Haitian Activists Prepare for a Massive Protest Rally this Friday across the Brooklyn Bridge in New York.
Haitian New Yorkers and their supporters, including some from the Dominican Republic community, are set to march from Grand Army Plaza in Prospect Park in Brooklyn to City Hall in Manhattan in protest of deportations of Haitian from the Dominican Republic.
“No to racism, no to xenophobia, no to the expulsion of families,” is their message.
The Coalition for Human Rights in the Dominican Republic (CHRDR) will be marching on August 14, 2015 at 9:00 a.m. over the Brooklyn Bridge in support of Dominicans of Haitian descent who have lost their citizenship rights and in solidarity with Haitian migrants living in the Dominican Republic.
“In 2013, tens of thousands of Dominican citizens lost their citizenship and national identity solely because of their Haitian ancestry. Such a gross violation of a basic human right based on racist foundations must not go unchallenged,” said Pastor Lesly Thomas, coordinator of the march. “As Americans we want to send a strong message denouncing the discriminatory policies of the Dominican government and demand that those of Haitian descent in the country be treated with dignity and respect.”
The CHRDR is a broad-based group of organizations formed in response to the Dominican government’s discriminatory policies that have adversely impacted black people, including those of Haitian descent, living in the country. The coalition is centered on the belief that the human rights of all people must be respected in the Dominican Republic. Their specific demands state that: the Dominican government must return citizenship to everyone from whom it was taken as a result of the Constitutional Tribunal ruling; the Dominican government must exercise due process and follow international laws in addressing the issue of migrant workers; and that the Dominican government must ensure that all people are protected from acts of violence, intimidation and are not forcefully removed from the country.
The CHRDR members and its supporters urge everyone to sign onto the White House petition urging the Obama administration not to remain silent on this issue and to take action.
”This is not an issue about Haitians and Dominicans but about basic human rights, human dignity, and the right to a national identity. The goal is to raise awareness about what is happening in the Dominican Republic and to ask our own government and the international community to use their economic and political leverage in resolving this crisis in our backyard.” ~March co-organizer Dr. Edouard Hazel of the Association of Haitian Physicians Abroad.
The March will start at 9:00 AM from the Prospect Park Grand Army Plaza to City Hall and feature
various speakers including local politicians and community leaders.
About CHRDR
The Coalition for Human Rights in the Dominican Republic was formed in 2015 by people of goodwill who seek to advocate for the human rights of people of Haitian descent residing in the Dominican Republic. Organizational members of the CHRDR include: Ahora Now, Black Lives Matter in the DR, Coalition of Dominicans Against Racism, Movimiento Patria Para Todo, Alliance Haitienne Pour la Sante, Association of Haitian Physicians Abroad, Biotech Foundation Inc., Caribbean American Network Inc., Dlo Pou Viv, Educare for Exceptional Children, Friends of Jean Simillien, HABNET Chamber of Commerce, Haiti News Network, Haitian American Association of Engineers, Haitian American Lawyers Association of New York, Inc., Haitian American Caucus, Haitian American Association Political Action, Haitian American Health Alliance, Haitian American Law Enforcement Fraternity Organization, Haitian American Nurses Association of Greater New York, Haitian Association of Psychiatrists, Mainline Partners Inc., National Organization for the Advancement of Haiti, Radio Perspectives Haitiennes, Radio Comedy, Radio Independence, Radio La Fierte Haitienne, Radio La Voix du Peuple, Radio Progres, Radio TeleSolidarite TV, Radio Verite.
Find out more at www.chrdr.org.
