MRS > Migration Policy and Public Affair Office > Action Alert: Contact Administration to Request TPS for Haitians
September 21, 2004
Please contact President George W. Bush and Secretary of Homeland Security
Tom Ridge Asking for
More than 600 people have died in Haiti after floodwaters raged through the
island in the wake of tropical storm Jeanne, UN officials say. International
Red Cross says numbers are growing. (See BBC article at end of this alert)
Yesterday interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue declared the towns hit by
the storm a disaster area.
In addition to the havoc wreaked by the storm, continuing political unrest,
conflict, and chaos make the country extremely dangerous. Requiring Haitians
to return to their country under present conditions seriously threaten their
security.
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) will permit Haitians presently in the United
States to reside here and qualify for work authorization for 18 months. It
would thus guarantee their well-being and safety until the country has
recovered from the recent storms and there is political stability in the country.
CALL and/or WRITE THE PRESIDENT AND
SECRETARY RIDGE IMMEDIATELY
(A sample letter follows)
The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
Phone: 202 456-1111
Fax: 202-456-2461
The Honorable Tom Ridge
Secretary, Department of Homeland Security
2001 Indepenence Ave, SW
Washington, DC 20500 20201
Phone: 202-282-8000
Fax: 202-282-8401
DATE
Dear Pres. Bush / Mr. Ridge:
Please designate the country of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status
(TPS) for a period of 18 months. More than 600 people have died in Haiti this
week after floodwaters raged through the island in the wake of tropical storm
Jeanne. Over 3,000 died near the Haiti / Dominican Republic border in May of
this year. Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue has declared the area that was struck by Tropical Storm Jeanne a disaster area.
This grave natural disaster coupled with the present political unrest
warrants this action to assure the safety of Haitians presently in the United
States.
TPS would permit Haitians presently in the United States to remain here
and qualify for work authorization. Eighteen months of TPS will assure their
safety until the country recovers from the severe storm damage, elections are
held, and order and security are restored in Haiti.
TPS program was established to provide protection to people who are
temporarily unable to return to their homelands. Please help the people in Haiti
by permitting their friends and relatives in the United States to remain here
and to continue to send support to a nation in crisis. Please affirm the
United States tradition of caring for and protecting persons in vulnerable
situations by granting TPS to Haitians.
Sincerely,
Your name and contact information
****************************
More than 600 people have died in Haiti after floodwaters raged through the
island in the wake of tropical storm Jeanne, UN officials say.
Aid agencies counted some 500 bodies in the northern coastal city of Gonaives
alone, a spokesman for the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti said.
And the toll is climbing considerably, a Red Cross spokesman told the BBC.
Two days of steady rain have washed away entire houses - sometimes reaching
up to the third floor.
But the emergency relief operations had just begun, and access was difficult
and limited, the head of International Federation of the Red Cross, Hans
Havic, told the World Today programme.
There is particular concern about the island of La Tortue, which is said to
be barely visible under the water.
The storm earlier reportedly killed 11 people in the neighbouring Dominican
Republic, and has since moved north into the Atlantic.
Despair
In Gonaives - the biggest city in the area - an estimated 80% out of a
population of more than 200,000 has been affected, UN's World Food Programme said in a statement. At least 56 people have died in the town of Port-de-Paix, 18 in Chansolme, 14 in Gros-Morne, nine in Pilate and eight in Ennery, officials said.
Poorest country in Western Hemisphere
80% live below absolute poverty threshold
Malnutrition widespread
Severe or moderate stunting affects 47% of under fives
*Data from UN World Food Programme
Haiti's interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue has called for international
help, describing the flooded area as "a vast sea".
People were left huddled on rooftops, while roads around the city of Gonaives
were transformed into rivers.
Many others were reported missing and injured in the country, prone to floods
due to massive deforestation. Hospital workers there say medical supplies are
also urgently needed.
"I lost my kids and there's nothing I can do," Jesner Estimable, whose
daughter was killed and another of his five children was missing, was quoted as
saying by the Associated Press news agency.
"All I have is complete despair and the clothes I'm wearing," Mr Estimable
said.
Some local residents said they were completely unprepared for the deluge
which filled some houses with 4m (13ft) of water.
Emergency aid
UN peacekeepers are helping the relief effort, as are international aid
agencies.
I lost my kids and there's nothing I can do
Haiti resident
The UN World Food Programme says it has sent its first convoy of 12 trucks
carrying 40 metric tons of emergency food aid to the city of Gonaives.
"This area is really poor and people are already suffering from the impact of
political unrest and natural disasters - it is really not what this country
needed," Anne Poulsen told BBC News Online from the Haitian capital,
Port-au-Prince.
Waters have begun to subside, allowing road access to Gonaives, but half of
the area remains underwater, she said.
"People are in dire need of help - they need food, medical attention and
rehousing," she said.
Floods can be particularly devastating in Haiti because it is almost entirely
deforested.
In May, a storm killed about 3,000 people on the country's border with the
Dominican Republic.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/3674990.stm