23556: (Hermantin) Miami-Herald- Editorial-How Haiti can survive-part 2 (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Wed, Oct. 20, 2004


HOW HAITI CAN SURVIVE
U.S. policy grants TPS to many -- except Haitians
OUR OPINION: POLITICAL, NATURAL DISASTERS HAVE TAKEN HIGH TOLL



What is the Bush administration waiting for to grant Temporary Protected
Status to Haitians in the United States? More deaths? Another devastating
tropical storm? Beheadings from uncontrolled violence?

Had it been any other country, TPS would have been granted -- not just weeks
ago, but more than a year ago. Tropical Storm Jeanne killed nearly 2,000
persons last month and made more than 200,000 homeless. Floods in March took
another 3,000 lives. Haiti's man-made disasters have taken countless lives
for years.

By statute, TPS may be offered in cases where a natural disaster results in
''a substantial but temporary disruption of living conditions'' or when
''there is an ongoing armed conflict . . . and, due to that conflict, return
of nationals of that state would pose a serious threat to personal safety.''
Both criteria apply here -- and Haiti should be TPS-qualified.

In Haiti, political gangs feed violence that prevents humanitarian aid from
reaching the neediest people. Men with guns control streets, and the too-few
U.N. troops are unable to stop them. In this lawless climate, international
aid groups withdrew from flood-ravaged Gonaives last week. In this city
where so many have lost loved ones and possessions, pregnant women,
children, families with muddied clothes now wait for food and water in
longer lines, at greater risk.

Haiti doesn't need more homeless, jobless people. Nor is it safe for people
to be returned under current conditions. Granting Haitians TPS would end
their deportations to the troubled island.

Three weeks ago, Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue requested TPS relief
for 20,000 undocumented Haitians already in the United States. With TPS,
these Haitians would be able to work legally and send remittances back home
to help rebuilding efforts. They would be required to return to Haiti once
conditions improved. Those who arrived afterward wouldn't qualify for such
status. TPS isn't an invitation to stay permanently or for other Haitians to
come.

After Honduras and Nicaragua were ravaged by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, the
United States allowed 90,000 of them to remain here under this protection.
Nationals from other countries with fewer ties to the United States have
also had TPS over the years.

Considering the Haitians' circumstances, ''it makes a lot of sense'' to stop
the deportions, Gov. Jeb Bush said recently. Yet the Department of Homeland
Security continues to deport Haitians. Even as Haitians were digging out of
muck and searching for corpses a week after Jeanne struck, DHS's Krome
facility sent 17 Haitians back.

As shocking as that was, it wasn't surprising. For unspoken reasons, the
U.S. government has long treated Haitians worse than immigrants from any
other country. While Cubans interdicted at sea are all interviewed by asylum
officers, Haitians must pass a ''shout test'' -- that is, they are
repatriated unless they cry out. The odds of a Haitian having a legitimate
asylum claim heard are practically nil. Consider the numbers this summer: Of
2,000 Haitians interdicted by the U.S. Coast Guard, only three were found to
have a credible fear of persecution -- this when political violence is
widespread. Haitians who make it to our shores fare little better. By Bush
administration mandate they must remain imprisoned until they prove their
asylum claim or are deported. No other nationality is subjected to such
cruel and unfair treatment.

Advocates say the U.S. policy is racist. Perhaps that is so. That many
Haitians who flee are poor and uneducated likely are factors, too. Other
Caribbean nations also treat Haitians poorly. None of these reasons excuses
U.S. indifference to Haitian suffering.

Administration officials say that unforgiving immigration policies are
necessary to deter a mass exodus from Haiti. But a floating wall of U.S.
cutters only tightens the seal on the pressure cooker that is Haiti. Without
doing more to curb violence and improve conditions on the island, U.S.
policy could trigger just such an exodus.

South Florida's vibrant Haitian community defies stereotypes. We have
welcomed Haitians, and they have enriched our collective experience. Our
community will play an important role in rebuilding Haiti. TPS can provide
immediate relief to an island in need.

• To let the president know what you think about this issue, send him your
message online at president@whitehouse.gov or call 202-456-1111.

NATIONS WITH TEMPORARY PROTECTIVE STATUS
* Now with TPS: Burundi, El Salvador, Honduras, Liberia, Montserrat,
Nicaragua, Somalia and Sudan.
* Past TPS grants:
Angola. 3 years
Bosnia/Herzegovina. 9 years
El Salvador 1½ years
Guinea-Bissau 1 year
Kosovo Province 2 years
Kuwait 1 year
Lebanon 2 years
Rwanda 3 year
Sierra Leone 6 years

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