Originally: Subject: RE: Tragedy in Cite Soleil
From: Sandy Apaid Mourra [mailto:sandy@acn2.net]
Subject: RE: Tragedy in Cite Soleil
Senator Dodd,
Do you know who the 184 are?
Do you know what a Social contract is?
Have you read the 184’s presentation of a New Social Contract?
Asking myself these questions and listening to your remarks on the events of Saturday July 12th in Cité Soleil, the only sense I can make of it is that you are not well informed.
How could you say in a declaration, that a group of people who are trying to
find a better future for their country by meeting and consulting with different sectors of Haitian society, provoked the Aristide supporters by having a private gathering in a religious school?
By the time the Caravane of Hope arrived in Cité Soleil that morning the entire area had been terrorized by a group of Aristide supporters. These Aristide supporters used large rocks to batter the members of the Caravane (teachers, human rights representative, heads of syndicates, businessmen, students, young men and women, members of the church, and many more). The victims never replied, they did not even have the means to defend themselves. The police refused to protect them.
I can tell you because I was present at that meeting. I was present because I am a mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister, I am a Haitian. I left my children at home that morning because I felt the need and the responsibility to hear and share with teachers, peasants businessmen, merchants, workers, industrials, Journalists, intellectuals, my feelings and vision of a better Haiti.
IS THIS NOT MY MOST BASIC HUMAN RIGHT? IS THIS NOT THE MOST ELEMENTARY RULE OF DEMOCRACY?
Having said that, I believe you owe it to your voters, your country, your constitution and your conscience to research the events of Saturday
July 12th in Cité Soleil. Find out who the 184 are. You will see that they are not the opposition or a political party. They are a group of moderates who want a better future for their country. Read their proposal for a New Social Contract. Ask yourself, why the Haitian government, who’s very legitimacy is contested by most, is threatened by this group of moderates who are gaining too much moral authority within Haitian society and in the eyes of the international community. If this moderate group cannot meet in a private school to share its vision of a new social contract, HOW CAN WE TALK ABOUT ELECTIONS IN HAITI? HOW WILL ANY PARTY OTHER THEN THE ONE IN POWER EVER BE ABLE TO HAVE AN ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN?
After doing this research, I believe you will feel the need to retract your declaration and apologize to your fellow citizens, to all Haitians and Haitian Americans, and to your fellow senators for the misinformation conveyed by your light statement.
Regards