HAITI

THE AFROPERUVIAN MUSEUM OF ZAÑA-PERU ISSUES THE FOLLOWING PRONOUNCEMENT COMMEMORATING ON JANUARY 12TH 2011, A YEAR SINCE THE EARTHQUAKE IN HAITI .

 

SURVIVAL IN HAITI AND INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY

In the year 2011, the International Year of African descendents, solidarity with Haiti is a priority. What is at play is the survival of the Haitian people, their sovereignty and their ability to overcome their current crisis.

On January 12th it will have been a year since the earthquake in Haiti, which left 230 thousand dead and a million and a half victims without housing. To this day a million of these sleep in camping settlements in the streets. Now there have been 3,651 deaths due to a colera epidemia. An evaluation of the situation in that country urges an inspection of the actions of the international community. Promised help has been carried out only partially.

Haiti has an aproximate population of 10 million people of which a high percentage are African descendents. Let us remember that the independence of Latin America and the Caribbean began with Haiti.  Haiti was also the first country in the Americas to achieve the abolition of slavery. Today it is the poorest country in the continent with an 80% of its people living in poverty and exclusion.

Haiti has four major problems: 1) the consequent effects of the earthquake with insufficient international help; the vulnerability of women and young girls  due to sexual abuse is serious; 2) the colera epidemic that has caused an increasing number of deaths; 3) the uncertainty in politics, since the current president should conclude his term of office soon, and there are no guaranties of a legitimate democratic succession and 4) everything mentioned before is worsend by an overall environment of pressure that limits the exercise of sovereignty among the people. It is required that Haitians themselves strengthen their democratic institution.

To the civil entities in the diverse countries that form part of the African Diaspora, we propose the following:

1)      Open an international solidarity campaign with Haiti starting by disseminating reliable information regarding the situation in that country.

2)      Establish a virtual net of international civil organizations interested in Haiti’s destiny, to contact and exchange information with civil and democratic institutions of the people.

3)      Demand of different nation-states and international entities able to develop effective and efficient strategies to help the Haitian people, and that political and democratic institutions of each country declare themselves available to help the situation of Haiti.

4)      Demand that Haiti’s sovereignity as well as the preservation of their cultural and religious traditions be respected.

Zaña, Chiclayo-Perú, January 10th 2011

MUSEO AFROPERUANO

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museoafroperuano@yahoo.es

Translation: Mónica Rojas