Caribbean, Daily News Update

PRESIDENT BIDEN TO THE HAITIAN DIASPORA: “FIX YOUR OWN FUCKING PROBLEMS I AM BUSY WITH IMPORTANT SHIT.”

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May 19, 2021

TRUENEWSREPORT 

By: Nathaniel BALLANTYNE

TRUENEWSBLOG – I hate to say I told you so. But I was right about it all along. When Biden went to Little Haiti to campaign many were boasting about the number of Haitian Americans on his campaign as advisers and how Biden was going to fix Haiti’s problems. Between Biden and Trump there is no difference as far as Haiti is concerned. 

On Haiti’s flag day (May 18,2021) a top State Department official  called on Haiti’s diaspora to help find a way out of the country’s deepening political crisis.

Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Julie Chung said as “living bridges between the United States and Haiti,” the Haitian diaspora has an important role to play in improving and strengthening their homeland’s democracy and economy.

“You can speak against violence. You can speak against corruption and impunity. You can speak against abuses of power and of civil and human rights,” Chung said. “We also hope you will encourage Haiti’s political and civil society leaders to negotiate in good faith to find solutions toward a government that works for all Haitians.”

Chung’s appeal came during opening remarks on a virtual State Department talk commemorating May 18, the Haitian holiday honoring the creation of the country’s bi-color flag on May 18, 1803. She was among 11 State Department officials who read from prepared notes during the event, which had a total of about 60 participants.

Usually a time of parties and flag-waving celebrations, this year’s Haitian Flag Day commemoration has taken on a more reflective tone as Haiti deals with an ongoing spike in COVID-19 cases and a deepening political and constitutional crisis.

In Haiti, Haitians celebrated with a parade in the seaside town of Jacmel, but others took to the streets in the cities of St. Marc, Port-au-Prince and Lascahobas to once more demand the departure of President Jovenel Moïse and protest against his planned constitutional referendum.

Former Sen. Youri Latortue, whose Haiti in Action party helped organize the protest, said police fired tear gas upon the crowd twice in the capital and blocked protesters from entering Delmas 60 neighborhood. However, one of his security officers, Latortue said, was shot in the back while on his way home at the end of the protest. He did not have any other details, and said this was the second time in seven months that a member of his security entourage was shot.

Haitians also rallied in the U.S. In Washington, D.C., a crowd marched at Freedom Plaza, demanding that the Biden administration stop supporting Moïse’s government. Traveling from various parts of the U.S., and wearing the red and blue colors of the Haitian flag, protesters chanted “Down with kidnappings,” and “Down with elections.”

In Pompano Beach, Haitians and immigration activists gathered next to the Broward Transitional Center, an immigration detention facility, to decry Haiti’s ongoing insecurity and demand that the Biden administration re-designate Temporary Protected Status for Haitians and stop deportations to Haiti.

Unlike a renewal of the humanitarian benefit offered to countries in crisis, TPS re-designation would show that the administration recognizes the depth of Haiti’s ongoing crisis by providing protection to a broader group of people from being sent back.

“The U.S. has a long and shameful history of denying Haitian nationals the opportunity to seek refuge in the U.S. But it’s not too late to change course,” said Neyissa Desir, an outreach paralegal with the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Amid chants of “No Justice, no peace,” Desir and others spoke out against kidnappings and reminded Biden of his promise during an Oct. 5 campaign visit to Little Haiti in Miami. During the visit, Biden promised to halt deportations to Haiti during his first 100 days, and his campaign said it would immediately review the Trump administration’s decision to end Temporary Protected Status, which currently protects upwards of 60,000 Haitians from deportations.

“We’re now past the 100 days, and these promises have not been fulfilled,” Desir said, noting that deportation flights have continued despite violence and political unrest.

Also Tuesday, four Democratic members of Congress — Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Andy Levin of Michigan, Yvette Clarke of New York and Val Demings of Florida — announced the formation of the House Haiti Caucus amid concerns about current U.S.-Haiti policy. Notably absent was Miami Rep. Frederica Wilson, who represents one of the fastest-growing Haitian-American communities in her congressional district.

During the virtual talk, Biden administration officials directed questions about TPS and Haitian deportations to the Department of Homeland Security. The Biden administration has been under pressure to not only recognize the deepening crisis in Haiti but to drop support for Moïse, who has been unable to stem the alarming uptick in kidnappings and armed gang violence, and insists on holding a controversial June 27 referendum on a new constitution. 

While many Haitians no longer recognize him as president, insisting that his mandate ended on Feb. 7, Moïse has insisted that his tenure in office doesn’t end until 2022 — a claimed back by the Biden administration.

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