Last Wednesday, the Haitian American Cultural Society and the Consul General of Haiti recognized non-Haitians of merit in a very special way: with honorary Haitian citizenship. Among the honorees, most notable were Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas, Miami-Dade Commissioner Barbara Carey-Shuler, and Congresswoman Carrie Meek. For Meek, the recognition has added historical significance.
-, An editorial asserts that the Chicago Defender joins the Congressional Black Caucus, the Miami Branch of the NAACP and Rep Carrie Meek in denouncing a Bush administration directive requiring INS officials to arbitrarily detain Haitian refugees seeking asylum in the US.
On January 1, 1804, Gen. Jean-Jacques Dessalines, proclaimed to the world that his country, henceforth to be called Haiti, was free and independent. Previously dominated by France since buccaneers settled there in 1697, the small Caribbean island, whose eastern portion was under Spanish rule, had become an important slave colony. The slaves were imported from Africa and lived a harsh reality in comparison to the minority white slaveholding population. In 1789, Santo Domingo, as France called the colony, consisted of 450,000 enslaved Blacks, 40,000 whites, and 28,000 free Blacks and mulattos. The death rate for the enslaved population was high: While more than 800,000 Africans had been enslaved in the colony in the 1700s, only 450,000 survived in 1789. In 1791 a slave rebellion under the leadership of Vodou priest Boukman sparked a revolution that lasted thirteen years, culminating in independence in 1804. Toussaint L'Overture was the primary leader among the enslaved population, playing France against the British and Spanish, as he maneuvered the struggle closer to independence. However, in hoping to maintain a friendly relationship with France, L'Overture was deceived and placed in the French gallows upon an invitation to France. His able subordinates Dessalines and Henri Christophe, however, continued the liberation effort achieving independence and eventually driving all whites off the island nation.
Let me say this again: The Haitian community is not going anywhere. Instead, the Haitian community is looking ahead, to move forward to a better community. We welcome people from different ethnic backgrounds to come and join us in our efforts to move forward. If you don't want to or cannot help the Haitian community to overcome the economic adversity we face, at least don't spread rumors trying to create a false division between the Haitian and Black American communities.
"It was shocking to see the changes made," [Marleine Bastien] told The Times. "The U.S. does not have the capacity to detain all persons that make it to this country. This policy mainly targets Haitians." The U.S. Department of Justice released a statement which said, "Rumors of successful entry into the United States have fueled migration surges, and any perception of a relaxing U.S. immigration policy could cause future migrations at sea ... "Miami Immigration and Naturalization Services Chief of Staff John Shewairy said the revisions have been designed to deter large numbers of Haitians from migrating to the U.S. He told The Times that detention of the asylum-seekers who arrived by boat on Oct. 29 is an effort to thwart "smuggling" of migrants from Haiti.
Protesters gathered at the corner of 64th Street and 22nd Ave., carrying yellow placards reading "Stop Using Black Men as Target Practice," and "Free Haitian Refugees." "If we can't vote people in the positions to do the right thing then we have no other alternative than to protest," said [Lorraine Goddard], who held a sign that read "No Justice, No Transit Tax." "We demand that the police who have been guilty of killing our youth be prosecuted and put in jail," said Mel Reeves, an organizer with the coalition. "We also demand that they free the Haitian refugees who are being held in the Chrome detention center."
