Background

Large flows of migrants are constantly crossing the American continent. Increasing numbers of people are forced to leave their homes due to a variety of factors, inter alia, poverty, unemployment, repression, violence, war and natural disasters. As in other regions of the world, during their long journeys, migrants face all kinds of risks and suffering. And at the end of the journey, instead of finding work, shelter and freedom, they encounter walls, barbed wire fences, militarized borders, arbitrary detentions, pushbacks, collective expulsions, ill-treatment, xenophobia, discrimination, exploitation and many other serious violations of their most basic human rights. What are the root causes of these migratory flows? What are the major obstacles to the full enjoyment of human rights by these migrants and refugees?

Moderator: Micòl Savia , International Association of Democratic Lawyers permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva

Watch this event hosted by and published in Spanish on  the IADL  (1) Facebook page.

Narratives relating to Haitians and other people of African descent include:

The Cartagena Declaration on Refugees 1994 advocates states grant asylum to migrants found guilty of committing gross human rights violations, e.g. Haitians and Venezuelans have been granted asylum in Latin American countires such as Brazi, Mexico and Chile. However Haitians are generally discriminated against in comparison to Venezuelans. This has fuelled the recent rise in xenophobia and racism against Haitians who had been granted work visas in Latin American countries following the recent disastous earthquake, which is why they are massing at US borders presently.
Giordana García Sojo - Researcher Sures - Venezuela

In the USA, Title 42 continues to close the border to many refugees, including those at risk of coronavirus, and disproportionately affects people of African descent. E.g. 61% of Haitians expelled from the USA had been victims of racial violence in Mexico. Temporary Protected Status (TPS) which they were previously granted because they were identified with certain adverse ituations in their countries of origin such as conflict and natural disaster was withdrawn. 
Marjorie Cohn - Professor Emeritus at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, San Diego - USA

Chile is a destination country for migrants which spends millions to expel migrants affected by the pandemic. E.g. there is bias against Haitians, that seeks to exclude them from access to visas to work in Chile, where socioeconomic status of immigrants make them more vulnerable to exclusion. In that regard, new legislation is being proposed where race and socioeconomic status will become determinants of admissibility.
Taroa Zúñiga - Researcher, Argos - Santiago de Chile

TORN AT THE SEAM:  Migration, Deportations, and Humanitarian Concerns on the Island of Hispaniola, is a project report of the International Human Rights Clinic, an experiential learning course in the International Law and Organizations Program at Johns Hopkins University - The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not reflect the official position of Johns Hopkins University - The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) or Johns Hopkins University.

The link is here torn-at-the-seam_sais-ilaw-hrc-2016.pdf (wordpress.com)

DaQuan Lawrence, one of the authors of Torn At the Seam, follows up on the report in his interesting narrative from the perspective of an African American, Survivor’s Guilt: Being “African-American” in the Dominican Republic | by DaQuan Lawrence | Medium. This article was published in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic and tragic events which occurred in Haiti in 2021. 
 

Haïti, La Lutte pour la Libération continue

En Juillet 8, 2021 accueilli Africans Rising, une discussion avec Margaret Prescod (Sojourner Truth Radio Show), Pierre Labossiere (Haiti Action Committee) et modérée par le professeur Walter Turner (College of Marin) et Coumba Touré, Coordonnatrice de Africans Rising. Conversation sur les mouvements anticolonialistes et les réalités actuelles du pays, Solidarité.

Watch « Haïti, La Lutte pour la Libération continue » - YouTube

Haiti Action Committee (haitisolidarity.net) is a Bay-Area based network of activists who have supported the Haitian struggle for democracy since 1991. Members travel frequently to Haiti and are in close touch with Haitian grassroots activists, legal and human rights workers, and victims of repression. Through demonstrations and civil disobedience, Congressional lobbying and educational events, publications and community organizing, we are working to build a strong Haiti solidarity movement.

See also Haiti Emergency Relief Fund to which you can make donations to help our communities in Haiti overcome some the socioeconomic challenges they face as a result of corrupt leadership, and their overexploitation by White colonisers before the Haitian Revolution, You can also email action.haiti@gmail.com if you wish to support the movement in any other  way.

 
Listen on Sojourner Truth Radio: July 7, 2021 – Haiti Assassination - KPFK 90.7 FM

CRISIS IN HAITI: #Haiti : What's next after #PresidentMoise was assasinated?
Interconnected Justice's Bishop Joseph Tolton and Advisor to the Haitian Minister of Culture, Max Jean Louis, later discussed the following:
- What exactly happened in Haiti?
- How will the political situation resolve itself?
- What can do as African Americans to partner with Haitians of the diaspora?
- Strategies for the American governments assistance to the crisis.
 The discussion can be viewed here https://fb.watch/6D82EbZGWo/