The only "action" I would be capable of is "donating money" after that all I could do is give it more "thought".
On Jan 19, 8:55 am, Vamadevananda <[email protected]> wrote: > This kind of tragic and disastrous event are more food for our action > than thought ... to mitigate suffering now and take action for the > future, by Haitians and the world community. > > To bring God into the picture, faith, belief and religion ... all > food for very personal musings ... but sickening if brought up in the > public domain, in the face of all the action pending. > > On Jan 19, 5:45 pm, Slip Disc <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Some Food for Thought > > > Editor's note: Elizabeth McAlister is a professor of religion at > > Wesleyan University. > > > (CNN) -- We are all sick at heart to witness the unfathomable > > suffering in Haiti. Why do bad things happen to innocent people? Why > > Haiti, again? Even Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said recently, > > "It is biblical, the tragedy that continues to stalk Haiti and the > > Haitian people." > > > How we make meaning of this suffering will be crucial to how we > > respond, in the long term, as a global community. > > > My Haitian in-laws, visiting from Boston, Massachusetts, to take some > > comfort with us, announced that the verse of the day on their favorite > > Bible Web site is from Revelation 16:18. "And there were voices and > > thunders and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as has > > not been since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake and so > > great." > > > The word "earthquake" appears sixteen times in the Bible. It was clear > > to them -- and many other Christians -- that the earthquake was part > > of God's plan. Why God ordains such disasters is a mystery that is not > > ours to question. It is only our job to have faith. > > > A friend who barely escaped the collapse of her house in the quake > > writes that people in her Port-au-Prince neighborhood are living this > > time as the apocalypse. They are gathering en masse, singing hymns and > > praying nonstop as they wait for disaster aid -- and Jesus. > > > For them, the meaning of their suffering is clear. How else to > > interpret the collapse of their entire world, earthquake, famine, > > death, disease and drought? They are God's children living out the > > last chapter of the Bible. > > > Fundamentalist Pat Robertson says that the earthquake is the devil's > > work. Haitians are cursed by a pact with Satan that their ancestors > > made, he says. Distorting a Haitian national myth, he is referring to > > a famous Afro-Creole religious service said to have sparked and > > launched the Haitian War of Independence in 1791. Ironically, > > historians tell us that such a single ceremony never happened -- > > although surely there were many slave gatherings, and many Afro-Creole > > religious rituals in the region. > > > Haitians do not mistake African religiosity for Satanism as Robertson > > does, so for them the ceremony was a spiritually charged political > > rally. Slaves gathered to plan and inspire themselves for the > > outrageous feat they would succeed in performing: a slave revolution, > > the abolition of slavery, and by 1804, national independence. > > > Afro-Creole religion, known as Vodou, still underpins the philosophy > > of many Haitians, though by no means everyone. A spirit-priest I know > > reads the earthquake as an allegorical message from the spirits who > > infuse the land. "The land is our mother," he said. When you abuse the > > land -- deforest her, plant only one crop, overpopulate her, erode her > > soil -- she explodes, searching for a way to rebalance. > > > The spirit of the land had become sick with abuse. Her children -- the > > eldest ones, the ones in charge, the Haitian government -- had no > > policies, no laws to protect the land or use it wisely. The spirit- > > mother exploded with fever. "We know this has a scientific cause," > > said the spirit-priest. "But look how the government buildings caved > > in. This tells us something." > > > In the last several years there has been a saying among Haitians that > > "the country is finished." "Peyi-a fini," they say in Creole. It has > > been called a dying land, a failed state, a product of irreversible > > environmental degradation. > > > For social scientists, there is nothing metaphysical about the > > question "Why Haiti?" Longstanding structural reasons have produced a > > dysfunctional system long in crisis. Beginning as a French slave > > society, the nation was founded at a severe disadvantage. France > > demanded enormous payment for abandoned property after the revolution, > > starting a cycle of debt that was never broken. > > > Deep and abiding racism prevented the U.S. and Europe from recognizing > > Haiti for 60 years. Trade was never established on even terms. The > > military ruled the state, culminating in the brutal Duvalier > > dictatorship, which the U.S. supported. > > > No robust civil society developed -- there's no vigorous tradition of > > PTAs and town planning boards. A brain drain evacuated top talent from > > the country, while the U.S.-subsidized farm industry sent surplus > > crops to Haiti, undercutting local prices there. Farmers abandoned > > their lands, flocked to the capital, and built the shanty towns that > > have now collapsed into rubble, burying the innocent and vulnerable, > > strong and powerful alike. > > > The suffering Haitians are enduring is a natural disaster worsened by > > human-made conditions. It is a spiritual crucible. But it is also a > > crisis of meaning. For Christians it is to have faith, hope, and > > charity. For fundamentalist Protestants, it is to convert all souls, > > give aid, and wait for Jesus' return. For Vodouists, it is to regain > > balance with the land and the unseen spiritual world. > > > For many social scientists, it is to strengthen Haitians' capacity for > > self-government, to relieve the debt Haiti owes, to reforest the land, > > and to figure out how to divorce aid from dependence. > > > How we interpret the suffering of the good people of Haiti will lay > > the groundwork for how we walk forward. > > > The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of > > Elizabeth > > McAlister.http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/01/18/mcalister.haiti.faith/index.htm...
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