Grassroots International

The Haitian organisations that are members of the Assembly of Caribbean People express their concern and indignation at the announced visit of Mr Jean-Bertrand Aristide to Jamaica over the next few weeks.

Dear Sisters of the Caribbean,

We come forth as the conferences of the approximately 250,000 Catholic men and women vowed religious sisters, brothers, and priests of the Americas gathered here in Washington, DC, for the annual meeting of the Confederation of Latin American Religious, the Canadian Conference of Religious, the U.S. Leadership Conference of Women Religious, and the U.S. Conference of Major Superiors of Men's Institutes of the Religious Life. We are profoundly shaken by the events in Haiti in recent weeks and especially over these days.

Hundreds of people have been killed by mudslides and flash foods in the border region around Malpasse, Fond Verettes, Thiotte and Grand Gosier. In Fond Verettes around 160 people died as a flash flood scoured a section of town half a mile long and 1,000 feet wide. At least 540 houses were destroyed or buried, and another 1,500 were damaged, according to a UN official.

Relief workers say that about 50 of the 135 or so people killed on the Dominican side of the border were thought to be Haitian black-market traders camped out in the town of Jimani.

1- Antecedents

Haiti is going through a structural crisis which began with independence 200 years ago. We are also in a conjunctural crisis dating from the stolen elections of May 21 and the mascarade elections of 26 November.

Remember that it was Arisitde himself who drew up the list of people nominated for posts at all levels in the May 21st elections.

There are "ALARMING" new developments in the reconstruction processes in Sri Lanka which may also be the same in other affected countries.