a1673: Haitian leaders convene to address unity, rights (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Haitian leaders convene to address unity, rights

By Madeline Baró Diaz
Miami Bureau
Posted April 12 2002

MIAMI · Haitian-American leaders from across the nation are converging on
South Florida this weekend in an effort to join forces and advance issues
that affect the Haitian-American community.

It is the next step in the maturity of a group that is coming to prominence,
particularly in South Florida, through its political and civic strides in
recent years.

The National Coalition for Haitian Rights conference, titled "Developing a
National Haitian-American Agenda: Moving Forward Together," will focus on
issues including economic development, education, civic participation and
strengthening Haitian-American organizations.

The conference is a first-of-its-kind national gathering on Haitian-American
issues, organizers said. The goal is to create a national Haitian-American
agenda.

"We need to figure out how to work better and more effectively as a group,"
said Dina Paul Parks, acting executive director of the national coalition.

The conference will be today through Sunday at the Hilton Miami Airport
Hotel & Towers.

Haiti itself will be dealt with in a special session over lunch Saturday and
a breakout session that afternoon, but the focus is on issues that affect
Haitians living in the United States.

"As we become legal residents and even citizens and we no longer have
immigration challenges, we have to deal with challenges that other people in
the United States face," said Gepsie Metellus, a South Florida Haitian
activist on the national planning committee for the conference.

When Haitians first began arriving in large numbers about two decades ago,
the focus was on denouncing the repressive Duvalier regime that refugees
were fleeing. Other issues took a back seat, Metellus said.

But as Haitians settled in the United States, they faced the same problems
as everyone else -- educating and keeping their children out of trouble,
earning a living and getting fair representation in government.

Among immigrant minority groups in South Florida, Haitians outnumber all
others in Palm Beach County; are second to Jamaicans in Broward County; and
are fourth behind Colombians and Nicaraguans in Miami-Dade, where Cubans top
the list.



Madeline Baró Diaz can be reached at mbaro@sun-sentinel.com or 305-810-5007.




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