NY Congressman To Join Pilgrimage To Haiti`s Citadel
October 11, 2009
CaribWorldNews, QUEENS, NY, Fri. Oct. 9, 2009: New York Congressman, Gregory Meeks, is set to be among participants of a pilgrimage to Haiti`s Citadel.
The Haiti Support Project, under the leadership of Ron Daniels, organizes the annual pilgrimage. The event is now in its third year and began yesterday, October 8th and is held through October 12th.
Meeks is among 43 participants who will visit the magnificent Citadel and other important cultural-historical sites in the Caribbean country. The citadel is a large mountaintop fortress located in northern Haiti, approximately 17 miles (27 km) south of the city of Cap-Haïtien and five miles (8 km) uphill from the town of Milot. It is the largest fortress in the Western Hemisphere and was designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a World Heritage Site in 1982 – along with the nearby Sans-Souci Palace.
The mountaintop fortress has itself become an icon of Haiti. The Citadel was built by Henri Christophe, a key leader during the Haitian slave rebellion, after Haiti gained independence from France at the beginning of the 19th century.
A major goal of the pilgrimage, according to organizers, is to combat the negative images of Haiti generated by unsympathetic media in the U.S. by providing an opportunity for the participants to meet Haiti`s people and experience the culture first hand.
In 2006, the Haiti Support Project launched the Model City Initiative in Milot to promote cultural and historical tourism.
In launching the initiative, Daniels said, `cultural/historical tourism should be the foundation for people based economic development in Milot and the northern region of Haiti.`
Meeks is the chairman of the Subcommittee on International Monetary Policy and Trade and will be in Haiti as part of an official congressional delegation but agreed to also join Daniels for the delegation`s tour of the Citadel and Sans Souci Palace.
Congressman Meeks is believed to be the first member of the Congressional Black Caucus ever to visit the Citadel. Clearly excited about the Congressman`s participation in the delegation, Daniels commented that `the image of a member of the Congressional Black Caucus standing atop the Citadel will send an unmistakable signal to Black America and the world that Haiti is safe for tourism and open for business.`
…
