Bernard Fils-Aimé
{{Short description|Haitian entrepreneur and activist (1953–2020)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Bernard Fils-Aimé
| image = 2009 Secretary of State's Award for Corporate Excellence (portrait crop).jpg
| caption = Fils-Aimé in 2009
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1953|05|24|df=y}}
| birth_place = Petionville, Haiti
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2020|08|08|1953|05|24|df=y}}
| death_place = Miami, Florida, United States
| occupation = Entrepreneur, activist
| spouse = Marise Piverger (m. 1980)
| children = 3
| alma_mater = Florida International University
}}
Bernard Fils-Aimé (24 May 1953{{spnd}}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.{{cite web|last1=Leland|first1=John|author-link1=John Leland (journalist)|date=28 August 2020|title=Bernard Fils-Aimé, Haitian Activist and Cellphone Mogul, Dies at 67|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/26/obituaries/bernard-fils-aime-dead-coronavirus.html|website=The New York Times}} His mother, Uranie Gabriel Fils-Aimé, was the directrice of the Republic of Guatemala Primary School in Petionville.{{cite news |last1=Bros |first1=Emmanuel |title=ARRETE |url=http://lcweb5.loc.gov/glin/jurisdictions/Haiti/pdfs/6161-33263.pdf |work=Le Moniteur |issue=29 |publisher=Presses Nationales d'Haiti |date=27 April 1978 |location=Port-au-Prince, Haiti |language=fr}} She opposed François Duvalier, and was briefly arrested for criticizing his policies.
Fils-Aimé and his family left Haiti for New York City in 1966. He graduated from John Jay High School in 1971,{{cite book |title=Prospect 1971 |date=1971 |publisher=John Jay High School |location=Brooklyn, NY |url=https://www.bklynlibrary.org/brooklyncollection/finding-aid/brooklyn-yearbook}} 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.
In Miami, Fils-Aimé co-founded the Haitian Refugee Center, which organized protests and litigated cases on behalf of detained Haitian refugees.{{Cite web|title=Bernard Fils-Aimé, who helped launch Haiti's 1st cell network, dies of COVID-19 at 67|url=https://www.today.com/video/bernard-fils-aime-who-helped-launch-haiti-s-1st-cell-network-dies-of-covid-19-at-67-90865221659|access-date=24 September 2020|website=TODAY.com|language=en}}
Fils-Aimé later went back to school, completing his bachelor's degree and a Master of Public Administration from Florida International University.{{cite web|title=Speaker Biographies|url=https://globalwa.org/events-center/past-annual-conferences/conference-2010/speaker-biographies/|access-date=13 August 2020|website=Global Washington Conference 2010}} He worked in various administrative positions at Miami-Dade Community College: he was director of placement at the Wolfson campus,{{Cite news|last=Lynch|first=Jim|author-link=Jim Lynch (writer)|date=18 March 1991|title=Proliferation of publications come to the aid of job hunters|pages=79|work=Miami Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57984889/the-miami-herald/|access-date=8 September 2020}} and later served as the assistant dean of students.{{cite news|last1=Charles|first1=Jacqueline|author-link1=Jacqueline Charles|date=11 August 2020|title=Entrepreneur, activist Bernard Fils-Aimé dead at 67|url=https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article244866827.html|work=Miami Herald}} Fils-Aimé was also a member of the Book Distribution Committee for the Miami Book Fair International in 1992,{{Cite news|date=15 November 1992|title=Miami Book Fair International|pages=382|work=Miami Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57985459/the-miami-herald/|access-date=24 September 2020}} 1993,{{Cite news|date=7 November 1993|title=Miami Book Fair International|pages=222|work=Miami Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57985579/the-miami-herald/|access-date=24 September 2020}} and 1995.{{Cite news|date=5 November 1995|title=Miami Book Fair International|pages=969|work=Miami Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57985768/the-miami-herald/|access-date=24 September 2020}}
Business in Haiti
In 1995, Fils-Aimé moved back to Haiti, although he would regularly visit Miami. His first business venture was SabbAimé S.A., an importer and distributor of frozen chicken. 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.
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.{{cite news |last1=Romero |first1=Simon |author-link1=Simon Romero |title=TECHNOLOGY: A Cell Phone Surge Among World's Poor; In Haiti, Entrepreneurs as Suppliers |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/19/business/technology-cell-phone-surge-among-world-s-poor-haiti-entrepreneurs-suppliers.html |work=The New York Times |date=19 December 2000}} 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.
From 2006 to 2007, he served as the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Haiti.{{cite web |title=Passing of Bernard Fils-Aimé |url=https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-31528-haiti-social-passing-of-bernard-fils-aime.html |website=Haiti Libre |date=13 August 2020}}
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.{{cite web|title=Bernard Fils-Aimé|url=https://uhelp.net/profile/bernard-fils-aime/|access-date=15 August 2020|website=Haitian Education and Leadership Program}}
Political involvement
Fils-Aimé was a close friend of Haitian President René Préval.{{Cite news|last=Charles|first=Jacqueline|author-link=Jacqueline Charles|date=4 March 2017|title=Former Haitian President Rene Preval dies in Haiti at 74|pages=A4|work=Miami Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57987038/the-miami-herald/|access-date=24 September 2020}}
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.{{Cite news|last=Faul|first=Michelle|date=20 February 2010|title=Haiti official: Government will take land for homeless|pages=9|work=The Ithaca Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57986745/the-ithaca-journal/|access-date=24 September 2020}} 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.{{Cite news|last=Charles|first=Jacqueline|author-link=Jacqueline Charles|date=12 November 2010|title=Poll: Manigat's lead grows|pages=9|work=Miami Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57986884/the-miami-herald/|access-date=24 September 2020}}
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.{{Cite news|last=Fils-Aimé|first=Bernard|date=8 December 2019|title=President Jovenel Moïse moves to trample the Haitian justice system|pages=C5|work=Miami Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57987127/incorrect-photo-reggie-instead-of/|access-date=24 September 2020}}{{Cite news|last=Fils-Aimé|first=Bernard|date=9 December 2019|title=President Jovenel Moïse moves to trample the Haitian justice system|pages=A13|work=Miami Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57987147/corrected-photo/|access-date=24 September 2020}}
Personal life
He and his wife Marise had three children: daughter Erica and sons Karl and Gerard.
Fils-Aimé died from COVID-19 at the University of Miami Hospital in Miami, Florida, on 8 August 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida.
References
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Category:20th-century Haitian businesspeople
Category:People from Port-au-Prince
Category:Florida International University alumni