Death By Injustice?
I have been attempting to to process the Haiti earthquake all day. The loss of 50,000-100,000 lives due to an earthquake seems incomprehensible. Everything about it is so unsettling.
Possibly the most unsettling aspect of the disaster for me is that the extreme loss of life is most directly related to the extreme poverty in Haiti. If Haiti was not the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, t this amount of life would not be lost. That is a disturbing truth that should cause us all to pause.
There are many, many ways to immediately help with the disaster relief. Please consider a donation to Oxfam International, World Vision, or an important organization (new to me) that my friend Kiel Famellos-Schmidt worked with in Sri Lanka Architecture For Humanity.
While immediate support is appropriate and necessary, I am deeply concerned about deeper issues related to these types of tragedies.
I have asked before but it should be asked again: How do we believe so strongly in the ideal of equality, yet still allow this type of human loss due to poverty and a lack of resources?
We are so rich as Americans.
- According to the Haiti Micah Project, more than 50% of Haitians live on less than $1 per day.
- According to recent research by Mintel Consumer, Media Group, the average American teenager spends $150 a week.
- According to the Haiti Micah Project, less than 20% of Haitians over the age of 15 can read & write.
- According to US Census Data, more than 80% of American adults have at least a high school education.
- The United Nations estimates that nearly 6% (over 1 in 20) Haitians are infected with HIV/AIDS and there are over 150,000 Haitian orphans in the country.
- According to UNICEF, 40% of the world lacks basic sanitation. While in America, 49 Million disposable diapers are used and thrown away each day.
- Worldwide, every seven seconds, somewhere in the world a child under five dies of hunger according to UNICEF. Americans however, throw away on average 14% of the food we purchase.
According to author Rob Bell, “Guilt is not helpful. Awareness is helpful. Honesty is helpful. Knowledge is helpful.”
The Haiti earthquake disaster, is just another example of the economic injustice we see all over the world. The voices of the victims of injustice are once again crying out to all of us and hoping to be heard. The voices are hoping to reach the most basic aspects of our own humanity. I wonder how many of us are able to hear them?
haiti has been the poorest nation in the western hemisphere for decades. my best friend has family living in haiti. luckily they are all okay, but one of them is one of the few doctors in the immediately affected area, so he will directly see the horror which this tragedy has inflicted. we ask for a simple prayer, along with any other help that each of us can send. gof speed!
when this disaster struck my first thought was “oh my god! these people were desperate *yesterday*! they have nothing there, sometimes not even clean water.” maybe this was a form of guilt that i had not been helping enough before, but the future is in our own hands. i decided to help in the one way i could.
i had heard of scams where people were donating money for the people of haiti and that made me really angry. i understand that these people need the money and if that is a way people prefer to help, please by all means do so. i personally am not in a position to help in that way, but i did know of a way that i could help.
i know of a mission (through a former coworker) that is always in need. so i started organizing a collection to send to them. some of the details are here: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#/KarmaKaze7?ref=profile
this is a developing drive and will probibly be going on thru february, but i will keep everyone updated.
please help these people in any way that is possible