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by Lystra Madoo-devine on 7/17
Below is an email that was sent to Councilman Mathieu Eugene who is endorsing this scholarship.
MCNY now states that the scholarship is not available to "Haitian citizens living in NY" City Hall has responed to my email, but I'm not surprised that Eugene has not!
From Lystra Madoo-Devine
Sent Thursday, July 8, 2010 5:24 pm
To mathieu.
eugene at council.nyc.gov
Cc jg. woolley at yahoo.com
Subject MCNY Haiti scholarship-Discrimination against Haitian citizens in NY
Dear Councilman Eugene,
I am a social worker who runs an Earthquake Support Group in Queens with my husband, John Woolley, also a social worker and a Haitian citizen.
We have property, a house, and a boutique in Gressier, Haiti .
As you know Gressier is in the middle of Carrefour and Leogane on Route National #2, and no aid could get there after the devastating earthquake.
By God’s grace, our house withstood the quake with no damage, and served as safe refuge for the community.
Our neighbors were able to get clothes, diri, pois, dry milk, canned goods, and other food items from my house.
They also had use of a Delco to charge their phones.
John and I continued with our private recovery work by collecting over $700 and sent it to our neighbors by Western Union within days of the quake.
We went to Gressier in April 2010 to buy chickens and goats for our neighbors in order to help them have a continuous source of food.
I was deeply disturbed to learn that MCNY’s Dean of Admissions, Steven Lenhart, verbally disclosed additional eligibility requirements for the Haitian MPA scholarship.
These requirements are not disclosed on their website or anywhere else. What is even more disturbing and discriminatory to Haitians with strong ties to Haiti and to those who arrived after the earthquake is the fact that Dean Lenhart stated, “They have no chance of receiving a scholarship.” I am left to believe that this MPA Haiti scholarship is nothing more than a publicity stunt for the school.
According to MCNY, only Haitian residents currently living in Haiti will qualify for the scholarship, and of course, they also have to be eligible for student visas.
The only problem with this is that in order to get this visa, Haitian students must have a letter of acceptance from MCNY before they can apply for a student visa. Prior to the earthquake, this visa process took anywhere from a few weeks to more than 50 days. Now in post-earthquake Haiti, it may take even longer.
How could MCNY have offered a scholarship for “any Haitian citizen” on June 16th with an end date of July30th and expect those living in Haiti to obtain student visas and arrive in the United States ready to attend class during the first week of September?
This also begs another question, where is MCNY recruiting in Haiti?
I have seen MCNY's scholarship ad on Haitian and non Haitian websites.
If the scholarship is being advertised in this country only, would it not give Haitians the impression that the school is expecting applicants from within the U.S
I am very saddened by the fact that John has no change of receiving a scholarship with MCNY according to Dean Lenhart because he is not living in Haiti.
Our Earthquake Support Group is comprised of many Haitian professionals, including 3 doctors (1 public health physician and 2 pediatricians), a lawyer, legal secretaries, computer technicians, several college students, and many lay people.
All of these people do not qualify for TPS, but may be able to change their visitor’s visa to a student visa, pending an acceptance letter from MCNY.
A few Haitian citizens, including my husband are interested in applying for the scholarship, but cannot per Dean Lenhart.
What a loss for Haiti!
These people wanted to gain knowledge, and “help Haiti to overcome this difficult period and become a sustainable nation in the western hemisphere” as you stated in you your Testimony before the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere on Foreign Affairs.
I am appalled and disappointed that it appears that MCNY may have used you as a means to promote and acquire publicity on the backs of Haitians under the guise of helping.
I do believe that MCNY has left their institution open to litigation with a bait and switch scholarship for Haitian citizens residing in the US.
I believe that MCNY did not think this scholarship through.
The school did not state that this scholarship is only for Haitians living in Haiti.
The Xpress application states that the MPA is restricted to Haitian citizens only. My husband, John Woolley is a Haitian citizen, and was told by Dean Lenhard that he would not be awarded a scholarship, or be considered for one. If MCNY really wants to help Haiti with this scholarship, then why are John and other Haitian citizens living in the US being discriminated against?
Your attention and steps toward resolution is greatly appreciated.
Respectfully submitted,
Lystra Madoo-Devine
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