Dear Sir or Madam,

For 2009, the Quebec Committee announces the publication of our second edition of our calendar: APATRIDES ET PRIVÉS DE TOUS DROITS…SOUTENONS LES BRACEROS …as an excellent source of information and visibility of the living conditions of Haitians in the “bateyes” (sugar cane fields) in the Dominican Republic. The calendar is designed to be an educational and pedagogical tool for any person or organization(school), while in part being financing means for the Committee’s activities and to support our beneficiaries in the Dominican Republic.

The calendar displays a series of 15 photographs in color and black and white (2 for the cover and 13 for the months of the year) taken in different “bateyes” of the Dominican Republic by Jean-François Leblanc (Agence Stock studio photos) as well as four paintings by a bracero. The high quality photos illustrate the daily reality of youth, adolescents, and elders, workers in the sugar cane fields, their wives and children in a concrete and captivating manner for the observer. Each photo is also accompanied by an explanatory caption to inform the reader on specific themes such as the sugar industry, the work load of the “braceros” in the sugar cane fields, their salary, illegal trade, their lack of citizenship status, the conditions of women and children, etc. All the important days of international solidarity recognized by the United Nations are mentioned on the calendar (International Women’s Day, International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, International Migrants Day, International Day for Human Solidarity, etc). All Canadian public holidays are listed. The 12 months and 7 days of the week are printed in English, French and Spanish.


The essentials of documentation on the braceros situation is also provided :

- Most recent annual reports from organisms such as Amnesty International, Minority Rights Group,The Robert F.Kennedy Memorial, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices du Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor-Department USA, etc.

-Different work by the most famous authors on the subject;

-Films, DVDs and videos that discuss the living conditions and the work of the braceros;

-Without forgetting links and websites of the main international, Canadian Haitian and Dominican Republic NGOs that work for the cause ;

-A cartography of the main sugar cane agricultural zones.

The launch of the calendar reaffirms the Quebec Committee mission of information and research tool for anyone interested. It also represents our latest project in the campaign of consciousness raising and visibility of the living conditions in the “bateyes”. Quebec unions (FTQ, CSN, CSQ, SCEP, the Métallos, FIQ santé, AFPC, FAE, CCMM-CSN, the Fédération de professionnelles–CSN, FNEEQ, FPGQ and CSD) have sponsored the production of the calendars, and this fact demonstrates again their long-term solidarity with the Haitian workers living in the Dominican Republic.

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We are calling out to all our members and sympathizers to sell copies of the calendar within their communities and to their colleagues, friends and students; at work, at churches, at community centers and at school.

To order your calendar, please contact us:

Montréal : Comité québécois haitien : 5174, rue Drolet, Montréal, QC. H2T 2H2. Tél. : (514) 523-2434

Québec: Plan Nagua,Tél. : (418) 521-2250 ou 1-877-RDNAGUA (sans frais)

Ottawa : Union des Haïtiens de l`Outaouais (UNHO) Tél. 613)744-0876
Ottawa Haïti Solidarity, Tél. : (613) 864-1590
Octopus Books, Tél. : (613) 233 2589

Toronto : Pierspective entraide humanitaire (PEH) Tél. : (416) 209-1957

New York : Librairie Liberté, Tél. : (718) 421-0162

République d`Haïti : Groupe d`Appui aux Rapatriés et Refugiés (GARR) Tél. : (509) 3244-4977

République dominicaine : Fondation Zile (FZ) Tél. : (809) 535-4701



For more information or to view images from the calendar, please visit the following Web sites:
C.Q.R.D.T.H.R.D.
http:// Agence Stock Photo


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Looking for agents
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For organism representatives or any interested person, please contact us for a batch of calendars on deposit.

To order your calendar please contact us :
Tél.:/Télec.514)523-2434


Email address
cqrdthrdinc@can.rogers.com or comitequebecois@hotmail.com
For the holidays, offer yourself and a dear friend an unforgettable gift for only 5.00$CA per.

Other themes developed in the calendar :

-the work of women in the sugar cane fields(bateyes) ;

-woman as family purveyor;

-racism and anti-Haitianism;

-the militarization of the migratory problem ;

-alternatives to the closure of certain sugar factories;

-the role of women in the sugar industry;

-inaccessibility to basic public services : health care, education, running water ;

- working conditions, salary ;

-the absence of prenatal care, chronic malnutrition, infant death in the bateyes ;

-the contribution of Haitian labor to the Dominican economy ;

-State-owned and private Dominican sugar industry ;

-the contrast, like day and night, in the Dominican Republic, between the tourist paradise life and the tragic, infernal conditions for the migrant haitians ;

-the sanitary situation, lack of hygiene, retirement, old age, illness and mortality.


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Forwarded by Ezili's Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network
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