30338: Hermantin(news)A prayer of hope for all Haitians on this Easter (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>


Posted on Sun, Apr. 08, 2007

COMMENTARY
A prayer of hope for all Haitians on this Easter
BY JOHN C. FAVALORA
www.miamiarch.org


Today, Christians around the world celebrate the risen Christ. The empty tomb 
of our Lord invites us to fill our hearts with faith and hope. At the same 
time, 101 Haitian men, women and children who arrived on our shores in a 
rickety boat last week still await this same hope that Easter brings.

These refugees have endured a long Lenten journey that began in 
poverty-stricken Haiti, long before they desperately embarked on a harrowing 
journey across rough seas with little food and water. Glimmers of Easter hope 
shone for them as they approached the coasts of beautiful Florida. They were 
filled with hope for a better life for themselves and their families, free from 
brutality and filled with opportunity for a dignified future.

However, the Lenten journey for these refugees has been lengthened by the 
current immigration system, which has imprisoned them and instituted an 
expedited-removal process designed to keep impoverished Haitians out of the 
country.

Justice, and the promise of Easter, requires us to release these individuals so 
that they may pursue their claims for political asylum. Just as Cubans come to 
our shores seeking relief from a wicked dictator and a totalitarian government, 
so, too, do these Haitians seek refuge from long-standing political brutality 
and extreme poverty. We must do justice by treating these Haitians with equal 
dignity and respect. As it stands now, the disparate treatment between Haitians 
and Cubans amounts to a form of ``immigration apartheid.''

The Haitians' release is not an immigration question; it's a question of human 
dignity and human rights. The government has failed to articulate a compelling 
security-based rationale for the continued detention of these Haitian refugees. 
Our moral responsibility to welcome the stranger, in this case, is staggering.

The Archdiocese has pledged and continues to pledge our resources by providing 
both legal and social services for these individuals. Attorneys from Catholic 
Legal Services and Saint Thomas University Law School have already begun 
representing them through the complicated legal system. Catholic Charities 
stands ready to shelter those who do not have family members to sponsor them. 
The unaccompanied minors are already being cared for by the Archdiocese at 
Boystown.

But the release of these individuals does not alone satisfy our moral 
obligations. Justice further demands that the federal government address the 
larger issues faced by the Haitian community already in the United States. They 
deserve Temporary Protected Status (TPS). This status allows individuals to 
remain in the United States for a temporary period of time while they are 
unable to safely return home due to on-going armed conflict, natural disasters 
or other extraordinary conditions. No country deserves this designation more 
than Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere.

We must be mindful that the brutality of life in Haiti has a profound impact on 
our community here in South Florida. Our Haitian brothers and sisters in Miami 
watch painfully, and on a daily basis, as their beloved homeland suffers 
continuing political and humanitarian crises. Here in the United States, they 
experience the shared indignity of U.S. discrimination against Haitian 
immigrants. Granting Haitians in the United States TPS status is the least we 
can do to support the people of Haiti as they try to reach a place of 
sustainability and for the Haitian community here as it struggles for 
acceptance.

I urge the federal authorities to do everything that the law allows to release 
these refugees and secure TPS for all in the Haitian community. Where the law 
as written cannot accommodate this, I urge our lawmakers to change the laws. I 
urge each of you to help bring the Easter message of faith and hope to these 
refugees. Join me in praying for peace in Haiti and justice for Haitians in the 
United States.

Archbishop John Clement Favalora heads the Archdiocese of Miami.

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