Washington DC - On behalf of Caribbean Catholic Bishops,
Bishop Gabriel Malzaire called for islands dealing with Hurricane Irma to
receive debt relief. As president of the Antilles Episcopal Conference, Malzaire
joins US, European and Caribbean development groups that are calling for debt
payments to be delayed until affected islands can rebuild.
"The utter destruction caused by the passage of Hurricane Irma
across the Northern Leeward Islands has not only shocked the people of our
region by its severity but has left all of us with a much deeper awareness of
our vulnerability to natural disasters and with a fear of threats from other
approaching weather systems," wrote Malzaire in a letter to Christine Lagarde,
head of the International Monetary Fund. The Catholic Bishop continued his plea
for a delay in debt payments until countries like Antigua and Barbuda can
recover. "The sad reality is that the ones who are affected most, the poor,
cannot be held responsible for this reality," continued the Catholic Bishop in
his urgent request for a delay of debt payments.
Hurricane Irma tore through the Caribbean devastating a host of islands
including Antigua and Barbuda, St. Martin and the US and British Virgin Islands.
On September 7th, Jubilee USA launched a petition and sent a letter to the IMF
requesting a delay in debt payments or a debt moratorium for islands so they can
rebuild. Calls for a debt moratorium were also sent from the Jubilee Caribbean
Network, Jubilee Germany, the United Kingdom's Jubilee Debt Campaign and the
European Network on Debt and Development.
"When a natural disaster strikes, delaying debt payments is a quick
way to get funding for rebuilding," said Eric LeCompte who is the Executive
Director of the religious development group, Jubilee USA. LeCompte serves on
United Nation expert groups that focus on debt. "The International Monetary Fund
and other creditors can delay debt payments and ensure faster recovery for a
country like Antigua and Barbuda."
Antigua and Barbuda's Prime Minister estimated about 150 million dollars
for reconstruction efforts on the islands. As the hurricane passed last week,
the disaster-struck island had a 3 million dollar debt payment to the IMF
due.
Read Jubilee USA's petition
on debt relief for Hurricane Irma.
Read the full letter
from Bishop Malzaire and the Antilles Episcopal Conference.
Read Jubilee USA's letter
to the IMF.
Read the letter
from European debt and development groups to the IMF.
Jubilee USA Network is an alliance of more
than 75 US organizations and 650 faith communities working with 50 Jubilee
global partners. Jubilee USA builds an economy that serves, protects and
promotes the participation of the most vulnerable. Jubilee USA wins critical
global financial reforms and won more than $130 billion in debt relief to
benefit the world's poorest people.www.jubileeusa.org
###