Why We Cannot Forget Haiti 

I must confess that writing this month's column has been one of the most difficult tasks I’ve had to get done recently. I struggled to come up with words to address this tragedy. For weeks following the announcement of the earthquake in Haiti, my mind was dull and my heart ached.  My soul was filled with grief, time and time again, as I watched the heartbreaking images of dead bodies with no decent final resting place, people bleeding from broken, bruised or mangled body parts, orphaned children looking for parents, and people so hungry and thirsty that physical need drove them to looting and violence. When the breaking news about the 7.0 earthquake came over the TV my initial thoughts were: “For Haiti this is like kicking down a man who is already on his knees". Haiti’s history has been troubled both by natural and man-made disasters. Who can forget the hurricanes of 2008, the political fallouts and turmoil of the past years, and the abject poverty that plagued the streets and neighborhoods of Haiti. The poorest nation on the Western hemisphere, Haiti is also now the country that has suffered the most catastrophic natural disasters on the Western Hemisphere. But while theologians, social observers, geologists, and TV commentators try to explain what has happened in Haiti using their own human reasoning, no one seems to want to accept that there might simply not be an explanation. That this tragic earthquake was not an act of God, for God in his infinite mercy and love does not destroy the good and the innocent to punish the wicked. If it were so, most of us living in some of the biggest and wicked cities of the world would have been consumed by now. Most importantly, everyone has failed to realize that Haiti’s personal history is a narrative of a series of tragic encounters.  Conquered by the Spanish via Columbus, Haiti was later colonized by the French who ruled with brutal terror. As is always the case with colonizers, the French imposed their language, religion, and culture upon the people and they stole the best of the land’s resources for themselves. A revolt of half a million African slaves against the French placed Haiti as the second nation in the Western Hemisphere to gain its independence, the first being the USA, and the first in the New World to abolish slavery. This feat alone made Haiti a giant, and Haiti went on to assist some Latin American countries to secure their independence from Spain. An often overlooked fact is that the central third of the USA which belonged to the French, and included states such as Arkansas and Louisiana, were sold by Napoleon Bonaparte to Thomas Jefferson because Napoleon was deadly afraid of the Haitian revolutionaries and did not want to fight them again. Haiti is a historical figure of gigantic proportions in the Western Hemisphere but it has paid dearly for this role. In its early years the French required Haiti to pay a large indemnity to acknowledge its independence before the world; the United States, a then slaveholding nation, imposed a six-decade blockade, intended to crush Haiti economically. Like its French counterpart, America fearfully refused to fight Haiti on the ground so they found another means of waging war. In addition a series of social missteps and state corruption began to chip away at the giant. If that were not enough Haiti was occupied by the Americans for almost two decades.  And later suffered through cruel dictatorships, social inequality and ineffective leadership.But Haiti’s story of struggle and oppression is not unlike that of many other nations and people in the world. The human experience is not immune to struggle and pain. We live in a world where everything is uncertain. We can lose the lifetime accumulations of savings and wealth in seconds. The people we trust can betray and abandon us without second thoughts. When death comes knocking at our doors there is nothing we can do. Even our most prized material possessions cannot stand the test of a natural disaster. Life, even at its best, is difficult, painful and inexact. Faced with these realities what should we do? Is giving up the answer?There is an important lesson we can all learn from Haiti and that we must teach our children; Haitians are resilient. While their standard of living is often below basic human necessity and their economic opportunities are greatly lacking, Haitians continue to press on. USAID reports that 54% of Haitians live with less than $1 a day; illiteracy is estimated at 44% and the unemployment rate is at 80%.  Within this dismal outlook Haitians still find creative ways of surviving day to day.  The suicide rate is way below nations who are more progressive and whose citizens have more. Haitians keep holding on against the odds. In the wake of the devastating earthquake of January 12 we know that the damage it caused is of epic proportions. The infrastructure of major Haitian cities will have to be rebuilt from scratch. The days ahead will be long and difficult. International aid in the form of finances, engineering, medical and human resources will be critical to rebuilding and begin to bring Haiti back to some basic form of normalcy. But there is a silver lining in all of these. This is an opportunity for us, the world community, to get actively involved. We need to remember that our shared humanity unites us; Haiti’s pain is now our pain. There is an Haitian creole saying: Men anpil chay pa lou, which translates "Many hands lighten the load."  Most importantly, beyond all the grief, pain and tragedy this is an opportunity for the world to help Haiti to once again reclaim the giant within. This is a new opportunity for all of us to join forces to rewrite history.  The world is with you Haiti, we will not forget you.  Seven life-lessons we must teach our children from the earthquake in Haiti :

1. Life is too short. Fighting, quarrelling, resentment or grudges are a waste of time and valuable emotional energy.

2. You can never say “I love you” enough. Telling family members how much we appreciate and love them should become a daily practice in our homes.  Give them roses while they are still alive.

3. Material things really don’t matter. In times of tragedy all the brand name sneakers or Gucci bags in your closet will not give you peace or bring back your loved ones. Invest more in people and less in things.

4.We must always help. This is our duty as fellow human beings.

5.Today it’s Haiti, tomorrow it might be your backyard. Don’t ever believe that you are somehow immune to tragedy or pain. Pain and tragedy are no respecters of country, nationality, skin color or financial status.

6.Knowing our history is critical to overcoming failures. When we take the time to learn our history we learn from past mistakes and can determine not to commit the same mistakes twice.

7.While there is life there is hope.

We cannot give up, turn back, or quit. If we are alive then we must keep on trying. Please continue to donate money for the rebuilding of Haiti to organizations such as:  www.unicef.org , www.redcross.org , www.usaid.gov, www.yele.org, www.worldvision.org, and www.adra.org  Copyright  2010 by Norka Blackman-Richards Norka Blackman-Richards, is an adjunct lecturer, a writer, a minister’s wife, and an empowerment speaker on women, education, diversity and generational issues. Norka is the chief editor of www.4realwomen.com, the founder of 4 Real Women International, Inc., and the host of 4 Real Women Talk on BlogTalkRadio.com.  She teaches for the City University of New York at Queens College.