What Can One Write?

Haiti has been struck by another terrible natural disaster. The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere has had many prior political, economic and climatic disasters. The U.S. and other nations quickly will respond with the normal flurry of humanitarian aid. Then we inevitably leave without making this nation any better able to meet the next disaster or even able to adequately conduct its affairs on a regular basis.

As are most people, I am saddened by the great loss of life and shocked at the physical damage to its historical buildings and basic infrastructure. Haitians had so little to start with and this huge earthquake and its aftershocks are even more destructive of lives than thought possible.

What can outsiders and Haitians do to adequately address this disaster? How can the world fully address the massive and continuous political, economic, social, corruption and ecological disaster that is Haiti?

There is unrelenting human suffering all around the planet. The causes are too numerous to list and there is a point when endless analysis of past mistakes does nothing to further the immediate need to address current problems and plan for a better future. But Haiti has been a special basket case for decades. All the money and human efforts have not made major improvements in the lives of Haitians.

Do we send the requisite aid, money and manpower to help in the short term and then go back to generally ignoring this country as we have repeatedly done in the past? We apply the same humanitarian formulae for Haiti and other places around the globe hoping for better or different results even though we have done the same things over and over again. Isn’t that the definition of insanity? Perhaps some radical new thinking is desperately needed to properly address the perpetual problems in Haiti and other similar places around the globe.

After getting all excited about one disaster, we then have our attentions and efforts move elsewhere the moment the next disaster occurs. Are sporadic charitable and humanitarian half measures made partially to mollify our own guilt somehow morally superior or even economically viable to continuous benign neglect? Inflating false hopes for a better future can sometimes be more destructive than perpetually harsh treatment in some circumstances.

Are Haitians just one of those unfortunate groups of human beings that most people ignore and consider disposable? We rarely think about many other desperately poor countries and peoples except when major disasters occur. Too many people around the globe endure short brutal lives devoid of any of the basic amenities or pleasures we take for granted.

Is it easier to perpetually ignore them because of their racial, ethnic, religious, political or historical backgrounds? Many in our own country are also long-time or newly forgotten victims of poverty and changing economic situations, but they do not exist at the meager sustenance levels found in Haiti and elsewhere. Must forgotten people around the world endure horrendous disasters before they are noticed – even for a short time?

Does Haiti need a very rich, intelligent, benevolent dictator? Someone who understands its people, culture and hidden treasures, and is savvy in international business to make it a viable participant in the global economy? Someone who will bring “tough love” in a new, strong, fair, incorruptible manner, and be able to bring together people and money from around the globe to make some massive changes that will alter the basic paradigms that have ruled Haiti for decades? Then that person has to have the modesty, humility and self-control to step aside within 5 to 10 years so democracy can flourish and other people can make decisions to meet new challenges.

Should we employ the United Nations or the Organization of American States for such a massive nation-building effort? Do any other nations today have the desire to engage in such a project when they also face major domestic political, economic and social issues within their own borders? Is Haiti just doomed for perpetual neglect because it’s not even on the stove of public attention – more likely its pot was left outside the kitchen altogether.

My family and I are very limited financially and our puny monetary contribution will be lost among far greater ones. We cannot drop what little jobs, projects, and lives to personally go help. Those who are ready and willing to go anywhere on the planet to help in such dire situations are a very unique and laudable group. They give a damn in the face of daunting odds.

But the moment another disaster occurs, many relief workers must move on – generally far too soon. For those who toil for years in the same desperate situations and see very little improvement, or what positive changes are suddenly wiped out by natural or human disasters, I don’t know how they can handle such setbacks emotionally or intellectually.

I don’t even feel that prayer is enough in such situations – possibly because of my limited faith and my uneasy feeling that God might not give a damn about anyone on this planet. If we can’t rely upon divine assistance, love, mercy or intervention, then we are left with only each other – and we know had badly we have done throughout history caring for our fellow human beings. I can’t even understand those who look upon this disaster and the suffering of Haitians to suggest that they are designed to make us happier in our own superior situations.

I am completely dissatisfied with all the religious, intellectual, moral, ethical, emotional, political, economic and objective explanations that have been offered in such terrible situations. Does anyone have some adequate answers?

For a commentator and blogger of current affairs who perpetually has an opinion on most any subject, Haiti as a place and the Haitian people together leave me saddened with a feeling of utter powerlessness. The meager words and thoughts I have put down in this post cannot adequately address any part of the massive human and national tragedy now facing Haiti.

Are we left with the depressing feeling that this has happened before, it will happen again, and we collectively can’t or won’t do a damn thing to improve that reality? Are we destined to leave the Haitian people and even ourselves to inconsolable streams of tears?

Marc Pascal