Half-Hour for Haiti: We Can Do Something About Hunger in Haiti

Hunger in Haiti is once again front-page news. This time the news is a series of demonstrations, some violent, against rising costs, especially food prices. It is frustrating to watch from afar as Haitians suffer, but we don’t have to simply watch. We cannot lower the price of oil or rice, but we can get $1 million per week to Haiti.

April 10, 2008

Update: Thanks to everyone who filled in the survey from the March 25 alert- your input will make our alerts more useful and effective (the survey is still open if you have ten minutes). Several respondents said they are more likely to participate in alerts that are easy to do, such as signing internet petitions. I’ll confess I do the same for alerts on other issues. But alert targets know when an action is easy to do, and they give more weight to the actions that require more effort. Congressional staffers say that a visit or personalized letter carries the most weight in their offices, followed by phone calls, faxes and emails, with internet petitions at the bottom. So we’ll continue to do a mix, with some very easy alerts but others requiring more- please try to do the harder ones when you can.

 

The bank fraud trial for Haitian death squad leader Emmanuel Constant, previously scheduled for March, is now scheduled for May 6. Peter Hallward’s Damming the Flood is now available online and in bookstores.

 

Some great news: last Thursday, the Financial Services Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Jubilee Act, which would advance debt cancellation for Haiti and extend it to 23 other poor countries. I was at the hearing, and the enthusiasm from Representatives from both parties was remarkable. We expect the bill to go before the full House on Tuesday- House leaders are eager to pass it before Pope Benedict XVI arrives in Washington next Wednesday (April 16).

 

This week’s action: Hunger in Haiti is once again front-page news. This time the news is a series of demonstrations, some violent, against rising costs, especially food prices. It is frustrating to watch from afar as Haitians suffer, but we don’t have to simply watch. We cannot lower the price of oil or rice, but we can get $1 million per week to Haiti.

 

Haiti’s government sends almost $1 million per week in loan payments to the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), much of which is to repay loans given to the Duvaliers and other past dictators. That money could be better spent feeding Haitian citizens and stimulating Haiti’s economy (for more on Haiti’s onerous and odious debt, see our website).

 

The Jubilee Act will commit the U.S. government to use its influence to obtain debt cancellation for Haiti and other countries where people do not have enough to eat. The U.S. has the largest vote in the both the World Bank and the IDB, so its influence can be decisive.

 

The Jubilee USA Network is coordinating support for the Jubilee Act. Jubilee USA is asking us to call our Representatives- especially Republicans, but Democrats as well- between now and Tuesday. Even if your Representative is already a co-sponsor of the Jubilee Act or the Haiti Debt Cancellation Resolution, your call can make sure she or he votes on Tuesday. Get a head start, and call today!

 

1. Find out who your Representative is by entering your zip code at www.house.gov (upper left corner).    
2. Call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121.   
3. Ask to be connected to your Representative's office. The receptionist will answer. Introduce yourself as (your name), a constituent from (city, state).  Ask to speak with the staff person who handles IMF/World Bank issues.

 

4. You will be connected with the staff person (or their voicemail). Say “I am calling today to urge Representative________ to vote yes on the Jubilee Act (HR2634), which is scheduled for a vote on the House floor on April 15^th. This bill would expedite debt cancellation for Haiti and expand debt cancellation for 24 additional impoverished countries, provided they meet criteria to ensure that the money is used for poverty reduction. This bill is vitally important right now in Haiti- starving Haitians are eating mud, and civil unrest from hunger threatens Haiti’s democratic government, while Haiti sends almost $1 million per week to the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank. Do you know how Representative _________ plans to vote on the Jubilee Act?”  If the staff person doesn’t know or if you are leaving a message, request that they call you back with the Representative’s position.
   
5. Be sure to thank the receptionist when you are finished.

 

6.  Email Danielle at Jubilee with the results of your call – Danielle@jubileeusa.org.  Please let us know if the staff person had questions or needs additional information.

 

7. Thank you for taking action – now forward this message on to 10 friends & urge them to make the call too!!

 

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For more information about the Half-Hour for Haiti Program, the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti, or human rights in Haiti, see www.HaitiJustice.org. To receive Half-Hour for Haiti Action Alerts once per week, send an email to HalfHour4Haiti@ijdh.org.