Message from Dr. Ron Daniels -- HSP Apology for Incident in Milot

Mon cher Daniel, J'accuse réception de ta réponse. Merci. Après lecture, je me suis rendu compte que le message/ réponse du Dr. Ron Daniels de HSP au photographe Daniel Morel en date du 24 octobre 2009, présentant toutes ses excuses et celles de HSP à tous les Haïtiens et particulièrement à la population de Milot, tout en te remerciant d'avoir porté l'incident de Milot à l'attention du groupe HSP, n'est pas arrivé jusqu'à toi. Ceci est malheureux. Je te fais donc parvenir ci-après et en pièce jointe, ce message intitulé: Haiti Support Project Apologizes for Inappropriate Presentation at Milot Comme il est dit dans ce message du Dr. Daniels en date du 24 octobre, tout sera mis en place pour que ce genre d'incident n'arrive plus. Comme je te l'ai dit le weekend dernier lors de mon passage au Cap Haïtien, merci encore pour ton intervention et surtout pour ton expertise mon ami. J'ai été époustouflé en regardant tes photos. Tu as su capter ce que personne d'autre à mon avis n'avait remarqué. Bien à toi et salutations Patriotiques, Lionel Jean Lionel Pressoir « La théorie sans la pratique est inutile. La pratique sans la théorie est aveugle » "Theory without practice is useless. Practice without theory is blind" Immanuel Kant ----- Forwarded Message ---- Sent: Sat, October 24, 2009 2:28:17 PM Subject: Message from Dr. Ron Daniels -- Re: HSP Apology for Incident in Milot The Haiti Support Project recently completed an awesome Pilgrimage to Haiti [see attached Communique]. However, it was marred by an unfortunate and unintentional incident in terms of the improper presentation of hundreds of pairs of used shoes during the Welcome Ceremony in Milot -- which Haitian photographer Daniel Morel has strenuously and appropriately objected too. We certainly don't want the good work we've done to be undone by such and unfortunate incident. Please find attached, a Statement expressing the Haiti Support Project's apology for the inappropriate and insensitive presentation of a contribution in Milot during the Pilgrimage to visit the Citadel as part of our Model City Initiative. Also attaching article and photo spread that appeared in the Final Call Newspaper. Please utilize on your outlet as you feel appropriate.The Local Development Committee from Milot will also be issuing a statement in the near future. Sincere thanks. Yours in the struggle, Ron Daniels Haiti Support Project Apologizes for Inappropriate Presentation at Milot Statement by Dr. Ron Daniels, President of the Institute of the Black World 21st Century and Founder of the Haiti Support Project In a recent article Daniel Morel was quoted as "denouncing" the contribution of used shoes displayed on a table with the Haitian Flag during the Welcome Ceremony in Milot for a delegation of African Americans and Haitian Americans, organized by the Haiti Support Project to visit the Citadel. Mr. Morel, who is one of Haiti 's most renowned photographers and a leading progressive, viewed the gift and the way it was presented as an insult to the Haitian people especially at a Ceremony with hundreds of well dressed school children, the Mayor and other officials from the Milot region. I would like to express our appreciation to Mr. Morel for bringing this matter to our attention. We sincerely apologize to the people of Milot and the people of Haiti for the awkward, insensitive and inappropriate manner in which a well intended contribution was presented. Every contribution that was presented at the Ceremony, including the announcement of a full year of school supplies for nearly 2,000 students, the launch of a micro-credit lending program and the 600 pairs of shoes were in response to specific requests by the Local Development Committee of Milot. However, HSP never wants to behave or be perceived as behaving like "Black missionaries" or "ugly Americans." This is totally contrary to our vision and mission of building a constituency for Haiti in the U.S. and the goals of the Model City Initiative in Milot. In fulfilling our mission and goals we always want to respectfully partner with Haitian Americans and our sisters and brothers in Haiti . Accordingly, in the future we pledge to be more careful and sensitive in the presentation of contributions that have been requested by our partners on the ground. And, we earnestly hope that this unfortunate incident does not detract from the overall success of Haiti Pilgrimage III as reflected in the official Communiqué released this week which appears on our website http://www.ibw21.org/ It was incredibly important that Congressman Gregory Meeks of New York, Chairman of the powerful House Subcommittee on International Monetary Policy and Trade and member of the Congressional Black Caucus (we believe he is the first member of Congress and the Congressional Black Caucus to visit the Citadel), joined our delegation for the tour of the Citadel and Sans Souci Palace. He left truly inspired and pledged to spread the word about what he experienced to his colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus. Richard Muhammad, Editor-in-Chief of the Final Call Newspaper, the official voice of the Nation of Islam under the leadership of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, has already published an impressive spread in the paper and is planning additional features. Radio Talk Show Host Warren Ballentine, who has a national audience of 5 million in the U.S., spent an entire week on his show sharing his very positive and inspiring visit to Haiti and encouraging his listeners to sign-up for the next Pilgrimage. The response has been overwhelming! Kangol Kid, the first Haitian American Hip Hop Artist, who had not visited Haiti since he was eleven years old, is busy reaching out to other successful Haitian American actors, artists, athletes and entertainers as part of what he's calling Operation Going Home! Kangol is committed to encouraging Haitian Americans to reconnect to and invest in their native country. In general our delegation of forty-one opinion leaders, educators, business and professional people, leaders of organizations and community activists have returned as Ambassadors of Hope for Haiti, fired-up and determined to change the negative images of Haiti so prevalent in U.S. media. Overall, we believe Haiti Pilgrimage III was a major success as we seek to mobilize the Black Diaspora to impact U.S. policy toward Haiti and promote cultural/historical tourism. So, again, we sincerely apologize for any inappropriate actions during our recent visit to Milot and hope our Haitian sisters and brother will forgive our mistakes and misdeeds as HSP moves forward to respectfully and constructively support the process of democracy and development in Haiti .