28th
Remembering Haiti :: Honoring Our Response
Unbelievable.
I just opened Google News to catch up on the aftermath of Haiti’s devastating earthquake. Up and down, up and down I scrolled searching for a headline or even a link to the name, “Haiti.” Nothing.
Only after clicking on the “World” sidebar tab was I able to locate an article on Haiti, but it was the 7th one from the top of the page.
It’s only been 2 weeks since the earthquake hit. Some estimates put the death toll at 200,000 lives lost. How is it that we’ve already started to bury this story as secondary news?
Since the earthquake, our community has gotten a barrage of texts, e-mails and phone calls from concerned and compassionate friends who want to help. Most of the questions are asking about the best ways to respond. People are wondering how can/should donations be made to. Many people just want to go volunteer, be present and available in whatever ways are needed.
It’s been great to see the world rally around the needs of Haiti, I just hope our attention span lasts long enough to really make a difference.
I’ve spent quite a bit of time reflecting on what has happened in Haiti and want to offer two conversation starters for those who have it within them to help:
Rebuilding isn’t enough. Things were already pretty bad there before the earthquake, to merely rebuild isn’t an option. Can we find the imagination to hope for an even better Haiti? I mean, now that it has the world’s attention can we hope that rather than merely “re-building,” Haiti could be designed and constructed to what Haitians have always wanted, needed, hoped for and deserved? Can post-earthquake Haiti be a better version of what it was before the earthquake?
Haiti can’t afford another loss. I think one of the things thoughtful, caring people need to keep in mind is that going to help without following-through is another offense to a nation that can’t afford another loss. Making a financial pledge that you don’t follow through with is another assault on the vulnerabilities of our hemisphere’s poorest neighbors. I certainly don’t want to discourage people from responding, but I think we need to be accountable in our responses by cautioning and reminding people that engaging the needs will require a commitment on their part.
