It took so much in me to watch even part of the program. The horror of it was unbelievable. A country in shambles, dead bodies everywhere, no lights, families separated, people screaming and here are American reporters in J Crew T-shirts, lit up in a dark world by generators, talking about how horrific this must be for these people.
These people? THESE people?
Maybe it's the Haitian American in me but, last time I checked, as long as they're human, they're OUR PEOPLE.
But that's semantics.
What's real is that this earthquake, for all its physical brutality, is but a metaphor for the socioeconomic reality that Haitians have lived for decades. As long as the only homes, walls and lives that were crumbling were economic, we, in the greatest country in the world, could turn a blind eye to Haiti's poverty and pain.
Weren't we the ones turning away regfugees in boats not too long ago?
Weren't we the ones refusing to send troops when Haiti's corrupt military were wreaking havoc and killing innocent people?
Yes, Haiti's buildings, homes, palace and lives are crumbling but that is the tip of an iceberg we all knew was a long time in the making. How many people have to lose their lives before we, in the U.S., take off our rose-tinted glasses and really see?
Alas, I know that there is a miracle in EVERYTHING. Haitian people are strong. They will triumph through this and adopt, as they always have, the 'I don't believe in defeat' attitude.
The lesson?
Breakdowns ALWAYS lead to breakthroughs.
God does not fail. He IS in the middle of this. Let each of us use the Divine within to reach out and uplift one another.
If not now, when?
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