Friday, May 13, 2011
Awash in Pink
Port-au-Prince has been getting a new coat of pink paint in anticipation of the inauguration of Michel Martelly, Haiti's new, right-wing president, tomorrow.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
sometimes it's the little things
...like the first little tomatoes that appear,
a homemade dreamcatcher,
the golden color of fermenting honey mead,
the banner for a campaign I'm helping with,
or mango season.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Istwa m melanje ak rèv mwen yo/My history, mixed with my dreams
Reposted with permission from http://storiesfromhaiti.wordpress.com/ Check out the site for more writings from the Konbit des Jeunes Penseurs (Gathering of Young Thinkers) or follow them on Facebook for updates. Scroll down for English translation.
Mwen se Ayiti. Depi lontan mwen ekziste, mwen te toujou gen gwo solèy ki t’ap klere m men sa pat enpeche m rete fre.
Mwen te gen pye k’ap pile m, ki vle di mwen te abite pa yon bèl ras yon nasyon po wouj.
Christophe Colomb ak solda li yo te vin dekouvri m kòm yon dezyèm paradi.
Depi lè sa yo wè ke lanati mwen bèl yo wè bèl pye bwa, bèl plaj, yo tonbe de pale yo banm pot non hispanyola; ki vle di petit espay.
Epoutan se blofe yo t’ap blofe m, yo te vle gaspiye m epi piye m.
Aprè kèlke mwa yo retounen debake pa pil pa pakèt ak yon bann gwo bato pou yo ale ak sa manman yo ak papa yo te kite pou yo
Yo te mete bèl pitit mwen yo nan esklavaj nan travay fòse. Yo fini pa mouri pase yo pat abitye, se kouche yo te konn kouche tout la senti jounen epi manje vyann boukannen.
La frans tande gen yon ti île, yon ti peyi li batay ak espanyol jiskaske yo twouve yo antant.
Yo siyen yon trete pou yo ka maltrete m.
Lè pitit mwen yo fin mouri (endyen yo) yo debake ale achte nèg an Afrik yo rantre vini ak yo sou yon gwo bato ki rele Negriye.
Nèg sa yo te vrèman imilye, maltrete, yo bay yo non esklav, ki se yon byen mèb, ki gen yon mèt. Esklav sa yo travay du lever au coucher du soleil, yo menm konn touye yo bay bèt manje.
Tout byen m ak ekonomi mwen te repose sou do esklav sa yo nan travay nan jaden kann, nan sikreri, nan boulanjeri, kòm esklav a talan, esklav domestik.
Se yon delivrans lè dwa de lòm te deklare tout moun fèt pou viv lib pa dwe gen kesyon esklav ak mèt.
Sa pot enpeche yo kontinye.
Sou abitasyon breda te gen yon ti nonm ki te rele Toussaint li lite jouk li kapab pou wè sil te ka delivre nèg sa yo men elas lit la te mal pase olye de dyalòg se te zam li te dwe pran.
Mwen kwe dyalòg tap pi bon pou mwen paske ti rès richès ki rete yo tap ret pou pititi mwen.
Dessalines repran lit la pou pi rèd ak yon sistèm koupe tèt, boule kay, aprè seremoni nan Bwa Kayiman anpil kay boule, anpil kout zam tire.
18 novanm 1803 nan batay Ravin Akoulèv anpil blan franse tonbe, anpil richès gaspiye.
An 1804, mwen gen yon peyi. Yon peyi ki plonje nan kriz ekonomik, kriz politik, kriz sosyal.
Kriz politik ak sosyal la fè anpil san koule. An 1805 Dessalines te touye ti rès franse sou pretèks yo se espyon ansyen metwopòl la.
E poutan yo pral touye nonm an 1806 poutèt tè li te vin ak yon sistèm gran pwopriyete tèrèn.
E poutan ti peyizan ki te libere m yo t’ap reklame ti lo tè, ti tè pa mòso misye te kont koripsyon administrativ li te sezi tout tè san papye.
Nou konnen nèg milat yo tap mande tè papa yo te kite pou yo, milat sa yo te mete ak ti peyizan yo.
Yo te rive touye Dessalines 17 oktòb 1806. Aprè sa te vin gen batay de Sibè mwen te vin gen 2 prezidan yon nan lwès ak sid, lòt la nan nò. Lè nèg sa yo fin mouri, Boyer pran la relèv, li peye dèt mwen yo li reyini île la ki te divize an 2 pati kanpay de lès e kanpay lwès.
Si nou wè mwen rakonte nou tray ak tribilasyon mwen, se paske mwen bezwen chanjman.
Chanjman sou tout pwen ke se swa politik, ekonomik, sosyal. Fòk nou respekte konstitisyon mwen an.
Ki vle di:
Gen de bagay ki pase devan je m ki pa fè byen, tankou lè yon ap touye lòt oubyen lè siklòn ap fin pote pitit mwen na lanmè sa fè m mal anpil.
Mwen vle sot nan eta mwen ye ya men sa depan de nou.
Nan tèt ansanm, nan viv tankou frè ak sè, nan konn soufrans youn ak lòt n’ap rive rann mwen bèl.
Lè sa tout lòt nasyon ap vle frekante m ansi nou menm tou être ayitien veut dire avoir un drapeau.
Yon drapo ki senbolize lape, dyalòg rekonsilasyon, libète, egalite, ak fratènite.
I am Haiti. Long have I existed, and I have always been shone upon by the bright sun, but it never hindered me from staying cool.
Long ago, my land was trodden by many feet, which is to say that I was inhabited by a beautiful red-skinned race.
Christopher Columbus and his soldiers discovered me and found that, next to heaven, I was the closest thing to paradise.
From that moment they saw my beautiful nature, my beautiful trees and beautiful beaches, they christened me Hispaniola, which means Little Spain.
And yet it was nothing more than trickery and lies — they wanted only to lay waste to me and plunder me.
After some months they returned, they came on and all, with everything their mothers and fathers had left them.
They enslaved my beautiful children, put them to forced work. And they all began to die, my children, because they weren’t used to that kind of work — they were used to lying around all the blessed day eating roasted meat in their paradise.
They signed a treaty so they could mistreat me.
When at last all my children, the Indians, had died, the foreigners left to go buy Africans. They returned with them on great ships known as Négriers.
These men and women were so humiliated, abused. They were calles slaves, which is like being an object, a piece of property with a master. These slaves worked from sunrise to sunset, and could even be slaughted and fed to the beasts.
All of my wealth and economy rested on the backs of these slaves, working in the sugar cane fields, in the sugar factories, making bread, as “slaves of talent,” as domestic slaves.
It was salvation when the Rights of Man were declared, saying that everyone should live free, that there would no longer be slaves and masters.
This was the beginning of the end of slavery in Haiti.
On Breda’s plantation there lived a man named Toussaint. He fought as hard as he was able to deliver his countrymen from slavery, but alas, the struggle was greater than his ability to create dialogue, and in the end he had to take up arms instead.
I think that dialogue would have been better for me than armed struggled, because what remained of my riches would have been better preserved for my children.
Dessalines, again, took up the struggle for a better system. He beheaded, burned houses. After the ceremony at Bois Caiman, many homes were burned; many shots were fired.
On November 18, 1803, at the battle of Ravine-à-Couleuvres, many French fell, and many of my riches were destroyed.
In 1804, I was born a country. A country plunged into economic crises, political crises, social crises.
The political and social crises made a lot of blood flow. In 1805, Dessalines killed what remained of the French on the pretext that they were spies of the former métropole.
However, he too would be killed, in 1806, because of his land reform policies.
And nonetheless, the small peasants who had liberated me claimed my land as their own, and Dessalines was against administrative corruption and seized all the ownerless land to be controlled by the state.
We knew the mulatres would demand the land their fathers had left for them, and those mulatres joined forces with the small peasants.
They killed Dessalines on October 17, 1806. After that, there was the Battle of Sibert, and I had two presidents, one in the west and the south, and one in the north. When they at last died, Boyer took advantage of this respite to pay my debts off and reunite the island that had been divided in two.
If you see that I am telling of my trials and tribulations, it’s because I yearn for change. Change in all realms, political, economic, and social. You must respect my constitution.
Which is to say:
There are things that pass before me that hurt me — when people kill one another, or when hurricanes carry my children out to sea, this hurts me greatly.
I want to escape from this state I am in now, but that depends on you.
In putting your heads together, in living as brothers and sisters, in knowing one another’s suffering, you will make me more beautiful.
And when that happens, other countries will flock to me, your desires will be realized, and being Haitian will mean having a flag.
A flag which symbolizes peace, reconciliatory dialogue, liberty, equality, and brotherhood.
– Wescando DUVERT
Mwen se Ayiti. Depi lontan mwen ekziste, mwen te toujou gen gwo solèy ki t’ap klere m men sa pat enpeche m rete fre.
Mwen te gen pye k’ap pile m, ki vle di mwen te abite pa yon bèl ras yon nasyon po wouj.
Christophe Colomb ak solda li yo te vin dekouvri m kòm yon dezyèm paradi.
Depi lè sa yo wè ke lanati mwen bèl yo wè bèl pye bwa, bèl plaj, yo tonbe de pale yo banm pot non hispanyola; ki vle di petit espay.
Epoutan se blofe yo t’ap blofe m, yo te vle gaspiye m epi piye m.
Aprè kèlke mwa yo retounen debake pa pil pa pakèt ak yon bann gwo bato pou yo ale ak sa manman yo ak papa yo te kite pou yo
Yo te mete bèl pitit mwen yo nan esklavaj nan travay fòse. Yo fini pa mouri pase yo pat abitye, se kouche yo te konn kouche tout la senti jounen epi manje vyann boukannen.
La frans tande gen yon ti île, yon ti peyi li batay ak espanyol jiskaske yo twouve yo antant.
Yo siyen yon trete pou yo ka maltrete m.
Lè pitit mwen yo fin mouri (endyen yo) yo debake ale achte nèg an Afrik yo rantre vini ak yo sou yon gwo bato ki rele Negriye.
Nèg sa yo te vrèman imilye, maltrete, yo bay yo non esklav, ki se yon byen mèb, ki gen yon mèt. Esklav sa yo travay du lever au coucher du soleil, yo menm konn touye yo bay bèt manje.
Tout byen m ak ekonomi mwen te repose sou do esklav sa yo nan travay nan jaden kann, nan sikreri, nan boulanjeri, kòm esklav a talan, esklav domestik.
Se yon delivrans lè dwa de lòm te deklare tout moun fèt pou viv lib pa dwe gen kesyon esklav ak mèt.
Sa pot enpeche yo kontinye.
Sou abitasyon breda te gen yon ti nonm ki te rele Toussaint li lite jouk li kapab pou wè sil te ka delivre nèg sa yo men elas lit la te mal pase olye de dyalòg se te zam li te dwe pran.
Mwen kwe dyalòg tap pi bon pou mwen paske ti rès richès ki rete yo tap ret pou pititi mwen.
Dessalines repran lit la pou pi rèd ak yon sistèm koupe tèt, boule kay, aprè seremoni nan Bwa Kayiman anpil kay boule, anpil kout zam tire.
18 novanm 1803 nan batay Ravin Akoulèv anpil blan franse tonbe, anpil richès gaspiye.
An 1804, mwen gen yon peyi. Yon peyi ki plonje nan kriz ekonomik, kriz politik, kriz sosyal.
Kriz politik ak sosyal la fè anpil san koule. An 1805 Dessalines te touye ti rès franse sou pretèks yo se espyon ansyen metwopòl la.
E poutan yo pral touye nonm an 1806 poutèt tè li te vin ak yon sistèm gran pwopriyete tèrèn.
E poutan ti peyizan ki te libere m yo t’ap reklame ti lo tè, ti tè pa mòso misye te kont koripsyon administrativ li te sezi tout tè san papye.
Nou konnen nèg milat yo tap mande tè papa yo te kite pou yo, milat sa yo te mete ak ti peyizan yo.
Yo te rive touye Dessalines 17 oktòb 1806. Aprè sa te vin gen batay de Sibè mwen te vin gen 2 prezidan yon nan lwès ak sid, lòt la nan nò. Lè nèg sa yo fin mouri, Boyer pran la relèv, li peye dèt mwen yo li reyini île la ki te divize an 2 pati kanpay de lès e kanpay lwès.
Si nou wè mwen rakonte nou tray ak tribilasyon mwen, se paske mwen bezwen chanjman.
Chanjman sou tout pwen ke se swa politik, ekonomik, sosyal. Fòk nou respekte konstitisyon mwen an.
Ki vle di:
- Fòk eleksyon onèt e kredib, òganize chak fwa yon gouvènman fin pran manda li.
- Fòk nou sispann sistèm gwo pòch sa kraze kès leta = ogmante plis soufrans.
- Fòk nou kraze sistèm chomaj, chomaj sa ki lage pèp la nan zak malonèt tankou nan fè manifestasyon pou yo ka dechouke.
- Fòk gen inivèsite ak lise pou jèn yo mwen ka edike.
- Fòk gen yon rekonsilasyon nasyonal pou tout moun egal e fòk ekzile nou rantre lakay pou kontinye ede m sitou nan kesyon rekonstriksyon m.
Gen de bagay ki pase devan je m ki pa fè byen, tankou lè yon ap touye lòt oubyen lè siklòn ap fin pote pitit mwen na lanmè sa fè m mal anpil.
Mwen vle sot nan eta mwen ye ya men sa depan de nou.
Nan tèt ansanm, nan viv tankou frè ak sè, nan konn soufrans youn ak lòt n’ap rive rann mwen bèl.
Lè sa tout lòt nasyon ap vle frekante m ansi nou menm tou être ayitien veut dire avoir un drapeau.
Yon drapo ki senbolize lape, dyalòg rekonsilasyon, libète, egalite, ak fratènite.
I am Haiti. Long have I existed, and I have always been shone upon by the bright sun, but it never hindered me from staying cool.
Long ago, my land was trodden by many feet, which is to say that I was inhabited by a beautiful red-skinned race.
Christopher Columbus and his soldiers discovered me and found that, next to heaven, I was the closest thing to paradise.
From that moment they saw my beautiful nature, my beautiful trees and beautiful beaches, they christened me Hispaniola, which means Little Spain.
And yet it was nothing more than trickery and lies — they wanted only to lay waste to me and plunder me.
After some months they returned, they came on and all, with everything their mothers and fathers had left them.
They enslaved my beautiful children, put them to forced work. And they all began to die, my children, because they weren’t used to that kind of work — they were used to lying around all the blessed day eating roasted meat in their paradise.
They signed a treaty so they could mistreat me.
When at last all my children, the Indians, had died, the foreigners left to go buy Africans. They returned with them on great ships known as Négriers.
These men and women were so humiliated, abused. They were calles slaves, which is like being an object, a piece of property with a master. These slaves worked from sunrise to sunset, and could even be slaughted and fed to the beasts.
All of my wealth and economy rested on the backs of these slaves, working in the sugar cane fields, in the sugar factories, making bread, as “slaves of talent,” as domestic slaves.
It was salvation when the Rights of Man were declared, saying that everyone should live free, that there would no longer be slaves and masters.
This was the beginning of the end of slavery in Haiti.
On Breda’s plantation there lived a man named Toussaint. He fought as hard as he was able to deliver his countrymen from slavery, but alas, the struggle was greater than his ability to create dialogue, and in the end he had to take up arms instead.
I think that dialogue would have been better for me than armed struggled, because what remained of my riches would have been better preserved for my children.
Dessalines, again, took up the struggle for a better system. He beheaded, burned houses. After the ceremony at Bois Caiman, many homes were burned; many shots were fired.
On November 18, 1803, at the battle of Ravine-à-Couleuvres, many French fell, and many of my riches were destroyed.
In 1804, I was born a country. A country plunged into economic crises, political crises, social crises.
The political and social crises made a lot of blood flow. In 1805, Dessalines killed what remained of the French on the pretext that they were spies of the former métropole.
However, he too would be killed, in 1806, because of his land reform policies.
And nonetheless, the small peasants who had liberated me claimed my land as their own, and Dessalines was against administrative corruption and seized all the ownerless land to be controlled by the state.
We knew the mulatres would demand the land their fathers had left for them, and those mulatres joined forces with the small peasants.
They killed Dessalines on October 17, 1806. After that, there was the Battle of Sibert, and I had two presidents, one in the west and the south, and one in the north. When they at last died, Boyer took advantage of this respite to pay my debts off and reunite the island that had been divided in two.
If you see that I am telling of my trials and tribulations, it’s because I yearn for change. Change in all realms, political, economic, and social. You must respect my constitution.
Which is to say:
- Elections must be honest and credible, organized every time a government has finished its mandate.
- We must stop this system of politicians filling their pockets from state coffers; it only leads to more suffering.
- We must break this system of unemployment. Unemployment leads people to commit dishonest acts, to protest in the streets, to engage in violent dechoukaj.
- We must have universities and high schools so my young people can be educated.
- We must have a national reconciliation so everyone can be equal, and the dyaspora should come home so they can help me, especially in this period of my reconstruction.
There are things that pass before me that hurt me — when people kill one another, or when hurricanes carry my children out to sea, this hurts me greatly.
I want to escape from this state I am in now, but that depends on you.
In putting your heads together, in living as brothers and sisters, in knowing one another’s suffering, you will make me more beautiful.
And when that happens, other countries will flock to me, your desires will be realized, and being Haitian will mean having a flag.
A flag which symbolizes peace, reconciliatory dialogue, liberty, equality, and brotherhood.
– Wescando DUVERT
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Prints
I just started selling prints which is exciting for me. A few will be up for sale in Mennou Gallery in Petionville in the next couple days. I'm also trying to market these pictures online...
Monday, May 2, 2011
Surprise!
: we haven't actually dropped off the face of the earth.
We have, however, made blogging less of priority as we deal with life and work and some major decision-making... (as well as taking some family/community time and time on the beach in Port Salut). Some big changes are in the works, which we will share soon.
Last Sunday the truck broke down as were coming back from the South. We found a mechanic in Miragoane whose shirt read, "SURPRISE" on the back in block letters. Underneath was an advertisment for a funeral home. Surprise, indeed.
We have, however, made blogging less of priority as we deal with life and work and some major decision-making... (as well as taking some family/community time and time on the beach in Port Salut). Some big changes are in the works, which we will share soon.
surprise pak choy coming up in the oat grass
surprised that a pineapple can be growing in a small pot
Last Sunday the truck broke down as were coming back from the South. We found a mechanic in Miragoane whose shirt read, "SURPRISE" on the back in block letters. Underneath was an advertisment for a funeral home. Surprise, indeed.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Luna is 2 for 2
But there are birds. Yesterday morning at 6:00 AM she brought a gold finch into our bedroom and let it go so that it could half fly around our room for her to chase. When I finally got a hold of the bird Luna jumped 3 feet in the air and grabbed it back out of my hand. This morning, I came home from running errands and found a huge dove dissected on our bedroom floor. I have to admit she's pretty good at hunting. I feel a little bit of pride mixed with disgust - probably how a parent feels when their child wins an MMA fight:
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Two Actions for Global Economic Justice
Take two actions today for global justice:
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is sitting on $2.8 billion in excess cash, due to higher-than-expected profits from the sale of some of its gold. This week, the IMF Executive Board will discuss what to do with it.
The IMF hardly needs the money, since it already received a $7 billion endowment from gold sales and will bring in $500 million in profits this year from increased lending to countries in crisis. They’re doing so well that they are even planning to refurbish their Washington D.C. headquarters.
While the IMF has extra cash, the World Bank estimates that 44 million people have already been pushed into extreme poverty due to rising food prices. Many of the poorest countries are taking on heavy new debt burdens. Payments on these loans could divert critical resources away from health, education and food for years to come.
Faith Reflection: Scripture teaches us that God is the owner of all creation, including the land that gives us food and yields income for us. In the cycle of jubilee commanded by God, we are taught to support our neighbors in times of difficulty (Leviticus 25). Let us ensure that our leaders implement just economic policies for the least among us.
Please take two actions today:
1) Join thousands around the globe in calling on the IMF to use its extra profits for debt relief to help poor countries in crisis. Sign the petition today, and Jubilee USA staff will deliver your signature at the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, DC, April 15-17.
2) Urge your faith leaders to sign a letter to President Obama to adopt just economic policies which expand debt cancellation to more poor countries. Low-income countries continue to pay high debt-servicing fees to the wealthiest countries through international financial institutions. For many of these countries, servicing such a debt means that they can't provide social services for their own citizens.
The letter calls for: an extension of debt cancellation, a neutral platform for future decision making around debt, the establishment of responsible standards of lending and borrowing, and the reform of international financial institutions to make them accountable to the people most affected by their decisions. If you are a leader of a religious community, please sign the letter here.
Alert prepared by Ebuka Mefor, MCC international affairs intern. Adapted from alerts prepared by Jubilee USA Network, of which MCC is a member.
- Call on the International Monetary Fund to use their extra profit for debt relief for poor countries, and
- Urge your faith leader to sign a letter to President Obama in support of just economic policies!
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is sitting on $2.8 billion in excess cash, due to higher-than-expected profits from the sale of some of its gold. This week, the IMF Executive Board will discuss what to do with it.
The IMF hardly needs the money, since it already received a $7 billion endowment from gold sales and will bring in $500 million in profits this year from increased lending to countries in crisis. They’re doing so well that they are even planning to refurbish their Washington D.C. headquarters.
While the IMF has extra cash, the World Bank estimates that 44 million people have already been pushed into extreme poverty due to rising food prices. Many of the poorest countries are taking on heavy new debt burdens. Payments on these loans could divert critical resources away from health, education and food for years to come.
Faith Reflection: Scripture teaches us that God is the owner of all creation, including the land that gives us food and yields income for us. In the cycle of jubilee commanded by God, we are taught to support our neighbors in times of difficulty (Leviticus 25). Let us ensure that our leaders implement just economic policies for the least among us.
Please take two actions today:
1) Join thousands around the globe in calling on the IMF to use its extra profits for debt relief to help poor countries in crisis. Sign the petition today, and Jubilee USA staff will deliver your signature at the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, DC, April 15-17.
2) Urge your faith leaders to sign a letter to President Obama to adopt just economic policies which expand debt cancellation to more poor countries. Low-income countries continue to pay high debt-servicing fees to the wealthiest countries through international financial institutions. For many of these countries, servicing such a debt means that they can't provide social services for their own citizens.
The letter calls for: an extension of debt cancellation, a neutral platform for future decision making around debt, the establishment of responsible standards of lending and borrowing, and the reform of international financial institutions to make them accountable to the people most affected by their decisions. If you are a leader of a religious community, please sign the letter here.
Alert prepared by Ebuka Mefor, MCC international affairs intern. Adapted from alerts prepared by Jubilee USA Network, of which MCC is a member.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Martha
My sister Martha passed away yesterday after her two year struggle with ovarian cancer. Her death is very sad for us, but a relief for her given her physical condition.
A friend said yesterday, "part of me is smiling knowing she's already planted a garden and painted a masterpiece in heaven" and it reminded me of the page in her sketchbook with a drawing of her dream house in heaven. The house is two thirds studio space and most of the rest is a greenhouse... She has had a very rough past few weeks and knowing that she is in a better place is a comfort. She is already sorely missed, though.
I put together the video posted above a few weeks ago. Editing it created meaningful time for me to remember her and process her dying. She was able to see an unfinished version and was happy with it, which was really cool.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Meanwhile, heading out of Haiti...
We are not likely to be here for any of the drama looming on Haiti's horizon (not even for election monitoring this round). Ben left for North Carolina on Friday and I have a ticket on hold for Wednesday. Martha is at the end of her earthly life, which we know is a relief for her, but it's a pretty sad time for us and the rest of Ben's family so we'd appreciate whatever prayers, thoughts or energy you're willing to send up for us.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Also heading back to Haiti...
My last post mentions deportations that will be resuming (again) to Haiti after a temporary review in February. There's been some great press on this issue (and of course, if you agree that current conditions in Haiti are such that deportations should remain suspended, please contact your policymakers to let them know):
- The Guardian: Stop these inhumane deportations to Haiti
- AP: Deportees from US struggle in quake-hit Haiti
- Uptown Radio: Deportations of Haitian Convicts Set to Resume
- MCC signed on to this letter as part of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition on Friday.
MCC Haiti Opposes Deportations
Letter sent on March 10, 2011 to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in response to ICE's proposed Policy for Resumed Removals to Haiti.
"Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Haiti believes that no one should be deported to Haiti at this time.
In 2008-2009 MCC Haiti, through our partner organizations, sat on the National Consultation Panel for Deportee Issues, hosted by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and funded in part by U.S. government funding. Although no longer active, the panel produced concrete policy recommendations for the re-integration of deportees to Haiti, which the Haitian government has yet to implement. At that time, Haitian deportees were subjected to horrific detention conditions once they arrived in Haiti. Those conditions have only been exacerbated by the January 2010 earthquake and ongoing cholera epidemic.
Haiti does not currently possess the economic capacity to absorb deportees and has no system in place for reintegrating deportees into Haitian society. Until comprehensive immigration reform can take place and Haiti’s economic situation improves, deportation will continue to be a destabilizing factor for Haiti.
In addition, deportations to Haiti violate international human rights standards such as the right to life, the right to family integrity and the right to fair and due process.
Conditions in Haiti are dire; 1 million Haitians remain homeless and living in tents or under tarps in and around Port au Prince. Lack of food, water, and other necessities is an ongoing crisis throughout Haiti. The cholera epidemic has infected more than 231,000 people and claimed approximately 4,500 lives, so far. No one should be deported into these conditions. Cholera is widely present in Haitian police station holding facilities and lack of functioning toilets, crowded conditions and other factors make contracting cholera more likely. These conditions led to the tragic death of Wildrick Guerrier, who was deported by the US on January 20, 2011.
ICE’s characterization of deportees is at odds with the testimonies given by deportees, in the media and elsewhere. Some of the deportees are convicted of minor drug offenses or misdemeanors; others did not even receive jail time in the US. ICE’s claim that it needed to resume deportations because it could no longer legally hold these men and women in detention is also misleading. Most of those currently facing deportation were Haitians who had served their time years ago and were living law abiding lives in their communities as legal residents in the US and who were suddenly and unexpectedly rounded up before the holidays in December.
ICE has rounded up many Haitians who had served their time years ago and were living as legal residents in the US.
Many of those awaiting deportation have family members, including dependent children, who are US citizens in the US. Many deportees lack family or any loved ones in Haiti. Deportees who have spent a significant amount of time in the United States face intense culture shock upon returning to Haiti. They tend to speak little Creole and no French. They also face considerable stigmatization in Haiti, are labeled as criminals and are regularly discriminated against and often violently mistreated by the Haitian National Police.
Until conditions in Haiti are improved and there are sufficient policies and programs in place to assist deportees in reintegrating, it is this organization's opinion that ICE should not continue with plans to resume deportations to Haiti."
You can contact President Obama regarding this issue here.
"Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Haiti believes that no one should be deported to Haiti at this time.
In 2008-2009 MCC Haiti, through our partner organizations, sat on the National Consultation Panel for Deportee Issues, hosted by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and funded in part by U.S. government funding. Although no longer active, the panel produced concrete policy recommendations for the re-integration of deportees to Haiti, which the Haitian government has yet to implement. At that time, Haitian deportees were subjected to horrific detention conditions once they arrived in Haiti. Those conditions have only been exacerbated by the January 2010 earthquake and ongoing cholera epidemic.
Haiti does not currently possess the economic capacity to absorb deportees and has no system in place for reintegrating deportees into Haitian society. Until comprehensive immigration reform can take place and Haiti’s economic situation improves, deportation will continue to be a destabilizing factor for Haiti.
In addition, deportations to Haiti violate international human rights standards such as the right to life, the right to family integrity and the right to fair and due process.
Conditions in Haiti are dire; 1 million Haitians remain homeless and living in tents or under tarps in and around Port au Prince. Lack of food, water, and other necessities is an ongoing crisis throughout Haiti. The cholera epidemic has infected more than 231,000 people and claimed approximately 4,500 lives, so far. No one should be deported into these conditions. Cholera is widely present in Haitian police station holding facilities and lack of functioning toilets, crowded conditions and other factors make contracting cholera more likely. These conditions led to the tragic death of Wildrick Guerrier, who was deported by the US on January 20, 2011.
ICE’s characterization of deportees is at odds with the testimonies given by deportees, in the media and elsewhere. Some of the deportees are convicted of minor drug offenses or misdemeanors; others did not even receive jail time in the US. ICE’s claim that it needed to resume deportations because it could no longer legally hold these men and women in detention is also misleading. Most of those currently facing deportation were Haitians who had served their time years ago and were living law abiding lives in their communities as legal residents in the US and who were suddenly and unexpectedly rounded up before the holidays in December.
ICE has rounded up many Haitians who had served their time years ago and were living as legal residents in the US.
Many of those awaiting deportation have family members, including dependent children, who are US citizens in the US. Many deportees lack family or any loved ones in Haiti. Deportees who have spent a significant amount of time in the United States face intense culture shock upon returning to Haiti. They tend to speak little Creole and no French. They also face considerable stigmatization in Haiti, are labeled as criminals and are regularly discriminated against and often violently mistreated by the Haitian National Police.
Until conditions in Haiti are improved and there are sufficient policies and programs in place to assist deportees in reintegrating, it is this organization's opinion that ICE should not continue with plans to resume deportations to Haiti."
You can contact President Obama regarding this issue here.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
What's in Your Wallet?
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