Monday 15 June 2015

I can't believe this is happening...

I went online tonight with the intention of responding to all my birthday greetings on facebook and doing a blog about my fantastic birthday weekend, but something stopped me dead in my tracks. One of my facebook friends posted a link to this article:

http://www.thenation.com/blog/209745/we-regret-inform-you-4-days-you-and-your-family-will-be-deported-haiti#

and it rocked me to the core...

As someone who has traveled to Haiti on numerous occasions with Is There Not A Cause, and has passed through the Dominican Republic en route to Haiti in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake, this article greatly disturbed me. I could not fathom that this was really going to happen.

That thousands of people would unceremoniously be kicked out of the only country they have ever called home, and be dumped in another country that, as far as I know, has not put anything in place to receive them.

That these people who were born and grew up and established homes and businesses and families in the Dominican Republic would be torn away from everything that was familiar to them and exiled to live in a country where they don't even speak the language.

That all this is supposed to happen in the next few days, and it seems like nobody knows or cares about it, because it is not as trendy as Jack Warner or Caitlyn or the latest episode of Game of Thrones.

So I started reading more about it to understand the story behind it and the more I read the more disheartened I became as I realised that this was the result of a 2013 Supreme Court ruling that apparently cannot be changed. Even though the Human Rights court has asked the Dominican Republic to reconsider the decision and change their laws, certain forces seem intent on ridding the country of persons with any connection to Haiti.

There is only one thing left to do; pray and rally as many believers as possible to intercede on behalf of our fellow Caribbean family. Please pray that:

  • The deadline for Haitians and other non-residents to be registered would be extended
  • The registration process would not be unnecessarily prolonged or delayed for those who are qualified
  • Plans by the Dominican Republic officials to do 'mass round-ups' of persons who have Haitian features and heritage with no proof of citizenship to deport them would be halted
  • Employers in the Dominican Republic would provide workers with the documentation needed to prove the length of time they have been living there, which would help to expedite the registration process
  • Discrimination against Haitians living and working legally in the Dominican Republic would come to an end
Feel free to forward these requests to as many prayer warriors as you can - nothing is impossible with God.

Taken from: http://www.ryot.org/5-things-know-cleaning-haitians-dominican-republic/935183





No comments:

Post a Comment