What can you do to help victims of the earthquake?

This.

Stop Forced Evictions of Haiti's Earthquake Victims

The Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti writes,

After the earthquake of January 12th, over 2 million survivors left the wreckage of their homes and sought refuge in camps constructed on any open land. The Haitian Government and private landowners have evicted thousands of residents from these encampments without a viable alternative for their relocation, and in some cases with no alternative at all.

The UN and Haitian Government agreed on April 22 to an immediate 3-week moratorium on forced evictions which expired, Thursday, May 13th. Within that period reports of evictions continued. Humanitarian aid, including food, water and sanitation facilities have been cut off in targeted camps (1, 2). In other locations, residents are being harassed and abused by the police. The people most affected by the earthquake, those who have lost their families, homes and livelihoods, now live in fear that they may be violently forced to leave their present settlements without viable options established for relocation (2).

These actions are prohibited under the UN’s Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. The UN Principles, which are based upon international humanitarian law and human rights instruments, establish the framework for protecting the rights of displaced people, including the right to basic services (food, water, shelter, education, medical services, and sanitation) and to be protected from violence (4). When these rights are not upheld, UN agencies are obligated to call on relevant parties to respect them (5). Specifically, the OCHA CCCM Cluster-designated Camp Coordinator is charged with developing an “exit/transition strategy for camp closures while ensuring that responses are in line with ... standards including relevant government, human rights, and legal obligations" (7, 8).

(for footnoted version go here - http://ijdh.org/archives/12237)

For a concise summary of this issue, click through to Alexis's blogpost.

And now a word from our sponsor: MCC Action Alert

Support immediate assistance for Haiti

Urge your members of Congress to move quickly to pass a supplemental funding bill for Haiti.

Background: On March 24, President Obama sent his request to Congress for a supplemental spending bill to support relief and reconstruction efforts in Haiti for the remainder of 2010. Given the extent of the devastation and more than 3 million people affected by the January 12 earthquake, it is vital that Congress votes to support this funding.

With more than 230,000 people killed, 300,000 people injured, and at least 1.7 million forced from their homes by the earthquake, Haiti will require ongoing support throughout 2010 to address emergency needs in health, nutrition, shelter, sanitation, rural livelihood and food. The rainy season, which has already started, and hurricane season, anticipated for later this year, will only exacerbate this situation.

Faith Reflection: As the situation in Haiti becomes more desperate with the start of the rainy season and due to uncoordinated aid delivery, Christians in the United States can respond to the urgent need. The biblical vision from Micah 4:1-5 implies access to basic human rights, such as food, health care, meaningful employment, security and education, as central to the establishment of God's Kingdom. It also illustrates how necessary justice is to the fulfillment of a vision of peace. Empowering Haitians helps to assure that they will experience healing after the earthquake accompanied by meaningful development that allows them to access those basic rights.

Action: Urge your representative and your senators to move quickly to pass a supplemental funding bill for Haiti. Click here to send a message to Congress.

---

Alert prepared by Theo Sitther, Legislative Associate for International Affairs.

Back to school

Monday afternoon marked three months since the earthquake. Just this week we've started to see gingham-shirt-clad students headed back to class, and Tuesday MCC resumed teaching classes at a nearby seminary, Centre de Théologie Intégrale de la Caraїbe. Actually, MCC* was teaching three classes before the earthquake: Social Justice Issues, Advocacy, and an Advocacy Practicum. The seminary has decided to cram the rest of the semester into three whirlwind weeks, so each class runs from 2-6pm.

* Meaning Nixon and Alexis, our advocacy department.

I've signed on to work with Nixon to develop our teacher's guide and make the curriculum replicable, so I attended the class yesterday afternoon. The second-year teacher didn't show, so those students crammed into the first-year classroom to take part in the discussion on neoliberal market and governmental policies.

"To change the system, you must first understand it" - and try to understand it they did. I was also encouraged to hear things like:
"We must take responsibility for our problems."
"Haiti's history is different from all other countries, so we need to seek a solution to problems that fits in with our history and our heritage."
"Other countries can't change Haiti; only the Haitian people can."
"As pastors, we are leaders who can make a difference."

Hear, hear. Sometimes I get exhausted with the fact that everyone, but everyone, is more than willing to point out problems, but rarely are people willing to propose solutions. I know this is difficult in any context, but I particularly appreciate any conversations in which participants move past identifying problems and start thinking about responses. Here's to creativity, hard work, and personal responsibility and engagement.