26063: Raber (comment) More on Haitian Law (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: PM Raber <raber88@zoominternet.net>

Mr Simeus certainly can contribute a great deal to the next government of Haiti 
and so can thousands of engineers, urban planners, health professional etc.. of 
the diaspora. Unfortunately, they may not get the work licenses necessary to do 
so.  There are some qualified honest people in Haiti but there has been a great 
brain drain of the best and brightest over the last 35 years and some of those 
who are stuck in Haiti will make those who left and succeeded pay for leaving 
and succeeding.  Ever wonder why the USA is such a great country?  It's because 
of immigration.  The best and brightest from around the world, the ones who 
have nothing to lose and everything to gain continue to flow in and use the 
great opportunities to their advantage.

Mr. Simeus should be invited to join in leadership by whomever becomes the next 
Titid.   I say put him in charge of wiping out corruption. That should be a 
great political learning experience while he waits is turn to be president.  Or 
maybe there needs to be governors for each of the 9 departments and he can lead 
the Artibonite. 
In theory, the law is to be followed.  In practice, the Haitian laws are 
selectively followed.  Let's take for example the most obvious article of the 
constitution that is violated for at least 3  millions citizens 9 months out of 
the year.  Let's count how many rules are broken:

(Section F)  Article 32-1to3
Education is the responsibility of the State and its territorial divisions. 
They must make schooling available to all (1) free of charge (2), and ensure 
that public and private sector teachers are properly trained (3 and 4). 
Primary schooling is compulsory under penalties to be prescribed by law (5). 
Classroom facilities
(6)and teaching materials (7) shall be provided by the State to elementary 
school students free of charge.

Another illustration involves health and other professionals.  If you are a 
Haitian-American medical doctor or a  dentist, you cannot obtain a license to 
practice medicine or dentistry in Haiti even if you were born a Haitian 
citizen.   If you do bother to apply, you will spend months jumping through 
hoops and just when you have negotiated all the red tape, you will be asked to 
produce a paper from the US State department that you have not naturalized. 
I guess that if you were already licensed in Haiti before you emigrated, you 
can use that old license but if you want to be a constitutionalist and a law 
abiding person, you must give up your professional licenses when you 
naturalize.  The closest American State to have that type of professional law 
is West Virginia where nobody wants to move to.  The irony?  Many foreign 
trained professionals who get equivalency end up doing their hard labor (US 
residency to in exchange for services) in West Virginia.  If they want to stay 
in West Virginia, they are to naturalize as soon as they become eligible. 
Results?  Many cannot yet think of the US as their homeland, cannot yet take 
the oath of citizenship and move to a more progressive State leaving WV still 
short of doctors.

Naturalized Haitians must also give up their private land property in Haiti 
after they have been out of the country for 3 years.  How many actually do 
this? 
Most of those laws still reflect the 1804-the-French-are-coming-back mentality. 
Now those laws are used by those in Haiti to protect turf for all the wrong 
reasons.  The polliwog in the puddle likes to feel like a big shark.   The 
better educated person may makes him look bad by having a better education (why 
not see it as an opportunity to learn?).  He may compete for food in the puddle 
(Why not have him help increase food production).  There is a lot of PRIDE 
behind all this disguised patriotism.

I remember wasting an entire day getting my Haitian Identity card (Lucky I got 
it in one day).. When I complained about it, one of the people who worked on 
and signed the constitution of 1987 heard me and told me that I should have 
called them and they would have me go through the back door for a quick 
service! 
The US has some weird laws too and many are not followed.  Do most of you 
reading this know that in just about every state you live in, you are to keep 
tract of all of your Internet purchases and then pay taxes when you file your 
next US income tax return?  If you are not, you are breaking the law. 
The Haitian constitution has some very unfair laws as well.  It establishes 
work rules and then says that "special law" will apply to servants and children 
regarding minimum wages and work hours per week!  Talk about protecting a 
lifestyle of abuses!  Sound like Islamic Sharia law..

These laws are how they are because they benefit the old fashioned Haitian 
wishy-washy way.  The diaspora of one million  needs to scream to have the 
constitution amended to a fair constitution and  respected.   In the meantime, 
all diaspora who have naturalized but have political aspirations can:

1-Move back to Haiti  and apply for a residency permit (my spouse's 
experience: 6 years of nothing happening even with the help of a sitting 
minister)

2-Once you get the residency wait 5 years and apply for citizenship

3-Be a citizen for 5 years and then you can run for office. 
Those without political aspirations can concentrate on being good examples. 
They need to unload their Haitian homes,  lands,  various permits 
etc....Stateside they need to declare their Internet purchases, their jackpot 
winnings, pay for their nanny's social security taxes,  declare the money they 
pay to the various legal and illegals who mow their yards or clean their homes, 
and who knows? they may even owe taxes on cash back or rewards from their 
credit cards   Let's show by example how to be law abiding citizens.

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