Call to Action: Earthquake in Haiti

You'd have to be living under a pretty deep and dark rock to not know about the tragedy in Haiti. And even with the constant coverage, the sheer magnitude of this catastrophe may not be fully realized. At some point, we've all heard that Haiti is the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, but what does this mean in light of the earthquake? While I can't tell the future, I don't know when, or even IF Haiti will ever be rebuilt, without, that is, the awareness, and more importantly, help of each and every one of us.

Having a Haitian wife, brings this situation into very sharp focus for me, and at the same time, leaves me with a feeling of complete impotence. This situation is happening all around me, and yet I am not really a part of it. I cannot even begin to fathom what my wife feels. Both of the schools she attended are flattened, friends she grew up with are sleeping in the street next to cadavers, family members have been found crushed to death beneath the ruin of their homes, others are still unaccounted for, and on top of all of that, her feelings of helplessness must be crushing. And this is just the story of ONE person. Almost EVERY other Haitian we know, has similar stories.

One gentleman lost his entire family, wife and children in one fell swoop. Another woman, to this day, is still unable to contact her parents, and is living with the knowledge that their entire village has been flattened. Another friend still can't reach his mother, and yet another has lost several family members, and another still has been unable to reach her entire family, including her daughter and her newborn twin girls. And this list goes on.

While the financial cost of this devastation will be enormous, the human cost is unbearable for many. If you know your history, then you know that almost every minority in the western hemisphere, and certainly all black people, owe their freedom and subsequent human rights to the Haitian Revolution and the establishment of Haiti as an independent country, the very first country founded by African descendants in the western hemisphere, over 200 years ago. Therefore, even if you take out the human responsibility to help each other, Haiti is still owed our help.

There are numerous aid agencies, from large ones, like the Red Cross (redcross.org), and UNICEF (unicef.org), to Wyclef Jean's Yélé Haiti (yele.org), and Doctors Without Borders (doctorswithoutborders.org ). In addition, there are countless smaller but no less reputable organizations like the Haitian Health Foundation (haitianhealthfoundation.org ), Christian Hand (christianhand.org), and Doc's Tee Time (docsteetime.org), all of which do real work on the ground in Haiti.

Our school is also working to support the devastated citizens of Haiti. The Office of Student Life (C123) has set up a monetary collection, and the Student World Assembly (SWA) will also be doing something similar with them in the coming weeks, and holding a fundraiser during the spring semester. Our own Haitian Club is also a good place to get information on how you can help. The president of the college has also made it very clear that the school is to do something significant.

Support of Haiti can take many forms, from donating money, to giving of your time and energy to helping out one or more of the numerous agencies devoted to bringing relief to those most affected. But no matter the form of aid you chose, I implore you to choose SOMETHING.



Donovan-D Charlemagne
Honors Student