AMERICA/HAITI - Appeal of SJRM: the government has to assume an active role in the reconstruction and the international community has to keep its promises

Port au Prince (Agenzia Fides) - The Jesuit Service for Migrants and Refugees in the Caribbean subregion (SJRM) has asked the government of Haiti and the Haitian society to do more to rebuild the country, and the international community to keep its promises in helping Haiti, where living conditions have worsened significantly after the 2010 earthquake. The members of the SJRM expressed these requests in a document issued at the end of a meeting in Santiago de los Caballeros, in the Dominican Republic, from September 4 to 6, which was attended by delegates from Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, United States and Canada.
The document, of which a copy was sent to Fides Agency, shows that the region is characterized by several forced migration flows, as in the case of Haiti, Colombia and Central American, as well as the flow of Dominicans to Puerto Rico and Cubans to Ecuador. "The worst situation is in Haiti, where the weakness of the State and the lack of international aid after the earthquake have contributed to reaching the limit, so we appeal to the government of Haiti and the Haitian society to take an active role and engage themselves more in the process of rebuilding the country. At the same time we call on the international community to fulfill the promises made to help Haiti. "
The document concludes with a call to the globalization of solidarity, and to all the international organizations, in order to cooperate to strengthen coordinated migration policies and with honest laws. The SJRM is part of a network present in 19 countries, coordinated in order to accompany the migration of vulnerable people across the continent. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 10/09/2012)