Thank you for this column Susan, after reading it I only thought "Beatitudes" and hope many others do....any donation will help this country, one of the most impoverished in the world, that is right on our doorstep....God save Haiti
At some point, the U.S. will need to look at policies that continue to hurt Haiti. Donations are important now but the country is poor in large part because we’ve kept them
Then your husband knows -- as do you -- just how preventable a lot of this pain has been. A decent infrastructure wouldn't keep earthquakes at bay, but a decent infrastructure would mean buildings would be sturdier and perhaps built in less-vulnerable places.
Oh, that’s entirely on track. I’ll try to keep this short: My Christian beliefs involve a hands-off God. I don’t blame Her for weather events or crap elections. I look at what I (we) should be doing differently (climate change, voting) to create heaven on earth. Haiti has scant little infrastructure. Why is that? How could that country exist and feed its people and have resources for this kind of awful thing. Do I have agency? Well, I’m an American citizen and it doesn’t take too deep a dive into U.S. political history to see our fingerprints are all over a lot of Haiti’s issues. But that’s another meditation. I look at God as the entity that got things rolling. Now? It’s on us. Thanks, God. Let’s see if we can take things from here. I’d love to hear how other people look at this.
I believe there was a Jesus. I believe in the miracles in the Christian scriptures. I believe they were necessary at the time, but now we have the resources to perform some miracles on our own (comparatively speaking, not like splitting a sea or anything from the Hebrew scriptures). I also realize that my attitude about God's involvement or lack thereof in today's world fuels my decisions to be socially active. I don't know if I became socially active first, or if my beliefs evolved over time.
On Afghanistan, there is a helpless feeling. As you see the faces of the children of Haiti during this recent disaster, I see the faces of the little girls and women of Afghanistan. Now, maybe all we can do is support the effort to bring refugees (especially SIV status) from Afghanistan to the US and help them start new lives.
Our union helped PIH build their tremendous teaching hospital in Mirebelais, we also helped start training first responders ,
I’ve heard of that hospital. That’s wonderful work from your union and Paul Farmer is incredible.
Thank you for this column Susan, after reading it I only thought "Beatitudes" and hope many others do....any donation will help this country, one of the most impoverished in the world, that is right on our doorstep....God save Haiti
At some point, the U.S. will need to look at policies that continue to hurt Haiti. Donations are important now but the country is poor in large part because we’ve kept them
that way.
Thank you for sharing this story. The fact that human beings are still suffering breaks my heart.
Donated. My husband served in Haiti in the 90s. My heart breaks for them, over and over.
Then your husband knows -- as do you -- just how preventable a lot of this pain has been. A decent infrastructure wouldn't keep earthquakes at bay, but a decent infrastructure would mean buildings would be sturdier and perhaps built in less-vulnerable places.
Many thanks for this list. Gave to Partners in Health due to your recommendation.
To get WAY off track ... Just curious: How does a terrible event like this jibe with your Christian beliefs?
Oh, that’s entirely on track. I’ll try to keep this short: My Christian beliefs involve a hands-off God. I don’t blame Her for weather events or crap elections. I look at what I (we) should be doing differently (climate change, voting) to create heaven on earth. Haiti has scant little infrastructure. Why is that? How could that country exist and feed its people and have resources for this kind of awful thing. Do I have agency? Well, I’m an American citizen and it doesn’t take too deep a dive into U.S. political history to see our fingerprints are all over a lot of Haiti’s issues. But that’s another meditation. I look at God as the entity that got things rolling. Now? It’s on us. Thanks, God. Let’s see if we can take things from here. I’d love to hear how other people look at this.
Very interesting, and I thank you for your response, which leads me to think that, FWIW, you're more deist than Christian.
I believe there was a Jesus. I believe in the miracles in the Christian scriptures. I believe they were necessary at the time, but now we have the resources to perform some miracles on our own (comparatively speaking, not like splitting a sea or anything from the Hebrew scriptures). I also realize that my attitude about God's involvement or lack thereof in today's world fuels my decisions to be socially active. I don't know if I became socially active first, or if my beliefs evolved over time.
My heart is breaking twice, for the people of Haiti and the people of Afghanistan.
On Haiti, I thought this was helpful. https://apnews.com/article/science-caribbean-haiti-earthquakes-1b24808399bf07fe955e739dad93f6e2
I'll donate for sure.
On Afghanistan, there is a helpless feeling. As you see the faces of the children of Haiti during this recent disaster, I see the faces of the little girls and women of Afghanistan. Now, maybe all we can do is support the effort to bring refugees (especially SIV status) from Afghanistan to the US and help them start new lives.