Bernard Fils-Aimé
Fils-Aimé in 2009
Born(1953-05-24)24 May 1953
Petionville, Haiti
Died8 August 2020(2020-08-08) (aged 67)
Miami, Florida, United States
Alma materFlorida International University
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, activist
SpouseMarise Piverger (m. 1980)
Children3

Bernard Fils-Aimé (24 May 1953 – 8 August 2020) was a Haitian entrepreneur and activist. He was part of community assistance organizations for Haitians in America, cofounding the Haitian Refugee Center and serving on the board of the Haitian Education & Leadership Program. He also served as the managing director of Comcel Haiti from its founding in 1998 until its sale to Digicel in 2012.

Early life and activism

Bernard Fils-Aimé was the youngest of four children. His father, Camile Fils-Aimé, died soon after Bernard was born.[1] His mother, Uranie Gabriel Fils-Aimé, was the directrice of the Republic of Guatemala Primary School in Petionville.[2] She opposed François Duvalier, and was briefly arrested for criticizing his policies.[1]

Fils-Aimé and his family left Haiti for New York City in 1966.[1] He graduated from John Jay High School in 1971,[3] then studied at Columbia University for two years. He became involved in student activism, and remained active after he left the university. At a Haiti-related event for student organizers, Fils-Aimé met Marise Piverger; they married in 1980 despite her parents' disapproval, and moved to Miami.[1]

In Miami, Fils-Aimé co-founded the Haitian Refugee Center, which organized protests and litigated cases on behalf of detained Haitian refugees.[4]

Fils-Aimé later went back to school, completing his bachelor's degree[1] and a Master of Public Administration from Florida International University.[5] He worked in various administrative positions at Miami-Dade Community College: he was director of placement at the Wolfson campus,[6] and later served as the assistant dean of students.[7] Fils-Aimé was also a member of the Book Distribution Committee for the Miami Book Fair International in 1992,[8] 1993,[9] and 1995.[10]

Business in Haiti

In 1995, Fils-Aimé moved back to Haiti, although he would regularly visit Miami.[7] His first business venture was SabbAimé S.A., an importer and distributor of frozen chicken.[5] Around this time, a group of American investors wanted to start a wireless carrier in Haiti, and approached Fils-Aimé to serve as a local partner. He took part in the license negotiations with the Haitian government, and became the first CEO when the company was inaugurated in 1998 as Comcel Haiti.[1]

He recognized that Comcel faced unique hurdles as one of the few large private enterprises in Haiti. When subscribers complained of being unable to charge their phones, Fils-Aimé would let them charge their phones for free at Comcel headquarters.[11] He also directed Comcel's resources toward philanthropic initiatives; when the company changed its name to Voila, Fils-Aimé became the president of the Voila Foundation.[1]

From 2006 to 2007, he served as the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Haiti.[12]

Fils-Aimé retired from Voila's management after its sale to Digicel in 2012. He then joined the board of the Haitian Education & Leadership Program. He also served as president of the Trilogy International Foundation, which is associated with Comcel's US parent company.[13]

Political involvement

Fils-Aimé was a close friend of Haitian President René Préval.[14]

In the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Fils-Aimé was critical of the Haitian government's plan to appropriate land for building aid camps; he observed that many political conflicts in Haiti had been triggered by land disputes.[15] He also defended a private-sector-run opinion poll for the 2010–11 Haitian presidential election in the name of transparency, as previous such polls had not been publicly released.[16]

In 2019, Fils-Aimé published an op-ed in the Miami Herald decrying President Jovenel Moïse's responses to the 2018–2019 Haitian protests. The article was reprinted after the Herald erroneously attached a photograph of Reggie Fils-Aimé (the former CEO of the North American division of video game company Nintendo) instead of Bernard Fils-Aimé.[17][18]

Personal life

He and his wife Marise had three children: daughter Erica and sons Karl and Gerard.[1]

Fils-Aimé died from COVID-19 at the University of Miami Hospital in Miami, Florida, on 8 August 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Leland, John (28 August 2020). "Bernard Fils-Aimé, Haitian Activist and Cellphone Mogul, Dies at 67". The New York Times.
  2. ↑ Bros, Emmanuel (27 April 1978). "ARRETE" (PDF). Le Moniteur (in French). No. 29. Port-au-Prince, Haiti: Presses Nationales d'Haiti.
  3. ↑ Prospect 1971. Brooklyn, NY: John Jay High School. 1971.
  4. ↑ "Bernard Fils-Aimé, who helped launch Haiti's 1st cell network, dies of COVID-19 at 67". TODAY.com. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Speaker Biographies". Global Washington Conference 2010. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  6. ↑ Lynch, Jim (18 March 1991). "Proliferation of publications come to the aid of job hunters". The Miami Herald. p. 79. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 Charles, Jacqueline (11 August 2020). "Entrepreneur, activist Bernard Fils-Aimé dead at 67". Miami Herald.
  8. ↑ "Miami Book Fair International". The Miami Herald. 15 November 1992. p. 382. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  9. ↑ "Miami Book Fair International". The Miami Herald. 7 November 1993. p. 222. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  10. ↑ "Miami Book Fair International". The Miami Herald. 5 November 1995. p. 969. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  11. ↑ Romero, Simon (19 December 2000). "TECHNOLOGY: A Cell Phone Surge Among World's Poor; In Haiti, Entrepreneurs as Suppliers". The New York Times.
  12. ↑ "Passing of Bernard Fils-Aimé". Haiti Libre. 13 August 2020.
  13. ↑ "Bernard Fils-Aimé". Haitian Education and Leadership Program. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  14. ↑ Charles, Jacqueline (4 March 2017). "Former Haitian President Rene Preval dies in Haiti at 74". The Miami Herald. pp. A4. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  15. ↑ Faul, Michelle (20 February 2010). "Haiti official: Government will take land for homeless". The Ithaca Journal. p. 9. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  16. ↑ Charles, Jacqueline (12 November 2010). "Poll: Manigat's lead grows". The Miami Herald. p. 9. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  17. ↑ Fils-Aimé, Bernard (8 December 2019). "President Jovenel Moïse moves to trample the Haitian justice system". The Miami Herald. pp. C5. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  18. ↑ Fils-Aimé, Bernard (9 December 2019). "President Jovenel Moïse moves to trample the Haitian justice system". The Miami Herald. pp. A13. Retrieved 24 September 2020.


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