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Mission Leader Urges Nations to Address 'Vicious Cycle of Poverty' in Haiti Day Criticized U.S. Policy on Haitian Refugees |
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The top mission executive of The United Methodist Church today called upon the United States and other countries to address the poverty and other causes that keep Haiti in a “vicious cycle of poverty.” The Rev. R. Randy Day, general secretary of the General Board of Global Ministries, criticized the slowness of the international community to intercede in armed conflict in the island nation during February. The clash resulted in the resignation and departure of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide on February 28. Mr. Day described as “morally abhorrent” the policy of the United States in turning back Haitian refugees seeking safety in a time of war. The clergyman called upon United Methodists to join his agency in working with the people of Haiti in establishing a just and lasting peace.” The General Board of Global Ministries and its related United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) have numerous church development and humanitarian programs in Haiti. More than 700 United Methodists from the United States go to Haiti each year as parts of mission volunteer teams or as individual service volunteers. “In the last three weeks, innocent children, youth, and adults have been killed and maimed and democracy [in Haiti] has been mortally wounded by the clash of government and anti-government forces,” Day said. “The tardy response of the United States and other countries has increased the hemorrhaging.” On March 2, officials of Action by Churches Together (ACT), an ecumenical relief coalition, reported that Haiti was “starting to settle down.” It also said that the full extent of the humanitarian situation was not clear as a result of security factors. A peacekeeping force made up of American, French, and Canadian troops was expected in the near future. U.S. Marines were present to protect Americans. Day said that Haiti seems to be a nation disregarded by the United States and other nations. The mission leader sharply criticized a long-standing U.S. policy of refusing to admit Haitian refugees fleeing from warfare. “The U.S. action, in effect,” he said, “returns to the battleground persons attempting to gain safety. I find this policy a violation of international understandings on the right of protective security; I find it morally abhorrent.” Day protested the U.S.’s Haitian refugee policy during the two Administrations preceding the current one in Washington. He said he would continue to criticize the policy as long as it exists. The United Methodist international mission agency works closely with the Methodist Church of Haiti in a wide range of educational, medical, nutritional, and church development programs. Many of the United Methodist Volunteers in Mission teams help to build churches and parsonages as well as schools and clinics. The School Hot Lunch Program, supported by the Advance for Christ and His Church, provides meals at 93 schools, mostly in rural areas. It reaches 16,877 youngsters. The program is so important to the health and nutrition of children that it is continued in the summer through Vacation Bible Schools. The hot lunch ministry needs some $480,000 per year but only $223,815 was raised in 2003, meaning that it must be cut back in the months ahead. Among the most generous supporters the Hot Lunch Program is the Haiti Task Force of the East and West Michigan Conferences. The Advance also provides support to several schools, medical clinics and sanitation efforts in Haiti. Doctors, dentists and nurses are among the United Methodist volunteers to go to Haiti on a regular basis to minister among the poor and in hard to reach highland areas. The Advance is a designated giving channel for mission personnel and projects. In his most recent statement on Haiti, Day said he was perplexed by conflicting reports on the role of outside interests in fanning the current Haitian crisis and in the departure of President Aristide. He called for an international inquiry into the conflicting reports. He continued: “International eyes must look keenly at the elite forces and often concealed systems of power that allow “thugs” to maintain a pyramid of privilege for the rich while the poor are left to survive in conditions among the worst in the world. Jesus turned pyramids of privilege upside down.” The full text of Day’s statement follows: Statement on Haiti, March 2, 2004 The millions of good people of Haiti are suffering from yet another bloody cycle of violence. I am disturbed by the slowness of the international community in stabilizing the political, military, and economic situation there. I am perplexed by the conflicting reports on the roles of outside interests in fanning the conflict in Haiti and in the departure of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. I am heartsick over the attitude and policy of the United States toward Haitian refugees seeking safety in a time of war. In the last three weeks, innocent children, youth, and adults have been killed and maimed and democracy has been mortally wounded by the clash of government and anti-government forces. The tardy response of the United States and other countries has increased the hemorrhaging. The time is vastly overdue for the United States and the international community to address the poverty and other causes that keep Haiti in the vicious cycle of violence. The United Methodist Church and other religious and humanitarian organizations have worked long and hard for the civil rights and prosperity of the people of Haiti. We will continue to do so but we cannot do the job alone. Governments must provide massive resources and a stable framework in which education, nutrition programs, and other social services can thrive. Again and again over the years, civil strife has slowed or destroyed humanitarian programs. Haiti seems to be a nation disregarded by its giant neighbor to the north as well as the region and much of the international community. I see this attitude in the slowness of the organization of an international peacekeeping force. It is as though blood must be running in the streets of Port-au-Prince before the international sentiment will react to conflict in Haiti. v The General Board of Global Ministries will do all it can to serve those suffering in these days of chaos and transition. We will also press, once again, for basic human rights. Standing on our historic platform of peace with justice and self-determination, we will emphatically oppose the return of military rule to Haiti with its insidious reliance on death squads, torture, and intimidation. I am troubled by the conflicting reports on the role of outside interests, including supporters of former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier, in the recent insurgency and in the motivation and means of the removal of President Aristide. An international panel needs be convened to explore and clarify the divergent reports. International eyes must look keenly at the elite forces and often concealed systems of power that allow “thugs” to maintain a pyramid of privilege for the rich while the poor are left to survive in conditions among the worst in the world. Jesus turned pyramids of privilege upside down. I urge all United Methodists to join the Board in working with the people of Haiti to establish and sustain a lasting and just peace. I lift my voice again—for I have done so in the past—against the policy of the United States to deny refugee status to persons fleeing Haiti in a time of war. The U.S. action, in effect, returns to the battleground persons attempting to gain safety. I find this policy a violation of international understandings on the right of protective security; I find it morally abhorrent. The current Administration in Washington is not the first to block Haitian refugees in a time of war. I protested the policy during the first Bush Administration and the Clinton Administration and I shall continue to protest it as long as it exists. I appeal to American United Methodists and all citizens of goodwill to oppose and change the policy.
R. Randy Day
Date posted: Mar 03, 2004 |
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