24754: Esser: (action alert) Justice for Haitian Children Abused in New York School System

[sak-pase@bimini.ws]

From: D. Esser <torx@joimail.com>

COMMITTEE FOR JUSTICE FOR THE 13 HAITIAN CHILDREN AT PS-34
April 12, 2005
Demand justice for Haitian children abused in  New York School system


PROTEST THE ABUSE AT P.S. 34

THE HAITIAN COMMUNITY SAYS:

NO TO RACISM!
NO TO DISCRIMINATION!
NO TO THE DENIGRATION OF OUR CHILDREN IN THEIR OWN SCHOOLS!


On March 16th 2005, following an altercation between some students in
the lunchroom of PS 34 in Queens Village, Mrs. Nancy Miller, the
Assistant Principal of the school, singled out the 13 Haitian
students of the school's only 4th grade bilingual class and forced
them to sit on the floor to eat their lunch of chicken and rice with
their bare hands.

When the students protested, she screamed at them in front of the all
the other students in the lunchroom: "In Haiti they treat you
like animals and I will treat you the same way here".

Instead of acknowledging this cruel and inhumane treatment of our
children and the entire Haitian community, the Principal of the
school, Mrs. Pauline Shakespeare, who according to a Haitian parent
described her child's behavior as "animalism", has chosen to stand
with her Assistant Principal.

She has been repeatedly pulling some of the 13 Haitian children out
of their class to try to convince them that the March 16th incident
never happened. According to one of the students, Mrs. Shakespeare
has even gone as far as offering the children free ice cream if they
were to "say something else".

* We vow to our 13 children, who were so savagely humiliated by this
racist white woman who we are paying to educate them, and to
all our children everywhere that we will not allow this crime to go
unpunished.


* We demand no less than the firing of both, Mrs. Nancy Miller and
Mrs. Pauline Shakespeare. We don't want them transferred to another
school where they will simply continue to abuse other parents'
children.


Haitian children are human beings with the same rights as every other
U.S. citizen. Support our communities call for justice for these
innocent children by calling to express your outrage and echo our
demand.

CALL, WRITE, E-MAIL, & FAX:

Regional Superintendent Judith Chin
718-281-7528
JChin@nycboe.net & LOjeda@nycboe.net

Chancellor Joel Klein
TELE: 212-374-0200
FAX:  212 374 5588
chancellor@nycboe.net

CALL:

* Robert Small - Head of Special Investigation into this PS-34 abuse  
case
* Jennifer Graham - Head of the Response Team for Chancellor Joel
Klein on this PS-34 matter at 212-374-5156
* Local Instructional Superintendent Janet Won at 718-281-3407, and
* PS-34 at 718 465 6818


CALL:

Your local congressional representative in New York, the media and
the mayor's office to spread the word and fax this sheet to all Press
contacts.

The Haitian community will not tolerate human rights abuses in the U.S.

We have suffered ENOUGH!!! Our children will be vindicated only with
a full and public apology, the firing of both Miller and Shakespeare
and the school providing counseling and trauma care to these 8 and 9
year old innocents.

For more Information:
Call 718-464-6068 or e-mail Janpetro@aol.com


see also:
Article by Juan Gonzalez in New York Newsday
https://listhost.uchicago.edu/pipermail/haiti-news/2005-April/ 
000446.html