A week and a half ago, Japan suffered from a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and a 10-metre tsunami. Being able to empathize with others has always been a strong characteristic of mine, and my whole heart goes out to those affected in Japan. However, I can’t help but feel frustrated at the rates of people willing to redirect their focus and funds from impoverished nations to industrialized nations, from poor nations to rich nations, from resource-poor nations to resource-rich nations.
The reality is Japan is a G8 country, with the world’s third largest economy by nominal GDP. It has the economy, means and access to resources to rebuild itself. The government of Japan has expressed that it does not want as much international help as is being offered, with the acceptance of help from fifteen of ninety-nine offering countries. To be blunt, it is not a nation that needs floods of NGOs rushing in to save the day... Not as much as other nations at least.
For hundreds of years, Haiti has been a nation of oppression. Up until the early 1800’s, Haiti (then known as “Saint Domingue”) was a colony of France where thousands of people were taken from Africa and forced into slavery on the island. In 1804, the number of slaves outnumbered the “master class” and the first successful slave revolt in the history of humankind occurred. France was slow to recognize Haiti as an independent nation, and only did so at the cost of 90 million francs. They argued that Haiti owed them this money as a result of property (slaves and land alike) lost during the revolt. This was ultimately the key element in making Haiti the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere because the debt was not able to be paid off until 1947.
Before the earthquake hit in Haiti:
-Only half the population had access to sanitation;
-Only one third of the population had clean drinking water;
-There was a 67% primary school enrollment rate (though this number is thought to be too high);
-and economic stress of putting a child through school often superseded the benefits and many children would not be able to attend.
On January 12, 2010 a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti. I remember being in Belize and having our BSU faculty members let us know that we had a tsunami warning. We were all pretty shocked and concerned, but I don't think many of us understood the reality of the situation. This earthquake left 250,000-300,000 people dead, over 1.5 million people homeless (including an additional 200,000 orphans) and destroyed over 4,000 schools. Since the earthquake, there has been a major cholera outbreak and 80% of the population is living on less than $2 a day, with more than half the population living on less than $1 a day.
Today, there are still over 800,000 Haitians in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, there is a 50% illiteracy rate, and massive corruption is occurring during the elections.
I am not saying that we should not help Japan; it is up to each individual to decide where they want to help. All I am saying is that we cannot forget about Haiti. Over a year ago we made a promise as a global community to help our brothers and sisters in Haiti... I know I will continue.
