Gonaives
Coordinates: 19 ° 27 ′ N , 72 ° 41 ′ W
Gonaïves ( Gonayiv in Kreyòl ) is a city and the capital in the Artibonite department in northern Haiti . In 2015 there were around 350,000 inhabitants in Gonaïves; it is the largest city in the country outside the capital region. The city is the seat of the diocese of Les Gonaïves .
history
In the city, Jean-Jacques Dessalines proclaimed Haiti's independence on January 1, 1804. In the 19th century it was the seat of republican counter-governments several times .
During the time of the military dictatorship from 1991 to 1994 , Gonaïves was the scene of looting, violence and killings by the Forces Armées d'Haïti and paramilitaries , as the city was a center of resistance. On February 5, 2004, the city was taken by the rebel group Front pour la Reconstruction Nationale (FRN), a major step in the uprising against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide , which ended with his overthrow on February 29, 2004.
In September 2004, the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season caused major floods and mudslides in the city, killing up to 3,000 people (1,650 confirmed deaths). Practically every building was damaged by the storm and many people were left homeless. On September 1, Hurricane Hanna Gonaïves cut off almost all of the outside world. Over 80 people died in the city.
In 2010 Soeur Vincenzina Dallai and Père Gérard Dorméville were awarded the Prix Caritas for their commitment to the “La Sainte Famille” school in Gonaïves, where 1,300 children from the “Trou Sable” slum are taught. Her desire for musical instruments sparked a wave of helpfulness that led to the establishment of the "Ecole de Musique Nick Contorno des Gonaïves" music school (non-profit association "Musical Haiti").
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Süddeutsche.de accessed on January 19, 2010 ( Memento from September 8, 2008 in the Internet Archive )