The question has been asked over and over again in news media, "Why do the people in Haiti have to suffer so much?", and nobody seems to have an answer. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said recently, "It is biblical, the tragedy that continues to stalk Haiti and the Haitian people" and regardless of their religious views, Haiti's over populated nation would agree. Even as the international society races to the aid of Haiti in record-breaking amounts, the relief that has been supplied does not come close to what is needed for Haiti's recovery. Despite the impressive efforts of nations worldwide immediately after the earthquake, Haiti will not be anywhere near rebounded from this disaster once the donations dry up.
The degree of devastation Haiti endured as a result of the January 12th earthquake, is not due simply to the unfortunate luck of a geographical disaster. As Anne Applebaum writes for the Washington Post, "Disasters have no logic, and no political significance. But the recovery process that follows a disaster is always deeply political." If this earthquake is any indication, it is evident that the politics are not on Haiti's side. And they aren't. Saddled with deep debt, dealing with internal power struggles, and facing severe environmental adversity, Haiti does not have much to hope in.
In efforts to restore hope, many Americans have made attempts to identify where they can help in lasting ways. One such way that became popular in the months following the earthquake was the effort to adopt any of the estimated 1 million children who had been left orphaned by the earthquake. Capitalizing on this emotional cord and in efforts to keep the aftermath of the earthquake relevant, news media erupted with stories of Haitian babies who had been orphaned or left behind by dead or dying parents. Perhaps inspired by these media reports, a group of Christian missionaries took it upon themselves to "rescue" a number of these children. Arrested on their attempted escape with the children, these missionaries became the talk of international news media. What was highlighted in these news reports continued to inspire American activists to make rescue attempts for the orphans of Haiti. And, perhaps as a result, the issue of managing orphans and oversees adoption seemed to be one of the only focuses the Haitian government found interest in overseeing.
No comments:
Post a Comment