Solidarity Statement with Our Haitian Friends and Colleagues, Zanmi Lasante, Partners In Health, and All of Our Collaborators in Haiti

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Dear Beloved Community,

During the early morning hours of Tuesday, September 26, 2023, armed gangs entered Mirebalais University Hospital and opened fire inside several departments, including the neonatology services, terrorizing and traumatizing the healthcare providers and patients of the institution.The town of Mirebalais also suffered additional attacks, which followed months and years of growing insecurity and gang domination across several regions in Haiti.

This attack did not directly cause any deaths or physical injuries, according to the most recent Zanmi Lasante report, but the trauma experienced by staff and patients weighs heavily on us. Most staff and patients—some critically ill—were forced to flee the hospital. The short- and long-term consequences of this attack cannot be ignored, especially given its scale and the violation of the neutrality of hospitals in situations of insecurity or war.

Mirebalais is an essential institution in our radical reimagining of health in Haiti. It is a beacon of hope that represents what is possible when there is collective organizing and commitment to building a country for Haitians, by Haitians.

We stand in solidarity with Zanmi Lasante and Partners in Health, strong and loyal partners of EqualHealth for many years; hospital patients; members of the Social Medicine Alumni of Haiti (SMAH); the Haiti chapter of the Campaign Against Racism (CAR); and all members of the community who were victims of this attack. This attack is yet another act of violence that proves that the situation in Haiti is alarming and dangerous—not just to Haitians within the country, but to Haitians across the diaspora who face terror and displacement.

The EqualHealth community denounces these acts of terror, as well as the harmful acts of international institutions that have contributed to the impoverishment, marginalization, and weakening of the Haitian people. We condemn all violence and human right violations perpetrated against the Haitian people on Haitian soil, borders, and in foreign countries, where many harms are not always as visible.

Haiti remains an emblematic model in the fight to end racism and achieve human rights. Haitians were the first Black people to free themselves from slavery in the Western hemisphere—a moment that radically changed the course of history for Black people across the world, igniting anti-slavery revolts and supporting several other nations, including the American people, to abolish slavery.

Silence is an act of complicity. We call on all local and international communities and institutions to mobilize in solidarity with Haiti. We urge you to contribute to Haiti's mutual fund, share CAR's statement and demands, donate to Zanmi Lasante, and ask individuals in your network to do the same.

Our demands in EqualHealth’s Campaign Against Racism remain the same:

• Reparations for Haitian and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) communities are long overdue. We must establish a global fund to concretely address the material and socioeconomic conditions tied to enduring legacies of colonialism and imperialism, as well as the direct harm and the generational trauma experienced.

• Hold governments accountable to international human rights standards. Governments must be held responsible for upholding international human rights standards related to gender, race, and migration. The protection of these rights is essential in promoting equality and justice and it cannot be done in isolation. Accountability of governments is necessary to ensure that individuals are not denied their rights due to their race or migration status.

We elevate the courage of the Haitian people, our comrades and partners who continue to struggle everyday in love for equity and justice. We hear the voices of the Haitian people, our partners in distress, and we remain standing with them in these unprecedented moments of terror. We will continue to organize with partners and the Haitian community to help in the fight against social injustices and inequalities and their global and multidimensional roots. Nobody is free until Haiti is free.