Alex Beauchamps from COHPEDA (Collectif Haitian pour la Protection de l'Environnement et une Developpement Alternatif) in Haiti wrote the following open letter to the citizens of Philadelphia. Please feel free to reprint and disseminate it as far as possible. A shortened version, excerpted from the original text, follows for reprint where space does not permit the full text. If you reprint the shortened version, be sure to include the Return to Sender web page address (www.essential.org/action/return) for people to access the full letter.Thanks to Joanne "Jake" Kaufman of Christian Peacemaker Teams, Rodney Chonka of first United Methodist church of Germantown, Philadelphia and Maggie Levine for translating Alex's letter.
April 1998
An Open Letter to the Citizens of PhiladelphiaSubject: Toxic waste dumped at Gonaives, Haiti, ten years ago. What to do?
Dear friends,
The month of December 1997 marked the tenth anniversary of the dumping of 4,000 tons of toxic waste on a beach by Gonaives, the fourth largest city of Haiti. This garbage came from an incinerator in the municipality of Philadelphia and was transported to Haiti by the boat, Khian Sea. At that time, the owner of the boat pretended that the load was fertilizer. When the Haitian authorities realized the scam, they demanded that the operators of the boat, John Dowd and William Reilly of the Amalgamated Shipping Corporation and Coastal Carrier Corporation, reload the toxic waste. But these two men fled in the middle of the night, abandoning 4,000 tons of waste on the beach. Today this waste � some of which remains on the beach, some of which has been moved to a nearby pit � continues to pollute the sea, the soil and the air of Haiti and has threatened the health of the local population.
In 1989, the government of Haitian President Leslie Manigat began a project to transport some of the waste to a open-air pit located in a ravine four kilometers from the city of Gonaives. However, this action was not an appropriate measure, since the unlined pit can not securely contain the waste. This "solution" did not adequately respond to the demands of the Haitian people who have insisted since 1987 that the toxic waste be returned to its place of origin.
It is important that you, the Citizens of Philadelphia, understand that the garbage is dangerous for the citizens of the city of Gonaives. Several studies, conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Greenpeace, have found the following highly toxic materials in this garbage: dioxins, arsenic and heavy metals like lead, copper, zinc, cadmium, cobalt, manganese, mercury, lead and chromium.
Greenpeace reports that although these tests have detected dangerous levels of lead, cadmium and dioxin, the U.S. government refuses to take responsibility for the clean-up of this toxic waste from this impoverished island. The consequences of the U.S.'s lack of action have already been felt. Journalist Herby Dalencourt reports that his cousin, Smith Joseph charged by the Public Works Ministry to oversee the removal of the waste, has not survived the project. "My cousin had skin lesions and vision problems. The workers engaged at the time did not have gloves, masks, or boots," he said. One tractor driver who did not protect himself is reported to also have died. Members of community groups in Gonaives report that they have noticed the appearance of new sicknesses in the population: skin diseases, stomach aches, etc. The people living near the open waste pond complain of losing cattle after they ate vegetation near the open pond.
THE CURRENT SITUATION
A large campaign is currently underway to solve the problem of returning the 4,000 tons of toxic waste to Philadelphia and cleaning the contaminated site. On June 5, 1997, COHPEDA (Collectif Haitian pour la Protection de l'Environnement et une Developpement Alternatif) and ROCHAD (Regroupement des Organismes Canado-Haitiens Por le Developpement) launched an energetic campaign for the return of the waste. A number of organizations are supporting this campaign, including numerous international organizations, such as Greenpeace, Essential Action, Friends of the Earth International, Basel Action Network (BAN), etc. Activities which have most helped the campaign in Haiti include those by Greenpeace, Essential Action, the Municipality of New York, and by numerous other organizations and individuals horrified by this act of injustice by their leaders against the Haitian people.
A consensus is building for the return of the toxic waste to the U.S. The sum of approximately $300,000 U.S. is necessary for the project. Under pressure from the NYC Trade Waste Commission, Eastern Environmental Services, a company headed by one of the U.S. businessmen implicated in the dumping of the waste, has agreed to furnish $100,000, and the Government of Haiti has offered $50,000. To date, all efforts to hold the Mayor of Philadelphia responsible for finding the remaining funds have been in vain. The Mayor has refused to furnish one penny, on the excuse that no law was broken.
The Constitution of Haiti, in Article 258, stipulates clearly: "No one shall bring into the country any trash or refuse of any kind from abroad. The United Nations, of which both Haiti and the United States are members, strictly prohibits States from harming the environment of other States: States have the responsibility to ensure that activities that take place within their jurisdiction or under their control do not cause any damage to the environment of other States or regions that extend beyond the limits of their national jurisdiction." (- Principle 21, Declaration of the United Nations on the human environment, Stockholm, June 1972)
We clearly see that this dumping was not a question of respect or of not respecting laws, but most of all, this is a question of relations of strength between strong States and weak States, where the dominant interests are those of a fundamentally economic nature.
Dear Friends, Brothers and Sisters of Philadelphia, the Haitian People are waiting for you to call upon the first citizen of your city, Mayor Ed Rendell, on the question of the toxic waste in Gonaives. His refusal to contribute to the removal of toxic waste cannot be justified. The citizens of Philadelphia must not accept their contribution, voluntarily or not, to a clear case of violation of sovereignty of a weaker but fiery nation. The citizens of Philadelphia cannot accept that the health and the dignity of a brother and friend people could be thus put in jeopardy.
In the name of the Haitian People, we ask of you, dear Brothers and Sisters of Philadelphia, to compel your Mayor to contribute financially to the actions undertaken in view of returning to the U.S. this toxic waste dumped in Haiti ten years ago.
The Haitian People will be grateful. Ten years is enough!
For COHPEDA:
Alex Beauchamps Ing.
Executive Secretary
April 1998
Excerpts from An Open Letter to the Citizens of PhiladelphiaSubject: Toxic waste dumped at Gonaives, Haiti, ten years ago. What to do?
Dear friends,The month of December 1997 marked the tenth anniversary of the dumping of 4,000 tons of toxic waste on a beach by Gonaives, the fourth largest city of Haiti. This garbage came from an incinerator in the municipality of Philadelphia and was transported to Haiti by the boat, Khian Sea. At that time, the owner of the boat pretended that the load was fertilizer. When the Haitian authorities realized the scam, they demanded that the operators of the boat, John Dowd and William Reilly of the Amalgamated Shipping Corporation and Coastal Carrier Corporation, reload the toxic waste. But these two men fled in the middle of the night, abandoning 4,000 tons of waste on the beach. Today this waste � some of which remains on the beach, some of which has been moved to a nearby pit � continues to pollute the sea, the soil and the air of Haiti and has threatened the health of the local population.
The garbage is dangerous for the citizens of the city of Gonaives. Several studies, conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Greenpeace, have found the following highly toxic materials in this garbage: dioxins, arsenic and heavy metals like lead, copper, zinc, cadmium, cobalt, manganese, mercury, lead and chromium.
A consensus is building for the return of the toxic waste to the U.S. The sum of approximately $300,000 U.S. is necessary for the project. Under pressure from the NYC Trade Waste Commission, Eastern Environmental Services, a company headed by one of the U.S. businessmen implicated in the dumping of the waste, has agreed to furnish $100,000, and the Government of Haiti has offered $50,000. To date, all efforts to hold the Mayor of Philadelphia responsible for finding the remaining funds have been in vain. The Mayor has refused to furnish one penny.
In the name of the Haitian People, we ask of you, dear Brothers and Sisters of Philadelphia, to compel your Mayor to contribute financially to the actions undertaken in view of returning to the U.S. this toxic waste dumped in Haiti ten years ago.
The Haitian People will be grateful. Ten years is enough!
For COHPEDA:
Alex Beauchamps Ing.
Executive Secretary