We at Share Hope are committed to helping Haitians help other Haitians in the aftermath of the earthquake.
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So, Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865: the day the last U.S. state, Texas, acknowledged the Emancipation Proclamation, which was signed into law 30 months prior. Juneteenth was the first day in the United States when “liberty and justice for all” didn’t just mean “liberty and justice for some,” It reminds us of Dr. King’s wise words, “nobody is free until we are all free”.
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Today is Fashion Revolution Day. Today we’re commemorating and honoring 1134 lives lost and 2500 injured during what was the deadliest garment factory accident in history, the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Dhaka, Bangladesh. On April 24th 2013, seven years ago these workers lost their lives in circumstances that could have been avoided. The structural failure of that building had been noticed at least 2 days prior to the building collapse. As workers noticed significant cracks and brought it to the attention of management, questioning whether or not the building was safe. Tenants that occupied some of the first floor offices observed the same and told their employees to stay home on the following day. Management told the workers that it would be fine and ordered them to come to work the following day.
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I am writing today to discuss the situation surrounding the coronavirus and how it is unfolding in Haiti. First of all, the local Haitian people were very much aware of the severity of the pandemic. There is currently a level of anxiety that I have never seen before. There are rumors amongst the population that Coronavirus will kill half of the population. Although that hopefully is not true, it shows the heightened levels of tension and fear surrounding the situation at hand.
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Today I want to speak to the pandemic of Covid-19 and its impact on Haiti. A country that does not have a sufficient healthcare system to address the needs of its people on an average day, let alone during a global pandemic which requires a vast amount of additional resources. It is important to share what the current circumstances look like for the developing world, specifically Haiti.
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Today is my birthday. Turning 59 is a real wake up call as I'm nearing officially being called a senior citizen!. Being so close to 60 makes the 40’s seem like “a long time ago”, and I’m close enough to 65 to be really worried about Medicare and how the decisions my government makes today about healthcare will affect me very soon! But as I reflect on life, my journey and the places I’ve been called to impact, I always think about the garment industry. I think about my mother coming to the United States as an immigrant from the Dominican Republic in the late 1950’s. I think about how she sat at a machine and planned her life. She sat and sewed and thought about ways to meet her bills. She sat and sewed and thought about how to gain more training and skills to advance. She sat and sewed and dreamt about the future she wanted for her children. She sat and sewed and made the clothes that we Americans wore.
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There is something that connects us all. Regardless of race, religion, or economic status, we are all on this earth because of the strength of a woman. After birth women have continued to be woven in and out of our lives creating a support system of encouragement and nurture. Whether it was your mother, a family friend or co-worker chances are you are thinking about her now as you read this.
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43 workers were killed at a factor in Delhi today. The makeshift backpack factory caught on fire early this morning and trapped workers inside of the building. Many of the factory workers were asleep on the floor resting between shifts and others were at work unaware of the rapidly spreading fire catching them off guard and killing them. The factory was just 600 square feet and one of many manufacturing facilities that is not up to code and was not equipped with fire extinguishers. It is believed that the fire was started by and electrical short circuit and due to the overpopulation of the factory, many workers were unable to get out and suffered injury and death from inhaling the poisonous gases.
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Over 90% of schools in Haiti are privately ran, and schools that are subsidized by the government still require parents to purchase books and uniforms. Many parents struggle to spend approximately 60% of their income on tuition, and with multiple children this becomes more and more difficult. These obstacles are what keep many Haitians from the opportunity to finish school.
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At Share Hope, we strive to protect the rights of the worker. There are numerous factories in Haiti, and we believe in holding them to a standard. Part of advocating for workers rights means working together with factory management and health staff to improve the functionality of the clinics inside the factories. This includes training nurses, establishing standardized protocols including patient data collection, and helping them to better monitor the daily health of the workers.
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