The Honorable Colin Powell
Secretary of State
United States Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Powell:

It was good to see that you have been in Haiti this week, as I had wanted to write to you on behalf of your nearly 100,000 fellow Episcopalians there. We are anxious to determine what support we might provide to see a stronger long-term presence for the United States in that so long-troubled nation--the poorest country in the hemisphere. The Episcopal Church of Haiti is the largest of our dioceses. Bishop Jean-Zache Duracin, our priests, our church and Episcopal Relief and Development continue to have a strong presence there, but the situation is far beyond our resources or those of our partners such as the Roman Catholic Church.

During the week of March 15, 20 priests and leaders from around the diocese gathered in Port-au-Prince to tell us what they are experiencing in their communities. While the substance of their reports will not be new to you, we are sure you will recognize their pain as the situation unfolds. Some told of being accosted by gangs, of being robbed, of violence, shootings and mayhem in their towns and villages, of threats against school children, of parents so fearful they keep their children home from school and have been doing so since December. They told of medicines unavailable or sold at exorbitant prices, of transport and travel made impossible by road blocks and gun-wielding thugs intent on disruption and destruction in their frustration either for or against the now-departed president.

Food prices have risen drastically. Escalating gasoline prices and gas shortages add to the difficulty in transporting food. Savings and loan institutions that had promised high interest rates to attract families’ savings have closed their doors just as Haitians desperately need their meager savings. Many families had invested all that their relatives had sent from the United States, according to the director of St. Vincent’s School.

Government-run hospitals in the capital have closed or are severely overburdened. Holy Cross Hospital in Leogane, a joint venture of the Episcopal and Presbyterian churches, has as its mission to serve the poor. Its director, Dr. Jack Guy LaFontant, must shorten stays so he can accommodate the tremendous numbers that appear at his doors. LaFontant is trying desperately to do that but he is running out of not just medicine but fuel to keep the generators running.

The priests in Haiti praised the Episcopal Church and their companions in dioceses across the country for their generosity and support but they pleaded: “Help us, help us long-term.” It is their plea for long-term help that I would like to echo in this letter. I need not repeat for you the history of United States relations with Haiti, but I pray that with your leadership we may begin a new commitment to Haiti to establish the rule of law and democratic processes and to begin the long, hard task of building a just society.

Specifically, we believe that the United States must:

• Strengthen the  international peacekeeping force so that humanitarian needs can be met

• Devote the resources necessary to rebuild Haiti

• End the current policy of interdiction and summary forced return of asylum-seekers and designate the country of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for a period of eighteen months

The Rev. MacDonald Jean, senior priest in the Episcopal Church of Haiti, is one of the seven members of Haiti’s Conseil des Sages. He told Episcopal News Service: “I would thank the Episcopal Church (USA) because the Episcopal Church has always sustained the work of the Episcopal Church in Haiti. We are very, very grateful. And, also, the Episcopal Church, I hope, is ready to journey with us.”

As we end the season of Lent, we pray that for the sake of the people of Haiti, the United States Government is “ready to journey with us” as well.

I look forward to our upcoming meeting about the Middle East and am grateful for your stewardship in these challenging times.

Yours in Christ,

Frank T. Griswold
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church, USA