By Carlotta Mohamed
On the 7th anniversary of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Haitian activists gathered in front of the Clinton Foundation in New York City protesting the prosecutions of the Clintons after “hundreds of millions of dollars” were mismanaged through the Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission, according to activists.
Standing outside holding bright colored posters, while chanting “Hillary Clinton where’s the money,” KOMOKODA, a Committee to Mobilize Against Dictatorship in Haiti, demanded that U.S. President-elect Donald J. Trump keep his campaign promise to shut down the Clinton Foundation, and prosecute the Clintons as well as their cronies. Seven years after the tragic earthquake took thousands of lives in Haiti, family and friends continue to mourn their losses, and no answers of where the missing funds went for relief efforts.
“The Clinton Foundation is a symbol of thieves and corruption,” said Dahoud Andre, a member of KOMOKODA. “The Clintons stole money that was meant to help the people of Haiti and they belong in jail.”
KOMOKODA created and printed 500 flyers given to passersby as some stopped to shake hands as they continued to chant, “The Clinton Foundation stole $6 billion dollars, thieves!”
“That’s 500 people today who have been informed about what’s going on,” said Andre.
During his campaign, President-elect Donald J. Trump echoed the phrase “Crooked Hillary” that soon caught on to his supporters, and during his visit to Little Haiti in Miami, Florida, where he criticized his rival. Trump said taxpayer dollars intended for Haiti and the earthquake victims went to a lot of the Clinton cronies, and made clear Clinton should be prosecuted.
However, after a victorious election, Trump said he wouldn’t seek to pursue criminal charges against Clinton. He said he “doesn’t want to hurt the Clintons” during an interview with the New York Times.
“I’m here today standing with this group of people because the Clinton’s have not played a positive role in Haiti,” said Constance Lesold, 78, of Brooklyn. “We don’t know what Trump will do when he takes office, nobody knows what will happen, but I believe he should prosecute Clinton.”
Lesold traveled to Haiti in 2010 before and after the earthquake struck. Upon her arrival, she said there was total destruction and people didn’t have many things they needed. There was no proper housing and healthcare. Lesold wrote a letter to the Clintons about a wrecked school that needed help, but she never heard anything from the family.
“Somebody has to speak out and these guys are real American heroes for being out here protesting about this,” said Lesold.
Andre said they have followed and held protests in front of Clinton’s office at several locations.
The members of KOMOKODA stood in a moment of silence remembering their Haitian brothers and sisters who perished in the earthquake.
“Today is a very sad day,” said Nickel Luma. “The country was destroyed socially and economically, and when Hillary Clinton and the U.S. forces came in to give assistance, it became worse. Where’s the money?”
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