At 12 days of the inauguration of President Michel Martelly to the head of Haiti, the Haitian community of Montreal wants to relaunch the debate on the reconstruction of Haiti.

"In the wake of the great debates of experts, the ordinary citizen of the diaspora had then felt that it was put aside, while we were talking about his country. It was then necessary to give to everyone the chance to say its word, because we all felt powerless at distance", declared Jean Ernest Pierre, Director of the radio station CPAM, organizer of the event which will take place on May 6 and 7 at Complexe Cristina: 6566, rue Jarry Est.

"This second popular conference of the Haitian diaspora of Montreal, will always keep the same goal [of opening]". About 300 people, members of regional organizations, Haitian socio-professional associations and private citizens are expected to attend the meeting. "We must move from words to deeds. We will take stock of the situation 17 months after the disaster and propose concrete projects," said Jean Ernest Pierre.

Reconstruction of Haiti: Regional integration and structural projects is indeed the theme chosen by the organizers of the meeting. Various speakers including Wilson Saintelmi, Daniel Cuccioletta, Erold Joseph and Jean Fils-aimé will address the question of the reconstruction in a sustainable development perspective.

The presentation of the Haitian seismologist, Claude Prepetit, will be a highlight of this two-day meeting. Contacted at his office of Port-au-Prince, professor Prepetit has expressed his concern about how the reconstruction is prepared. "We do not consider some technical aspects which could be extremely aggravating factors in the event of a new earthquake." He also believes that the next earthquake, could be of a magnitude "much more important than that of January 2010."

HL/ HaitiLibre