I wouldn’t be using this blog for it’s new intended purpose if I didn’t write about something that has been on my mind for the past month…the earthquake in Haiti that took place on January 12, claiming the lives of over 200,000 people and displacing hundreds of thousands more. I was shocked and devastated to initially hear the news, and then immediately concerned for my friends (who are more like family) and their loved ones. (Luckily, all have been accounted for).
My next thought- what can I do? I was so proud and humbled when most people I knew appeared to have the same, unselfish thought, all informing each other about different charities to which we could donate to have the best impact in that moment.
But today, as I put on the first day of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver and was greeted with a video made by musicians reprising Michael Jackson’s We Are the World to benefit Haiti, I wondered- now what? Here in DC, our headlines for the past two weeks have been consumed with snow storms- meanwhile the rest of the world was still going on, and Haiti still exists. This song’s words reminded me of the capacity of humans to care about others…so now what?
Haiti has been devastated for much longer than this past month, even if not from a natural disaster. The majority of the population lives in poverty under a government that is ill-equipped to provide basic services to its citizens- imagine how crippling this earthquake will be to an already undeveloped infrastructure. But now, the eyes of the world are on Haiti- so don’t forget! Haitians need help. I leave it to the experts to determine how, but please don’t forget that Haiti is there. Devastating events tend to dominate the news briefly and then the issues goes away- please don’t let this happen. Learn about Haiti, and learn from Haitians about their needs, ambitions, and desires- we have an opportunity to help a country that has been going down a terrible path for a long time- let’s not leave them in the dark again.
