17016: 10th DOHE: March to commemorate Haiti's Bicentennial (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: 10th DOHE <10thdohe@10thdepartment.org>

ENDORSE THE NATIONAL MARCH FOR HAITIAN EMPOWERMENT



The 10th Department Organization for Haitian Empowerment (10th DOHE) invites
you to join our efforts in collective support of the Haitian cause by
endorsing the National March for Haitian Empowerment. The march will take
place on Saturday, March 20, 2004 in Washington, DC, and the purpose of this
march is to celebrate Haiti's bicentennial and call for Haitian Empowerment
Now.



The Africans enslaved in Haiti fought against oppression and injustice to
successfully abolish slavery and created the first black republic in the
world. However, as the country commemorates its 200 years of independence,
Haiti is still not free. The Haitian people are not free because the
revolutionary dream of self-determination and equality is not yet a reality
for all. Haitians in the Diaspora are not free, because our national
identity is associated with negative stereotypes, and stigmas. As a result,
they have no collective voice or power to assist their country.



10th  DOHE seeks to strengthen transnational ties between the Haitian
Diaspora, Haiti, and international communities to dispel negative
stereotypes against Haitians and people of Haitian descent. Likewise, the
Haitian Diaspora has a significant role to play in dispelling stigmas
against Haiti, and work together to end poverty, illiteracy and injustice in
the country. We believe that grassroots mobilization efforts in the nation's
capital will enable us to collectively address issues that impact Haitian
people on a local, national and an international level.



"There is nothing more powerful than the marching feet of a determined
people," said Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.  We have seen the Haitian people's
marching feet shake the Brooklyn Bridge, and today Haiti's future is at
stake. Now is the time for us to unite as one people with one voice along
side our friends and supporters at the "NATIONAL MARCH FOR HAITIAN
EMPOWERMENT" in Washington, DC, on Saturday, March 20, 2004.



With your endorsement, you can support our call to the Haitian Diaspora and
friends of Haiti to march in the nation's capital and call for an end to:



  a.. Unfair economic and trade policies against Haiti
  b.. Illiteracy, poverty, impunity, economic and class warfare in Haiti
  c.. Withholding international Aid to Haiti
  d.. IMF and World Band death plans impose on Haiti
  e.. Unfair immigration policies and racial discrimination
  f.. Negative stereotypes against Haitians & people of Haitian descent
  g.. Police Brutality against innocent victims (ie, Abner Louima and
others)

"Yo pa janm fè moun kado libète, libète se pou pep ki vayan," (they never
make the gift of freedom, Freedom comes to people who struggle for it) said
Jean Claude Martineau. With your endorsement, we can demand that the world
superpowers recognize Haiti as a free nation. Unless you act today, our
children may not have a Haiti to celebrate 200 years from now. With Your
Help, the Pride and Resilience of our Voices Can and Will Be Heard, and
Together We Can March to Support:




  a.. A progressive Haitian Empowerment Movement
  b.. An active and unified Haitian Diaspora
  c.. A collective vision for our country, people, and national identity
  d.. Promoting Haiti's sovereignty
  e.. Haitian PRIDE and CULTURE
  f.. Reparations from France to rebuild Haiti
  g.. And most importantly, a strong, proactive and unified Diaspora

Right now, Haiti awaits your stand at this crucial moment in history and
anticipates your support as her child or as her friend. Get involved and be
a part of this historical event, endorse the National March for Haitian
Empowerment!



To endorse the march click on
http://www.10thdepartment.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=dsp_endorse_form or
contact Eugenia via e-mail ecmathurin@10thdepartment.org and/or call
202-452-5511.



March for Haitian Empowerment Now!



Eugenia Charles-Mathurin, Advisor



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Complete the Endorsement Form
(Note only items 1-4 will show on the website)



  1.. Name: _______________________________
  2.. Title/Position: __________________________
  3.. Affiliation as you want to appear on the website:
_________________________
  4.. City/State/Zip: _____________________________________
  5.. Street Address: ___________________________________
  6.. E-mail: _______________________________________
  7.. Telephone: __________________________________
  8.. Fax: ____________________________________________




P.S. You can also mail this form to:

10th DOHE,

P.O. Box 2322

Washington, DC 20013-2322

Fax: 202-452-5512.



Please let us if you are interested in becoming an organizing center for
your area to help mobilize and get of people from your area to DC for the
march.





Eugenia Charles-Mathurin
10th Department Organization for
Haitian Empowerment (10th DOHE)
PO Box 2322
Washington, DC 20013-2322
202-452-5511 - Office
202-452-5512 - Fax
E-mail: 10thdohe@10thdepartment.org
"Building on a patriotic vision of strength in unity"

Commemorate Haiti's Bicentennial!
Join us at the National March for Haitian Empowerment on March 20, 2004 in
DC.
For more information visit www.10thdepartment.org.