The Sun did not scotch the faithful heading for the Mass at St. Luc, Kinshasa. Indeed, they braved the afternoon heat to pray and help their brothers and sisters far away in Haiti. Tranquility filled the church. Their minds definitely raced kilometers away in the Caribbean. Each must have wondered about the human sufferings par rapport God’s Love. This fifth Friday, 2010 Mass was a special prayer session in the whole Archdiocese of Kinshasa.
Life was normal in Haiti after the country’s 206th independence celebrations on 1st January. Twelve days later, a massive 7.0 magnitude earthquake shook this tiny country. Change was evidence. Cries all over! Lost lives! Blood oozed! Buildings in the vicinity went down! People turned homeless!
Today, the “Help Haiti’ petitions are all over. It has not bypassed any rational and spiritual being on earth. Large and small organizations have come together for this purpose. Internationally, all the humanitarian aid in Haiti is headed by the former US President Bill Clinton, the man behind the William J Clinton Foundations, which ‘focuses on worldwide issues that demand urgent action, solutions, and measurable results’. Indeed, Haiti’s case demands rapid response. Humanity indeed has shown solidarity that has never been witnessed in its history.
But could someone be making an easy life out of Haiti’s casualty?
Located in the western one-third of the Hispaniola Island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, Haiti, only borders the Dominican Republic. Being in the middle of the hurricane belt, the region is no stranger to the natural disasters like earthquakes and tornados. Moreau de Saint-Méry, a French historian of the 18th century, reported that the whole Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s Capital collapsed during the earthquake of 1770. Later, in 1842, an 8.0 magnitude hit Dominican Republic where Haiti was a victim of milieu. Haiti had its share again in 1946. My question is, has this zone gotten used to these forms of calamities?
Haiti covers an area of 27,750 km², 20 times smaller than Kenya, my home country. Only 190km² is water. This piece of terrain held 9,035,536 inhabitants according to the World FactBook updated in July 2009. If justice was to prevail, that translates to 328 people per square kilometer. Overpopulated? The terrain is semi arid with occasional droughts and tropical downpour. This is where global help is directed.
We all have our discourses on what happened to the world on 12th January. Most of which are centrally pointed towards God, for He is the Creator and Almighty. But wait.
No one is indifferent to pleasure or pain. Neither are we freed from passions of any kind. We are always moved by either joy or grief. The two dictate the cause of our actions. Haiti’s phenomenon grieved us and moved us to actions. A conservatist stoic might raise an alarm. But being at the service of all fellow human beings is the underlying desire of every person’s heart. At the same moment, to be afraid of skepticism is being at the verge of naïve lifestyle. That I may feel and be doubtful of my next action is normal and neither good nor bad
Helping is naturally a good thing in itself. Providing means for helping others is another good thing. But making business out of the plight of the needy is not good. Today, I refuse to believe in the many of the adverts dubbed “Help Haiti” “Donate blah blah blah” to be objectively good. Others are genuine but a good number have sinister conmanship at play. The latter, either as person or agency, grab the occasion to manipulate the society. They bank on the prevailing feelings of circumstances appealing for intensive aid.
Who doesn’t fear being manipulated? Do these donations reach the victims as intended by the benefactor? Who is the prime recipient of all the donations? Don’t we hear the victims lament even after two or so months of giving aid?
At the end of the Fifth Friday Mass, all left with somber-mood-patched faces. Smile was hardly seen. They must have been satisfied by the prayers and donations they offered. Yet they doubted the actions of both God, before the quake and those of human beings after the quake. Haiti is here to haunt us eternally.
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