Next General Assembly in Brussels
Dear reader,
At the end of the summer and the start of a new season we are happy to present you the latest update of the Coordination Europe – Haïti.
We express our sympathy with the inhabitants of Saint Martin and the other Caribbean islands who suffer because of hurricane Irma. In the meantime, we are relieved that Irma passed to the north of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, thus limiting the damage to both countries. Is this also because people were better prepared? A partner organisation of one of the members of the steering committee shared the relief of a farmer family near Môle Saint Nicolas (northern Haiti): a year ago they lost their animals and garden because of the passage of Matthew, while this time all their animals survived.
Our next General Assembly will take place at Broederlijk Delen in Brussels on Wednesday September 27, where our special guest will be Colette Lespinasse, our Haitian representative since the beginning of this year. A good part of the available time will be dedicated to Colette’s presentation of the agrarian policy proposal formulated by Haitian organisations in response to the government’s policy. The document will be presented during a press conference on September 19 to which representatives of Haitian institutions, universities, the ministry of agriculture and the European Union will be invited. After the press conference, the text will be published on our website. The Coordination Europe-Haiti has supported the process of preparation of this policy and will bring the recommendations to the attention of the European Union.
Other items on the Assembly’s agenda will be education in Haiti, focusing on possibilities for collaboration and lobby & advocacy, and the appointment of a new coordinator of the Coordination Europe-Haiti, as Evert-Jan Brouwer has expressed a wish to retire from this position after serving more than two full terms.
During the summer several new articles have been placed on our website. First of all, an interesting column by our representative in Haiti, Colette Lespinasse, on the Haitian Government’s agrarian policy. Steering Committee member Els Hortensius wrote an article on the plans of the Government of Haiti to reactivate the Army, sent home by former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 1996. This article was originally published in Dutch at www.lachispa.eu.
We welcome all readers of this newsletter to share interesting articles and reports with us. We are happy to share them on our website.
Sincerely yours,
Els Hortensius, member Steering Committee
![[:en]Blue helmets or camouflage suitsDes Casques bleus ou des vêtements de camouflage](https://www.coeh.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/MINUSTAH-2-600x429.jpg)
![[:en]Which agricultural policy for Haiti?Quelle politique agricole pour Haïti ?](https://www.coeh.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/20170323_144958-600x338.jpg)