Elsie Saint-Louis Accilien, HAUP’s Executive Director welcomed the growing cooperation between the Nassau County government and HAUP. “Pressure had built up over time from Haitian immigrants and others living in the counties of Nassau and Suffolk on Long Island to fulfill unmet needs. We sought ways to rise to the challenge. The ability to operate a site in Nassau County itself will allow for a more comprehensive set of services to be offered to Haitians and other minorities on Long Island. We are moving forward, and that’s excellent!”

The backdrop for the announcement was the launch by HAUP, Gina Faustin’s Kompa Guide and the Nassau County Executive of Haitian Heritage Month celebrations. The month of May has been so designated by Haitian communities throughout the United States because Haiti celebrates Haitian flag day on May 18. The flag stands as a symbol of the strength and unity that slaves and freedmen, seeking to break their shackles in colonial Saint-Domingue, mustered to found an independent Republic which they called Haiti in deference to the original natives of the island.

Several Haitian-Americans were cited for their achievements and commitments to community and Haiti. They included the Haitian-American Law Enforcement Fraternal Organization (HALEFO), Maryse Lamercie Emmanuel-Garcy, Executive Director of Haitian-American Families on Long Island (HAFALI), Gregory Jesus Luc (Spring Break in Haiti), 18th May Committee, Joseph T. Noisette aka DJjolight, Mireille Therese Laguerre of Mirelle’s Restaurant in Westbury, Dr. Leslie Kernisant, President and Chairman of SIMACT, a Haitian investment company, Dr. Camron and Dr. Auguste.

Carrié Solages, the first Haitian-American elected to office in Nassau County, New York City Councilman Mathieu Eugène, Haiti Consul General Charles Antoine Forbin, Town of Hempstead Councilman Ed Ambrosino, and Mark McMillan, Deputy Counsel from  the Queensboro President’s Office were among the dignitaries who graced the event with their presence and offered their support to HAUP. In addition to Mr. Mangano, Nassau County Administration officials present included Deputy County Executive Dr. Elliot, and Human Rights Commissioner Immacula Oligario, a Haitian-American.

Haitian dance, riddles and poetry crowned the festive event which opened to the sounds of drums and “vaksin” typical of the Rara bands that one can encounter in townships and countryside of Haiti during carnival season. Haitian-American poet Michèle Voltaire Marcelin spiced up the evening with a series of riddles that challenged and delighted the audience. Who knew that the answer to “Ti won san fon” (small bottomless hole) is “bag” (a ring)! Having challenged the audience with increasingly harder riddles (2 mòn kontre pentad vole?) Michele then launched into her signature rendition of RapJazz, a poem by famed Haitian playwright, painter and poet FrankEtienne.

Tamboula d’Haiti, led by Pénièl Guerrier, closed the event with a joyous Haitian folk dance performed to the sound of drums, vaksin and the saxophone. Afterwards guests were invited to the delicious Haitian meals prepared for the occasion by Fleurimond Catering. Guests, including the officials who attended the event, lingered well past closing time, chatting, networking and otherwise enjoying each other’s company. This bodes well for building community in Nassau County.

We owe much of the success of the event to the efforts deployed by HAUP’s staff and volunteers to ensure that guests felt at home. We urge our supporters to build on this success by ensuring that HAUP secures the capacity and the funds necessary to deliver quality services to immigrants and citizens alike on Long Island.

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Cambria Heights, NY – Haitian Heritage will be celebrated on May 4 at the Theodore Roosevelt Executive & Legislative Building in Mineola. The event will be held from 6pm to 9pm in cooperation with the office of County Executive Edward Mangano and Kompa Guide. Haitian Heritage will celebrate the strength and ingenuity that transformed Haiti from a slave colony to a free country, the second oldest Republic in the Western Hemisphere.

“On May 18, 1803, Haitians raised for the first time the flag of the new Republic of Haiti, vowed to free themselves of the chains of slavery and to be truly independent. Through their unity of strength and ingenuity they achieved their dreams six months later. They have inspired generations of Haitians to follow their example. We can do no less,” said Elsie Saint Louis Accilien, HAUP’s Executive Director, The Haitian Americans United for Progress, Inc. (HAUP).

The event will feature awards and recognitions, statements from County officials, art, culture and delicious meals illustrative of the wonderful Haitian cuisine.

The event is free and open to the public. Guests will have the opportunity to rejoice in each other’s achievements, meet with lawmakers and policymakers from Nassau County and New York City, Haitian government officials and community leaders.

The Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building is located at 1550 Franklin Avenue, Mineola, NY 11501.

Haitian-Americans United for Progress (HAUP) is one of the largest not-for-profit community-based organizations in the greater Cambria Heights area and Nassau County, serving approximately 15,000 people a year through a variety of programs and services that range from after-school and youth programs to remedial care for the elderly and the mentally-disabled.  HAUP has risen from its inception 35 years ago as a small volunteer-based Haitian refugee and immigrant mutual assistance association into a service agency that reaches out to the broader community of immigrants and native-born Americans.  HAUP is dedicated to providing a supportive environment through education, training, culture, networking opportunities, and other support services, that allow members of the community to successfully adapt and thrive.

Today, representatives of diverse immigrant communities unveiled the New York Immigration Coalition’s top ten state budget and policy priorities for 2012, in a countdown to the NYIC’s Immigrants’ Day of Action in Albany on March 14th. This annual advocacy day, our 15th, is shaping up to be our largest yet, with more than 1,000 participants expected, representing 60 organizations across the state.

“The strength of immigrant communities in the state continues to grow, and we are proud to be mobilizing our largest Immigrant’s Day of Action yet,” said Chung-Wha Hong, executive director of the NYIC. “Last year, Governor Cuomo and the legislature took huge strides for the immigrant community by taking a stand against the Secure Communities program and opening up government services to all New Yorkers with a language assistance executive order. This year, we are confident that our state’s leaders will continue the momentum and make history by passing New York State DREAM legislation and promoting citizenship and other key initiatives.”

Advocates addressed a variety of concerns, including the need to pass New York State DREAM legislation. Such legislation would ensure that all students, regardless of immigration status, have access to tuition assistance and college savings plans, making it possible for them to attend college and fulfill their potential. In a time when the federal government has failed to act and states are implementing divergent policies affecting immigrants, advocates ask that New York take the lead by focusing on the critical importance of expanding educational opportunities for all New Yorkers.

Community groups also emphasized the need to ensure public safety by preventing state and local law enforcement from engaging in federal immigrant enforcement. The State should delineate a clear line of separation between federal immigration enforcement and our state and local enforcement agencies, and it should safeguard the confidentiality of immigration status information.

[Photo Above] Yelky Ramos, DREAM-eligible student speaks about NYIC’s priority of passing New York State DREAM legislation. Standing beside her from right to left, May Chen, NYS Immigrant Action Fund, Fadilla Mrkulic, 32BJ, Chung-Wha Hong, NYIC, Elsie Accielien, HAUP, Vladimir Epshteyn, RAVEL

Advocates also discussed various proposals that would help more immigrant students graduate from high school and facilitate their parents’ involvement in their education and in preparing for college. Proposed measures include continuing to fund the January Regents exam and expanding the pathways to a high school diploma.

Additionally, advocates highlighted the critical need to protect immigrant services and programs, restore funding for adult literacy programs, and ensure immigrant access to health care and labor protections for immigrant workers.

Speakers included:

Leticia Alanis, La Union
Elsie Accilien, Haitian Americans United for Progress
May Chen, New York State Immigrant Action Fund
Vladimir Epshteyn, Russian American Voters Educational League (RAVEL)
Dmitri Glinski, Russian-Speaking Community Council of Manhattan and The Bronx
Chung-Wha Hong, New York Immigration Coalition
S.J Jung, MinKwon Center for Community Action
Gonzalo Mercado, El Centro del Inmigrante
Fadila Mrkulic, 32BJ
Yelky Ramos, DREAM student
Linda Sarsour, Arab American Association of NY

To view NYIC’s Top 10 State Policy and Budget Priorities, please click here.

The New York Immigration Coalition is an umbrella policy advocacy organization with close to 200 member groups in New York State that works for justice and opportunity for immigrants. For more information, visit www.thenyic.org.

On January 25, 2012, the Committee on Immigration of the New York City Council held a hearing on Resolution 1096 calling upon the Department of Homeland Security to create a Haitian Family Reunification Parole Program. The Resolution, introduced by Haitian-American Councilor Mathieu Eugene, would benefit Haitians recovering from the January 12, 2010 earthquake by allowing Haitians with approved family-sponsored immigrant visa petitions to come to the United States.

Following is the statement that was delivered at the hearing on behalf of the Haitian-Americans United for Progress (HAUP)

My name is Jocelyn McCalla and I am pleased to testify today before this Committee on Resolution No. 1096, on behalf of the Haitian-Americans United for Progress (HAUP).

HAUP was founded 37 years ago by Haitian-American community leaders and advocates to help resettle and integrate Haitian asylum-seekers and immigrants in New York City. These leaders included the Most Rev. Guy Sansaricq, auxiliary bishop of Brooklyn and Ms. Carolle Berotte Joseph who is currently serving as President of Bronx Community College.

HAUP is located in Cambria Heights which is home to the largest Haitian-American enclave outside of Brooklyn. While HAUP began as a volunteer-based organization focused initially on responding to the needs of Haitian immigrants and refugees, it has since expanded and offers its multitude of services to newcomers and citizens alike. Under the leadership of Executive Director Elsie Saint-Louis, HAUP has risen to serve annually some 15,000 people who come to us from Cambria Heights proper as well as from Queens Village, Jamaica, Springfield Gardens and Laurelton. We provide services to clients in Brooklyn through our ambulatory programs. Residents of Elmont and Hempstead on Long Island also seek our services and support, since we are located so close to the border with Nassau County.

Regarding Resolution 1096

The Obama Administration responded remarkably fast and aggressively to the major catastrophe that hit Haiti some two years ago on January 12, 2010. The United States deployed thousands of troops to support the actions of a government that had literally collapsed, and to facilitate the relief and recovery response that poured from all over the world into Haiti. Stateside, it promptly granted Temporary Protected Status to Haitian non-immigrants who were in the United States at the time. Last year, the Administration extended TPS for this class and broadened it to include Haitians who had hurriedly joined their relatives after the earthquake because their livelihood had been destroyed. Most recently, the Administration has decided to allow Haitians to take part in the guest worker programs that U.S. growers and farmers use to ensure that they have sufficient legal labor to bring in the harvest.

Yet there’s one more step that the Administration could have taken and which – as Res. 1096 notes – it has not taken: it has not speeded up the family reunification process for Haitian immigrants who are already in the pipeline. These Haitians could be paroled and safely reunited with their relative sponsors in the United States while awaiting their final immigrant visa interviews. Such a program already exists for Cuban nationals. Failure to establish it for Haitians raises issues of double-standards.

HAUP supports the Resolution and urges the Committee on Immigration and the entire NY City Council to approve it. Such an action would send a very strong signal to the Obama Administration that this great city – which has one of the most diverse and productive immigrant populations in the United States – supports a Haitian Family Reunification Parole Program

Haitian Reality Today

Haiti’s recovery barely got off the ground in 2010, in spite of the close to $10 billion pledged at the March 2010 International Donors Conference, and the commitment to hasten efforts to build Haiti back better. As time went by, frustrations with political management of Haitian affairs and of the recovery efforts led both Haitians and their international allies to turn to electoral politics. These turned out to be highly controversial; a disaster was only averted by heavy-handed management of the process by the US and its key allies. Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, remains home to more than half a million internally displaced earthquake refugees. Many have returned to homes that are unsafe.

While the United States and its allies have done much in the past year to support Haiti’s recovery and reconstruction, economic growth and political stability remain a dream deferred. We hope that Haiti’s new President and legislature will provide the leadership necessary to allow for growth and prosperity. Most observers however agree that real economic progress is years away. Meanwhile, Haiti remains vulnerable to the vagaries of nature (floods, tropical storms, hurricanes) and societal misfortunes (health emergencies such as cholera outbreaks, malnutrition, increased commodities and food costs due to world price fluctuations).

Conclusion

Haitian-Americans United for Progress resolutely supports the adoption of Res. 1096. We are prepared to offer support to the beneficiaries of a Haitian Family Reunification Parole Program once it is promulgated. We can help ease resettlement woes for the newcomers, and assist their relatives who are either resident or citizens with the inevitable questions that arise in such situations. In short, we believe that this is the right thing to do and we urge the Committee and the Council to adopt the resolution unanimously.

Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano joined by members of the Haitian-Americans United for Progress (HAUP) and Kompa Guide at an event commemorating the 208^th Anniversary of Haiti’s Independence. The ceremony also honored the lives of tens of thousands of Haitians that died during an earthquake on January 12, 2010.

“When Haiti declared its freedom, Haitians made history, setting a precedent as the second country to declare independence in Latin America and creating the first post-colonial black-led nation in the world.  Today, we continue to see the courage of that struggle reflected in Haiti’s response to the devastating earthquake that occurred on January 12, 2010,” said County Executive Mangano.  “Despite all Haiti has endured throughout their history, Haitians have shown an unwavering strength, will, and passion to forge ahead and build a more prosperous nation.  I salute the many contributions that Haitian-Americans have made to the culture and prosperity here in Nassau County and I wish all Haitians a happy Independence Day and hope that 2012 is a year filled with peace and progress.”

The event was moderated by Haitian-American poet/performer Michèle Voltaire Marcelin whose writings and performances in English, French, and Creole are praised and sought after.  Haitian music, dance performances and gourmet meals illustrative of Haitian cuisine were also offered to guests.

“Haiti Day on January 11^th shed light on the growing contributions of Haitians to Nassau County’s diversity and economic development.  We are delighted to partner with Mr. Mangano in celebrating Haiti’s Independence and we look forward to a successful partnership,” said Elsie Saint Louis Accilien, Executive Director, The Haitian Americans United for Progress, Inc. (HAUP).

Gina Faustin, Executive Producer of Kompa Guide, added, “Many Haitian families including the Faustins settled in Nassau County in the early 1950′s and have been in integral part of its evolution, and richness. Haiti’s Independence Celebration will raise awareness to this remarkable population.”

Haitian-Americans United for Progress (HAUP) is one of the largest not-for-profit community-based organizations in the greater Cambria Heights area and Nassau County, serving approximately 15,000 people a year through a variety of programs and services that range from after-school and youth programs to remedial care for the elderly and the mentally-disabled.  HAUP has risen from its inception 35 years ago as a small volunteer-based Haitian refugee and immigrant mutual assistance association into a service agency that reaches out to the broader community of immigrants and native-born Americans.  HAUP is dedicated to providing a supportive environment through education, training, culture, networking opportunities, and other support services, that allow members of the community to successfully adapt and thrive.

Faustin is a Haiti booster par excellence, promoting it as a travel destination along with its unique music, culinary offerings and and culture.

Next January 11, Kompa Guide will partner with HAUP to celebrate Haiti’s Independence, honor the memory of the 2010 earthquake victims, and pay tribute to all those who rallied to Haiti’s side at a time of extreme need.

The event, organized in cooperation with the office of County Executive Edward Mangano, will be held on January 11, 2012 from 6 pm to 9 pm at the Theodore Roosevelt Executive & Legislative Building in Mineola. It will be free and open to the public.

HAUP’s event will feature and be moderated by Haitian-American poet/performer Michèle Voltaire Marcelin whose writings and performances in English, French, and Creole are much praised and sought after. Haitian music, dance performances and gourmet meals illustrative of Haitian cuisine will be offered to the 250 or more assembled guests, community and business leaders, and officials from Nassau County.

The Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative building in Mineola, Nassau County is an excellent venue for the festive event that aims to highlight the Haitian presence in Nassau County. Indeed, many Haitian professionals (physicians, teachers, engineers, architects, nurses, financial services executives, realtors and lawyers) have made the county their home. The recent election of Haitian-American Carrie Solages is testament to their growing presence and impact on local developments.

Beginning with a range of beverages and Haitian-spiced pumpkin soup, they moved on to the varied offerings of salad, pastas, grains, vegetables, pork chops, ham, turkey with stuffing, topped by cakes/pies/pastries/cookies galore…if there were any room left. In short, it was a feast worth remembering! But most important was the good company.

HAUP gives thanks for the many donated dishes that helped make it all possible. And to its dedicated staff who joined the occasion with gusto, serving guests, helping in the kitchen, slicing turkeys, and all the rest…for their community’s celebration of this uniquely American holiday.

As you can tell from the photographs of the occasion, it was a day to be thankful for what we have…particularly for each other.