Benefit for Haiti Relief: Stand with the People of Haiti!

Black History Month Forum & Benefit for Haiti Relief
Stand with the people of Haiti!
What the U.S. government isn’t telling you

Featured speaker: Pierre Labossiere, Haiti Action Committee
Plus, cultural performance and dinner to help raise funds

The people of the world are responding to help alleviate the terrible suffering of the Haitian people after the massive earthquake which struck Jan. 12. We urge everyone who can, to attend this important benefit for the Haitian people. Pierre Labossiere of the Haiti Action Committee will give an important update on the ongoing crisis.

Why is Haiti the most impoverished country in the Western hemisphere? The answer lies in the more than two centuries of U.S. exploitation of—and hostility to—the island nation, whose hard-won independence in 1804 from the French was only the beginning of its struggle for liberation.

Natural disasters are inevitable, but resource allocation and planning can play a decisive role in lessening their impact. But Haiti has been drained of vital resources and income for decades, due to extortionate loans by the U.S.-controlled International Monetary Fund and World Bank. These loans enrich the banks while Haitian people die.

Haiti was self-sufficient in rice production until the Clinton administration forced a “free trade” policy on Haiti in the 1990s, and soon U.S. agribusiness began to flood Haiti’s markets, displacing thousands of farmers. The chronic malnutrition and poverty is a direct result of U.S. imperialist policy.

President Obama announced that USAID and the Departments of State and Defense will support the rescue and relief efforts in Haiti. Yet, these are the same government bodies responsible for the economic and military policies that reduced Haiti to ruins even before the earthquake hit. We call on the U.S. government to stop deportations of the Haitians from the U.S., and to immediately cancel Haiti’s debt, in addition to real assistance for the Haitian people.

$10-20 donation. (no one turned way for lack of funds). All funds collected go to Haiti relief.

Sponsored by the ANSWER Coalition. Co-sponsored by FMLN—N. Calif., Bay Area Latin American Solidarity Coalition, Task Force on the Americas, and others.