Help Eramithe and her family
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My name is Marie Eramithe Delva, and I am a Haitian women’s rights advocate who has been forced to flee Haiti. In 2004, I co-founded an organization, KOFAVIV, to help victims of rape and sexual abuse. You can read more about our work here, because another co-founder, Malya Villard-Appolon, was named one of CNN’s heroes in 2012. http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cnn.heroes/2012.heroes/malya.villard-appolon.html
I am passionate about this work because I am a survivor. In 1992, in retaliation for my work with another women’s rights group, five men broke into my home, raped me and kidnapped my husband, who they beat and left for dead. Despite this trauma, I continued my work for women’s rights for more than 20 years.
However, Haiti has become especially dangerous for human rights defenders in recent years, as groups such as Amnesty International have explained. http://www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/uaa15314_0.pdf. We are being targeted, and many human rights defenders have been attacked or killed.
My family, and I, along with Malya and her children, have been subjected to kidnapping attempts, shooting attempts and escalating threats. We reported these incidents to the police, but they took no steps to investigate, and told us that we were responsible for protecting ourselves. This year, in light of the escalating threats, we had no choice but to flee Haiti. Two of my children and my husband were able to come with me to the United States, and the rest of my children fled to the Dominican Republic.
We have obtained pro bono counsel, who are working with us on our asylum applications. However, at this point, we are not permitted to work. Our friends have been incredibly generous, but also have limited resources and are no longer in a position to help. With no other options, we are turning to gofundme.com to request your help in paying our daily living expenses of food and shelter for ourselves and our children until we are permitted to work and support ourselves in a few months (you can file a request to work 150 days after you submit your asylum application).
We are grateful for any support you can provide!
Thanks, Marie Eramithe Delva
I am passionate about this work because I am a survivor. In 1992, in retaliation for my work with another women’s rights group, five men broke into my home, raped me and kidnapped my husband, who they beat and left for dead. Despite this trauma, I continued my work for women’s rights for more than 20 years.
However, Haiti has become especially dangerous for human rights defenders in recent years, as groups such as Amnesty International have explained. http://www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/uaa15314_0.pdf. We are being targeted, and many human rights defenders have been attacked or killed.
My family, and I, along with Malya and her children, have been subjected to kidnapping attempts, shooting attempts and escalating threats. We reported these incidents to the police, but they took no steps to investigate, and told us that we were responsible for protecting ourselves. This year, in light of the escalating threats, we had no choice but to flee Haiti. Two of my children and my husband were able to come with me to the United States, and the rest of my children fled to the Dominican Republic.
We have obtained pro bono counsel, who are working with us on our asylum applications. However, at this point, we are not permitted to work. Our friends have been incredibly generous, but also have limited resources and are no longer in a position to help. With no other options, we are turning to gofundme.com to request your help in paying our daily living expenses of food and shelter for ourselves and our children until we are permitted to work and support ourselves in a few months (you can file a request to work 150 days after you submit your asylum application).
We are grateful for any support you can provide!
Thanks, Marie Eramithe Delva
Organizer
Marie Eramithe Delva
Organizer
Brooklyn, NY