#5138: Fonkoze's Jeannot Found in Morgue (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Jocelyn McCalla <JMcCalla@nchr.org>

Dear Friends,

We received word today that the body of Amos Jeannot, the Fonkoze courier
who was abducted on September 6, at the end of a robbery of the grassroots
credit union by a gang of men dressed in standard issue police uniforms, was
found in Port-au-Prince's morgue in a badly decomposed state. We are
saddened by this news and extend our condolences to his relatives and young
child for whom he was the main breadwinner.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your responses to
our call for action. They provided much needed comfort and support to the
Fonkoze staff and its leaders who spared no efforts in their quest for
Jeannot, even while bracing for the worst. Fonkoze had offered the sum of
50,000 gourdes, a small fortune by Haitian standards, for information
leading to the whereabouts of Jeannot and the assailants. Your letters,
telegrams and faxes prompted the Haitian police to start cooperating in the
investigation rather than simply lend a deaf ear.

Funeral services for Amos Jeannot will be held early next week at the
Cathedral in Port-au-Prince. To express sympathy and condolences, to offer
support to Fonkoze, please write to Anne Hastings, Executive Director at
fonkoze@aol.com. You may not get a reply right away, but be certain that
your thoughts and concerns will be deeply appreciated.

These are trying times for advocates for human rights, and social and
economic justice in Haiti. Fonkoze continues to be the subject of anonymous
threats. The absence of viable police protection and a functioning
government contribute to its vulnerability. Yet through Fonkoze and beyond
Fonkoze lies the future of a democratic Haiti whose people can not only hope
for a better life, but should be able to call their leaders to account for
their action and get results. Their struggle for survival is also our own. I
urge you to rally around their efforts to find justice for Amos Jeannot and
the hundreds of poor Haitians who were robbed of their savings when the
killers raided Fonkoze's headquarters.

Please continue to demand that the Haitian police investigate this matter to
the best of its ability, to provide enhanced protection to Fonkoze's offices
located in virtually every Haitian province. And most importantly continue
to stand with the Haitian people in these trying times.

Sincerely,


Jocelyn (Johnny) McCalla
Executive Director
National Coalition for Haitian Rights
jmccalla@nchr.org