restoration haiti
Like so many, I was moved by the sight of 28,000 Haitian refugees huddled under a bridge at the border town of Del Rio, Texas. The image of ICE agents on horseback whipping the asylum seekers was disturbing, to say the least.
Writer Katja Vujic said in her article “How to Help Haitian Asylum Seekers”: “2021 brought unprecedented tragedy for Haitians…protests demanding that President Jovenel Moise step down; in July, he was assassinated throwing the already unstable government into turmoil. Food and water became scarce, and violence increased. Then, in August, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit, killing more than 2,000 people and injuring more than 12,000… followed almost immediately by flash floods caused by tropical storm Grace.” No wonder Haitians are on the run. Wouldn’t you be desperate to escape such violence and desolation?
While I know that the issues at the border are monumental and complicated, I longed for a way to do something for the Haitians. But what could one woman sitting in a comfortable home in La Canada, California do? The answer was right in my garage.
Eight years ago, when my son was married, he and his wife consolidated their separate apartments. Everything that they didn’t immediately need was put into storage. Little by little we’ve been pulling out pallets from the warehouse and putting them in my garage to wade through. Last week the second-to-last pallet produced a treasure…a box of “Restoration Haiti” t-shirts that my son had made when he was studying graphic design. And I thought, what perfect timing for a small fundraiser. After all, as nineteenth century Unitarian minister Edward Everett Hale said, “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.” Especially when it falls in my lap! God sighting!
So, this is an invitation for you to join me in a small, grassroots effort to help. Over the next few weeks, you can send me a donation of ANY amount, and I will send you a Restoration Haiti t-shirt, until supplies run out. I guarantee to you that 100% of your donation will go somewhere to make a difference, probably to one of the organizations listed in Ms. Vujic’s article available at this site:
https://www.thecut.com/2021/09/how-to-help-haitian-asylum-seekers-in-the-u-s.html
Or you can bypass me altogether and make a donation to one of these organizations yourself. Just let me know which one you give to, and I will STILL send you a t-shirt, as a conversation starter to prompt others to think about helping. I won’t ask for any proof that you gave; I trust you that much.
No matter where you stand on immigration, remember that these are human beings, mothers, fathers, children. And interestingly enough, they are not the first population to live under this bridge. Some of the Kickapoo Nation of Native Americans used to live in boxes under that same bridge until officially recognized by the Texas Indian Commission in 1977, and granted their government-to-government relationship with the federal government in the 1980’s. Their casinos in the Rio Grande Valley have lifted them from poverty. Wouldn’t it be exciting if the Haitian refugees could one day be so successful? And you could play a part!
Love, Liz
Photo of Haitians by pedro pardo
Thank you to my t-shirt models Donna and Sandy
