CSA Statement on Haitian Earthquake

The Caribbean Studies Association would like to take this opportunity to express its profound sympathy and solidarity with the people of Haiti, who are currently in the midst of dealing with the aftermath of one of the most devastating natural disasters to be visited upon them. Our sense of sorrow over the loss of human life in Haiti is paramount; the dead are our brothers and sisters, our friends and colleagues and our fellow Caribbean compatriots. As a professional Caribbean organization our bereavement also extends to those members of the CSA, who reside in Haiti and who have managed to escape injury or worse, but whose relatives and friends have not been as fortunate. Our condolences go out to the families of those colleagues at the University of Quisqueya, and especially the faculty, staff and administration at the State University of Haiti, who perished in the fury of the earthquake.

Haiti has had much to offer and to teach the rest of the Caribbean. Let us now in this time of urgent need, extend the hand of solidarity and support [material and otherwise], with our Haitians neighbors, in their immediate struggle to navigate a way through this morass of death and devastation. The CSA urges its member however, not to be lulled into a sense of complacency by the current outpouring of support that we are witnessing. Let us make sure that we do not fail Haiti once again. This disaster is too immense to be remedied exclusively through contemporary efforts. Our concern is with the rebuilding of Haiti, and that process will require a more long-term commitment to ensure that Haiti rises again. At the moment the CSA does not have its own website for donations but recommends that its members choose from among the following links to respond appropriately.

The Lambi Fund of Haiti
Quixote Center - Haiti Reborn
Yele Haiti - Earthquake Fund
Oxfam America
Huliq News - How to Send Funds
Haiti: How You Can Help [CNN International - Impact Your Worl]
The American Institute of Philanthropy
North Georgia Conference - Disaster Response Outreach Team
AVAAZ.org - Stand With the People of Haiti
The Humanitarian Coalition
World Vision
Partners in Health: Stand with Haiti
Haiti Emergency Relief Fund
Doctors Without Borders
Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders, Canada)

We also mourn the loss of Haitian-Canadian academic Georges Anglade, a distinguished Professor of Geography and former Haitian Cabinet Minister, and his wife Mireille Anglade, both of whom perished in their home in the earthquake. Our deepest sympathy to their daughters, family and friends.

Death of George Anglade - Message from Universite du Quebec a Montreal (UQAM)