Haiti: Exploratory Trip to the Island of La Tortue

MKarshan@aol.com wrote:
>
> The Weekly Summary of the Week's News (Aired August 18, 2001 on National
> Television of Haiti)
> Summarized by the Foreign Press Liaison (mkarshan@aol.com)
>
> 12. African-American Delegation Shows Support for Haiti by Arriving via
> Cruise Ship and Examining Ways to Help Develop the North of Haiti. On August
> 9, 2001, a group of African-Americans visited the historic sites of the
> North, after landing via the cruise ship, Explorer of the Seas at Labadie.
> The group, the Haiti Support Group, which is the grassroots base of the Black
> Caucus, toured the Citadel, the Sans Souci Palace, the town of Milot and
> other important historical sites. They were accompanied by the Minister of
> Tourism, Martine Deverson, and the Minister of Haitians Living Abroad, Leslie
> Voltaire. Their excursion trip was a test of the viability of developing a
> touristic route in the North that would eventually encourage others who visit
> via cruise ships to enjoy the historical sites of Haiti. Both Ministers
> talked of developing the North for tourists in terms of road development,
> restoration of the Cathedral, reinforcing crafts, restoring the Gingerbread
> houses, opening an international airport in Cap Haitian, and urged the
> participation of both the private and public sector, inviting foreigners to
> invest in the development of Haiti. These efforts are part of the
> development of the country by the year 2004, Haiti's bicentennial. Minister
> Deverson also pointed out that it is important to improve the image of Haiti.
> Minister Voltaire called Haiti a symbol for African-Americans of their own
> struggle for liberation. Expressing their solidarity with Haiti, Ron Daniels
> of the Haiti Support Group said, “We are committed to mobilizing massively as
> much support as we can, both at the level of political support in terms of
> the image of Haiti, and culturally in terms of the bonds between our people
> and most importantly at the level of economy, of economics.” Every week
> 3,500 tourists visit Labadi via 2 cruise ships.
>
> 13. Exploratory Trip to the Island of La Tortue in View of Developing it as a
> Tourism Destination. The Minister of Tourism, Martine Deverson, and the
> General Director of Culture and Communications, along with others, visited
> the Isle de Tortue via motorboat to explore the feasibility of developing the
> island as a tourism destination. In the footage aired on the news taken from
> the motorboat the delegation rode in, one could see dolphins jumping up and
> down near the boat! The Director General for the northwest of the Ministry
> of Social Affairs and the Mayor of Tortue, Emmanuel Frederique, made
> presentations talking of the merits of developing tourism there. Minister
> Deverson delivered a message from the government of their will to help change
> the conditions of the people of La Tortue. "We thank the government and
> President Aristide who want to work in this department and in La Tortue to
> make things better for us. We applaud them," was the response. La Tortue has
> an estimated population of 35,000.

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