Hope And Resilience In Haiti

WHEREAS, the AFT and Haiti have strong and enduring ties, as we are linked by family and profession, and many AFT teachers, nurses and students are proudly of Haitian descent; and

WHEREAS, the United Federation of Teachers and the Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals led early-response healthcare teams in the wake of Haiti’s devastating earthquake; and

WHEREAS, then-Secretary-Treasurer Lorretta Johnson brought an AFT delegation to Port-au-Prince to help open a neighborhood free clinic serving the families of union workers; and

WHEREAS, we recognize that while Haiti was the first Caribbean nation to gain independence from European powers and was once one of the wealthiest colonies of the Americas, it is now the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country; and

WHEREAS, the challenges facing Haiti are daunting, and the Haitian people are trying to persevere amid political instability, social unrest, financial greed, financial profiteering from other countries, the central government’s inability to deliver much-needed public services for its people, and the devastation caused by climate change and natural disasters; and

WHEREAS, we acknowledge that the transformation of Haiti rests ultimately in the hands of its own people, who will need to initiate a multiparty dialogue and elect a new government that delivers human rights, civil liberties and equality—a solution for Haitians, by Haitians; and

WHEREAS, we assert that through all the years of civil strife, Haitian educators and nurses have functioned as strong voices for the protection of the people by denouncing the country’s episodes of violence against women and girls; fighting the recruitment of schoolboys into criminal gangs; fighting the illegal trafficking in arms, drugs and forced labor; and reaching across political lines to oppose the growing polarization of society; and

WHEREAS, we have seen that the government has tried to intimidate Haitian unions, but the government’s strong-arm tactics have failed because unions and their community allies stood in resistance for what is right and fair, and the fight continues for labor union rights and the right to organize; and

WHEREAS, despite all the challenges facing Haiti, we remain resolutely optimistic about the power of educators, healthcare workers, public sector employees and their unions to promote democracy and social justice in Haiti:

RESOLVED, that we stand in unity with the people of Haiti and remain committed to defending and promoting the vital work of the public sector, because we know that high-quality public services are the vehicle by which people gain opportunity and freedom; and

RESOLVED, that to monitor events in Haiti and to identify credible aid organizations to partner with, we will empower a committee of AFT leadership and members—including members from the Haitian-American AFT community, faith groups, our regional trade union network and other donors—to show humanitarian solidarity with the people of Haiti.