Hi All,

Many of you have heard about the escalation of civil unrest in Haiti and I thought it would be good to bring everyone up to speed with what’s going on and how it is affecting Starfysh’s work out on the island.

The situation is complex and quite dynamic, but in a nutshell, there is disagreement about when the President’s term ends. Some say his term ended this past February 7th. He contends his term ends on February 7, 2022. And the major complicating situation is that, due to election delays, the parliament has no quorum (due to term limiting out) and therefore powerless. This creates the situation where the president is ruling by decree which worries some about a return to dictatorial rule. (A more in-depth description can be found at the Miami Herald.)

The Covid-19 pandemic looms as a spector on Haiti, even though confirmed cases/deaths are curiously much lower than predicted. The yearly 3-day “Carnival” celebration went on as planned this past week and some worry that the large crowded events will turn out to be “super-spreaders.” The next few weeks will tell (read more here).

And though twelve miles of Caribbean Sea waters serve to insulate La Gonave from the tumultuous conditions of the mainland, the island does feel the effects of Haiti’s national unrest. La Gonave depends on the mainland for food, supplies and fuel and when protests shut down transportation, both land and sea, the people of La Gonave suffer significantly, especially with regard to food insecurity.

Starfysh takes no political position, of course. This is not our role. What we can do, as a development agency is, while working along side people in their fields and their classrooms, to remind them that peace, genuine, lasting peace, is an issue of the heart. 

It would be great, wouldn’t it, if La Gonave could be less dependent on the mainland. We are working hard to make it so! In my travels across this 37mi x 9mi island, I know that La Gonave has ample fertile land to grow enough food to feed the 100,000 people who live there with enough left over to export to the mainland (and elsewhere!).

Thanks for your ongoing interest and support. We are making a visible impact and you are a part of it.

Many blessings,

Steve Edmondson

Pictured below:

Blue Bean Coffee seedlings set off across the sea out to La Gonave where they will be planted in the mountains.