NEW YORK — Church
World Service (CWS), the global humanitarian agency, on March
8 sent an initial shipment of emergency food and medicine to Haiti.
The agency is also advocating for U.S. protection of Haitian
asylum-seekers.
The CWS shipment included a 20-foot container of dehydrated
food, 30 IMA (Interchurch Medical Assistance) standard medicine
boxes, and eight disaster medicine boxes. The aid will be directed
to the CWS partner in the Dominican Republic to ensure safe delivery
and distribution to in-country Haitians and Haitians now in the
Dominican Republic.
Each IMA box contains enough medicine for about 115 people with
conditions common in disaster situations.
The aid shipment is part of a multi-faceted CWS support effort
mounted for Haiti after weeks of killings, battles between rebel
groups and pro-government forces and the recent exile of former
President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Conditions in Haiti remain very
unstable, despite the presence of several hundred U.S., Canadian
and French soldiers.
In addition to material aid, CWS is conducting a vigorous advocacy
campaign on Capitol Hill on behalf of Haitian asylum seekers.
“We’re urging that the U.S. provide protection to
Haitian refugees who are fleeing Haiti,” said CWS Executive
Director John L. McCullough. “We are also requesting that
the U.S. grant temporary protective status to Haitians presently
in the U.S. who fear for their safety if they are deported. And
that includes those Haitian asylum-seekers who are still in detention
in this country.”
The global agency is working with the Congressional Black Caucus
and other influential advocacy groups and enlisting community
and church support in urging President Bush, the Department of
State and congressional representatives for humanitarian aid in
the event of an influx of Haitian migrants.
“We’re urging people to call the White House today,”
McCullough said.
The Bush administration has been adamant about returning all
Haitian refugees who are picked up at sea, particularly since
U.S. Coast Guard blockades began patrolling the island’s
waters during the uprising.
CWS is also now working in conjunction with the Department of
State, refugee resettlement agencies and its own ecumenical partners
in Haiti and neighboring Dominican Republic to accommodate a possible
flow of refugees to specified and authorized sites. CWS is one
of nine agencies that the State Department works with in resettling
refugees in the United States.
In addition to its Haitian and Dominican NGO (non-governmental
organization) partners, CWS is conferring with the Caribbean Council
of Churches and the Jamaican Council of Churches. These Caribbean
ecumenical groups are voicing support for the Haitian people.
Jamaica has stated that it would accept Haitian asylum-seekers.
McCullough said the CWS response is “a continuation of
our longstanding presence in the Caribbean, working with ecumenical
partners there.”
“Through our Miami and Washington offices, we have been
vigilant advocates for just treatment of Haitian asylum-seekers
and detainees,” he added.
In a March 1 letter to President Bush, Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA)
said
U.S. treatment of fleeing Haitian refugees “is in flagrant
violation of our legal obligations under the 1951 Convention and
1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees.” He urged
the Bush administration to “honor our nation’s obligations
to ensure that such protection is available and effective.”
Kennedy specifically urged the United States to follow the example
of Canada and the Dominican Republic by suspending the deportation
of Haitian refugees; stopping removal proceedings and releases
of Haitian asylum-seekers now in detention; and halting the current
policy of returning Haitians interdicted at sea with no screening
for asylum or guarantee of their safety.
Kennedy also asked the U.S. government to work with the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other international
organizations to prevent other Caribbean countries from closing
their borders to Haitian asylum-seekers and to grant temporary
protected status to Haitians now in the United States while the
violence and chaos continue in Haiti. |
