Haiti - Religion : Neither festivities nor celebrations, Haitian Pastors call for general mobilization
In its end-of-year message the Conference of Haitian Pastors (COPAH) faced of "the accelerated deterioration of the living conditions of the majority of Haitians, the security climate which is deteriorating day by day and criminal insecurity which is reaching proportions alarming" believes that the moment is "Neither to the festivities , nor for the celebrations, on the occasion of Christmas and the New Year" and calls for the general mobilization of all the forces of the nation to engage in action for the right to life, to freedom, to justice, to a democratic State !
COPAH notes that the socio-economic situation of the country continues to deteriorate worryingly. The cost of living remains particularly high to the point that the majority of Haitians continue to vegetate in misery and despair [...] On the political level, the country is in the process of falling into uncertainty [...] Since January 13 2020, President Jovenel Moïse interrupted the constitutional and democratic order [...] and deliberately chose to rule the country by decree to the detriment of the Constitution in force [...]
The Haitian Pastors Conference [...] launches a call for the general mobilization of all the living forces of the nation. The country is now being held hostage by national and international buccaneers who use all kinds of ploys to force decent people and worthy Haitians to flee the country. As good heirs to our ancestors who fought valiantly to bequeath this land to us, let us assume our historical responsibility. As good defenders of law and justice, let us not be afraid to launch the movement of peaceful resistance against those who plan our misfortunes by the publication and the application of a set of rogue decrees that threaten our freedoms and our fundamental rights. Let us remember this saying from the holy scriptures which says : "Those who forsake instruction [the criminals], praise the wicked, but those who heed it resist them" (Proverbs 28 verse 4). "
COPAH concludes by considering that "Faced with the situation of distress and great calamity of the Haitian people, there is no need to celebrate Christmas and the New Year. The moment we are living is not for celebration or celebrations but for the fight for respect for the Constitution, for life, for individual freedoms, for the fundamental rights of the Haitian people, for human dignity, for justice, for democracy and the rule of law [...]"
