16455: (Arthur) APROSIFA calls for a safe working environment (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Tttnhm@aol.com

APROSIFA calls for a safe working environment
19 August 2003 - Christian Aid

Christian Aid partner, the Association for the Promotion of Integral Family
Healthcare (APROSIFA) in Haiti, has criticised the local police and judiciary
for failing to act following the killing of its security guard.

The shooting, which happened on 11 August, was the third serious attack on
the organisation in two years.

In an open letter to officials, APROSIFA founder Rose-Anne Auguste writes :
'Which side will the police and legal authorities take : that of those who
protect the lives of an impoverished population by providing health care, or those
who have destroyed numerous lives with impunity ?'

Dumay Carrier was shot dead while on duty. The attack took place just before
the start of a paediatric clinic, where many young children were waiting to be
seen.

APROSIFA has worked in the slum district of Carrefour Feuilles, in Haiti's
capital Port-au-Prince, for the last ten years. It provides low cost health
care, advice and HIV/AIDS prevention services to local people.

But staff say they are frequently harassed and threatened with violence.

Guerda Alexis, a social worker with the organisation, says, 'I am often
attacked for the work that I do with HIV positive women. I encounter abuse.
Sometimes the aggression we encounter is linked to the political situation : it's
tense.'

In October 2001, APROSIFA reported how three armed men stormed its main
office, attacking the night watchman and raping his young daughter.

A formal investigation was launched by the Haitian government, but has never
been concluded.

In July of the same year APROSIFA's director, Dr Blondel Auguste, was
arrested, accused of possessing illegal fire arms and plotting against the State. He
was eventually released after an international campaign and has since gone
into exile.

APROSIFA denies all charges against him, which, it says, are politically
motivated. A number of irregularities have been highlighted in the legal
procedures used to deal with his case, it adds.

Christian Aid has condemned the attack and has urged the authorities to
ensure that all acts of intimidation cease. 'We are calling for a serious
investigation and for adequate security to enable APROSIFA to continue its work.,' says
Andrew Croggan, head of the Latin America and Caribbean team for Christian
Aid.

______________________________________________


This email is forwarded as a service of the Haiti Support Group.

See the Haiti Support Group web site:
www.haitisupport.gn.apc.org

Solidarity with the Haitian people's struggle for justice, participatory
democracy and equitable development, since 1992.
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