Haitians rally in North Miami for end to instability back home

By Johania Charles Miami Times Staff Writer

On July 11, 2023

A massive crowd of demonstrators in “Relief for Haiti” shirts, waving the Haitian flag and carrying protest signs, marched half a mile through downtown North Miami on Sunday, seeking congressional support for Senate Bill 396 and justice for Haiti. 

“Haiti will not perish,” they chanted in their native language, before singing hymns about strength and perseverance. 

Such was the scene across various U.S. states and at least eight other countries, including Haiti, France and Canada. 

SB 396, or the Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act, would require the U.S. Department of State (DOS) to provide Congress with an annual report identifying those with political and economic power in Haiti who have ties to criminal gangs. The report would not only list influential Haitian figures with gang ties but also identify prominent gangs in the island nation, assess how collusion between these groups may impact Haitian people and U.S. national interests, and determine what actions can be taken to prevent such threats. 

Bill supporters say it will be a game-changer for the Caribbean nation that has long been plagued by political corruption and instability. 

In the last three years, Haiti has seen its president, Jovenel Moïse, assassinated, rampant gang violence, rape, and food and fuel shortages, not to mention investigations into acts of corruption across three government agencies, two schools and three mayors’ offices that reportedly swindled the country out of $4 million.

In an effort to thwart corruption, the DOS in April sanctioned Gary Bodeau, former president of the Haitian Chamber of Deputies, for allegedly facilitating bribes worth millions of dollars to influence the outcome of political appointments in Haiti. 

Sunday’s international march came on the heels of a United Nations representative calling for a multinational force to ward off armed gangs in Haiti. 

Shekinah.fm CEO and Tabernacle of Glory Senior Pastor Gregory Toussaint organized the march. The church, with a Miami campus at North Miami Senior High School, consists of 47 branches and has 25,000 active members. 

Its radio station, Shekinah FM, started a petition in June calling for the passage of SB 396, for the Biden administration to keep the Humanitarian Parole Program going and for a plan to legalize parolees after its two-year period. 

It garnered more than 125,000 signatures. Building on the petition’s momentum, Toussaint announced plans late last month to coordinate the global “Souf Pou Ayiti” or “Relief for Haiti” march. 

“This march is not to overthrow a government; we’re doing a march to make our voices heard and to attack problems,” said Toussaint, who asked participants to keep things peaceful. 

A 24-hour prayer campaign preceded the march. 

“It’s not a political march, it’s a spiritual march,” Toussaint told his congregation last Friday, encouraging them to worship and pray at different points during the walk. 

Major cities with an overwhelming Haitian diaspora presence, such as Tampa and Orlando in Florida, Brooklyn in New York, and Boston and Indianapolis, had people show up in droves. About 450 pastors and their congregants participated too, along with more than 200,000 individuals. 

“Here in Miami, we stand for Haiti and when we stand together, we will win,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “I promise you, I will be forever by your side and I know that Haiti will once again thrive.” 

“Haitians everywhere, in Miami, in New York, Haitians in California and all across the diaspora, stand up to say ‘Enough,’” said Marleine Bastien, District 2 County Commissioner and a longtime immigration rights activist, in Creole. “We here have a responsibility to support a bill … the solution is in our hands. Bishop Gregory Toussaint and the diaspora is doing their part but those in Haiti have a role to fulfill, too.” 

Those who couldn’t attend the march posted photos and videos on social media using #Soufpouayiti and tagged government leaders.

This piece was republished from the Miami Times Online.