A call for a new « minimum standard » for aid agencies
August 16, 2021| YON PWOMÈS POU YON NOUVO ESTANDA MINIMÒM POU AYITI : | A PLEDGE FOR NEW MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR HAITI |
| Yon Solisyon Ayisyen ki baze sou Dwa Moun pou reponn ak katastwòf yo | A Haitian Solution for a rights-based approach to disaster response |
| 19 dawou 2021 | August 19, 2021 |
Yon konbit òganizasyon: Nou Pap Dòmi, Ansanm pou Ayiti, Konbit pou yon Ayiti Tèt Anwo (CHW-KATA), the Haitian Ladies’ Network, ak Kowalisyon Repons Ayiti, ap mande òganizasyon kap bay èd pou prete sèman pou pwomèt yon apwòch baze sou dwa moun nan travay pou gen yon patisipasyon ayisyen reyèl epi mande pou amelyore epi respekte epi estanda minimòm pou travay ann Ayiti. | A collective of organizations: Nou Pap Dòmi, Ansanm pou Ayiti, Konbit pou yon Ayiti Tèt Anwo (CHW-KATA), the Haitian Ladies’ Network, and the Haiti Response Coalition call on aid organizations to take a pledge to advance this rights-based approach through commitments to promoting Haitian participation and improving and respecting minimum standards for operating in Haiti. |
| PRETE SÈMAN AN – BAY PWOMÈS W | SIGN THE PLEDGE |
| SIYEN PETISYON AN mande Nouvo Estanda Minimòm | SIGN THE PETITION calling for New Minimum Standards |
| Enfòmasyon de baz: 14 dawou 2021, de (2) tranblemanntè te frape Ayiti; fwa sa fè ravaj nan Gran Sid la, ki poko fin kanpe djanm apre ourangan Matyè nan oktòb 2016. Nou tout sonje Goudougoudou, ki te kraze Pòtoprens, Leyogann ak anviwon yo. | Background: On August 14, 2021, two earthquakes struck Haiti, ravaging the southern peninsula, which has yet to fully recover from the 2016 Hurricane Matthew. The 2010 earthquake that devastated the capital of Port au Prince and surrounding areas likewise still haunts Haiti. |
| Enpak tranblemanntè yo te gwo ak terib paske vilnerabilite ki sòti nan aksyon moun, ki te la byen anvan. Nou pa ka rele evenman sa yo “katastwòf natirèl” men yon makòn kontèks ki te vini oparavan. Èd imanitè ki te vini aprè 12 janvye te gonfle inegalite nan yon pwosesis Raoul Peck te rele Asistans Mòtèl, pat kite preske anyen pou yon amelyorasyon dirab epi menm agrave inegalite ki te la deja epi gonfle depandans Ayiti sou asistans etranje. Sètadi, repons imanitè apre 12 janvye a te reprezante yon replik… moun you toujou santi l. Jere pa gwo òganizasyon entènasyonal, èd sa a te swiv chemen syèk entèvansyon etranje, eksplwatasyon, ak politik ekonomik ki te afebli Leta, rann li yon leta restavèk (yo rele l “Repiblik ONG”) ki te drennen resous peyi a. | The earthquakes’ impact was devastating and vast because of the human-made vulnerabilities that predate them. We cannot look at these events as isolated “natural disasters” but natural events turned into disasters because of human action. The humanitarian aid which followed 2010, that filmmaker Raoul Peck has called “fatal assistance” left little sustainable improvement and in fact exacerbated existing inequalities and deepened Haiti’s dependence on foreign assistance. In other words, the international humanitarian response to the 2010 earthquake became another aftershock that is still being felt. Led by large international organizations, this aid followed on the heels of centuries of foreign interventions, exploitation, and economic policies that have weakened the Haitian State, essentially rendering it an aid State (often called “Republic of NGOs”) and bled the country’s resources dry. |
| Poutèt eksperyans sa a, ayisyèn ak ayisyen kap viv nan peyi a epi lòt bo gen rezon pou sispèk ONG yo. Nou swete kominote entènasyonal la pral reponn vit avèk trajedi jounen jodi a, menm jan yo te fè nan tan pase a. Men li lè pou aprann leson sa yo, koupe fache avèk “asistans mòtèl” la, epi kore òganizasyon ki fè pati solisyon ayisyen yo ki respekte estanda minimòm nan solidarite pou yon rekonstriksyon ki konstwi yon Ayiti pi ekitab pou tout ayisyèn ak ayisyen. Bon entansyon yo pa sifi… bon aksyon dwe swiv. | Because of this experience, Haitians living in the country and abroad are justifiably skeptical of foreign assistance. We hope the international community will respond swiftly to this latest tragedy as it has so generously in the past. But now is a time to learn from that past, move away from “fatal assistance,” and support organizations that are a part of Haitian solutions respecting minimum standards in solidarity to a recovery that builds a more equitable Haiti for Haitians. Good intentions are not enough…good actions must follow. |
| Estanda minimòm: Apre Siklòn Matyè nan 2016, ayisyen ak ayisyèn ki se pwofesyonèl kap travay pou ONG oubyen militan nan mouvman sosyal yo te kolabore avèk kòlèg Ozetazini yo pou ekri yon seri “nouvo estanda minimòm” pou pa repete move pratik apre Goudougoudou, malgre egzistans estanda minimòm mondyal pou repons imanitè yo. Anfèt, fòk tout gwoup kap travay nan domen ed ta dwe chèche konnen, adopte, epi fè tout sa posib pou swiv estanda ki egziste deja. | Minimum standards: Following Hurricane Matthew in 2016, Haitian NGO professionals and activists collaborated with U.S. peers to draft a set of “new minimum standards” to prevent repeating the mistakes of the 2010 earthquake, despite global “minimum standards” for humanitarian responses. Indeed, all groups working in aid should learn about, adopt, and aspire to follow existing standards. |
| Pa gen tan pou pèdi. Lavi ayisyen merite pi plis. | There’s no time to lose. Haitian lives deserve better. |
| Pwomès la: Kòm yon ajans kap mande kontribisyon pou travay ann Ayiti, nou pwomèt nap aplike nouvo estanda minimòm yo nan tout operasyon yo: sòti nan leve fon pou enplantasyon avèk fen operasyon sa yo: | The Pledge: As an agency seeking donations for work in Haiti, we pledge to apply these new minimum standards in all operations from fundraising to implementation to winding down of operations: |
| 1) | |
| Nou pwomèt nou ap respekte diyite pèp ayisyen an epi rejete pwosesis nòmalizasyon pònografik soufrans moun nwa yo. Nou pap sèvi avèk imaj endesan, ki imilye moun, ki pa respekte diyite moun, paregzanp moun ki toutouni oubyen sal, oubyen sèvi avèk imaj moun ki pat di yo dakò. | We pledge to respect the dignity of Haitian people and reject the voyeuristic normalization of Black suffering. We will not use images that dehumanize people or fail to respect people’s dignity, like images of people who are naked or dirty, or that feature people who did not provide consent to being pictured. |
| 2) | |
| Nou pwomèt nou ap itilize langaj ki demontre respè pap sèvi avèk pawòl derespektan pou defini peyi Dayiti, tankou “peyi pi pòv nan emisfè a” san esplike kijan Ayiti vin pòv (rann pòv olye pòv tou kout), epi lòt pawòl fasil san kontèks ki te jistifye yon seri entèvansyon ki pa respekte otonomi ayisyen – oubyen prezante ayisyen kòm viktim olye moun gran moun tèt yo ki fè fas ak yon seri defi ki te se yon rezilta dirèk sistèm esklavaj, kolonyalis, ak rasis. | We pledge to use respectful language, to not use language perceived as offensive by Haitians, such as descriptions of Haiti as the “poorest country in the hemisphere” without explaining how Haiti became so poor (impoverishment vs. poor), and other clichés that have historically justified interventions that disrespected Haitian autonomy or presented Haitians as passive victims rather than autonomous individuals facing challenges that are the direct result of slavery, colonialism, and racism. |
| 3) | |
| Nou pwomèt nap detaye sa nap fè, sispann kolekte donasyon pou “Ayiti” tou kout; nap detaye ki zòn epi ki domèn, ki bezwen patikilyè nap travay pou adrese parapò avèk yon plan asistans ki baze andann yon kontèks espesifik. | We pledge to be specific, stop collecting donations for “Haiti,” and to instead articulate specific geographic regions and particular needs that we will work to address in accordance with a context-specific assistance plan. |
| 4) | |
| Nou pwomèt nap transparan, mete plan vizib pou piblik la – ki gen ladan enfòmasyon anvè ki popilasyon nap sèvi, ki entèvansyon, ki estrateji ak patnè nou (epi depi konbyen tan nou ap travay avèk yo epi kritè pou chwazi yo) nan fason ki posib san mete enfòmasyon pèsonèl deyò pou mete lavi moun an danje. Nap pibliye enfòmasyon sa a nan sit web nou epi lòt fowòm ki posib, ki gen ladan medya ayisyen tankou radyo. | We pledge to be transparent, make public our work plans for carrying out our efforts, including information on which populations will be served by certain interventions, specific strategies, and partners (along with information regarding how long we’ve worked with them and our criteria for selecting them) to the extent practicable permitted without revealing personal information or putting anyone in danger. The information will be made public on our website and, where practicable, on other public Haitian forums such as radio. |
| 5) | |
| Nou pwomèt nap respekte lidèchip ayisyen, kowòdone avèk epi enfòme KASEK ak majistra nan lokalite epi ministè ki responsab yon entèvansyon espesifik, epi pandan repons etap ijans la, avèk gwoup sektoryèl kowòdone pa OCHA nan patenarya avèk Direksyon Pwoteksyon Sivil. Nou pwomèt nap angaje moun nan kominote yo ak sosyete sivil nan planifikasyon, egzekisyon, ak evalyasyon pwoje ki afekte oubyen gen yon potansyèl nan mezi posib. | We pledge to respect Haitian leadership, coordinate with and/or notify national and local officials in Haiti, including the local councils (CASEC) and mayors in the area and ministry responsible for specific interventions, as well as – where appropriate for disaster response – with the corresponding sectoral working groups coordinated by UN OCHA in partnership with the Haitian Directorate for Civil Protection. We also pledge to involve local community members and civil society into the design, execution, and evaluation of projects that affect or have the potential to affect them to the extent possible. |
| 6) | |
| Nou pwomèt pou n enklisif, pou egzekite travay nou nan yon mannyè ki bloke diskriminasyon kont gwoup ki istorikman majinalize tankou fanm, minorite seksyèl, moun ki gen yon andikap, moun ki pa gen mwayen finansye, epi pou swiv pratik ki entegre nan yon fason sistematik manm gwoup majinalize nan desizyon inisyativ nou yo. | We pledge to be inclusive, to carry out our work in a way that prevents discrimination against historically disempowered groups such as women, sexual minorities, disbled persons and impoverished people, and to follow practices that systematically integrate members of disempowered groups into decisions about our initiatives. |
| 7) | |
| Nou pwomèt nap ranfòse kapasite ayisyen, bay priyorite epi envesti nan resous lokal tankou pou resous fizik ak anplwa, epi nap asire salè pou anplwaye Ayisyen se yon salè ki pèmèt moun yo viv epi koresponn avèk kapasite oubyen konesans pwofesyonèl. | We pledge to reinforce Haitian capacity, prioritize and, to the extent practicable, invest in local resources for procurement and employment. In so doing, we commit to ensuring that salaries for Haitians are sufficient to constitute a living wage commensurate with their skills or relevant knowledge. |
| 8) | |
| Nou pwomèt nap sipòte byen kolektif la, nan bay èd ki ap ranfòse estrikti ak sèvis piblik: wout, dlo, elektrisite, lekòl, kominikasyon, e latriye. | We pledge to support the public good, providing aid that sustainably reinforces public structures and services, including roads, water, electricity, schools, and communication systems. |
| 9) | |
| Nou pwomèt nap adrese alontèm nan, pout respekte epi swiv jefò devlopman alontèm epi pou gen yon plan pou sòti vit nan faz ijans pou ranje tab pou faz rekipirasyon ak rekonstriksyon yo. Kidonk, nou pwomèt nou ap pataje konesans avèk popilasyon an pou yo kapab pran lidèchip avèk tout zouti nesèsè pou kominote a kapab kontinye travay la. | We pledge to address the long-term, to be accountable to existing sustainable development efforts and have a plan to expedite the emergency phase and move into the recovery and rebuilding phases. As such we commit to sharing knowledge and any necessary tools with the affected population to enable local ownership of any ongoing activities. |
| 10) | |
| Plis pase tout bagay, nou pwomèt n ap pran angajman, pou n gen kont pou n rann, epi envite gwoup ann Ayiti, sitou kominote kote n ap travay yo, pou yo veye nou, pou asire nou dwe rann yo kont. Nou pwomèt pou n reponn ak tout kesyon lokal anvè travay nou. | Above all, we pledge to hold ourselves accountable, and invite groups in Haiti, especially the communities in which we work, to hold us accountable. We commit to respond to all local queries about our work. |
| PRETE SÈMAN AN – BAY PWOMÈS W | SIGN THE PLEDGE |
| SIYEN PETISYON mande Nouvo Estanda Minimòm | SIGN THE PETITION calling for New Minimum Standards |