Dear
Jon,
Breaking news: The United States Treasury Department has
just announced U.S. government support for complete debt cancellation for Haiti
and will work with our international partners to ensure that new assistance comes
in the form of grants, not debt-incurring loans. It's exactly what more than 200,000
ONE members have been calling for. And this weekend, the U.S. will take this message
to G7 finance ministers’ summit, creating strong momentum to get a global deal and
guarantee debt cancellation for Haiti.
This big win for our campaign comes just a few days
after Haiti’s ambassador to the United States, Raymond Joseph, recorded a video message
to thank ONE members.
I hope you’ll read more about this landmark announcement,
watch the video, and then share Ambassador Joseph’s message with people you know
who care about Haiti’s future:
http://www.one.org/r?r=301&id=1443-3885993-dWTRjyx&t=1
But even as we celebrate this huge step forward, we will
continue to make sure the U.S. takes concrete steps to meet this exciting new commitment
and that other countries follow its lead.
In fact, ONE will be there when U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy
Geithner and his counterparts in the G7—the very people who sit on the governing
boards of the international lending institutions that hold Haiti’s $1 billion debt—meet
in the far-north Canadian town of Iqaluit
this weekend for a G7 finance ministers’ summit. Among Iqaluit’s 7,000 residents
is ONE member Michèle Bertol, and she has graciously agreed to deliver our petition
to the host of the summit, Canadian Finance Minister James Flaherty.
Your voices and support
for Haiti are the reason we're celebrating a victory on debt relief today.
This important news from the U.S. government, combined with the grassroots presence
Michèle will lend to the Iqaluit meeting, makes me optimistic that we’ll be
hearing more good news on debt relief for Haiti soon, as its people look to rebuild
and live out their motto L'union fait la force (Unity is strength.)
http://www.one.org/r?r=301&id=1443-3885993-dWTRjyx&t=3
Thank you,
Sheila Nix
U.S. Executive Director, ONE
