Destitute Haitians
It appears most unreasonable that Canada fast-tracked Haitian refugees following the 2010 January earthquake when the entire country was in a shambles and millions of poor Haitians were assembled in refugee camps in dire conditions, and now the country has 9,000 refugees who remain in dire straits. True, they are no longer in a third-world-country suffering from endemic economic-social malaise complicated by the devastation of an earthquake which toppled all government infrastructure. They are now safely in Canada, but destitute.
It transcends compassion and the intelligence of integrity to permit thousands of people to escape the confines of squalid refugee camps where potable water must be delivered daily a full year after the devastating earthquake struck the country, yet not to take steps to rescind, for this group of needy refugees, the stiff government fees required to accompany applications to become a permanent resident of the country. Where are these people with few employment opportunities to earn sufficient money to pay the $550 per adult and $150 for each dependent to enable them to qualify?
Eking out a bare living to provide food for the table, living in emergency accommodations, the money is simply not there, and the thousands of refugees that were admitted to Canada under an accelerated plan to take them out of immediate misery into a safe haven are only marginally better off than they were in Haiti. There are two hundred Haitian refugees living in the Ottawa area, with large families occupying inadequate shelters. A spokesperson for the Haitian-Canadian community is appealing for assistance from Ottawans.
Given the fact that Canada and Montreal in particular have the largest expatriate Haitian community in the diaspora, it is puzzling, in the absence of government ameliorative action, that the Haitian community itself does not pool its resources to rescue other Haitians from a miserable situation. "In Ottawa, we need maybe $25,000 to $30,000" to assist in the payment of government fees for the 200 Haitian refugees in this city, according to Gerard Etienne, a prominent member of the Haitian community.
Until that funding is forthcoming to pay for the government application for permanent residency, Haitians in need cannot approach the provincial Ministry of Community and Social Services for housing assistance and other social supports which they so obviously are in need of. Mr. Etienne is quite correct in stating he does not feel that waiving those fees for indigent Haitian refugees "...would bankrupt the government". On the other hand, the Government of Canada, through taxpayer dollars, has pledged millions upon millions for Haiti assistance.
Those well established Haitians with Canadian status who have done well for themselves in Canada might think about their obligations to their fellow Haitians and come forward to assist them in paying those onerous fees. Tax funding is not infinite, and cannot accomplish everything. For starters, former Governor General Michaelle Jean would do well to exert her influence among her fellow Haitian-Canadians, after herself pitching in a substantial donation in aid of supporting new refugees within the Canadian community.
It transcends compassion and the intelligence of integrity to permit thousands of people to escape the confines of squalid refugee camps where potable water must be delivered daily a full year after the devastating earthquake struck the country, yet not to take steps to rescind, for this group of needy refugees, the stiff government fees required to accompany applications to become a permanent resident of the country. Where are these people with few employment opportunities to earn sufficient money to pay the $550 per adult and $150 for each dependent to enable them to qualify?
Eking out a bare living to provide food for the table, living in emergency accommodations, the money is simply not there, and the thousands of refugees that were admitted to Canada under an accelerated plan to take them out of immediate misery into a safe haven are only marginally better off than they were in Haiti. There are two hundred Haitian refugees living in the Ottawa area, with large families occupying inadequate shelters. A spokesperson for the Haitian-Canadian community is appealing for assistance from Ottawans.
Given the fact that Canada and Montreal in particular have the largest expatriate Haitian community in the diaspora, it is puzzling, in the absence of government ameliorative action, that the Haitian community itself does not pool its resources to rescue other Haitians from a miserable situation. "In Ottawa, we need maybe $25,000 to $30,000" to assist in the payment of government fees for the 200 Haitian refugees in this city, according to Gerard Etienne, a prominent member of the Haitian community.
Until that funding is forthcoming to pay for the government application for permanent residency, Haitians in need cannot approach the provincial Ministry of Community and Social Services for housing assistance and other social supports which they so obviously are in need of. Mr. Etienne is quite correct in stating he does not feel that waiving those fees for indigent Haitian refugees "...would bankrupt the government". On the other hand, the Government of Canada, through taxpayer dollars, has pledged millions upon millions for Haiti assistance.
Those well established Haitians with Canadian status who have done well for themselves in Canada might think about their obligations to their fellow Haitians and come forward to assist them in paying those onerous fees. Tax funding is not infinite, and cannot accomplish everything. For starters, former Governor General Michaelle Jean would do well to exert her influence among her fellow Haitian-Canadians, after herself pitching in a substantial donation in aid of supporting new refugees within the Canadian community.
Labels: Canada, Charity, Human Relations
posted by Pieface @ 7:14 PM
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