Dear Friend,

A humanitarian disaster continues in a place close to your and our homes and hearts… Haiti.

Since a devastating 7.2-magnitude earthquake rocked southern Haiti on August 14, we have been in close communication with our Haitian partners. Their reports convey immeasurable loss, sharp political analysis, and an extraordinary combination of pragmatism and vision regarding the way forward. *And they continue to depend on your deep and unwavering solidarity. [ [link removed] ]*

As of August 22, the reported death toll was 2,207, with 12,268 people injured, and nearly 130,000 homes destroyed or damaged. The Platform of Haitian Human Rights Organizations (POHDH) underscores that official numbers are partial at best. They do not account yet for communities in remote areas lacking health and other infrastructure, where "the situation is catastrophic." Another partner, National Congress of Papaye Peasant Movement (MPNKP), reported that *"the smell of corpses is rising."*

For the Haitian Platform to Advocate Alternative Development (PAPDA), another long-term partner, the devastation is "grafted upon a multidimensional crisis." Before the earthquake, Haiti had already been facing its most extreme humanitarian crisis in more than a decade, with skyrocketing hunger and a worsening COVID pandemic, pushing its already strained medical system over capacity. Violence escalated even more in the aftermath of the assassination of the ex-president, whose regime had been widely protested for corruption, repression, and mismanagement.

From the first hours after the tremor, our partners and allies have jumped into action to build a Haitian-led recovery. They are addressing immediate needs while building long-term solutions. And they need your support - for projects such as:

* Providing emergency supplies and shelter;
* Expanding access to local seeds, livestock and farm tools - so communities can feed themselves through food sovereignty;
* Organizing trainings in earthquake-resistant home construction, agroecology, and environmental management; and
* Building a Haiti that guarantees human rights for all.

[ grassrootsonline.org/haiti ]

Our partners are clear that there is nothing "natural" about the type of devastation Haitians are facing in the wake of the earthquake and storms. The US's trade, aid, and immigration policies have left the Haitian people living on the edge.1

If we want to avoid the same problems after the 2010 earthquake - the graft, the corruption and the disaster capitalism that marred recovery efforts - Haitians themselves must run the response from the bottom up. *Join us in supporting these very efforts with our Haiti Emergency Fund [ [link removed] ].*

In solidarity and gratitude,

Ninaj Raoul
Grassroots International Board Member and
Executive Director Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees

Jhenny Saint-surin
Solidarity Program Officer for Haiti and West Africa


P.S. Our emergency fund has been included in a number of calls for solidarity with Haiti. Thank you to the Movement for Black Lives, Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, Panta Rhea and more for sharing our appeal!

[1] "Why the U.S. Owes Haiti Billions", Bill Quigley, CounterPunch