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Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson welcomed Haitian activist and community leader Leonie M. Hermantin to the nation's capital where she testified before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs today. She was one of several experts invited to speak at a hearing on "Haiti on the Brink: Assessing U.S. Policy Toward a Country in Crisis."

Haiti has for the past year been embroiled in a political crisis that is creating a humanitarian one. Ongoing protests have blocked roads, businesses are going bankrupt, thousands of children have for months been unable to attend school, and more than three million Haitians are struggling to meet their daily food requirements. Today's hearing was the first time a House committee has focused issues related to the island nation, even though it has been struggling to recover from various natural and man-made disasters for nearly a decade.

Although Congresswoman Wilson does not sit on the Foreign Affairs Committee, she represents one of the nation's largest Haitian communities and was invited to recommend a witness and to also speak at the hearing. In October, Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined the Florida lawmaker in Miami for a roundtable discussion on Haiti.

"As a nation of values and the rule of law, we cannot remain silent when there are credible allegations of corruption, human rights abuses and other atrocities in Haiti," Congresswoman Wilson said. "We must speak up. But first we must listen. That's why today's hearing is so important and timely. I hope it is the first of many congressional hearings on Haiti."

Hermantin, who is the director of development, communication and strategic planning for Miami's Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center, urged U.S. policymakers to increase support for cross-border anticorruption programs, which she said will have an immediate effect on local governance and "yield positive impacts on social and economic policies."

She also recommended that the Unites States partner Haitians and diaspora experts on programs to aid Haiti instead of large development organizations.

"USAID has just launched a project in partnership with the Haitian government, which itself is a party to the ongoing crisis. We need to be more creative and stop using unsuccessful strategies with the same actors who propose the same programs under different titles to get the same results," Hermantin said. "The Haitian people and the diaspora demand accountability and transparency, neither of which are always forthcoming under current USAID practices."

Hermantin also implored the committee to not treat Haiti's humanitarian crisis, which threatens to grow worse, with the urgency it deserves and desperately needs.

"We cannot close our ears, minds, nor our hearts," she said. "We cannot absolve ourselves from what is to come."

To view the hearing, click here.