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1 May 2008

Act Now to Support
the People of Haiti!

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the three countries in the world with the greatest daily caloric deficit per person, according to the UN’s World Food Program.  The country has been particularly hard-hit by soaring grain prices, and with mass-starvation looming on the horizon, the crisis has sparked demonstrations and unrest in Haitian cities and small towns. 

The current food shortages in Haiti threaten the lives of many citizens and endanger long-term social and political stability. The Jesuits of Haiti call on the Haitian government, private investors, the international community, and all persons of faith and means to answer the needs of this distressed population.

 

The statement below is a plea for relief from the Jesuits who are serving the people of Haiti in this time of extreme food shortage:

 

The voice of the Jesuits of Haiti

We Jesuits, who work in Haiti in various domains, are witnesses of the daily drama that millions of our Haitian brothers and sisters are experiencing. Like Yahweh in the desert, we are seeing our people's misery and we hear her cries: "I am Yahweh, your God. I saw your misery and heard your cry. I know your anguish. It is life that I want for you, not death.” “But who am I,” asked Moses, “to free my people and to take her out of the slavery of Egypt?” Yahweh answered, “I shall be with you, and you shall know it is I who have sent you into a land that streams milk and honey.” (Ex 3,7-12)

Today our people's miseries:

• Millions of Haitians are victims of the recurring and unceasing rise in the prices of basic necessities.  They are incapable of meeting their most essential needs, even food.
• The ongoing decline of national production in all sectors of the economy is leading to famine and total destitution.
• Our urban and farming populations suffer from shameful and intolerable pauperization.
• Feelings of insecurity are rising, especially as the resurgence in strength of the phenomenon of kidnapping and the despair of the young population grows.
• Our nation is covered with shame and despair with her strained sovereignty while the major part of her population lives in inhuman conditions.

Today our people's miseries stem from:

• The total inability of the majority of our leaders to face the fundamental problems of the society
• The total absence of a constructive political opposition, capable of control and ability to stimulate governmental action for the betterment of the nation
• The total annihilation of the political function of the Parliament by means of  many dishonest practices including the pots of wine and other forms of corruption
• The irresponsibility of the international community, notably the country’s so-called “friends of Haiti,” the international financial institutions: the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Inter-American Bank of Development, etc., who did not honor their promise vis-à-vis Haiti, but instead, attended cynically to the decline of the Haitian society into the hells of poverty and despair

The Haitian people, courageous people that they are, are not able to hold on this time. Tortured by misery, she shouts. Her cry becomes a call.

Today, the people's cries are for:

1. The thousands of youngsters who take the streets to say that they are not able to take this suffering any anymore.  They demand the policy makers to assume their responsibility.
2. The millions of unemployed people, tortured by hunger, who shout their anger through the streets of Port-au-prince and the cities of the province.
3. The fathers and mothers, who spend several days without eating, who are unable to feed their children. They shout their misery during demonstrations in the streets and public settings. 
4. The emaciated children of the shanty towns and countries who cry every day because they do not find anything to eat. They cry because they are without a future.

We hear Yahweh respond,

Call, shout, never lower your arms, you people of courage! It is your turn to help Me to help you. With Me, you can do so much. Without Me, you will not succeed. You need Me. I know it. I am your irreplaceable Ally. But I also need you, your cries, your unity, your experience of our people's suffering, and your courage. Let's go, let's work together. The victory will be on our side because we fight for a just cause. You know my name: I AM THE GOD OF LIFE AND NOT DEATH. You know my Prophet.  Jesus of Nazareth expressed it well in the Fourth Gospel: "As for me, I came so that you may have life and have it to the full" (Jn 10,10)

We are strongly challenged by this intolerable and revolting situation that threatens to sink our country with each new crisis; we feel deeply united with our suffering people.  We sincerely join in solidarity with those who are increasingly victimized. This is why, in the name of our Christian faith and our engagement as religious Jesuits, we strongly exhort:

• The policy makers :
  • The President of the Haitian Republic:
    • to make, without delay, the political decisions necessary to re-establish confidence and peace;
    • to engage deeply in the necessary reform of the public institutions that will finally put the country on the way to development.
  • The High officials of the State (Prime minister, Ministers, Secretaries of State and general managers, the Senators, the Deputies etc.):
    • in the short term, to elaborate and to put to work without delay, an emergency program (real and efficient) to alleviate the sufferings of the population;
    • in the long term, to use the intellectual resources and national and international expertise in order to further elaborate and put to work a real plan of national development.
• The parties and political organizations:
  • to assume their responsibility of critique and control of governmental actions;
  • to help in the search for solutions adaptable to the living drama in our society;
  • to participate effectively in the reform of the State;
  • and finally, to take our country out of shame and stagnation.
• The merchants, the industrialists, the traders, the bankers and other powers of the nation:
  • to bring their contribution to soothe the sufferings of our fellow citizens;
  • to become aware of the necessity for working together to help Haiti to stand up again.
• All components of the civil society: religious leaders, educators, students, responsible members of associations, unionists and workers, craftsmen, small tradesmen, agriculturists, etc:
  • Let us stand up to look together for the solutions to our people's problems.
• The international community, especially the country’s so-called “friends of Haiti,” the international financial institutions etc:
  • to respect their engagements vis-à-vis Haiti, notably their numerous promises of cooperation to effectively help the country to come out of this mess.

Oh Haitian People!  Continue to call, to shout and to convene those that you had chosen to serve you. Your strength will be in organized and sustained non-violence. Violence is never efficient. Call on Me. Yes, I will be with you and in you through the power of my Spirit.

From the Jesuits of Haiti:

P. Pérard Monestime, sj
P. Derino Sainfariste sj
P. Kawas François, sj
P. André Charbonneau, sj
P. Miller Lamothe, sj
P. Claude Suffering, sj
P. Ramiro Pampols, sj
P. Kénel Sénatus, sj
P. Gilles Beauchemin, sj
P. Gontrand Décoste sj
Brother Mathurin Charlot sj
Thomas Dabady, sj
P. Godefroy Midy sj