Stand with the People of Haiti

[Oss Rae]

This is from the group I worked with on last month's presentation and fundraiser regarding Haiti.

URGENT SITUATION: STAND WITH THE PEOPLE OF HAITI

HAITI LED THE WAY FOR ENDING SLAVERY! WE ALL OWE A DEBT TO HAITI!

Haitians have been protesting in the tens of thousands demanding that the US-backed government of Jovenel Moïse step down. Government officials are involved in on-going massacres in the politically targeted neighborhood of Lasalin. Moïse is also implicated in the disappearance of $4.2 billion Petro Caribe money loaned to the Haitian government to meet the desperate needs of the grassroots.

November 18, 2018 was the 215th anniversary of the victory of Vertieres -- a decisive battle against French forces in 1803, which led to Haiti becoming the world’s first independent Black Republic. Haitians marked the anniversary with massive anti-government protests.

Human rights investigators verified the Moïse government’s involvement in the massacres. People in the impacted communities say as many as 300 have been killed thus far, thousands more have been injured and/or their homes burned. The communities under attack are those who are opposed to the present government and are strongholds for Fanmi Lavalas, the political organization headed by former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, ousted in a US-backed coup, and supported by the overwhelming majority of Haitians. There have also been targeted assassinations, including of a journalist who had been reporting on government corruption.

There were two recent delegations from the US to Haiti, one led by Congresswoman Maxine Waters (see Miami Herald: www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article229644999.html), along with Danny Glover and others. For Video of Testimony of Victims of Lasalin Massacres contact [e-mail]. A written report on the Lasalin Massacres for the National Lawyers Guild can be ordered from the Haiti Action Committee (see below).

Mother tries to prevent police, who murdered her son, from taking his body

Proposals for Resolving the Crisis

Fanmi Lavalas, the party of the Haitian grassroots majority, and others, are calling for the resignation of Jovenel Moïse; an assessment of dysfunction and lapses in the Haitian Parliament; a government and executive of public safety for a transition period of 36 months whose priorities should include: improving the living conditions of the impoverished population; creation of a Constituent Assembly for a new fundamental charter that defines features of the Haitian government; revising the Electoral Law and appointing a new electoral council charged with organizing elections at the end of the 36-month transition period. (For full Fanmi Lavalas statement click Crisis and Resolution)



Actions you can take to stand with the people of Haiti

MAKE A CALL:

Call or write the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Karen Bass, Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Eliot Eagle, and Co-Chairs of the Congressional Caribbean Caucus (see list below). Let them know that you stand with the people of Haiti and their demands, that as a constituent you feel strongly that the US government must stop using its power and our tax dollars to support the corrupt government of Jovenel Moïse and the politically-targeted massacres in Haiti. Also, call your congressional representatives if they serve on any of these committees.

Congressional Black Caucus
-Karen Bass (LA), Chair - Caren Street, Chief of Staff [e-mail] [phone]
-Maxine Waters (LA) Twaun Samuel, Chief of Staff [e-mail] [phone]
-Barbara Lee (Oakland) Julie Nickson, Chief of Staff [e-mail] [phone])


House Committee on Foreign Affairs
-Eliot Engel (NY), Chair, Bill Weitz Chief of Staff [e-mail] [phone]
-Karen Bass (LA, see her contact info above)
-Brad Sherman (SF Valley) Don MacDonald, Chief of Staff [e-mail] [phone]
-Ted Lieu (coastal, Malibu to PV) Marc Cevasco, Chief of Staff [e-mail] [phone]


Congressional Caribbean Caucus

-Yvette Clarke (NY), Chief of Staff Charlyn Stanberry [e-mail] [phone]
-Stacey Plaskett (US Virgin Islands) Chief of staff Erik Prince [e-mail] 202-225-1790
-Maxine Waters (see contact info above, and be sure to thank Congresswoman Waters for her on-going
support of Haiti)

If you are a Caribbean national also contact the CARICOM Executive at [e-mail]
RAISE YOUR VOICE:

Spread the word on social media. We rely on our network of supporters to tell the truth about the resistance of the Haitian people, which gets almost no coverage in the corporate media. Follow the Haitian grassroots’ resistance on www.facebook.com/HaitiActionCommittee/,
#haitiinfoproj

Tens of thousands protest throughout Haiti against the government's massacre of Haitian people, theft of $ billions

OTHER THINGS YOU CAN DO

Ø Donate to the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund to help victims of the massacres at haitiemergencyrelief.org/ and click on the yellow ‘Donate’ button at upper right.

Ø Arrange a showing of the of the Video of Testimony of Victims of Lasalin Massacres, contact [e-mail].

Ø Listen to coverage of the humanitarian crisis in Haiti on Sojourner Truth and the Real News Network
Special Report by Margaret Prescod: Massacres in Haiti part 1 part 2

Sojourner Truth Radio: Lasalin, Haiti Speaks Out Against Poverty & State Violence

soundcloud.com/sojournertruthradio/sojourner-truth-radio-april-5?in=sojournertruthradio/sets/april-5-2019


For more information contact:

Haiti Action Committee
haitisolidarity.net/, [e-mail], www.facebook.com/HaitiActionCommittee/


Action Alert Issued by: Women of Color/Global Women’s Strike; LA Working Group on Haiti
323-276-9833, [e-mail], www.facebook.com/womenofcolourglobalwomenstrike/