Montreal, August 7, 2017 – International cooperation organization CECI is calling on the people of Quebec to show their solidarity and humanity toward the influx of migrants seeking asylum by supporting the Maison d’Haïti.
Marjorie Villefranche, Director of the Maison d’Haïti, explains that “Asylum seekers must quickly find lodging and supplies. Families with children need proper facilities, especially if this precarious situation continues.” The Maison d’Haïti is a community and cultural organization in Montreal that has dedicated itself to educating and integrating new immigrants and to developing direct ties with Quebec’s civil society for 45 years. The Maison d’Haïti is an associate member of CECI.
CECI has been present in Haiti since 1971 and has a long history of cooperation with the Haitian diaspora in Canada. “When an emergency situation arises in Haiti, CECI takes immediate action, and each time, our actions are supported by Montreal’s Haitian-Canadian community. This time, it is our turn to support their actions in Quebec. We must give the best possible welcome to the hundreds of asylum seekers currently crossing the border from the United States into Canada,” explains Claudia Black, CECI’s Executive Director.
CECI invites Canadians to make donations directly to the Maison d’Haïti
In 2010, after the earthquake that struck Haiti, 58,000 Haitians received special protection status that allowed them to live in the United States. Current President Donald Trump is threatening to revoke this temporary status in January 2018. This accounts for massive influx of Haitian migrants crossing the border from the United States.
Information:
France-Isabelle Langlois, Communications and Development Director, 514-774-7527, france-isabellel@ceci.ca
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The Centre for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI) is an international cooperation organization in Quebec founded in 1958 whose mission is to combat poverty and exclusion among the most marginalized populations in Africa, Asia and the Americas. CECI assists local populations in implementing various humanitarian assistance, sustainable development and volunteer cooperation projects in more than 20 countries throughout the world. www.ceci.ca
