Haiti

  • Logout
  • Member Center

HAITI

Oprah Winfrey to see Haiti’s President Michel Martelly, Designer Donna Karan, Sean Penn’s DP camp

 

The TV talent is expected in Port au Prince Sunday evening to visit a settlement camp for displaced people run by Hollywood actor Sean Penn and meet with fashion designer Donna Karan on Monday.

 

Former U.S. President and U.N. special envoy to Haiti, Bill Clinton, center, talks to U.S. fashion designer Donna Karan before the opening ceremony of an investor conference at the Karibe hotel in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday Nov. 29, 2011.
Former U.S. President and U.N. special envoy to Haiti, Bill Clinton, center, talks to U.S. fashion designer Donna Karan before the opening ceremony of an investor conference at the Karibe hotel in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday Nov. 29, 2011.
DIEU NALIO CHERY / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Associated Press

Haitian President Michel Martelly says he’ll host Oprah Winfrey on her Sunday-Monday visit in the Caribbean nation.

The Haiti leader said on Friday that he would like to see Winfrey promote the troubled nation’s lesser known attributes to outside investors as it struggles to recover from the 2010 earthquake that threw hundreds of thousands people into makeshift camps.

Martelly said he planned to meet with Winfrey on Monday.

“I am hoping she will serve as an ambassador for Haiti, to help us get the kind of assistance needed,” Martelly said at a trade summit for Caribbean leaders.

Winfrey is expected to arrive in Haiti on Sunday evening and on Monday visit a settlement camp for displaced people run by Hollywood actor Sean Penn and his aid group J/P HRO. She is also expected to meet with fashion designer Donna Karan, who has celebrated the work of Haiti’s artisans through her Urban Zen Foundation since the quake.

Chance Patterson, a spokesman for Winfrey’s Harpo Studios, couldn’t be reached for comment Friday night.

The interview with Martelly came on the second day of the Caricom-Cuba summit, an effort aimed at encouraging cooperation among Caribbean nations and advocating for their interests.

Martelly, a former musician who performed under the stage name “Sweet Micky,” also said he plans an ambitious world tour in an effort to raise money for an education program that seeks to ensure children attend school in Haiti. Few parents can afford tuition for his country’s many private schools.

“We would take the tour to Los Angeles, Korea, Japan, France to raise money for the children’s education,” Martelly said, adding that he understands the power of the stage.

“I will get on it and dance and have great groups of entertainers to perform to help Haiti, including Wyclef (Jean) and Oprah and have others play my music and sing my songs,” he said.

Separately, Martelly said he is moving ahead with a campaign pledge to restore Haiti’s army despite opposition raised by some people, including Nobel peace laureate and former Costa Rican President Oscar Arias.

Arias sent a letter this week to Martelly saying it would be an error to bring back the military that was disbanded in 1995 because of a long history of abuse. Arias and others have said money for the $25 million force would be better spent elsewhere for the struggling country.

In the interview, Martelly reiterated his position that the new force would be a modern one and a departure from its predecessor, which was an instrument long used to topple presidents and jail opponents in Haiti.

“I could bring arguments which could prove him wrong,” Martelly said about Arias. “For instance, in a modern army we would have engineers and a medical corps who, if they were there in the time of the earthquake, could have saved lives.”

Martelly said he hopes the new force will provide jobs and education to the youth of Haiti, where only about 60 percent of the people have regular employment.

dealsaver
The Miami Herald: Subscribe now!

More from
Haiti

  •  

In this May 17, 2012 photo, youths play with soccer balls in a field that is part of the L'Athletique D'Haiti sports program at the northeastern edge of Cite Soleil, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. A local sports hero, a New York real estate developer and a well-known architect are teaming up to build a soccer stadium in Cite Soleil, hoping to revive the seaside shantytown. The organizers also hope the stadium, scheduled to break ground within six months and due to be built by the end of 2013, will bring an initial 500 jobs and inject commerce into the shanty city, where politicians to pay residents to fight their battles as proxy forces.

    Investors plan soccer stadium for Haiti shantytown

    A local sports hero, a New York real estate developer and a well-known architect are teaming up to build a soccer stadium in Haiti's notorious Cite Soleil, hoping to revive the seaside shantytown known throughout the hemisphere for its extreme poverty and gang battles.

  •  

American citizen Steven Parker Shaw, 57, second from left, stands behind bars as he waits for his hearing at a court's cell  in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, May 21, 2012. Jason William Petrie and Shaw, two Americans jailed in Haiti were charged with conspiracy for participating in a street march on Friday that pressed for the return of the country's disbanded army, a Haitian government official said Sunday.

    Haiti: Jailed Americans face up to 3 years

    Two Americans jailed for allegedly driving a group of would-be soldiers during a protest demanding the restoration of Haiti's army face up to three years in prison if convicted on conspiracy charges, a prosecutor said Monday.

  • Ex-Haiti telecom official sent to prison for nine years in Miami bribery case

    A Miami federal judge sent a former top official for Haiti’s telecom company to prison for nine years in a bribery case that legal sources say is now focusing on deposed Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Join the
Discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

We have introduced a new commenting system called Disqus for our articles. This allows readers the option of signing in using their Facebook, Twitter, Disqus or existing MiamiHerald.com username and password.

Having problems? Read more about the commenting system on MiamiHerald.com.

Hide Comments

This affects comments on all stories.

Cancel OK
0 comments

  • Videos

  • Quick Job Search

Enter Keyword(s) Enter City Select a State Select a Category