| Cap-Haitien – Kidnapping : La Police confirme (sept) 7 arrestations dans le Nord. Par Cyrus Sibert, Cap-Haïtien, Haïti. Le Ré.Cit. (Réseau Citadelle) : www.reseaucitadelle.blogspot.com La police nationale d'Haïti dans le Nord s'apprête à publier la liste des bandits arrêtés la semaine écoulée à partir de plusieurs opérations menées contre des gangs liés au kidnapping. Parmi les personnes arrêtées sept (7) seraient impliqués dans le kidnapping. Une source proche de la Police indique que parmi les sept (7) personnes détenues seulement cinq (5) seront présentées à la presse, les deux (2) autres personnes étant retenues pour être auditionnées dans la perspective d'autres opérations dans le cadre d'une enquête approfondie. Cinq (5) armes à feu ont été saisies au cours de ces opérations. Selon la Police, l'insécurité dans le Nord s'est détériorée à cause du comportement complice des membres de la population qui acceptent des cadeaux des mains des bandits. Des observateurs questionnent le comportement passif des élus face aux gangs. Paradoxalement, Milot et Acul du Nord, deux communes considérées comme fiefs des deux sénateurs du Nord, des personnalités influentes du pouvoir en place, constituent aussi la base arrière des bandits où ils se refugient avec les victimes après leurs forfaits. On arrive mal à comprendre que Moise Jean Charles et Kelly C. Bastien ne puissent pas mobiliser leurs partisans dans leur fief pour faire échec aux bandits. Ces deux personnalités n'ont rien fait pour renforcer la police dans le Nord ; les commissariats de Milot et de l'Acul du Nord sont les plus faibles de la région. Alors, sont-ils incapables d'exercer leur influence jugée considérable pour porter les autorités politiques de Port-au-Prince à doter la région de matériels, d'effectifs et de moyens financiers nécessaires pour combattre le banditisme ? De plus, la décision de la justice capoise de condamner, à seulement 5 ans de prison, le policier Danley Jean-Louis, l'ex-responsable de la SDPJ impliqué dans plusieurs cas de kidnapping et ses complices, encourage d'autres personnes à s'allier aux bandes criminelles. Le Ministère public (un substitut du Commissaire du gouvernement) avait réclamé quatre (4) ans contre Danley Jean-Louis et ses complices ... quatre (4) ans d'emprisonnement pour kidnappings au Cap-Haïtien. La police dans le Nord fait déjà face à des interventions de personnes influentes en faveur des suspects arrêtés. La Direction départementale de la PNH se dit déterminée à poursuivre jusqu'au bout et à multiplier ses opérations dans le but de finir une fois pour toutes avec le kidnapping. Ce dimanche 5 septembre 2010, des patrouilles policières ont opéré dans la commune de Milot. RESEAU CITADELLE (Le Ré.Cit), le 05 Septembre 2010, 15 heures 37. ____________________ "La vraie reconstruction d'Haïti passe par des réformes en profondeur des structures de l'État pour restaurer la confiance, encourager les investisseurs et mettre le peuple au travail. Il faut finir avec cette approche d'un État paternaliste qui tout en refusant de créer le cadre approprié pour le développement des entreprises mendie des millions sur la scène internationale en exhibant la misère du peuple." Cyrus Sibert Reconstruction d'Haïti : A quand les Réformes structurelles? Haïti : La continuité du système colonial d'exploitation prend la forme de monopole au 21e Siècle. WITHOUT REFORM, NO RETURN ON INVESTMENT IN HAITI (U.S. Senate report.) |
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dimanche 5 septembre 2010
Cap-Haitien – Kidnapping : La Police confirme (sept) 7 arrestations dans le Nord.
samedi 4 septembre 2010
Soldados de la Minustah son acusados de torturar y matar a joven haitiano.
Sábado 4 septiembre 2010 6 04 /09 /2010 02:28 Cada día, crece el descontento con el accionar y la presencia de los militares de la Misión de las Naciones Unidas para la estabilización de Haití - Minustah.Natasha Pits / Adital | Para Kaos en la Cada día, crece el descontento con el accionar y la presencia de los militares de la Misión de las Naciones Unidas para la estabilización de Haití - Minustah. El más reciente acontecimiento que provocó indignación en la población haitiana fue la muerte de Gérald Jean Gilles, de apenas 16 años. Las fuerzas de seguridad afirmaron que el caso fue de suicidio, sin embargo, los indicios más fuertes indican asfixia o ahogamiento. No es la primera vez que los soldados de la Minustah son acusados de atentar contra la vida de la población haitiana. En 2008, una unidad nepalesa de Cabo Haitiano fue acusada de intento de estupro contra una joven que volvía a su casa por la noche. Después de la repercusión del hecho, representantes de la Misión de las Naciones Unidas garantizaron que realizarían una investigación, castigarían a los culpables, en caso que lo hubiere, y tratarían de prevenir este tipo de comportamiento. Manifestaciones Dos grandes momentos están siendo organizados para demostrar solidaridad con Haití, exigir una nación libre y soberana y reivindicar la anulación incondicional de la deuda financiera cobrada al país. El primero se realizará el 15 de octubre, cuando la onU vote la renovación de la permanencia de la Minustah en Haití. El segundo será el 12 de enero, fecha en que se cumple un año del terremoto y también el momento que marca la remilitarización haitiana. Traducción: Daniel Barrantes - barrantes.daniel@gmail.com Escribir un comentario - Recomendar ____________________ "La vraie reconstruction d'Haïti passe par des réformes en profondeur des structures de l'État pour restaurer la confiance, encourager les investisseurs et mettre le peuple au travail. Il faut finir avec cette approche d'un État paternaliste qui tout en refusant de créer le cadre approprié pour le développement des entreprises mendie des millions sur la scène internationale en exhibant la misère du peuple." Cyrus Sibert Reconstruction d'Haïti : A quand les Réformes structurelles? Haïti : La continuité du système colonial d'exploitation prend la forme de monopole au 21e Siècle. WITHOUT REFORM, NO RETURN ON INVESTMENT IN HAITI (U.S. Senate report.) |
Soldados de la Minustah son acusados de torturar y matar a joven haitiano.
____________________ "La vraie reconstruction d'Haïti passe par des réformes en profondeur des structures de l'État pour restaurer la confiance, encourager les investisseurs et mettre le peuple au travail. Il faut finir avec cette approche d'un État paternaliste qui tout en refusant de créer le cadre approprié pour le développement des entreprises mendie des millions sur la scène internationale en exhibant la misère du peuple." Cyrus Sibert Reconstruction d'Haïti : A quand les Réformes structurelles? Haïti : La continuité du système colonial d'exploitation prend la forme de monopole au 21e Siècle. WITHOUT REFORM, NO RETURN ON INVESTMENT IN HAITI (U.S. Senate report.) | ||||||||
MINUSTAH misión de la ONU, tortura y ahorca en Haití.
MINUSTAH misión de la ONU, tortura y ahorca en Haití JUBILEO SUR/AMÉRICAS entrada de Eladio González Toto a las 15:55 jubileosur@gmail.com www.jubileosuramericas.org Cuba con sus médicos voluntarios contiene, cura, educa y da vida. La ONU y su MINUSTAH invade, amenaza, viola, tortura y asesina. El Museo Ernesto Che Guevara de Buenos Aires se honra en tener a su médico becado y recibido en Cuba, actuando como si fuera cubano y humano. Eladio González Toto director En nombre de Jubileo Sur/Américas
Desde JUBILEO SUR/AMÉRICAS repudiamos este nuevo crimen y convocamos a los movimientos sociales del continente, comprometidos en la lucha por la justicia, a redoblar nuestros esfuerzos en el marco de la Campaña de Solidaridad con HAITÍ que se viene impulsando, y que tiene dos fechas próximas de movilización: - 15 de octubre: se discute en la ONU la renovación del mandato de la MINUSTAH en Haití. ¡Fuera las tropas de ocupación, por una HAITÍ libre y soberano! - 12 de enero: se cumple el 1er aniversario del terrible terremoto que asolo el país y la posterior remilitarización. ¡Anulación incondicional de la deuda financiera reclamada a HAITÍ! Que la reconstrucción del país no sea el gran negocio de las empresas multinacionales! Recursos y cooperación para salud, educación, soberanía alimentaria y vivienda en beneficio del pueblo haitiano! Basta de falsas promesas e hipocrecía! PAGUEN la deuda histórica, social y ecológica con el pueblo haitiano! Para solicitar información o sumarse a la campaña puede escribir a jubileosur@gmail.com Gracias! +++++++++++++++++++++++++ Sábado 28 de agosto del 2010 Un menor de edad fue hallado ahorcado en una base de la ONU en Haití La MINUSTAH, la misión de la ONU, acusada de tortura y ahorcamiento en Haití Por Cyrus Sibert, Cabo Haitiano, Haití Le Ré.Cit. (Réseau Citadelle) : www.reseaucitadelle.blogspot.com El hallazgo del cuerpo de Gérald Jean Gilles, un joven de apenas 16 años, ahorcado dentro de la base FPU de la MINUSTAH ubicada en el centro del Cabo Haitiano, el 17 de agosto del 2010, es un golpe fuerte para la imagen de la misión de la ONU en el norte de Haití. El comunicado emitido no apacigua los rumores que hablan de un acto deliberado de tortura. Los jóvenes de los barrios populares organizaron varias actividades de protesta contra la MINUSTAH. Según ellos, a Gérald lo acusaron del robo de 200 dólares americanos, por lo que soldados nepaleses lo habrían torturado hasta quitarle la vida. Empleados del hotel Roi Henri Christophe, ubicado en proximidades de la base nepalesa del Cabo Haitiano, habrían escuchado los gritos: "están asfixiándome". Los ciudadanos del Cabo Haitiano están conmocionados por la situación. La hipótesis sostenida por los soldados nepaleses y los demás integrantes de la MINUSTAH no concuerda con el modo de ser de los haitianos. Es difícil creer que un joven de 16 años, que se dedicaba a ayudar a los soldados extranjeros a cambio de comida o de algo de dinero, se suicide luego de ser acusado de un robo. A través de un mensaje escrito, la Comisión Arquidiocesana Justicia y Paz del Cabo Haitiano denunció las prácticas anacrónicas, tales como ahorcamientos y amputaciones de miembros del cuerpo humano, que realizan los soldados provenientes de Asia en la MINUSTAH. Firma el mensaje el Padre Nicolas Valcimond, sociólogo y profesor universitario. +++++++++++++++++++++++++ La MINUSTAH tendrá que aclarar la situación. Los habitantes dicen haber visto algunos soldados comportándose de manera desaforada. Un testigo cuenta que vio como un soldado nepalés detuvo a un joven en plena plaza pública y lo torturó, metiendo sus manos en la boca del joven y tratando con todas sus fuerzas de separarle la mandíbula inferior y la mandíbula superior, hasta el punto de lastimar la piel de la boca. La hipótesis según la cual Gérald habría muerto durante una sesión de tortura, asfixiado o ahogado (método del submarino mojado), es creible. La MINUSTAH tiene que demostrar lo contrario. Además, en 2008 una unidad de la FPU nepalesa del Cabo Haitiano fue acusada de intento de violación, por una joven que regresaba de noche a su casa del barrio Calvaire Sainte-Thérèse. La organización feminista AFASDA tomó cartas en el asunto. Luego de haber publicado un artículo sobre esta situación, Réseau Citadelle fue contactado por la MINUSTAH para garantizar que iba a lanzar una investigación, castigar a los culpables (si fuera el caso) y a prevenir este tipo de comportamientos en el futuro. En este contexto, la muerte de un joven de 16 años dentro de esta misma base FPU nepalesa sólo puede causar más confusión. La MINUSTAH no puede limitarse a dar un informe sobre la autopsia. Michel Saint-Croix el alcalde de la ciudad, condenó fuertemente el hecho el fin de semana pasado durante el programa Télé Venus, acusando a los nepaleses de asesinos. Por su parte, el abogado y un pariente de la víctima acusan a la ONU de haber retenido el cadáver varias horas en una base de Puerto Príncipe, impidiendo que el médico forense realizara la autopsia antes de transcurridas 72 horas después de la muerte, lo que según ellos altera los resultados. Desde RÉSEAU CITADELLE consideramos que "ahorcamiento" no es un sinónimo de "suicidio". El suicidio no forma parte de nuestra cultura. La MINUSTAH tiene que investigar minuciosamente hasta determinar las causas, las circunstancias y qué soldados nepaleses estuvieron involucrados en este hecho. En una época en la que se critica a los soldados norteamericanos por sus métodos de tortura en Irak, no podemos permitir que la ONU esconda lo que al parecer son prácticas de tortura similares a las de los servicios secretos como la CIA, que violan los derechos humanos. RÉSEAU CITADELLE (Le Ré.Cit), 27 Agosto del 2010, 17h10.
 ____________________ "La vraie reconstruction d'Haïti passe par des réformes en profondeur des structures de l'État pour restaurer la confiance, encourager les investisseurs et mettre le peuple au travail. Il faut finir avec cette approche d'un État paternaliste qui tout en refusant de créer le cadre approprié pour le développement des entreprises mendie des millions sur la scène internationale en exhibant la misère du peuple." Cyrus Sibert Reconstruction d'Haïti : A quand les Réformes structurelles? Haïti : La continuité du système colonial d'exploitation prend la forme de monopole au 21e Siècle. WITHOUT REFORM, NO RETURN ON INVESTMENT IN HAITI (U.S. Senate report.) |
vendredi 3 septembre 2010
Money buys food, clothing, shelter for Perlitz sex victims.
Money buys food, clothing, shelter for Perlitz sex victimsMichael P. Mayko, Staff WriterPublished: 10:35 p.m., Friday, September 3, 2010 Haitian street boys who claim they were sexually abused by Douglas Perlitz in the humanitarian program he established, give a prayer of thanks to U.S. supporters who have provided them with money for food, clothing and shelter. Photo: Contributed Photo / Connecticut Post Contributed  Cyrus Sibert's investigative work on the abuse of street children led to the arrest of US citizen Douglas Perlitz, who operated a school in the city. Photo: ST, Christian Abraham / Connecticut Post | Buy This Photo In a jail cell in Central Falls, R.I., Douglas Perlitz sits pondering his fate as he awaits a Dec. 21 sentencing. On the crowded streets some 1,700 miles away in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, 20 young men who say they were sexually abused by Perlitz in the program he established ponder if they will eat, bathe or sleep that day. "It's breaking my heart," said Paul Kendrick, a Fairfield University graduate and advocate for victims of sexual abuse. "We could feed these kids with just $40 a day. That'll buy them rice, beans and spaghetti. But none of the groups that put these kids in their situation by funding Perlitz are stepping forward to help." On Wednesday, Kendrick stood in front of the main entrance handing out leaflets advising incoming students of the Haitian victims' plight. "We handed out about 200, some were given back. Hopefully the others were read," he said. Speak Truth to Power, a small Massachusetts advocacy group for victims of sexual abuse by the clergy, has stepped forward with some aid for the Haitian boys. The group received about $6,000 in donations, some coming from Fairfield County, in recent months, according to Ruth Moore, coordinator of the project. She said a handicapped friend attempted to hand her $100 after reading a series of articles in the Connecticut Post about the victims' plight. "I knew that was an amount she could not afford," Moore said, "so I graciously accepted $20 from her. Some people really do care about others in need." Kendrick is reaching out to various Fairfield University alumni associations to join him in urging the school to provide immediate funding "for the most immediate and basic needs of the Haitian victims." In recent weeks, Kendrick said he repeatedly has contacted Fairfield University President Jeffrey Von Arx and the Order of Malta, a Roman Catholic charity, both of which raised money for Perlitz's Project Pierre Toussaint, a three-stage program which provided food, clothing, schooling and shelter to homeless street boys in Cap-Haitien, Haiti's second largest city. He said neither offered to donate money to his efforts. Von Arx has pledged that the school will not turn its back on the Haitian victims. Rama Sudhaker, Fairfield University's vice president of marketing and communications, said the school is looking for a more permanent solution. She said they are working with the Haiti Fund, which served as Perlitz's funding arm, to find groups that could assist in reopening Project Pierre Toussaint. "The discussions are ongoing," she said. "I wish I could tell you they have borne fruit but that's not the case at this point." Attempts to contact Joseph Miller, of New Canaan, the president of the Order of Malta's American Association, and Michael McCooey, chairman of the Haiti Fund, were unsuccessful Friday. Perlitz, 39, who served as Fairfield University's commencement speaker and received an honorary degree in 2002 for his work in Haiti, was arrested last September and later indicted for allegedly abusing 23 of his students. He pleaded guilty last month to a single federal charge of traveling from the U.S. to Haiti in engage in and having sex with an underage boy. He also did not dispute prosecutors' claims that he had sex with at least eight boys. Under the terms of the plea bargain agreement, his sentencing guidelines recommend he receive anywhere from eight years and one month to 19 years and seven months in prison. Several of the victims are expected to be brought to the U.S. to testify at Perlitz's sentencing. Kendrick praised the work of Cyrus Sibert, the Cap-Haitien radio host and journalist who exposed the sexual abuse back in 2007. His reports led to investigations by the Haitian National Police and the United Nations. After Perlitz left Haiti for the final time, Haiti and the UN appealed to the U.S. to prosecute him. "Cyrus has taken it upon himself to serve as the victims' primary care giver," said Kendrick. "He didn't go looking for that job. It just fell into his lap." In an e-mail to the Connecticut Post, Sibert said he "started out helping just the victims." Sibert used some of the donated money to provide the victims, who have been living on Cap-Haitien's streets and in abandoned cars, "a little house in a slum area -- very cheap, to put them in safe place." He also paid for their registration in school this past week. "I try to get members of their families involved, but most are orphans," Sibert said. "We cannot give them everything they need." As for the other Project Pierre Toussaint students, Sibert said he sees many living on the streets. "It's very sad to see them begging for food," he said. "But we can't support all of them." ____________________ "La vraie reconstruction d'Haïti passe par des réformes en profondeur des structures de l'État pour restaurer la confiance, encourager les investisseurs et mettre le peuple au travail. Il faut finir avec cette approche d'un État paternaliste qui tout en refusant de créer le cadre approprié pour le développement des entreprises mendie des millions sur la scène internationale en exhibant la misère du peuple." Cyrus Sibert Reconstruction d'Haïti : A quand les Réformes structurelles? Haïti : La continuité du système colonial d'exploitation prend la forme de monopole au 21e Siècle. WITHOUT REFORM, NO RETURN ON INVESTMENT IN HAITI (U.S. Senate report.) |
jeudi 2 septembre 2010
For the well-being of the victims...SEMPER FIDELIS
Paul Kendrick,
I have launched the school program. Yesterday after an interview with the boys, I gave them money to pay for their school registration. This morning they came to my house with all information about tuition, books, bag, and everything necessary to go to school. I also paid rent for little house in slum area – very cheap – to put them in safe place. Help them leave the street which is an unsafe place; where they use to sleep.
I know that you don't have money. We also don't know if we will raise more funds. As "Haiti Funds" never said anything about the reopening of PPT, with faith, I launch the school program.
Those of us, who are more concern about the suffering of the victims then making money or gaining recognition from the situation, have to continue the fight. I am planning a meeting with Human right office of MINUSTAH at Cap-Haitian to seek if we could get food from WFP (World Food Program) that will help us save money so we can face more obligations.
I will add Douglas' former driver whose name is Boss Mo. He went with us to the beach and proposes his service to help while we are waiting from "Haiti Funds".
Never doubted of my loyalty!
As the Marines say: "SEMPER FIDELIS"
Cyrus Sibert, Cap-Haitian, Haiti.
Protestors demand Fairfield U. aid Haitian sex-abuse victims.
Protestors demand Fairfield U. aid Haitian sex-abuse victims.Genevieve Reilly, Staff WriterPublished: 01:18 p.m., Thursday, September 2, 2010
Forty dollars a day. That's all Fairfield University graduate Paul Kendrick is asking his alma mater to come up with. That amount, he said, would provide $2 daily for each of the 20 or so sexual-abuse victims of Douglas Perlitz, a fellow Fairfield U. grad once lauded by the school for the charity he founded to help homeless boys in Haiti. That charity -- Project Pierre Toussaint in Cap Haitien -- is where Perlitz recently admitted he perpetrated the abuse, a school that was supposed to be a haven for street youths in the improverished nation. Perlitz pleaded guilty in federal court last month and admitted to having sex with one underage male. However, he did not dispute prosecution claims that he abused at least eight boys. The school has been shuttered and the victims abandoned, Kendrick said. Kendrick and several supporters on Wednesday morning stood at Fairfield University's North Benson Road entrance, handing out a leaflet to motorists entering and leaving the campus on the first day of classes for the new school year. That $2 for each Haitian boy every day, he said, would provide them with a daily ration of rice, beans and spaghetti. Louis Elneus, a Haiti native who runs his own non-profit group providing textbooks in his homeland, was there to support Kendricks. Legally, Elneus admits, Fairfield University probably has no obligation to help Perlitz' victims. "But there is a moral obligation here," Elneus said. "What about helping those kids?" If the university had no problem promoting Perlitz and his program, and by extension the college itself, they need to step up to the plate now, Elneus said. In 2002, the university awarded Perlitz an honorary doctor of laws degree and he was asked to deliver the commencement address. In 2005, Perlitz received the Alumni Humanitarian Award at the annual Fairfield University Awards dinner in New York City. The Rev. Paul Carrier, who led the college's campus ministry, actively raised funds for Project Pierre Toussaint and served on its board of directors. Carrier's whereabouts are unknown now. Helen McGonigle, like Kendrick and Perlitz, is a graduate of the university. She said she was also abused by a member of the clergy. The actions of the college, she said, don't jibe with the Jesuit philosophy of service to others that she was taught in her four years there. "I still have my paper I wrote for Tom Regan," she said. Regan, once a professor at the college, later became the Jesuit Provincial. It was Regan who ordered Carrier to resign as chairman of the Haiti Fund, and resign his teaching position in Greenwich. The paper that she wrote for Regan, according to McGonigle, was about St. Thomas Aquinas' belief that a person should work for the common good and never leave anyone behind. "That's what I learned, and that's what I believe in," she said. Kendrick recalled a visit in January to Haiti and the closed school. "We were walking by a room, you could still see the cots," he said. In a corner, was a private room, Kendrick said. Through an interpreter, former students told Kendrick that Perlitz would come to the dorm room at night, using the light from his watch to illuminate his path. "They'd pretend they were asleep," Kendrick said the boys told him. "Fairfield University's links to this project are extensive," he added. Kendrick originally asked to make his plea standing in front of the school's Campus Center. "This is the first day of class for the fall semester and the university community's responsibility is to focus on opening day activities and the students' educational experience," according to a statement released by Fairfield U spokeswoman Nancy Habetz. "The university continues to work with the Haiti Fund Board and others to find ways to reopen the facilities in Cap Haitien and help support the children who have been affected by this tragic situation." ____________________ "La vraie reconstruction d'Haïti passe par des réformes en profondeur des structures de l'État pour restaurer la confiance, encourager les investisseurs et mettre le peuple au travail. Il faut finir avec cette approche d'un État paternaliste qui tout en refusant de créer le cadre approprié pour le développement des entreprises mendie des millions sur la scène internationale en exhibant la misère du peuple." Cyrus Sibert Reconstruction d'Haïti : A quand les Réformes structurelles? Haïti : La continuité du système colonial d'exploitation prend la forme de monopole au 21e Siècle. WITHOUT REFORM, NO RETURN ON INVESTMENT IN HAITI (U.S. Senate report.) |
At Fairfield University, praise for Perlitz replaced with silence.
At Fairfield University, praise for Perlitz replaced with silence.Genevieve Reilly, Staff WriterPublished: 11:02 p.m., Wednesday, August 18, 2010 Douglas Perlitz, Fairfield University President Father Jeffrey von Arx, and Dr. Paul Farmer at the school's Fall convocation on September 8, 2006. On Wednesday August 18, 2010, Douglas Perlitz pleaded guilty to one charge involving the sexual abuse of a minor boy. Perlitz will be sentenced on Dec. 21. Photo: File Photo / Connecticut Post File Photo FAIRFIELD -- As word got out that Douglas Perlitz had admitted in court Wednesday that he sexually abused eight boys at the Haitian school for street boys he founded, no comment came from the administration at the university that nurtured the 1992 graduate's sense of service and ministry.
Paul Kendrick, a Fairfield University alumnus, came to know Rev. Paul Carrier, a charismatic Jesuit priest. Paul Kendrick, a 1972 graduate now advocates for people sexually abused by the clergy. Photo: CP, Ned Gerard / Connecticut Post | Buy This Photo Fairfield University spokesman Nancy Habetz said because "it is a legal matter, the university has no comment on it." But Fairfield alumni Paul Kendrick, class of 1972, was as outspoken as he has been for the last two years. "My first thoughts went to the boys in Haiti," Kendrick said, "who are suffering from the abuse." Kendrick said he applauded the efforts of the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney's office in New Haven. "We should be proud, I think, all of us, that we're now making a bold statement that American citizens will be held accountable for the sexual abuse of children no matter where in the world they commit those crimes." He was not proud of his alma mater, however. "Disgraceful," Kendrick said. In the last two years, he said, neither the university, the Jesuits nor the Order of Malta have contributed any emotional or financial support to Perlitz's victims. He and other victims' advocates have raised about $6,000 over the last couple of months to provide some food, clothing and shelter for the boys who had attended Perlitz's school. "For two years, they have done nothing," Kendrick said. Project Pierre Toussaint was created in 1997 in Cap-Haitien by Perlitz to provide education and shelter to young Haitian boys. Though the project was not affiliated with the college, donations to the project's financial arm, the Haiti Fund, had been made by, and through, Fairfield University. The Rev. Paul Carrier, who for 18 years was the university's chaplain and director of campus ministry, helped raise funds through Sunday Mass collections at Egan Chapel. He also served as chairman of the Haiti Fund board of directors. Perlitz had been widely admired at the university, serving as the school's commencement speaker in 2002. From 1997 to 2007, the university helped raise $775,000 for Project Pierre Toussaint, according to a report commissioned by the school. Of that amount, about $120,000 could not be accounted for. Hope Carter, listed on state records as the Haiti Fund's secretary, was not available for comment. A call to the law offices of Tisdale & Lennon LLC, the agent for the charity, was not returned. In a blog published on the Connecticut Post's website earlier this year, the Rev. Jeffrey von Arx, Fairfield University's president, wrote that he had discussions with members of the fund's board of directors "to explore how we can facilitate a partnership with charitable organizations on the group to reopen the facilities in Cap-Haitien." While he said any decision to reopen was up to the directors, "we will continue to work with it to help reopen the facilities." In September 2009, the university's board of trustees hired Day Pitney LLP to conduct an internal inquiry about the extent of Fairfield University's knowledge of the allegations against Perlitz and the nature and extent of the school's financial relationship with Perlitz, Project Pierre Toussaint and the Haiti Fund. According to the report, the university administration first learned of the sexual misconduct allegations on May 2, 2008, when a representative from the Haiti Fund called von Arx with the information. While there was a perception that the university was affiliated with Perlitz, Pierre Toussaint and the Haiti Fund, the university had no legal or fiduciary relationship with those entities, the report states. |
