Take action to support a way forward for Haiti
Gamaliel "Game" Lauture serves as the Co-Executive Director of Brockton Interfaith Community, an MCAN affiliate. Having been born in Haiti and working today with a number of Haitian immigrants in Brockton, he shares candidly in this first person video the importance of the U.S. support of Haiti to find it's own way forward without intervening.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Good afternoon. My name is Gamaliel Lauture. I'm the Co-Executive Director of Brockton Interfaith Community. I'm also Haitian American. I was born in the beautiful country of Haiti. A country that was the first black republic, here in the Western Hemisphere. A country once a beacon of light for hope, freedom and liberation. But now, Haiti is being ravaged by gun violence, gang violence, famine, and cholera outbreak. Yes. Since the earthquake in 2010. Haiti is being plagued by political unrest, presidential assassination, coup d'etats and economic exploitation all at the hands of global, first world powers. American presence on Haitian soil has been nothing but destabilizing and extractive so much so we are feeling it here in Massachusetts, and across the states through a huge refugee crisis. When will enough be enough? America has done more than enough to harm the country of Haiti. We need the U.S. government, the Biden administration, to do some good. Secretary Blinken met with CARICOM* two weeks ago and announced the US will spend $300 million for Kenyan peacekeeping troops, but only $32 million towards humanitarian aid (in Haiti).
This needs to be flipped. The people of Haiti need to be taken care of. And if the people are taken care of, then they can and will take care of their issues.
We do not need international intervention. This is what led to no democratic process, no presidential election since 2016 and political puppets being put into power. Let the people govern themselves. The people closest to the pain should be the people addressing the problem. That is a guiding principle here in our work. There are ways, other than humanitarian aid, that the Biden administration can do in order to help Haiti: issue anti collusion sanctions to curb the amounts of weapons and guns that are landing in the hands of gangs; increase U.S. aid to peasants and farmers; and send agronomists to create agricultural infrastructure, with local farmers only, and stop interfering in the democratic process of Haiti, let the people govern themselves. L’union fait la force. (Unity is strength.)
*CARICOM - The Caribbean Community is an intergovernmental organisation that is a political and economic union of 15 member states throughout the Americas and Atlantic Ocean.