PRESS RELEASE - OPEN LETTER TO DIRECTOR OF CHILD PROTECTION IN HAITI GOVERNMENT
IGNATIUS GROUP___
OPEN LETTER TO MME. ARIELLE JEANTY VILLEDROUIN, DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUT DU BIEN ÊTRE SOCIAL ET DE RECHERCHES (IBESR) IN HAITI.
IBESR MUST ABIDE BY INTERNATIONAL COMMITMENT TO PROTECT CHILDREN.
WOULD MME. VILLEDROUIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF IBESR, PLACE HER CHILD IN THE CARE OF AN INDIVIDUAL WHO HAS BEEN ACCUSED OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE?
IF NOT, THEN WHY DOES MME. VILLEDROUIN IGNORE THE SAFETY OF OTHER PEOPLE'S CHILDREN?
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OPEN LETTER
April 4, 2013
Arielle Jeanty Villedrouin
Directrice Generale
Institut du Bien Etre Social et de Recherches
Port au Prince, Haiti
Dear Mme Villedrouin,
By way of introduction, my name is Paul Kendrick, and I am a long time advocate for the protection of children. For the past four years, I have been immersed in helping and supporting the orphaned Haitian street children who were sexually abused by U.S. citizen, Douglas Perlitz, at Project Pierre Toussaint in Cap Haitien, Haiti.
Two years ago, I became aware that allegations of physical and sexual abuse of children had been reported during a twenty-five year time period against Director Michael Geilenfeld, Executive Director of the St. Joseph's Family of Homes in Port au Prince, by former residents of the St. Joseph's Homes.
Two months ago, a former Wings of Hope resident who has severe cerebral palsy fled to the United States and is now seeking asylum for fear that he will be harmed by Geilenfeld or Geilenfeld's employees if he returns to Haiti.
Hearts with Haiti, a North Carolina based non-profit organization, provides large amounts of money each year to the St. Joseph's Family of Homes. The Hearts with Haiti web site includes the following statement:
"Children come to the St. Joseph Family in many different ways. The St. Joseph Family is in good standing (with) the Haitian department of social services - Institut Bien Être Social et de Recherches (IBESR) - and many of our children at the three homes come as referrals from IBESR."
Please help me to understand, Mme. Villedrouin, why you refer children to an orphanage whose executive director, Michael Geilenfeld, is a multi-accused child molester?
You and your organization are charged with protecting and promoting the well being of innocent children. I cannot understand why you would risk putting even one child in harm's way.
Which begs the question: would you leave your own child in the care of a person who has been accused of child sexual abuse?
Mr. Geilenfeld claims he has been "cleared" of all allegations of child sexual abuse that have been filed against him. Yet, in a published statement, Geilenfeld only refers to one instance, a situation that developed against him in 1990-1991.
In February 2011, Geilenfeld arranged for an alleged abuse victim now living in the United States to change his testimony. Geilenfeld wanted the man to recant his five year old written testimony in which the man alleged that he was sexually abused by Geilenfeld, beginning when the man was a ten year old boy.
Please, Mme Villedrouin, I hope you will explain to me why the Haitian government is not abiding by its commitment to the international community to defend and protect human rights for all its people.
Today, I am writing to you about the Haitian government's obligation to take immediate action to protect innocent children from physical and sexual abuse.
Lest we forget, children have rights too.
Sincerely,
Paul Kendrick
Freeport, Maine USA
1- Affadavit victim one
2- Affadavit victim two
cc: Laurent Lamothe, Prime Minister of Haiti
Roseanne Auguste, Minister in charge of Human Rights.
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RESEAU CITADELLE : LE COURAGE DE DIRE LAVERITE!!!
"You can fool some people sometimes,
But you can't fool all the people all the time."
(
Vous pouvez tromper quelques personnes, parfois,
Mais vous ne pouvez pas tromper tout le monde tout le temps.
) dixit Abraham Lincoln.
