The Vassar Haiti Project in Chermaitre in the northwest of Haiti has for twenty-five years taught U.S. students and faculty about global citizenship while supporting increased medical care, education, and community development. The program is partially funded by the sale of Haitian art, which at the same time supports Haitian artists who are paid a fair price for their work.
If you are on this mailing list, you almost certainly have Haitian friends who are here on TPS (Temporary Protected Status.) Many of them have applied for and received various kinds of permission to stay which will be revoked — a temporary refugee status, work permits, and so on — and many more are in the process. The low estimate is that approximately 320,000 Haitians are here on TPS. As you know from your own friends, the majority have jobs and pay taxes. My friends include nurses, taxi drivers, home care-givers, church workers, restaurant workers, security guards, mechanics, French teachers/translators. Their TPS will expire in February. You can imagine the impact of 320,000 people being returned to an unstable country where there are already hundreds of thousands who are homeless because of gang activity. You can also imagine that crowds of Haitians returning from the U.S. run a huge risk of being kidnapped by gangs for ransom as soon as they arrive. There is a bill in the House of Representatives to extend TPS. Here’s the information, coming from several different sources, on how to voice support for the bill:
If you have only 2 minutes: Call the Congressional House switchboard, (202) 224-3121. You can ask to be connected to your Representative. If you are not sure of your Representative’s name, you will be asked to give your zip code. When you are connected, say “My name is _______, I live in (city/state/zip code). I am calling to urge Representative _____ to co-sponsor
House Resolution 965, to extend Temporary Protected Status for Haitians. Please contact Representative Ayanna Pressley’s office to become a co-sponsor. Thank you for your consideration.”
I did it. Takes no time. A real person answered the phone in my Representative’s office. Thank you for your consideration.
Political scene in Haiti: The Transitional Council, whose work is supposed to end on February 7 and which appointed Alix Fils-Aime as Prime Minister, is trying to remove him from office. There is much division as to what should happen. The Transitional Council has many internal divisions, and accusations of corruption and gang ties are rampant. It’s a very tense moment for our Haitian friends as they wait to see what the outcome will be. As always, your prayers are requested.
Yours,
Serena
