12268: Bastien calls for justice in June

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: JOSE PEREZ <miamitimesperez@hotmail.com>

Bastien calls for justice in June

The Miami Times - 05 JUN 02

With the Reverend Al Sharpton’s visit with detained Haitian political
refugees yesterday and United States Senator expected to follow Sharpton
later this month at the Krome Detention Center and the Turner Guilford
Knight jail, awareness is growing about the sufferings of the detainees.
However, for some activists, it is not enough.

“It is an outrage that there’s not a [greater] public outcry,” said Marleine
Bastien, executive director of Fanm Ayisyen nan Miyami (Haitian Women of
Miami).  “We want to bring awareness of the plight of the Haitian men,
women, and children in detention since December 3.”

Hence, Bastien is calling for June to be “Justice Month”.

According to Bastien, the situation is worsening for the detainees.  Morale
is at rock bottom levels said Bastien.  She said that a young man attempted
suicide last week.  Overcome with the emotional trauma of incarceration, the
man tried to hang himself.

“How many more attempts must take place before we do something?” asked
Bastien.  “Are we waiting for a death?”

A particularly sensitive source of frustration involves the government’s
practices that single out Haitians.  “We feel that if it were Cubans in jail
for that long,” Bastien said, “all elected officials would have acted.”  She
said that she wants to “call them [leaders] to the plate”.

Bastien said that government officials are “playing politics with the
Haitians’ lives and that is wrong.”
One elected official in particular was mentioned.

“We want to challenge [North Miami] Mayor Josephat Celéstin to arrange a
meeting with the President,” said Bastien.  She made specific reference to
statements Celéstin made in last week’s Miami Times about a conversation he
had with President George W. Bush during the chief executive’s visit to
Miami.  Celéstin stated that the President was unaware of the situation
involving the political refugees.

Bastien, in conceding that the President said that to Celéstin, added that
“now he [Bush] knows.”

Celéstin was out of his office and not available for comment before
deadline.

As part of the activities for “Justice Month”, the Haitian Women of Miami
plan to flood the White House with phone calls, emails, standard postal
service mail, along with the aforementioned request for a visit with Bush.

José Pérez
Writer / Photographer
MIAMI TIMES
305 694 6216
305 757 5770 fax


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