D060 Support For a Solution to the Crisis in Haiti

The Diocese of Haiti is the largest Diocese of The Episcopal Church. Yet, many of us are not aware of the depth of the crisis occurring there. Gangs have taken over much of the country. With gang violence, there is arms and drug trafficking, murder, sexual violence and chaos. They closed the airports for a period of time. Episcopal clergy have been kidnapped. There is still no plan for a Bishop to be elected or chosen.

Between January and mid-March 2024, criminal groups killed nearly 1,500 people not involved in the violence and injured 800 others, according to the United Nations. Approximately 360,000 people have been internally displaced throughout the country. Nearly half of Haitians are food insecure, and 1.4 million Haitians are at risk of famine according to the UN World Food Programme (WFP).

Haiti needs to stabilize and rebuild. They must restart a transitional government. The Episcopal Church needs to be able to speak to these issues. Haiti must know that they are not forgotten by their sibling dioceses, and we support their efforts to bring the rule of law back to Haiti.