Haiti Needs Our Help

HAITI NEEDS OUR HELP -- (House of Representatives - February 25, 2004)

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Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to first thank the gentleman from Maryland (Chairman CUMMINGS) for the tremendous leadership he has provided to the members of the Congressional Black Caucus and ultimately to this House. Today he organized the members and we took the extraordinary step of going to the White House to present our case. I would like to thank the chairman for the leadership that he provided in the room with the President, with Secretary Powell, with Dr. Condoleezza Rice, and others. He presented our case and he presented it well. It was supported by other members of the Congressional Black Caucus as we added to the presentation. In the final analysis,

Mr. Speaker, we were able to paint the picture to lay out the case of what is going on in Haiti at this moment.

What we have is this, Mr. Speaker. We have the President of Haiti whose back is up against the wall. We have the President who signed on to a peace agreement that was presented by the international community, led by the United States of America. We have the President with a dwindling police force; and members of his police force are being killed every hour, not simply by the opposition, but by thugs and ex-military folks who have been in exile and who have come back into Haiti to join in this mayhem. He is sitting there asking for help. He has reached out to the United States. He has done everything that we have asked him to do, and he is waiting for some help.

In this coalition that we have, the United States, France, Canada, the OAS, the U.N., and CARICOM, it is time for somebody to step forward. We made our case to the President tonight because we want this great Nation to step forward and to lend a helping hand to this small, poor country in this hemisphere. We think it is the right thing to do.

We want our country to lead. But as we stand on this floor tonight, we are saying to France, we are saying to Canada, we are saying to CARICOM, the U.N., OAS, all of them, somebody please step forward and avoid the blood bath that we feel could happen at any time.

We believe that not only should the United States provide some leadership, but this peace proposal was based on a presentation by CARICOM. This is the CARICOM proposal that was put on the table. Our friends in Jamaica and in the Bahamas and other states of the Caribbean who are so intricately involved in this must step forward. As I stand here, it is necessary for Jamaica to be in contact with South Africa in order for South Africa to be able to respond under the banner of CARICOM.

And so our message is not only to the President. We think he should lead, we think we should lead, but to all of the others who are in this coalition. Those friends of ours in the Caribbean, in CARICOM, who put this proposal together know what happens to small nation states. They understand what has been happening to Haiti for years. They too have to receive immigrants from Haiti who have been escaping Haiti for years. Finally, we thought they were settled under Aristide and this presidency. We know that we had the problems of people who did not want Aristide, who was responsible for the coup d'etat, the same people are involved that did not want him in the first place; the same folks who have enriched themselves on the backs of the poor people there and do not want change.

But I suppose we could stand here all night and discuss the history of Haiti and talk about how Haiti has been undermined, how we have had people right here in the Congress of the United States, both Houses who have worked against Haiti for years. But rather than talk about all of that, this time should be used to make the plea, to say to our President, move now; to say to CARICOM, it is your proposal, enforce it. If the opposition does not support it, it is time to move ahead and stabilize this little country, save the lives, avoid the blood bath and emerge as honorable in all of this, honorable people, an honorable country that reached out a helping hand and did the right thing at the right time.

We cannot wait any longer, Mr. Speaker.

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