This is beyond mission trips and beyond funding and beyond what many
Presbyterians are very eager to do.
It is public Policy advocacy.
I hope you will take a few minutes and at least read the viewpoint.
We may agree to disagree but I feel that an awareness of the issues
is important.

Thanks,

Pix


Pix Mahler
pcusa Haiti Partnership Facilitator
pix@...
1022 Floyd St., Lynchburg, VA 24501
434-385-9486
http://www.pcusa.org/missionconnections/profiles/mahlerp.htm


Begin forwarded message:
> Cancel Debt Fast Days of Action for HaitiMake a Call to Congress
> this week! (script/talking points below)

>
> Capitol Switchboard

> (202) 224-3121

>
> Not sure who your member of Congress is? Go here
> Background: Over half of the loans Haiti continues to pay were
> granted to corrupt and brutal dictators like Francois and Jean-
> Claude Duvalier. The Haitian people continue to pay interest on
> these loans of a clearly odious nature.
>
> This is money that could be used to invest in health care or
> education in a country where almost a quarter of children under
> five are chronically malnourished and only 35% of students are able
> to complete primary school. These loans divert over $57 million per
> year from a country where half the people struggle to survive on $1
> a day or less.
>
> While the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the Inter-
> American Development Bank have allowed Haiti to enter their debt
> cancellation programs they hold Haiti under the onerous framework
> of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. In the
> meantime Haiti will pay $110-140 million more in debt service to
> these institutions. Understanding the immediate need for action,
> Representatives Waters, Bachus, Delahunt, Lee, Payne, Conyers,
> Gutierrez and Maloney introduced H.Res 241 on March 13, 2007. HR
> 241 now has 65 cosponsors and still needs more! The resolution
> recommends that the Secretary of the Treasury and the U.S.
> Executive Directors at the International Monetary Fund, World Bank
> and the Inter-American Development Bank exercise US influence to
> completely and immediately cancelHaiti’s debt to these institutions.
>
> Take Action!
> October 2-4: National call in days. We urge concerned citizens to
> take action by contacting their representatives to demand
> congressional action on HR 241 Haiti Debt Cancellation Act. If your
> member of Congress has already co-sponsored the resolution give
> them a call anyway. Thank them for co-sponsoring the resolution and
> ask him/her when we can expect a vote on the resolution. Then ask
> her/him to also co-sponsor the Jubilee Act HR 2634.
>
> Also, let your member of Congress know about the briefing on
> October 4th. Call your representative in both the district and
> Washington, DC offices. Find script for contacting your
> Representative below.
>
> October 2-4: Walk the Halls- Meetings with Congressional Members to
> encourage support for debt cancellation.
>
> October 4th: Haiti Can’t Wait for Debt Cancellation Congressional
> Briefing on HR 241 3:30-5:00pm Room 2105 Rayburn House Office
> Building. The panel is co-sponsored by Jubilee USA, TransAfrica
> Forum, Partners in Health, Institute for Justice and Democracy in
> Haiti, and the Quixote Center.
>
> Script to call your Representative:
>
> 1. Find out who your Representative is by entering your zip code at
> www.house.gov (upper left corner)
>
> 2. Pick up the phone and call the Capitol Switchboard:

> (202) 224-3121

>
> 3. Ask to be connected to your Representative’s office. The
> receptionist will answer. Introduce yourself as a constituent from
> ________ (city), (state)
> 4. Say some version of the following: "I am calling to urge
> Representative ______ to co-sponsor the Haiti debt cancellation
> resolution (H Res 241), if she/he has not already done so. This
> bill would provide immediate debt cancellation for Haiti. By
> canceling the debt immediately we can support Haiti in the
> improvement of healthcare, education, sanitation and other
> essential services and infrastructure. I urge Representative
> _______ to co-sponsor this important legislation. To co-sponsor,
> your staff should contact Kathleen Sengstock in Representative
> Maxine Waters’ office at

> (202)225-2201."
>
> (You can stop there, or add an additional sentence about why this
> issue is important to you). Then thank the receptionist and say
> goodbye.
>
>
>

> From: "HalfHour4Haiti" <Halfhour4haiti@...>
> Date: October 2, 2007 9:28:05 PM EDT
> To: <info@...>
> Subject: Half-Hour for Haiti: Join the Big Push For Debt Relief for
> Haiti!
>
> October 2, 2007
>
> Half-Hour for Haiti: Join the Big Push For Debt Relief for Haiti!
>
> Update: Sorry we missed September’s Half-Hour alerts. As many of
> you know, human rights activist Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine was
> kidnapped on August 12. We held off on alerts because the
> kidnapping initially appeared to be for economic reasons, and we
> were advised that action alerts could be counterproductive. But
> Lovinsky has now been missing for seven weeks, and Lovinsky’s
> family and his organization, the September 30th Foundation, have
> been raising the public profile of the case. We are working on an
> alert for Lovinsky that we will send out towards the end of the
> week. For more information about Lovinsky, his disappearance, and
> taking action to save Lovinsky's life, see our website,
> www.HaitiJustice.org.
>
> In the meantime, we need to carry on Lovinsky’s work, including the
> cancellation of Haiti’s multilateral debt, which will divert $57
> million this year fromHaiti’s elected government to wealthy banks
> that were established to fight poverty.
>
> Thanks to everyone who fought for debt cancellation this summer by
> engaging their representatives during the August Congressional recess.
>
> This week is the next big push. The Jubilee USA Network is
> sponsoring the Cancel Debt Fast from September 6 to October 18.
> Rev. David Duncombe of White Salmon, Washington, is spending the
> whole time on Capitol Hill, fasting and persuading members of
> Congress to pass the Jubilee Act, which would cancel unjust debt
> for Haiti and 66 other countries. For updates on the fast events,
> see Jubilee USA’s Blog the Debt.
>
> This week is Haiti Week for the Cancel Debt Fast. On Thursday,
> Jubilee USA, Partners in Health, TransAfrica Forum, the Center for
> Economic and Policy Research , Haiti Reborn, and the Institute for
> Justice & Democracy in Haiti are sponsoring a Congressional
> briefing on H. Res. 241, the Haiti Debt Cancellation Resolution,
> with the help of Rep. Maxine Waters (Thursday 10/4, 3:30 PM,
> Rayburn 2105). The panelists will explain the impact of the
> diversion of resources to pay Haiti’s debt, to the healthcare
> system and the overall economy. They will also explain why it is
> important to pass H.Res. 241, as well as the Jubilee Act: the Haiti
> Debt Relief Act was introduced earlier and is further along in
> obtaining co-sponsors. Haiti also deserves special treatment
> because it lags behind other countries, because it was excluded
> from earlier debt relief efforts for political reasons.
>
> Many of us fasted on September 6, (see Boston Globe article) and
> will fast again on Thursday. If you would like to join the fast,
> click here. But fasting and educating members of Congress and their
> staff about Haiti’s debt is only half the work of getting H.Res.
> 241 passed. The other half is you telling your Representatives that
> you care about Haiti’s debt, and that they should make debt
> cancellation a priority. For more information about Haiti debt
> cancellation and H.Res. 241, see our Haiti Debt Relief Resource
> Packet.
>
> This week’s alert from the Haiti Reborn program shows what you can
> do to help: call this week, and let your Representative know you
> support Debt Cancellation for Haiti.
>
>
> ________________________________________________________________
>
> For more information about the Half-Hour for Haiti Program, the
> Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti, or human rights in
> Haiti, see www.HaitiJustice.org. To receive Half-Hour for Haiti
> Action Alerts once per week, send an email to HalfHour4Haiti@....
>
>
>
>