A good man...

Don't forget 'poor Haiti'

Activist protests outside PM's residence

Rohandra John

Saturday, December 26th 2009

Trinidad & Tobago Express

(Read the original article here)

Human rights activist Ishmael Samad yesterday staged a dawn-to-dusk vigil outside the Prime Minister’s St Ann’s residence as he called on the Government to remember the plight of Haiti whose citizens are forced to eat mud pies because they cannot afford ham and turkey.

Samad, who gave up spending time with his own family, said that the nation must not forget the Haitians who are ’sinking deeper and deeper’ into poverty with each day that goes by.

’We must think of our Haitian brothers and sisters during this season of good-will. We in Trinidad, we have oil and so many resources, we can afford to help the Haitians. Haiti is energy poor, 99 per cent of their trees are gone and they are using charcoal to cook. The people are so poor they cannot even afford kerosene.’

Samad said that one way the Government of this country can help Haiti is to donate kerosene stoves to the people because they need an alternative to charcoal.

Samad said kerosene stoves are commonly used by people in Indonesia and throughout the Asian sub-continent. He said a kerosene stove costs only US$50.

’We have the money and the resources, we are in a position where we can help. The Government is spending millions of dollars to construct all these buildings and to change the sky-line of Port of Spain, so it will cost us nothing much if we were to purchase some of these stoves and donate them to the Haitian people.’

Samad said that he has written a number of letters to the Prime Minister on this issue and ’his Permanent Secretary responded and said that this country was trying to help through Caricom, but that is not enough. We need to do more to help our Haitian brothers and sisters,’ he added.