[NYTr] Haiti Reborn Update - Aug 6, 2007

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

Hairi Reborn/Quixote Center
http://www.haiti.quixote.org

Haiti Reborn Update - August 6, 2007

Dear Friends,

This October, join the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El
Salvador (CISPES) and the Haiti Reborn program of the Quixote Center in
cycling for solidarity!  We will spend a week pedaling almost 300 miles
from New York to Washington D.C.  All the riders will raise pledge
money beforehand, and then we?ll make stops and do presentations about
solidarity work, inviting people to take action and financially support
the critical work CISPES and the Quixote Center are doing.   You can
read more about the ride and about how to get involved at
haiti.quixote.org

Forwarded from Half Hour for Haiti program of the 
Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti

The Jubilee USA Network (Haiti Reborn is a member) is organizing a
40-day fast for debt cancellation and economic justice from September 6
to October 15. There will be events focused on Haiti, including a
lobby/call-in day, the first week of October. Jubilee USA is looking
for organizations to commit to participating in the one-day fast on
September 6. Joining the fast will help get the mobilization off to a
good start, while also demonstrating that you care particularly about
Haiti (we?ll be fasting at IJDH). For more information, see
www.canceldebtfast.org/.

This week?s alert: comes from David Smart and Amanda Pacheco, two law
students with the Center for Law and Global Justice at the University
of San Francisco:

Contact your representative in the House about cosponsoring the Haiti
Debt Cancellation Resolution (House Resolution 241) urging the World
Bank, IMF, Inter-American Development Bank, and other financial
institutions to immediately cancel Haiti?s debt.
Use the August Recess to Show Your Support

Your local representatives will be working in their district offices
during the upcoming August Congressional Recess. Much of this time will
be spent listening to constituent concerns so it is an ideal time to
show your support for the bill. 17 new cosponsors have signed on since
the beginning of June, making a total of 62. We are getting close to
having enough support to force a hearing, and the August recess is our
opportunity to get over the top.

Why Existing Debt Relief is Not A Solution:  In April of 2006, Haiti
reached the ?Decision Point? under the World Bank and IMF?s Heavily
Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC), making it eligible for debt
relief programs. If Haiti were to reach ?Completion Point? under HIPC,
it would qualify for cancellation of around $586 million of its total
$1.4 billion debt. But because of the harmful economic conditions
reaching this ?Completion Point? entails, it is doubtful that Haiti
will see much debt relief, and will have to continue making large
repayments until 2010 at the earliest. By that time, Haiti will have
repaid $270 million to financial institutions.

Many leading economists consider the conditions and required economic,
social and political targets being forced on Haiti misguided, and
frequently harmful, as evidenced by the results of HIPC conditions in
other developing nations (click here for more on the problems of HIPC
conditions). These conditions will mean that, between now and 2010, in
a country of only 8 million, 100,000 children will die before reaching
the age of 11 months, 40,000 will die before the age of 5, and 6,000
women will die during childbirth. Immediate debt cancellation will not
save everyone, but it will have an immediate and dramatic impact on the
health of millions. 

Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and simply
cannot afford to pay $270 million between now and 2010. Even more
unjust is the fact that over half of the loans were granted to
dictatorships that used them to buy luxury items and subjugate the
majority of Haiti into submitting to their rule. How can we ask the
poor citizens of Haiti to pay back these loans?

By unconditionally ending the debt now, millions of dollars could be
invested in health care in a country where 50% of people are
chronically undernourished and only 1 in 10 has access to clean water
near their home. Haiti has the worst prevalence of adult HIV outside
Sub-Saharan Africa and with the current infection rate, 1 in 10
Haitians will have the disease by 2015. Life expectancy in Haiti is
only 53 years and falling, compared with 74.9 in Mexico and 77.3 in the
United States. Haiti also has the worst infant mortality with almost 1
in 10 live births ending in death. Immediate Debt Relief Will Save
Lives Immediately 

Acknowledging the need for immediate debt relief, 62 representatives
from both sides of the aisle have already co-sponsored the bill. By
canceling the debt immediately we can assist Haiti in the improvement
of the healthcare, education, sanitation, and other essential services
and infrastructure. Not only must Haiti be freed of the oppression of
dictatorships, but also of the oppression caused by the onerous and
odious loans they incurred. Contact Your Representative Today! 

The best way to reach your Representative this month is at a town
meeting or other public meeting in your district. Members of Congress
will be trying to see what their constituents care about, make sure
Haiti makes the list.  Last year several Representatives were convinced
to sign on at these venues. Email info at ijdh.org for an information
packet you can hand to your member of Congress.

Call your representative in both the district and Washington DC
offices. Ask them to cosponsor the Haiti Debt Cancellation resolution
in the house (H.Res.241) if they have not already done so. To
co-sponsor, the member?s staff should contact Kathleen Sengstock in
Rep. Maxine Waters? office at (202) 225-2201.

To find your Representative go to visit www.house.gov/. For more
information, and to take action, visit the website of the Jubilee USA
Network, www.jubileeusa.org or the Institute for Justice and Democracy
in Haiti, www.ijdh.org.

A FEW MINUTES OF YOUR TIME COULD BENEFIT THE LIVES OF MILLIONS

For more information on debt relief, human rights in Haiti and the
Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti, see www.HaitiJustice.org.
To sign up for bi-weekly action alerts, send an email to
HalfHour4Haiti at ijdh.org.