Pax Christi USA urges our members to respond to the following action alert circulated by our colleagues with the Quixote Center, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, Mercy Focus on Haiti, the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Justice Team, and the Religious of Jesus and Mary, all of whom have a presence in Haiti.
Haiti is desperate. According to the UN special envoy to Haiti, criminal gangs control 80 percent of the capitol and are moving further and further into other parts of the country, leaving many people trapped in their homes with little means to feed their families, or forced to flee their homes with nothing.
Scarcity of gasoline and water, and high prices of essential products are transforming an already distressed State into ashes. In the absence of a functioning government, gangs terrorize the population with rape, kidnapping, and murder, all with impunity. Gangs are blocking commerce distribution routes and paralyzing the main port, leaving 1.4 million Haitians on the verge of famine, and more than four million in need of food aid, according to the UN’s World Food Program.
Haiti needs humanitarian aid, and also intellectual contribution toward the establishment of working policies designed to strengthen its political weakness. It is urgent that the United States government take action to save lives in Haiti.
In response to the growing violence, we ask lawmakers to:
Support S396, the Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act, to identify and hold accountable those who are financing the gangs, especially those with assets in the US. A companion House bill has already passed.
Stop the illegal flow of weapons from the US to Haiti: Support HR 6618, the ARMAS Act, in the House, and introduce a companion bill in the Senate. HR 6618 would mandate a comprehensive federal strategy to disrupt arms trafficking, restore Congressional oversight over small arms exports, and prevent legitimate security assistance from being diverted to criminal groups.
Provide sufficient resources and hold accountable US agencies charged with enforcement, to prevent illegal arms trafficking out of Miami and New York.
Do not waiver in ending US support for de facto prime minister Ariel Henry. Henry remained in power due to US government support, and widespread opposition to his government has contributed to the current crisis.
Redesignate and extend TPS for Haitians. The existing TPS designation for Haiti is set to expire on August 4, 2024. Redesignation will allow protection against removal and eligibility for work authorization to all eligible Haitians currently in the United States.
Stop all deportation flights and interceptions at sea. Despite extreme violence in Haiti, removals continue.
Immediately increase humanitarian aid, and ensure consultation with impacted populations so that aid is directed toward the long-term sustainable development of the country. Include language that prioritizes Haitian diaspora organizations uniquely equipped to consult with local populations. The mission must prioritize a community development approach.
Open a channel of communication and consultation on the future of Haiti where all affected groups, including gangs, elite, non-profit organizations, government agencies, and generation Z influencers can share their views on a sustainable socio-political framework.
Any international police or military intervention should:
- Consult with Haitian civil society before deployment
- Take measures to ensure human rights protections
- Provide support and capacity-strengthening to the Haitian National Police
- Articulate a clear mission to support a Haitian-led solution to restore democracy and ensure elections.
>>Use this link to go to the Quixote Center’s action alert page to send a letter to Congress and the White House making these points.
The support by the above-mentioned social action groups is truly a laudable and necessary moral response to the never-ending nightmare of life on the island of Haiti, especially as regards to stopping the flow of U.S. made arms that make possible the ongoing murders.
Practically and legally speaking, senate bill 396, that purports to « hold accountable those financing the gangs » should instead charge our own political leaders as coconspirators in the obscene destruction of Haiti. The gang of 4 (Clinton-Bush-Obama-Biden) have kept that once beautiful isle of some of the most endearing people on the planet in a state of perpetual turmoil so as to maintain it as a plantation for our capitalistic system. Think of this:
according to a colleague in economics, just 5 percent of the money we send to Ukraine for our proxy war, would enable Haiti to get back on its feet and begin to be self-sufficient.
David-Ross Gerling, PhD