Pourcine Pic Makaya (Fides News Agency) – “This will be a truly unforgettable event. The children of the parish school are working diligently and with great enthusiasm on the preparations for the upcoming Flag Day, which we will celebrate on May 18,” reports Father Massimo Miraglio, MI, parish priest of Our Lady of Help in Pourcine Pic Makaya to Fides. “Following the May 1st celebrations, Labor and Agriculture Day, we continued the preparations for the national holiday with the parish school. In addition, a well-attended lecture by a young agronomist on the significance of this holiday in Haiti and worldwide took place. Finally, the students received coffee plants from the parish nursery.”
Although Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, is mired in chaos, with armed groups controlling over 90% of the city and the government virtually withdrawing, leaving the population exposed to constant violence (see Fides, 14/3/2026), May 18th holds great significance for the island. On May 18, 1803, Haitians achieved a triumphant victory in the revolution, leading to the world's only successful slave revolt, the abolition of slavery, and the birth of a nation. This is also the origin of the so-called "Flag Day," the national holiday that symbolizes the struggle for freedom and the birth of the world's first "Black Republic" founded by formerly enslaved people. Despite the Caribbean island is facing an ever-deepening crisis, with over a million people displaced and starving, the entire population proudly continues preparations for this event, which in recent years has also served as a reminder of the country's resilience. (AP) (Fides News Agency, 5/5/2026)
