Oh!

[bcholmes]

I just found out that Edwidge Danticat may be at the event I'm gonna visit in Ottawa.

OTTAWA CONFERENCE PUTS HAITIAN DIASPORA IN DRIVER’S SEAT OF RECONSTRUCTION

Five Years after 2004 Coup, Ottawa Initiative 2009 Takes Stock of Canadian Role in Haiti

OTTAWA – Members of Ottawa’s Haitian community hope that a conference focused upon examining the role of foreign countries in Haiti will spur the Haitian Diaspora to take the lead role in rebuilding and healing the impoverished Caribbean nation.

The Ottawa Initiative on Haiti 2009 will bring together community leaders, authors, activists, and thinkers from across the political spectrum in Haiti and North America. Unlike similar events in the past, including a recent conference held at Ottawa University, organizers hope that this event will be a dialogue lead by Haitians, particularly those living outside of Haiti. Remittances of Haitians living in North America currently account for an estimated 30% of Haiti’s GDP.

But the conference, which is being held five years to the day after Canadian Forces took part in the forced removal of Haiti’s elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, will also take a critical look at many of the shortcomings of the so-called "stabilization" efforts of the UN and the Canadian and US governments in Haiti.

[...]

The Ottawa Initiative on Haiti 2009 takes place on February 28th from 9am to 5pm in the Alumni Theatre at the University of Ottawa, and is presented by the Ottawa Haiti Solidarity Committee, the Ottawa Haitian Students Club, the Students Federation of the University of Ottawa, and AKASAN.org.

There have been some positive-seeming events from the Obama administration. He's apparently invited the Governor General to the U.S. to talk about Haiti.