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For Immediate Release
Contact:

Joia Jefferson Nuri, TransAfrica Forum, 202.223.1960 x 131
Dan Beeton, 202-239-1460

Jesse Jackson, Danny Glover, Harry Belafonte, Haiti-Based Aid Groups, and Haiti Experts Call for U.S. to Prioritize Aid Delivery Over Military Deployment

WASHINGTON

A letter signed by the Reverend Jesse Jackson, actor Danny Glover,
Harry Belafonte, Haiti-based aid organizations, and a number of other
NGO's and academic experts was sent to House Democratic majority
leaders and the Congressional Black Caucus today, urging for the U.S.
to prioritize and improve coordination of aid delivery over military
deployment in Haiti. The letter notes that an over-emphasis on security
has meant costly delays in distributing aid that have cost lives and
led to otherwise unnecessary amputations in some cases.

The letter, which is also signed by Haiti-based aid groups including
Haiti Konpay, Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL), and
the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, calls for an
accounting of supplies and personnel passing through U.S.-controlled
ports and airports, and commitments to deliver aid to under served
areas and persons and to work with all governments and NGO's in doing
so, as reports continue to describe communities in parts of Haiti that
still await much-needed aid.

The letter follows:

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