The news came like a thunderclap. Legendary Haitian journalist Liliane Pierre-Paul passed away on Monday after suffering a heart attack. News of the death of Radio Kiskyea’s program director was announced on her station’s airwaves.
Liliane Pierre Paul began her career at Radio Haïti Inter. For over 35 years, “Lili” was committed to the struggle for freedom of expression and the improvement of living conditions for the Haitian population.
Tortured and imprisoned under the Duvalier dictatorship, Liliane Pierre Paul was forced into exile along with other journalists. But she didn’t give up.
Back home, Liliane Pierre Paul co-founded radio-télé Kiskeya, where she was the star presenter of the popular 4h news bulletin.
Throughout her life, Lili remained steadfast in her fight for the respect of human rights. Her health problems did not prevent her from taking part, some two weeks ago, in a march by press associations to demand the release of Pierre Louis Opont, co-owner of Télépluriel, who had been held hostage by his captors for almost a month and a half.
The repeated attacks on her under Michel Martelly’s administration were not enough to silence her.
The death of the iconic Liliane Pierre Paul is a great loss for Haiti and for the world,” lamented leaders of social and peasant organizations, some of whom believe that the sudden death of Radio Kiskeya’s program director is linked to the unhealthy situation in Haiti, which is mired in a serious political, security and humanitarian crisis.
Born in Petit-Goâve, a town some 68 kilometers from Port-au-Prince, Liliane Pierre Paul passed away at the age of 70.
During her career, she was decorated by organizations both in Haiti and abroad.