WASHINGTON– Several United States members of Congress, including Caribbean American legislator, Yvette D. Clarke, are calling on the United States government to do more to mobilize international support for Haiti as the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country seeks to rebuild after years of natural disasters, economic hardship and political turmoil.
Clarke, along with her New York counterpart Adriano Espaillat on Tuesday, joined seven members of the Congress in a letter to US Secretary Antony Blinken urging him to take additional steps to mobilize international support for Haiti.
Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, represents the predominantly Caribbean 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York, while Espaillat, the first Dominican Republic national to serve in the US House of Representatives, represents New York’s 13th Congressional District.
The congressional representative said their letter comes in response to widespread civil unrest that continues to rise in Haiti “due to the life-threatening shortages of fuel, food, medicine, and insecurity.
“We ask for a whole-of-government effort to ensure Haiti receives the necessary aid to achieve lasting security, health care, and economic mobility through coordinated strategy and funding.
“As you know, the July 7th assassination of the country’s president, Jovenel Moïse, has thrown the Caribbean nation of 11 million into disarray. Well before this tragic incident, Haiti’s situation was volatile as the island grappled with political protests, gang violence, crushing poverty, rising COVID-19 cases, and no vaccine doses,” they wrote in the letter.
“Currently, the country’s economic situation is dire, and, recently, widespread civil unrest continues to rise in Haiti due to the life-threatening shortage of fuel, food, medicine, and insecurity,” the letter added.
They said that while the House of Representatives passed an appropriations measure for the Fiscal Year 2022 supporting dialogue in Haiti aimed at resolving the political crisis, among other issues, “this dialogue must be met with funding, a comprehensive strategy, and international coordination to mitigate on the ground challenges.”
The US State Department said on Tuesday that Deputy Secretary of Wendy R. Sherman represented the United States during a high-level ministerial meeting, hosted by Canada last week that included senior Haitian government officials, 15 partner countries, and multiple international organizations “to discuss sustainable, inclusive solutions to the challenges faced by Haiti and Haitians.”
“The ministerial reaffirmed the continued international commitment to support Haiti, as it confronts growing insecurity, works to restore its democratic institutions and revives the country’s economic development,” said the State Department in a statement.
In response to heightened humanitarian needs in Haiti, the State Department said the US Agency for International Development (USAID) provided more than US$92 million in assistance last year. In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, USAID has provided nearly US$37 million to Haiti.
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