me that it was a routine procedure and that I would be given anesthesia to numb the area.

    I nodded, but my mind was still racing with fear and uncertainty. David and his assistant made me comfortable and started the procedure.

    As he prepared the tools, my anxiety intensified. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, and my breathing became shallow and rapid, my hands were shaking while I was signing the consent and payment forms.

    The dentist administered me local anesthesia in the back of my gum. I could still feel a slight twinge of pain.

    The fear of the unknown and the anticipation of the extraction made me feel like I was about to jump out of my skin.

    Finally, David began the extraction. I felt a sharp tug and pressure in my mouth. The sound of the tools and the sensation of the tooth being pulled out made me feel nauseous and dizzy.

    I closed my eyes and tried to focus on my breathing, listening to a podcast from Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady entitled from “Thought to Destiny.”

    After what felt like an eternity, the extraction was complete.

    The dentist gave me gauze to bite down on to stop the bleeding, prescribed painkillers and antibiotics and instructed me to avoid solid foods for a few days. He also had warned me that I might experience some pain and swelling.

    I was feeling a bit groggy from the anesthesia, but relieved that the procedure was over.

    ____________________________________

    Questions for you. Please, share.

    Have you been to the dentist lately?

    How was your experience?

    How is tooth extraction, and teeth pulling , (rache dan) in places or in times there was no anesthesia?

    The dentist chair is one of those places I do not feel comfortable. what about you?

  • The Elephant and the blind men

    For centuries, Sufi Masters have been using short stories to teach their spiritual disciples important life lessons.

    Below you’ll read one of my favorite Sufi stories: “The Elephant and the blind men,” and I invite you to share your perspective on what point you make out of it.

    Once there was a city, the inhabitants of which were all blind. They had heard of elephants and were curious to see [sic] one face to face. They were still full of this desire when one day a caravan arrived and camped outside the city. There was an elephant in the caravan.

    When the inhabitants of the city heard there was an elephant in the caravan, the wisest and most intelligent men of the city decided to go out and see the elephant. A number of them left the city and went to the place where the elephant was.

    One stretched out his hands, grasped the elephant’s ear, and perceived something resembling a shield. This man decided that the elephant looked like a shield.

    Another stretched out his hands, grasped the elephant’s trunk, and perceived something resembling a club. This man decided that the elephant looked like a club.

    A third stretched out his hands, grasped the elephant’s leg, and perceived something like a pillar.  He decided that the elephant looked like a pillar.

    A fourth stretched his hands, grasped the elephant’s back, and perceived something like a seat. He decided that the elephant looked like a seat.

    Delighted, they all returned to the city.

    After one had gone back to his quarters, the people asked: “Did see the elephant?” Each one answered yes.

    They asked: “What does he look like? What kind of shape has he?” Then one in his quarters replied: “The elephant looks like a shield. 

    And the second man in the second quarter: “The elephant looks like a club.” +

    The third man in the third quarter: “The elephant looks like a pillar.”

    And the fourth man in the fourth quarter: “The elephant looks like a seat.”

    And inhabitants of each quarter formed their opinion in accord; with what they had heard.

    Now when the different conceptions came into contact with one another, it became evident that they were contradictory. Each blind man found fault with the next and began to advance proofs in support of his own view and in confutation of the views of the others.

    They called these proofs rational and scriptural proofs.

    One said: “It is written in war the elephant is sent out ahead of the army. Consequently, the elephant must be a kind of shield.”

    The second said: “It is written that in war the elephant hurls himself at the hostile army and that the hostile army is thereby shattered.  Consequently, the elephant must be a kind of club.”

    The third said: “It is written that the elephant carries a weight thousand men and more without effort. Consequently, the elephant must be a kind of pillar.”

    The fourth said: “It is written that so and so many people can sit in comfort on an elephant. Consequently, the elephant must be a kind of seat.”

    What’s the moral/point of that story?