Pétionville
Encyclopedia
Pétion-Ville is a commune and a suburb of Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....

, Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...

, in the hills east and separate of the city itself on the northern hills of the Massif de la Selle. It was named after Alexandre Sabès Pétion
Alexandre Pétion
Alexandre Sabès Pétion was President of the Republic of Haiti from 1806 until his death. He is considered as one of Haiti's founding fathers, together with Toussaint Louverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, and his rival Henri Christophe.-Early life:Pétion was born in Port-au-Prince to a Haitian...

 (1770–1818), the Haitian general and president later recognized as one of the country's four founding fathers. The district is primarily a residential and tourist area. It held a population of 283,052 at the 2003 Census, which was officially estimated to have reached 342,694 in 2009. Pétion-Ville is part of the city's metropolitan area, one of the most affluent areas of the city, where the majority of tourist activity takes place, and one of the wealthiest parts of the country. Many diplomats, foreign businessmen, and a large number of wealthy citizens do business and reside within Pétion-Ville.

Despite the distance from the capital and the general affluence of the district, the lack of administrative enforcement has led to the formation of shantytowns on the outer edges of the district, as poor locals migrate upward and have settled there in search of job opportunities.

Culture and nightlife

Pétion-Ville is a wealthier part of Haiti, in which many multiracial
Multiracial
The terms multiracial and mixed-race describe people whose ancestries come from multiple races. Unlike the term biracial, which often is only used to refer to having parents or grandparents of two different races, the term multiracial may encompass biracial people but can also include people with...

 Haitians live. Avenues like Laboule and Morne Calvaire are known for their palatial mansions. There is an extreme, almost feudal divide between rich and poor in Haiti. The gated and privately guarded neighborhoods resemble a Haitian version of Beverly Hills, but with razor wire. Most residents of Pétion-Ville are affluent in comparison with residents of most other parts of the country. Pétion-Ville has more security than the center of Port-au-Prince, and in general, than the other major cities of Haiti. The community is very stable, with nightlife and business conducted with an appearance of western normality, in striking contrast to many other parts of greater Port-au-Prince.

The hillside suburban town is filled with nightclubs, beauty salons, fitness gyms and French restaurants. Businesses which cater to tourists are commonplace, and parties and get-togethers often take place at night. Establishments often host considerable expatriates and foreigners of a similar calibre.

The famous El Rancho hotel is situated in Pétion-Ville. It was built from the private estate of Albert Silvera, a sports car and luxury car collector who was also one of the pioneers of Haiti's hotel industry.

2010 earthquake

On 12 January 2010, around 5:53pm, a 7.0 earthquake struck
2010 Haiti earthquake
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...

 the Pétion-Ville area. The earthquake collapsed a hospital in the city.
The 7.0-magnitude earthquake destroyed many buildings in Port-au-Prince, and a lot of homes in the Montana area including the Hotel Montana.

The Club de Pétion-Ville (Petion-Ville Club) golf course has been changed into a tent city by the US Army and now houses 50,000 to 80,000 Haitians. Its tennis courts host the US 82nd Airborne. The club was built in the 1930s, and had only around 300 members at the time. The golf clubhouse has been turned into a field hospital.
In early February 2010, the Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

i-based humanitarian organization, IsraAid
IsraAid
The Israel Forum for International Humanitarian Aid is an Israeli-based humanitarian organization that responds to emergencies all over the world with targeted help...

, opened a child education center in the Pétion-Ville tent city, in conjunction with other agencies, such as Operation Blessing
Operation Blessing International
Operation Blessing International Relief and Development Corporation is a non-profit 501 non-profit humanitarian organization based in Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA and has an operation named Operation Blessing Foundation Philippines, Inc...

. The center was set up initially in the tents from the IDF
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...

’s field hospital.

The "Muncheez" pizza restaurant was turned by the owners into a community soup kitchen. It has been serving approximately 1,000 free meals a day. Prior to the quake, the restaurant chain was a place where few even in Pétion-Ville could afford to eat. After the quake, owners realized that the food stored at the three restaurants would spoil before it would get back into business and decided to give it all away. Although still living in the streets, the cooks still came to cook for the masses. Owners distributed blue bracelets throughout Pétion-Ville, one bracelet for one meal. They selected one of the outlets to become the soup kitchen, and moved all 105 employees to that site to cook the food. When food ran out after two days, the Hôtel Montana
Hôtel Montana
The Hôtel Montana was a hotel in the Pétionville suburb of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Built in 1946, the hotel was a popular four star tourist resort until the main building collapsed along with most buildings in the city during the 2010 Haiti earthquake...

 donated what could be salvaged from their freezers. After fuel, cooking oil and food started to rundown, a convoy from relatives of the owners in the Dominican Republic arrived, funded by donations with more food and fuel. USAID delivers fuel, cooking oil and food to cook as well now, and World Vision
World Vision
World Vision, founded in the USA in 1950, is an evangelical relief and development organization whose stated goal is "to follow our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in working with the poor and oppressed to promote human transformation, seek justice and bear witness to the good news of the Kingdom of...

 is providing bulgur and lentils.

Electricity was restored to some sectors at the beginning of February, and to most of the rest of the city later.

Facilities

The Club de Pétion-Ville country club was built in the 1930s, and has Haiti's only golf course, a 9-hole course. It also contains tennis courts and swimming pools. The "Club de Pétion-Ville" is not actually located in the suburb of Pétion-Ville, but to the northwest in the foothills.

The city has a hospital which collapsed in the 12 January 2010 quake.

See also

  • Pétionville school collapse
    2008 Pétionville school collapse
    The Pétionville school collapse occurred on November 7, 2008, in Pétionville, a suburb of Port-au-Prince, Haïti, when the church-operated Collège La Promesse Évangélique collapsed at around 10:00 a.m. local time...

  • Guy François
    Guy François
    Guy André François was a colonel of the armed forces of Haiti. At the height of his military career François commanded the elite Dessalines Battalion....

    , colonel, accused of conspiring to overthrow the government of Haiti
  • Signal FM
    Signal FM
    Signal FM is a Haitian French language radio station based in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Pétionville. It is a popular station, providing news updates and other information on Haiti...

    , a radio station
  • Radio One
    Radio One
    Radio One, Inc is a U.S. company which owns and operates 69 radio stations in 22 American cities. The company is headed by Cathy Hughes, Chairman and her son Alfred Liggins, CEO. The company's target listeners are African Americans in urban areas...


External links

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