Dear friends,

Since my initial email, I've learned more details about what happened yesterday to Father Jean-Juste.The hooded, armed men who took him from our Feed My Lambs food program at St. Clare's Church were working with Haitian police.They arrested him without a warrant for being "a threat to public order." He has been accused of being associated with people who were planning to commit violence against the Haitian government later this week.This is absurd! I have known Father Jean-Juste and his community for five years. He devotes every waking hour to helping the poor. He was feeding hungry children as they dragged him away. Father Jean-Juste models his life after the life of Jesus. He does not support violence. But in the tradition of Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, and Archbishop Romero of El Salvador, his non-violent advocacy on behalf of the poor and the oppressed is seen as a threat.

In an interview with him yesterday, he was reported as saying, "Everyone who knows me knows that I do not support violence. This is a desperate move on the government's part to frighten people into silence who they believe do not support them. This is sad day for democracy in Haiti because without freedom of speech there can be no democracy. I will pray for them from my prison cell."

Ironically, the last email I received from Father Jean-Juste was sent three hours before he was surrounded and taken from our food program. He sent me a Pax Christi Human Rights Report. (Pax Christi is a Catholic Peace Organization.) In the report it states, "Human rights conditions are worse in Haiti now then they have been in years. The (Pax Christi) delegation strongly believes that the rule of law is being disregarded in the exile, arrest, beatings, executions, and detention of the people who were democratically chosen by the people of Haiti to govern. People affiliated with the elected government and those concerned about human rights have been beaten and arrested and homes burned and run off to live in hiding.The Haitian constitution and international law are being openly violated."

Father Jean-Juste is believed to be in the Petionville prison. There are also reports of arrests of two other priests, Rev. Francois and Rev. Sauvagere, as well as raids on three additional churches.

Please continue to pray for Father Jean-Juste, his safety and his release.

With love,

Margaret

P.S. I've printed below a letter written by Congresswoman Maxine Waters to Secretary of State Colin Powell regarding Father Jean-Juste. I've also printed an excerpt of a report from the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, which gives background on Father Jean-Juste as well as suggestions on how to help.


Margaret Trost, President
What If? Foundation
1563 Solano Ave., #192
Berkeley, CA 94707
margarettrost@yahoo.com

Providing Hope and Opportunity to Impoverished Children in Haiti

Check the What If Foundation? Archive at Satya Center for all of the correspondence between Margaret and Father Jean Juste. You will learn about their Feed My Lambs Program and stay updated on conditions in Haiti.

Subject: Rep. Waters' letter on Fr. Gerard Jean-Juste in Haiti

October 13, 2004

The Honorable Colin Powell
Secretary of State
Department of State
2201 C Street, NW, Room 7261
Washington, DC  20520

Dear Secretary Powell:

I write to urge you to take immediate action to protect the life of Father Gerard Jean-Juste, the pastor of Saint Claire Church in the Delmas area of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as well as the lives of several other Haitian priests and parishioners, who are reportedly in imminent danger.

Earlier this afternoon, I received reports that Saint Claire Church was surrounded by heavily-armed, hooded men, while Father Jean-Juste was inside. My Legislative Assistant, Ms. Kathleen Sengstock, contacted the U.S. Embassy in Haiti and spoke with Mr. Doug Griffith, the Deputy Chief of Mission, to express my grave concerns for Father Jean-Juste's safety. During a follow-up phone call, Mr. Griffith told Ms. Sengstock that he had informed both the Haitian National Police and the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) of the reports and that the Haitian National Police were sending a patrol to look into the situation. 

Subsequent to the conversations with Mr. Griffith, I have been told that Father Jean-Juste was taken away by the hooded men, and I fear for his life. Moreover, I have been told that at least one other church in the Delmas area of Port-au-Prince, Saint Yves Church, was surrounded by heavily-armed, hooded men in a similar manner. Two priests, Father Francois and Father Sauvageur, as well as several children, were inside this church, and I fear for their lives as well.

I implore you to urge MINUSTAH and the Interim Haitian Government to intervene immediately to save the lives of Father Gerard Jean-Juste and the priests and parishioners of Saint Claire and Saint Yves Churches. I would appreciate it if you would contact me as soon as possible to discuss these ominous developments, and I look forward to your prompt response.

Sincerely,

Maxine Waters
Member of Congress

Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti
P.O. Box 745, Joseph, OR 97846
(541) 432-0597, www.ijdh.org, info@ijdh.org

Haiti Human Rights Alert:  Illegal Arrest of Catholic Priest, Rev. Gérard Jean-Juste
October 13, 2004


On Wednesday, October 13, 2004, Haitian police forcibly entered the Sainte Claire Catholic Church in Port-au-Prince and arrested the Pastor, Rev. Gérard Jean-Juste, without a warrant, while he was feeding the hungry children of his parish. Fr. Jean-Juste is a prominent activist for peace, justice and the rights of immigrants in Haiti and the U.S. There are also reports of arrests of two other priests, Rev. Francois and Rev. Sauvagere, as well as raids on three additional churches.

The Sainte Claire Church is located in Petite Place Cazeau, a poor neighborhood of Delmas, a Port-au-Prince suburb. On Wednesdays, Fr. Jean-Juste runs a soup kitchen that gives many area residents, especially children, their only meal of the day. During the feeding program, heavily-armed men surrounded the church and announced their intention to arrest Fr. Jean-Juste. Some wore uniforms of the Haitian National Police (HNP), some wore no uniforms, and many wore masks. The police refused to produce a warrant, and when asked what the charge was, replied that the priest "was a threat to public order." Later, interim Prime Minister Gérard Latortue told journalists there was a warrant, but could not say what the charge was.

When Fr. Jean-Juste refused to leave his feeding program, the police raided the church and dragged him out of the rectory. Witnesses reported that the police punched the priest, and Fr. Jean-Juste reported an injury to his foot. He was transported to a police station holding cell, where he is now being held incommunicado.

Interim Prime Minister Latortue claimed he had intelligence that Fr. Jean-Juste associated with people who were planning to commit violence against the government later this week, and that the Ste. Claire raid was a pre-emptive strike.

The illegal arrest continues a month-long wave of systematic attacks against civil society institutions, including labor unions, radio stations, lawyers and members of Parliament, as well as lethal police raids in poor neighborhoods. It is particularly troubling that the persecution extended to Fr. Jean-Juste, one of Haiti's most persistent and influential voices for peace over the last two decades.The arrest shows a brazenness and disregard of Haitian and International law not seen since the Duvalier dictatorships.

Background Fr. Jean-Juste

Fr. Jean-Juste speaks out forcefully against all forms of violence, from the pulpit and on his radio shows. He spoke out against the state-sponsored violence of the Duvalier regime, the de facto dictatorship (1991-1994) and the Haitian army. He also speaks out against violence by the victims of that violence and by supporters of Haiti's Constitutional governments. When opposition politicians were attacked following the April 2000 funeral of assassinated journalist Jean-Dominique, Fr. Jean-Juste spent his entire two-hour radio show imploring everyone to return to their homes.

Fr. Jean-Juste has been highly effective at fighting political and economic violence through peaceful means. When he was forced into exile for criticizing the Duvalier dictatorship, Fr. Jean-Juste retaliated with a lawsuit, winning a judgment against Jean-Claude Duvalier in Miami Federal Court.  

In 1979, he co-founded the Haitian Refugee Center in Florida, which provided assistance to thousands of refugees from the Duvalier regime, and fought unjust immigration policies all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.  

In Haiti, Fr. Jean-Juste encouraged victims of the de facto dictatorship to organize and to force Haitian courts to deliver justice. On August 16 of this year, Haiti's interim government held a re-trial in the case of slain pro-democracy activist Antoine Izmery. Although he knew the prosecution was not serious (the New York Times called it "Sham Justice in Haiti"), and feared arrest, Fr. Jean-Juste bravely appeared, the only summoned witness to do so.

Dear Friends of the What If? Foundation,



Thank you so much for all of your support on behalf of Father Gerard Jean-Juste. I know your prayers, letter writing, and phone calls are making a difference.  

As of yesterday (10/15), Father Jean-Juste was still being held in the Petionville Prison in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (On Wednesday afternoon, while serving meals to children at our Feed My Lambs food program, hooded, armed men surrounded the St. Clare's Church rectory and arrested him without a warrant for being "a threat to public order.") I recently received word that Father Michael Graves was allowed to visit Father Jean-Juste in prison and reported that he is okay. His wrists and arm were injured from the arrest, but not seriously. This is an enormous relief! But there is still work to be done to see that he is released.

Many of you have asked about the Feed My Lambs food program and the children we serve. I am confident that the food program will continue.  We are in our fifth year of serving meals to children in Father Jean-Juste's neighborhood. The program is well integrated into the community.  I am in the process of connecting with the head cook to discuss next steps.

Last night, I received the following email from Wadner Pierre, an alter-boy at St. Clare's Church. I have no idea how he was able to access a computer. I know him from my visits to Haiti.He is a volunteer and recipient of the Feed My Lambs meals. He also has received tuition assistance from the What If? Foundation's Education Fund. I'm sure his words represent all of the children in his neighborhood. Here is what he wrote - part English, part French. French translation is in parentheses.

Hi Margarette. You know our news in Sainte Claire's. Comme tu le sais bein la police à procéder à la restation de Revered Gerard Jean-Juste. (As you know, the police have proceeded to arrest Fr. Gerard Jean-Juste.) Margot (this is my Haitian nickname), the police have stopped our Father Jean-Juste. We not are happiness. We protested this arestation. Maintenant nous ne savons quoi faire, mais nous sommes rester solidaire avec notre revérend, nous sommes toujours entreint de prier pour lui. (Now we don't know what to do. But we stay in solidarity with our Reverend. Right now we are continually praying for him.) We are ok, but me and my brothers fear there are secret police in the ti plas kazo (this is the name of their neighborhood). Our Father Jean-Juste, you know he only can help us. Without him I don't go to university and my brothers don't go to school. Tell everyone we want Father Jean-Juste now. He is our father. We ask you for an answer Margot.  We tell you hi. We pray to God for you. We hope for your help too. FATHER JEAN-JUSTE LOVES YOU AND EVERYONE. HE TELL TO US AND YOU - COURAGE.

Wadner Pierre, Eglise Sainte Claire, (Church of St. Claire) Ti Plas Kazo, Haiti.


May the courage of the children be an inspiration to us all to do what we can to free their father, Father Jean-Juste, who has given them hope for a better future. Thank you for your continued prayers and work on his behalf. I'll keep in touch as I learn more.

With love,

Margaret


P.S.  One way to help is to send an email to these three people to ask for their assistance in Father Jean-Juste's release.

Eduardo Bertoni, Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights: Cidhexpresion@oas.org

Touissant Kongo-Doudou, U.N. Chief of Communications in Haiti:  kongo-doudou@un.org

Joseph Tilghman, U.S. State Dept. Haiti Desk Officer:  tilghmanjf@state.gov


-- 
Margaret Trost, President
What If? Foundation
1563 Solano Ave., #192
Berkeley, CA  94707

margarettrost@yahoo.com

Providing Hope and Opportunity to Impoverished Children in Haiti

Dear friends of the What If? Foundation,

This Sunday, October 24th, our Feed My Lambs Food Program will begin again in Port-au-Prince, Haiti!  I've been able to arrange with our bank a safe way to get the money needed to buy food directly to our cooks.  (In the past, Father Jean-Juste had always done this.)  

I am awed by the courage and dedication of the people who cook and organize and coordinate the Feed My Lambs meal.  They are devastated by Father Jean-Juste's arrest, but are committed to the children in their neighborhood.  On Sunday, they'll put on their red and white striped aprons and begin again.  Hundreds of children will gather at the St. Clare's Church Rectory to be fed.  For many of them, this will be the first hot meal they've had since Wednesday, October 13th, the day of Father Jean-Juste's arrest.   

Ketty, our head cook for the Sunday meal, wrote me the following email:  

Dear Margot,  

I think it was a very bad thing they do in arresting Father Jean juste. We are praying for him and for our country which is in the bad condition of living right now. We can't go to work every day but we are doing our best to have a  life condition but it seems impossible. I and Ms. Gabriel will do our best for feeding our people. I lit a candle in my room too.

One more time help us in your prayer, we need it so much.

Your sister, Ketty   


Ketty has devoted every Saturday and Sunday to the food program since it began in March 2000.  Madame Gabriel is our cook for the Wednesday meal.  These two extraordinary women will see to it that the children are fed in Father Jean-Juste's absence.  The What If? Foundation will see to it that they have the resources they need to buy the food.

Printed below is an article that gives an important update on Father Jean-Juste.  In it, is a powerful message from Father Jean-Juste to all of us.  

Thank you for your continued prayers.  Your phone calls and email writing are also critical.  I've reprinted at the end of this email, the people I think are most important to contact for his release.  Please share this email with your friends.

With love,

Margaret

--
Margaret Trost, President
What If? Foundation
1563 Solano Ave., #192
Berkeley, CA  94707
margarettrost@yahoo.com

Providing Hope and Opportunity to Impoverished Children in Haiti

Haitian Priest Jailed Indefinitely for 40 Cent Crime

by Bill Quigley

After over a week in jail, the charges against Haitian priest Fr. Gerard Jean-Juste have finally been made public by the government. Fr. Jean-Juste, a powerful advocate of the poor, was arrested October 13, 2004, by masked heavily armed gunmen while feeding 600 children at his parish of St. Claire in Port au Prince. The unelected government of Haiti has accused him of providing support for the opposition. At one point they suggested that he provided "guns and money for terrorists."

But lawyers for Fr. Jean-Juste have finally secured the official government documents which showing the priest is only charged with "trouble a la ordre public," disturbing the peace. Under Haitian law, this is a third class crime, like a traffic ticket, punishable by a fine of up to fifteen gouds, or forty cents US.

Yet, despite the minimal and artificial charge, Fr. Jean-Juste has not been released. Though Haitian law gives him the right to appear before a judge within 48 hours of arrest, no hearing is scheduled at all. Because he has been an outspoken critic of Haiti’s unelected government, his lawyers have been advised that no judge will hear his case because it is "too political." Many other political prisoners like him sit in other jail cells in Haiti - others remain in hiding. Yet Fr. Jean-Juste's courageous Haitian lawyers continue to seek justice through the courts. No bond is available.

Fr. Jean-Juste now sits in the Haitian national penitentiary with over 1000 others, over 90% waiting to see a judge. Two weeks ago, there were 850 people in that jail. His penitentiary cell is not as crowded as the cell he shared with 18 others for his first 7 days in prison and he now has a bed. Though his spirits remain high, he is hurt by his isolation from family, friends, and most of all his parishioners.

When I spoke to him in the penitentiary, he was glad to find out that the three small children who were injured by the police in the arrest are still alive. The children appeared in public for the first time still bandaged from their wounds. He was cheered by news that Amnesty International, Paul Farmer, Rep. Maxine Waters and members of Congress, and representatives of human rights and church groups have taken up the cause of his freedom. But Fr. Jean-Juste is also quite worried. This is the message he asked me to share.

"I am grateful for all the great support I have received, particularly the religious, legal and financial support. Please help me continue to provide the social services to the poorest ones. My parish is located around the Haitian international airport. I am always begging for good care for the people as they live in a very crucial area.

"It is very important to care for these people. If they suffer too much they will become like the neighborhoods like Bel-Air and Cite de Soleil, and the whole airport area will not be able to be used and all travel will stop.

"Take care of these people. Do not leave them hungry. Pave the roads to assist them. Fix the dangerous sewage problems. Taking me away has hurt them. I thank God I was able to help them with scholarships, food, clothing, transportation and religious services. But now others must help.

"I love my Haiti. I love my people. It is very important during my absence to provide them with social services and meet their basic human needs. I do not want them to be radicalized - please help them. Do some good for them before it is too late."

When I asked him to say something about himself, he rocked his head back and laughed.  "I love this experience," he said. "I did not know this other world of prison. I thank God for the grace of placing me in this place. For the experience of knowing this other world, I forgive my accusers."

As Father Gerard Jean-Juste was taken back to his cell, I thought how expensive that 40 cent crime was likely to be for the unelected Haitian government.

*Fr. Jean-Juste asks that anyone who wants to help his parish, send donations to the parish c/o Margaret Trost and the What If? Foundation.  For more information about his legal case, contact Mario Joseph in Haiti c/o the Institute for Justice and Peace in Haiti or on his cell at 011.554.4284 or Bill Quigley at duprestars@msn.com or in Haiti at 011.509.401.4822.*

Bill Quigley (duprestars@msn.com) is a professor of law at Loyola University New Orleans School of Law. He writes from Haiti where he is one of the attorneys for Fr. Gerard Jean-Juste.


Published on Thursday, October 21, 2004 by CommonDreams.org
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