My name is Alice Backer. I am founder and former team leader of GV Lingua, which amplifies Global Voices in languages other than English. I used to be Francophonia Editor. I was once an editor of New York University School of Law's Review of Law & Social Change. I have been blogging about Haiti, Haitian-Americans and the Caribbean for 5 years at kiskeácity and I tweet from @kiskeacity. I am also a lawyer and campaign consultant.
Latest posts by Alice Backer
Haiti: UN Troops Must Go, Say Haitians After Rape Scandal
An online video showing four UN peacekeepers from Uruguay allegedly raping a 19 year-old man at a military base in Port-Salut has generated outrage and renewed calls for the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) to withdraw.
Haiti: Aristide’s return, the word “house” and today’s election
To say the twice exiled President Aristide is a mythic figure in the Haitian imagination is an understatement. To say he evokes strong emotions from Haitians, even less so. So what effect might his return have on today's elections? Bloggers discuss the possibilities.
Global Voices in Haiti: Talking to Volunteer Régine Zamor
Alice Backer, on assignment for Global Voices in Port-au-Prince, interviews Régine Zamor, a Haitian-American who travelled to Haiti after the 12 January earthquake and has helped dozens of people as an independent volunteer. "Many Haitians and others willing to help took matters into their own hands during the first-response period."
Mali: Presidential Election
Mali-based French expat Mali Café deplores [Fr] that the French election eclipsed the Malian one: ” Malians went to the polls a week day for day after the first round of the French presidential election … Amadou Toumani Touré, the incumbent was elected since the first round with more than...
Morocco: Lalla Mimouna Market
France/Maroc à VTT posts [fr] vibrant pictures of the Souk of Lalla Mimouna and writes of the market: “When I was 15, the Souk of Lalla Mimouna took place on Fridays. Today in Morocco, souks are no longer held on Fridays. The Lalla Mimouna market takes place Saturday and is...
Haiti: Bush to Scold Préval?
Regarding an upcoming May 9 Préval visit to the White House, Collectif Haiti de Provence writes [Fr]: ”More than a week after a beneficial tour hand in hand with President Hugo Chavez … this meeting with the most powerful man on earth … could look like a call to order...
DRC: UDPS’ Early Report Card for Kabila
UDPS Liège posts an interview with Rachel Kabua Atwele, a Belgium-based UDPS sympathizer. She says [Fr]: “Let's not kid ourselves, dictatorship is alive and well. Those who believed in the good faith of Kabila the imposter are already having a hard time: Thérèse Nlandu, Pasteur Kuthino, the coup d'état on...
St. Lucia, Taiwan: Friends Again
Says French Caribbean site New Media [Fr]: “Taiwan, through the hand of its Foreign Affairs minister James Huang and his St. Lucian counterpart Rufus Bouquet, has officially signed Wednesday in Castries a treaty reestablishing diplomatic ties between the two countries. China has already stated it feels ‘offended’ by the document.”
Guyane: Strange Fruit
En Guyane posts [Fr] pictures of a mangosteen, a local fruit originating from Asia. She calls the fruit “sweet and strange”.
Guadeloupe: Celebrating May Day
For French Labor Day, celebrated on May 1st, Convention pour une Nouvelle Guadeloupe writes [Fr]: “We … denounce the social model imposed by French authorities of the left and of the right and we … want a new model rooted in Guadeloupean values and founded mostly on the end of...
Guadeloupe: Let's Vote
About the upcoming French presidential second round elections, Guadeloupe Attitude writes [Fr]: “Vote Saturday! Vote well! And let's roll up our sleeves Monday for the challenges that await us!”
Haiti: Happy to Be Home
At Notedor.com, Nancy Chapoteau writes [Fr]: “After a couple of days away, I have just returned home. I received a warm welcome … I think the walls sang to celebrate my return. Where else can one be better off than home? … I refuse to believe that it is normal...
Martinique: Breakup Blues
Le Blog de [Moi] had a fit of anguish [Fr] at the news that a 20 year same-sex relationship recently ended. Says the blogger: “I have a hard time with lesbian breakups … As if we owed ourselves to make it against all odd … And I can't help but...
Gabon, Guadeloupe: Circumcision and HIV
Guadeloupe Attitude posts [Fr] an article by Maité Mapangou, Executive Secretary of OPDAS-Gabon [Organization of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS in Gabon] concluding that “circumcised or not, any man who does not protect himself is a potential agent of the spread of the virus“. The article comes in response to...
Eritrea: Female Genital Mutilation Outlawed
Addax posts an article in English announcing the Eritrean government's decision to outlaw female genital mutilation. Adds the blogger [Fr]: “Note that this practice is now condemned by the African Charter of Human Rights in its Article 5.”
Rwanda: Commemorating a 14-Year-Old Genocide
April 7th marked the 14th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide and was an official day of remembrance in Rwanda. At Pour Une Afrique Plus Ambitieuse et Volontaire Ravel Thombet wrote [Fr]: “Rwandan youth should free itself of this heavy heritage, born of human stupidity… In my upcoming book Interrogations Troublantes...
Rwanda: Good Hotels
Rwanda-based expat Guillaume posts [Fr] a guided tour of his favorite hotels and guest houses in the Rwandan cities of Kigali, Kibuye, Gisenyi, Butare and Cyangugu. It is a greatest hits list so even if you don't read French, know that the cited hotels come recommended by a knowledgeable traveler.
Guadeloupe: New Solar Energy Installation in Le Moule
Guadeloupe Attitude posts [Fr] a picture of a solar installation in the town of Le Moule that should help lower carbon dioxyde emission into the island's environment. The blogger explains that the installation was inaugurated March 30th and joins a wider project encompassing 2000 square meters of solar panels in...
DRC: Local Elections Pushed Back to 2008
UDPS Liège is disappointed [Fr] that local elections in the DRC have been postponed to 2008. The blog regrets that they did not take place before presidential ones as was apparently discussed in international community negotiations in South Africa.
DRC: March in Manchester Against Kabila
Le Rénouveau Congolais posts [Fr] pictures of a diaspora march that took place in Manchester, U.K. March 28 against recently elected DRC president Joseph Kabila.
DRC: Recent Attacks on Bemba
Le Blog du Congolais posts an article by Freddy Lokolongo stating [Fr]: “The events of Bas-Congo and more recently attacks on the homes of ex-Vice President Bemba … with the complicity of [United Nations Mission to the Congo] MONUC, do not even begin to display the extent of the plot...
