24039: Hermantin (Pub) Correct 200 years of bad U.S. policy concerning Haitians (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Miami-Herald
Posted on Wed, Jan. 05, 2005





Correct 200 years of bad U.S. policy concerning Haitians


In 1798 Gen. Toussaint L'Ouverture looked for U.S. assistance in recognizing
a black republic. President John Adams was interested and hosted
L'Ouverture's envoy Joseph Bunel at a White House dinner. Then Adams sent
the U.S. fleet to the island in a show of force and introduced a bill to
Congress for trade and de facto recognition of what is now Haiti. Had those
policies held, today would be different. The slave states, however, defeated
Adams and worked to keep Haiti from becoming an economically viable country.

Today Haiti's friends call again on the U.S. president to stand for
humanity. Haiti is reeling from the devastating impacts of hurricanes atop
the island's poverty. The country is engulfed in civil strife, making life
even-more hazardous. Numerous Haitian refugees have fled these uncertain
conditions to the United States. But the U.S. government aggressively is
shipping these refugees back to danger and possible death in Haiti.

There is a simple solution: Grant Haitians Temporary Protected Status. This
designation has been used many times for other countries in Central America
and does not require a change in immigration law. Yet it saves lives and
prevents hardships during a period of great disorder in a country. It also
would allow refugees time for legal assistance in applying for asylum.

The Miami-Dade NAACP calls on President Bush to take a principled stand, as
did his predecessor in 1798. We call upon him to reach out the arms of the
United States to our neighbor to the south and reverse a 200-year legacy of
maltreatment by granting Haitian refugees Temporary Protected Status.

BRADFORD E. BROWN, immediate past president, NAACP, Miami