FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 Contact:
Rhenie Dalger, rdalger@fanm.org, 786-280-9062 

                              

October 7, 2022

Press Conference

What: Haitian Americans Demand Biden to Stop Supporting the Corrupt, Repressive, and Lawless Regime in Haiti.

When:  Tuesday, October 11 at 10:30 a.m. at FANM

Where: 100 NE 84th ST, Miami, FL 33138

Who: A national coalition of Haitian-Americans, clergy, rights groups, and other allies

Miami, FL- Haiti's people have been protesting for months against a regime that has made normal life unbearable; is guilty of rampant corruption and collaboration with gangs; is being investigated in the former president’s assassination; and is subjecting them to conditions of inequality, injustice, violence, and despair. These conditions include a meltdown of security, skyrocketing prices of fuel and other basic necessities, and a general lockdown affecting collective transport, access to services in banks, markets, and basic necessities for people’s livelihood and survival.

With Haitians facing these unprecedentedly horrific conditions, too little attention has been paid to the reality that the Biden administration is propping up a repressive regime that has caused this crisis, thereby preventing the possible formation of a legitimate transitional government as proposed by Haiti’s robust civil society.

The United States needs to stop propping up Haiti’s repressive regime and let a genuine Haitian solution to the crisis emerge. This was the demand of Sunday’s DC protest at the White House endorsed by nearly 200 people including author Edwidge Danticat and Dr. J.P. Austin and by over 70 Haitian American, religious, and civil rights organizations, many of which are listed below.

We stand in solidarity with Haiti's valiant and determined people in their calls for an end to this calamitous regime, which would fall without U.S. support. The U.S. Administration has the moral obligation to stop its years-long anti-democratic policy of hand-picking Haiti's leaders and propping up repressive regimes in Haiti!
  
Weeks ago 139 prominent U.S. organizations wrote a letter to President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging them to stop propping up the repressive regime and let a Haitian solution emerge. See More than 100 groups call on Biden to drop support for Haitian prime minister, The Hill, September 16.
 
One month before the midterm elections in the U.S., Haitian Americans and their allies nationally send this message to the White House: stop propping up this illegitimate regime, hear the cries of Haiti’s suffering people for democracy and justice, and end the long-standing practice of the U.S. handpicking Haiti’s leaders!

Endorsers of this national effort include FANM, Haitian Neighborhood Center - Sant La, the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti, Faith in Action International, Pax Christi USA, the Presbyterian Church (USA), among many Haitian American, rights, and other groups, many listed below.

Ansara Family Fund 
Beyond Borders
Black Alliance for Peace - Haiti/Americas Team
Center for Gender & Refugee Studies
Church Women United in New York State
Communities United for Status and Protection 
Community Asylum Seekers Project
CUNY Haitian Studies Institute - Brooklyn College
Defend Haiti's Democracy (DHD)
Denver Justice and Peace Committee
Diaspora Community Services
Elmont Cultural Center
Faith in Action International
Faith in Florida
Faith Strategies
FANM in Action
Families for Freedom
Family Action Network Movement
Families Rights Network
Felician Family Sisters
Florida Immigrant Coalition
Forum Haitien Pour la Paix et le Développement Durable
Franciscan Action Network
Friends of Matènwa
Gender Action
Haiti Dream Keeper Archives
Haiti Justice Alliance
Haiti Response Coalition
Haiti Solidarity Network NE
Haitian Bridge Alliance
Haitian Neighborhood Center, Sant La
Haitian Political Conference (NJ)
Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti
Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights
Jemez Peacemakers
La Iglesia del Pueblo-Kairos Center
La Troupe Makandal, Inc.
MA Communities Action Network
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Mercy Focus on Haiti
Migrant, Immigrant, & Refugee Rights Alliance (MIRR Alliance)
N'COBRA International Affairs Commission
NAACP (South Dade Branch)
New England Human Rights Organization
New Jersey Forum for Human Rights
Newman Catholic Community at Eastern Illinois University
NJ State Industrial Union Council
Pax Christi Metro New York Inc.
Pax Christi USA
Pax Christi—Manasota Chapter (FL)
Presbyterian Church (USA)
Quixote Center
Roots of Development
Sisters of Charity Federation
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Justice Team
St. Bartholomew Catholic Church
United Front of the Haitian Diaspora
Unlocking Communities
Veterans for Peace chapter 90
Wind of the Spirit Immigrant Resource Center
Witness at the Border
Youthaiti
Zanmi Lakay




Family Action Network Movement (FANM) is a private not-for-profit organization dedicated to the social, economic, financial and political empowerment of low to moderate-income families.
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