Feb. 28, 2023:
As Black History month wraps up, we invite you to join us to continue to celebrate and honor Black individuals, migrants, and communities. Throughout history, and even today, Black communities continue to shine a light on systemic oppression, racism, and inequity in our societies. Their fight for freedom, justice, and human rights extends beyond Black communities.
Image from NBC News site
“There are such things in the world as human rights. They rest upon no conventional foundation but are external, universal, and indestructible. Among these, is the right of locomotion; the right of migration; the right which belongs to no particular race, but belongs alike to all and to all alike.”
- Frederick Douglass advocating for Chinese and Japanese immigrant rights in 1867, Boston
The US border and migration policies have a deep-rooted history of racism and systemic oppression. Black and brown migrants continue to face inhumane treatment, violence, and systemic barriers at the border and beyond. For example, in 2021, more than 15,000 Haitian migrants at the US-Mexico border were uprooted from their encampment and inhumanely displaced again from their temporary homes.
Honoring Haitian Migrants Journey
We would like to highlight the Haitian migration journey because it demonstrates the complexity of migration – colonialism, racism, climate emergencies, inequitable resources, and the physical journey itself. Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the Latin and Caribbean regions. One of the causes of Haiti’s poor economic status and unstable political structure is due to its history of colonial and foreign exploitations. Here’s a snapshot of decade long journey of thousands of Haitian migrants who arrived at the US-Mexico border:
Image from Migration Policy Institute
The 2010 earthquake took more than 217,000 lives and displaced 1.5 million from their homes. The 2014 FIFA world cup and summer Olympics in Brazil created economic opportunities for Haitians. 85,000 Haitians arrived in Brazil between 2010 and 2017. In 2020, the Haitian population in Brazil reached 143,000.
Due to declining economic opportunities and racism against Haitians and immigrants, 103,000 Haitians moved again to Chile between 2015-2017.
In 2018 Chilean government started requiring visas, but 69% of Haitian visa applications were rejected within two years. Due to anti-blackness and anti-immigrant policies, work permits became harder to acquire in Chile forcing Haitians to move again.
Haitian migrants were again forced to take one of the most dangerous migration journeys, crossing Darien Gap, before arriving at the US-Mexico border to seek refuge.
Love translated into different languages spoken by RIT staff members. We would also like to acknowledge that not all languages have written forms. <3
As we celebrated love, we also experienced immense losses locally and globally. Thousands of individuals continue to lose their homes due to natural disasters, war, and violence. We would like to uplift some of the movements, communities, and organizations, and invite you to support them:
African Advocacy Network's (AAN) mission is to make the African Advocacy Network an outstanding social and immigration legal service provider for African and Afro-Caribbean immigrants through the delivery of quality services by Department of Justice (DOJ) Accredited staff in a culturally and linguistically- supportive environment.
Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI) educates and engages African American and Black immigrant communities to organize and advocate for racial, social and economic justice.
It has been a year since the invasion of Ukraine. Nova Ukraine is at the frontline supporting Ukrainian refugees. Please consider making a donation to Nova Ukraine.
Stand in solidarity with Iranians fighting for their freedom by signing this petition. Follow these on Twitter or IG accounts: Iranrights, Collective for Black Iranians, Iranian Diaspora Collective, Diaspora for Iran, 1500tasvir, and Bayarea4Iran.