As we give from our own pockets and encourage our government to fund relief and reconstruction in earthquake-devastated Haiti, we can’t let skepticism about the past success of aid efforts dissuade us from responding. But at the same time, we can’t ignore real concerns. Groups involved in human rights and health related work in Haiti issued a call for Haiti relief and reconstruction efforts to respect the following principles:
Like us, you must be hearing the tale of loss and destruction coming from
Haiti and wondering what you can do to help. Here at the LAWG, we will
be working to encourage a generous response from the U.S. government to
this devastating earthquake, including for long-term reconstruction.
But right now, the most important action we can all take is to contribute to one of the many caring organizations providing relief.
As I advocate for a U.S. policy towards the region based on justice and
human rights, I’ve had easier years during the Bush Administration. For
an administration that promised hope and change, both are in short
supply.
The Amazon Rainforest is famously known as the “lungs of the earth.” In
the Ecuadorian Amazon, indigenous groups have united in an effort to
protect our proverbial lungs from multinational corporations who they
say have spent many years exploiting these sacred lands for profit and
harming the communities that live there.
On Thursday November 5th, 2009, the Center for Justice and
International Law (CEJIL), Amazon Watch and the Washington Office on
Latin America hosted an event that allowed members of the Ecuadorian
Indigenous Rights Movement to share their stories. The following quotes
were taken from Marlon Santi’s remarks at that event.
Elections took place Sunday, November 29th in Honduras with National Party leader Porfirio Lobo declared the winner.
But
elections carried out under a state of emergency, with visible military
and police presence, by a government installed by coup, with a
significant movement opposed to the coup calling for abstention, and
with the deposed President still holed up in the center of the capital
city in the Brazilian Embassy, are no cause for celebration. As we wrote to the State Department
on November 24th, “a cloud of intimidation and restrictions on assembly
and free speech affect the climate in which these elections take place…
basic conditions do not exist for free, fair and transparent elections
in Honduras.”
Action Center
