The measure of the catastrophe in Haiti is measurable by the fact that even venues that normally take little notice of the news were advising folks how to help. So it was that this morning, the first thing I heard on the radio was a DJ telling folks how to donate $10 to the American Red Cross relief effort by texting “Haiti” to the number 90999.
That’s one thing you can do, so I pass it on. It’s good to be able to do something. Too often, my own response to such events is to have odd, irrelevant thoughts such as this one:
Why do these things always happen to the very poorest countries?
Haiti was the very first foreign country I ever visited, back in late 1962. You’ve heard of people in the Third World diving from boats to catch coins tossed from cruise ships? Well, at that point in my life (9 years old) I had never heard of it, but I saw it and experienced it. I threw a few coins myself. We weren’t on a luxury liner by any means, just a small combination cargo/passenger ship taking my family to my Dad’s new duty station in Ecuador. At the time, I was fascinated at the skill it took for someone to dive from a small boat and capture a coin far below the surface before it was gone for good. I was like, “Wow! I couldn’t do that!” (although I longed to get down there and try). I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was only later that I was mature enough to think, “My God; what desperation it takes to develop such a skill and practice it — rowing out in the harbor and going to such exertions for such a small return…” And of course, at that point I felt bad about my own role in it, as the “rich” child casting scraps to the poor for sport. But at the time, I was innocent, seeing it as a game, showing off, a demonstration of skill. I actually envied the divers.
That was my initial introduction to the Western Hemisphere’s most desperate nation, one that had never had a chance from the start. When you look at the advantages this country had, with a highly qualified cadre of well-educated people with unlimited resources to found the institutions upon which our republic is based, and you look at the desperate need of that nation founded by slaves, you get an education in the gross unfairness of history.
Then, when that bad hand is compounded by something of this magnitude, you have to wonder why? Is is just that the world’s poorest people have no means to move away from the parts of the world most susceptible to quakes and tsunamis and other calamities? I realize that the extent of devastation is exacerbated by poor construction and the lack of an infrastructure of first responders and such — and some calamities, such as those staggering losses from overturned ferries and such in Pakistan and elsewhere are a direct result of poverty — but it seems like, generally speaking, these more extreme “Acts of God” just don’t happen where rich folks live. Add to that the fact that since 1945 the wealthy countries haven’t even been visited by war (history’s great leveler), and the utter unfairness of the universe is just overwhelming.
I don’t have an answer to this; my mind is thoroughly boggled.
“I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth.”
— Umberto Eco
Good one, Howard. Eco, to say the least, definitely has a way with words (and other symbols).
I think I like the books of Job and Ecclesiates better than Eco on this, though Brad is right, it is truly an enigma.
What makes it really bad is when people like PatRobertson weigh in on this. Robertson is way misinformed.
Fortunately, I’m not looking to Pat Robertson. Unfortunately, some folks are, I suppose, or we’d never hear about him. Personally, I manage to ignore him to the extent that when you mentioned him, I thought, “Isn’t he dead?” I guess I was thinking of Jerry Falwell. Or Oral Roberts.
Doesn’t look like the link worked. I’ll try it again.
Since Preval has been president of Haiti, there have been weekly prayer meetings in the (former) presidential offices, led by Pastor Chavannes Jeune. It was the previous Haitian president, Aristide, that made a pact with the Voodoo spirits. Not that that had anything to do with the earthquake.
Somehow I have to apologize for statements made by my evangelical brethren.
Yeah, my mother watched Pat Robertson every day after she pretty much became shut-in. I sure wish we could have well-informed, balanced news analysis on TV for these folks, because a lot of the elderly cannot read any more, and can’t sleep well either, so they sit in their chairs and soak too much of this in.
I suppose I should have moved back from Germany to Lubbock and helped take care of her, but it’s not that easy just to up and move from a job.
What angers me is the extent to which people like this prey on the good intentions of good people.
Haiti has never had a chance. It was despoiled by the French and (I think) the Dutch. We supported an incredibly vicious dictator. The land is barren. There is no money to build safely. Cange, where the EDUSC has done much work, survived without loss, but they are expecting an influx of refugees from Port au Prince. The infrastructure is terrible (e.g. it takes at least 3 hours to drive the 50 miles from Port au Prince to Cange). While there has been much damage and loss of life in Port au Prince, it will be a miracle if many more aren’t lost to famine and pestilence. I know many nations will try to help, but can we get the needed aid to the people who need it most?
We tried the phone-texting contribution but apparently the system was overloaded. Rush Limbaugh is claiming the Obama White House is stealing the contributions anyway.
Hurricane Katrina did manage to whack the US.
Haiti is one of those areas where the US actually can make a difference. Of course we can and should assist in the ongoing relief efforts to assist with the utter desparation of the millions of victims. Who would argue with that?
But in the long run we need to help invigorate this nation’s desparate economic condition. Not by intrusive politics or military intervention. Those efforts are ultimately doomed to failure and generally lead to big problems down the road. Just witness our problems with Iran stemming for our propping up the Shah.
But we can certainly offer aid to build this nation up to a standard that will at least help the people there help themselves. Call me naive but this is a worthy cause for American intervention. Let’s just be sure we do it the right way. Otherwise we may end up stirring up future enemies.
And Burl — yes, we had Katrina. And look at how indignant it made us: That sort of this shouldn’t be allowed to happen HERE.
There seemed to have been enough bungling by the Bush administration to justify a great deal of indignation, but I felt like some of it contained a tinge of “you shouldn’t have let that happen here,” although no one would have verbalized that. Meanwhile, some Americans who were NOT indignant rationalized it away, viewing the denizens of the Ninth Ward as being sufficiently like Third Wolders to explain the apparent upset in the natural order. They were still able to tell themselves it wouldn’t happen to REAL Americans…
False pattern recognition–California has certainly had its share of earthquakes and other natural disasters, but the desperation isn’t as great, so the news coverage isn’t as intense.
Yeah, I thought Pat Robertson was dead, too! I have to admit that if a country were to be seen as most God-forsaken, Haiti would surely make the top three, don’t you think?
Brad, one of the troubles with natural disasters is that they are so destructive. Everything else equal, a place where natural disasters occur more frequently is going to be poorer, by the mechanism of having its wealth destroyed on a regular basis.
[Everything else isn’t equal, of course. But some spots do get worse weather, do sit on more geologically-active areas, etc.]
There’s more, but I’ll stop there for now. Summary: Not your imagination.
Brad,
“Why do these things always happen to the very poorest countries?”
As you acknowledge, Katrina proved the assertion tends to dismiss natural disaters in countries with the economic might and political leadership to persevere, while magnifying smaller events in countries with no tradition of individual productivity and national economic health.
China, more than the U.S. has dealt with natural disasters in recent years and recovered without
missing a step. Haitians do not suffer the annual floods and mass drownings of the poor Bangladeshis.
Capitalism works for both the U.S. and China, and it will work for Haiti once their long heritage of welfare subsistence is overcome.
Alternatively, lazy, wishful-thinking idealists can strive further to turn the U.S. into a welfare paradise and Haiti would not compare so unfavorably.
Hmm. P. Robertson says we should pray for them to repent. My Bible seems to suggest that Jesus would put providing them with food, clothing, and potable water just a bit ahead of praying for them to repent. As a matter of fact I don’t remember any story in which Jesus inquired about a person’s religious orientation before giving them help. However, I do remember a story in which He seemed a bit scornful of a guy that stood there telling God what a great person he was, and how he wasn’t like the ‘sinners’. Hmm.
FYI, folks, KBFenner passes on this useful-sounding link, to a piece headlined, “How and Where to Donate to Haiti (and Avoid Scams)“…
I don’t see how anyone could blame the awful results of natural disasters on any activity (or lack thereof) of God. If the French, the U.S., and the people of Haiti had treated each other well over the last 200 years or so, earthquakes would not have such devasting effects there. Seems to me like we can blame the most horrible effects of the earthquake mostly on people. (Same as with Katrina).
“Alternatively, lazy, wishful-thinking idealists can strive further to turn the U.S. into a welfare paradise and Haiti would not compare so unfavorably.”-Juan Caruso
Because Haiti is a welfare paradise, as we all know.
If you believe in an interventionist God, how can you not link natural disasters or the lack thereof? If God cares about your high school football game, doesn’t it stand to reason he cares about who gets creamed by “acts of God”?
For the record, that’s an “if” to me.
I fail to see how any amount of historical kumbayah between France the US and Haiti would have softened the effects of an earthquake. That’s magical thinking. Maybe if the Haitians were richer they could have afforded more rebar in their concrete, but that’s about it.
We tried the phone-text donation again today and it worked like a champ.
Alas, Rush is claiming that Obama is stealing Red Cross donations because whitehouse.gov has a link to help donate to the Red Cross.
Just a reminder (although folks who follow this blog shouldn’t need one) to make any contributions for Haitian relief ONLY through recognized agencies (major churches or Red Cross). Alas, a disaster like this seems to bring charlatans out of the woodwork.
Thinking again about how the developed world seems to stay free of such disasters, it occurred to me that most of the majority world tends to live in warmer, perhaps more disaster prone (thinking also of tsunamis) climates, perhaps partly because of energy availability, or perhaps lower energy need?
We in the West have developed a high survival rate based, in large part, upon the availability and high use of “cheap” energy–thinking not only of heating, but air-conditioning and the development of a sterile environment for medical needs, etc.
Does that idea have any merit? I’m just throwing it out there for consideration.
Once available fossil fuel sources become really scarce, the problems, including war, are going to soar. And I haven’t mentioned the looming water shortage.
The other thing that the Western world faces is the constant threat of nuclear disaster, primarily caused by belligerents, which if it ever occurs (God forbid), will make the Haitan earthquake perhaps pale in comparison.
I may be totally off, but just hoping for a response from the learned ones here . . . .
Mr. Limbaugh is also claiming that we should not donate to Haiti because we “already have through income tax.” I know that the man has a right to his opinion, but perhaps it is time for Christians, Muslims, and Jews to say together that his behavior is contrary to the teachings of their faiths, and that his opinions are despicable in this area. And I do not mean to disparage any other faith who wishes to join in this condemnation. Maybe we could get Pat Robertson to ask the world to pray for him, since he seems to be acting as if he’s made a pact with the evil one?
This isn’t about Haiti, but Yemen, but since it is in the news, I thought that somebody might be interested. A former US ambassador to Yemen has written the first really decent analysis of the situation that I have seen a government official (or I guess former official) write.
Generally speaking what happens is that our administration (Democrat or Republican, the latter is more prone to it) issues statements that they want the media to pick up on, so they can justify more anti-terror action and funding.
Edmund J. Hull was the United States ambassador to Yemen from 2001 to 2004.
That’s not very readable. Let me try that again:
By EDMUND J. HULL
Washington
AMERICANS are scrambling to understand Yemen, where Al Qaeda has recently surged and the Christmas Day plot against Northwest Flight 253 was hatched. It’s not easy. Yemen has 5,000 years of history, complicated politics and daunting economic challenges. But we’ve made it more difficult to understand by allowing several myths to cloud our vision. Challenging these misconceptions is a first step toward comprehending and overcoming significant threats to American, Yemeni and international security.
Myth 1: The Yemeni government’s control does not extend much beyond the capital, Sana.
It’s true that the government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh faces several security problems. Al Qaeda has operated there since the early 1990s, with its strength waxing and waning depending on the effectiveness of the government’s counterterrorism efforts. Since 2004, the government has faced an insurrection in the north from a group called the Houthis, who would restore a religious ruler. There has also been growing separatist feeling in the southern regions that tried to secede in 1994. And many of the tribes in the north are well armed and operate largely outside the government structure.
None of this, however, means that the government is confined to ruling a city-state centered on Sana. The Yemeni Army and national police exert significant day-to-day control over most of the country, and almost everywhere else on an ad hoc basis. Yemen is much like the United States in the latter half of the 19th century, when the government faced a rebellious South and a Wild West, but was hardly powerless outside the East Coast.
Myth 2: Yemen is a Qaeda haven because it is the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden, who is supported by tribes in Hadhramaut Province.
Osama bin Laden’s father, Muhammad, was one of many Yemenis who achieved great success outside his native country. But the bin Ladens are not part of any politically significant tribe or clan, nor has the family sought to convert its wealth into power in Yemen. Osama bin Laden has some popularity, but no more so than elsewhere in the Islamic world. The Qaeda virus — which has been present in Yemen since 1992, when Qaeda members bombed a hotel in Aden where American troops had been staying on their way to Somalia — is the problem for Yemen, not Mr. bin Laden’s ancestral ties.
Myth 3: Yemen is torn by Sunni-Shiite divisions, much like Iraq.
The Houthi rebellion is often described as Shiite resistance against a Sunni establishment. In fact, both the Houthis and President Saleh are followers of the Zaidi sect of Shiite Islam. Generally, there is no clear divide between Sunnis and Shiites in Yemen, although the Shiites tend to live in the north and northwest while the Sunnis, mostly members of the moderate Shafii school, predominate in the south and southeast. In any case, one’s sect matters far less in Yemen than in countries like Lebanon or Iraq, and it’s not unknown for Yemenis to convert from Sunni to Shiite as a matter of convenience.
Myth 4: Yemeni tribes have an inherent affinity for Al Qaeda or terrorism.
In 2002, Abu Ali al-Harithi, then Al Qaeda’s leader in Yemen, was killed by an American drone in a strike that was coordinated with the Yemeni government. By tribal custom, any perceived illegitimate killing would have been grounds for a claim by the tribe against the government. No such claim was made. In fact, when receiving the body for burial, one of his kinsmen noted that “he had chosen his path, and it had led to his death.”
This was not an anomaly. In my experience, there is no deep-seeded affinity between Yemeni tribes and the Qaeda movement. Tribes tend to be opportunistic, not ideological, so the risk is that Al Qaeda will successfully exploit opportunities created by government neglect. There are also family affinities — cousins, linked to uncles, linked to brothers. These do matter. But what matters most is the “mujahedeen fraternity” — Yemenis with jihadist experience in Afghanistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia or elsewhere.
Finally, what would matter — and significantly — would be innocent casualties resulting from counterterrorism operations, which could well set off a tribal response.
Forging an effective American counterterrorism policy in Yemen will be as difficult as it is necessary. But misreading Yemeni history and society can only complicate its conception and jeopardize its execution.
Edmund J. Hull was the United States ambassador to Yemen from 2001 to 2004.
I would like to take Limbaugh off the air, but it wouldn’t help, I don’t think. A lot of the problem is in our educational system that does not really teach young people to think critically. Plus, reading (does anybody read anymore?) and listening to contrary opinions, also studying the complex issues that usually part of an issue–all that is part of that.
We have come to a place where it is not a question of, “is it true,” but rather, “what is true must line up with my pre-conceptions.”
I guess also it is the age of instant gratification, which also means a 5-second sound bite solution on every problem.
Alternatively, lazy, wishful-thinking idealists can strive further to turn the U.S. into a welfare paradise and Haiti would not compare so unfavorably. – Juan
Or every man for himself nihilists could strive to take us back to the unimpeded, monopolistic capitalism we had before Teddy Roosevelt. Perhaps you agree with Rush that we already provide enough aid to Haiti and don’t need to send any more.
I think most idealists are far from lazy–in fact, in my experience, we work very hard for little to no pay to try to improve the lot of those less fortunate than us….and “lot” is related to “lottery”–I drew a great number, but many of my fellow citizens of this country and the world did not, and far from a welfare paradise, I fear that the world, save for some of Europe, Canada and the Antipodes, is an endless hell for the poor, who cannot pull ahead despite working back-breaking, mind-numbing jobs (when they can even get them) because of lack of affordable, reliable health care, transportation, housing, education and child care.
And that’s before th earthquake, tsunami, mudslides, epidemics….