Haiti.
The country that is on finally on the world’s radar, finally getting the attention it deserves, and the help it so desperately needs. Unfortunately, it was due to two devastating earthquakes. As tragic as that is, there’s no other way anyone would care about Haiti right now if it wasn’t for the earthquake.
Think about what most people knew about Haiti before this week.
-it’s a country
-might have heard something about voodoo
-apparently wyclef jean is from Haiti
Before January 2009, all I really knew about Haiti was that it was a country and its vague location. Then I took a class called Spirit and Story, taught by the amazing Lara Vesta. In Spirit and Story we read Krik? Krak! by Edwidge Danticat. It is one of the most amazing books I’ve read, one of the hardest for me to read, one of the most brave pieces of writing I’ve read, and a book that touched me forever in my heart and soul. That book changed our class. It moved us to raise $500 to by a cow for someone in Haiti through Heifer International. It moved us to create a Wikipedia page dedicated to the American companies that operate sweatshops in Haiti (apparently our sources weren’t up to snuff or we didn’t link them right so the page is gone now). It moved us to go to www.freerice.com and spend a good portion of our class pooling our knowledge to find the right definition. It moved us to create a Myspace page all about Haiti. It moved us to make a video:
At the end of the class I wrote this:
Like I said in class and in my journal, these stories were the hardest for me to read. Tracks was not easy for me to read, but I have been exposed to the tragedy of what happened and still happens to American Indians. But Haiti? I was in the dark about a country 720 miles from the United States’ east coast. I had never learned about Haiti so every part of these stories struck a chord deep in my mind, my soul, the essence of who I am. That sounds like fancy language but I am not sure how else to express it. Every night I read I could not help but cry. The power of Danitcat’s words, the power of the stories, the lies, the truth she tells, it shifted my entire world. They touched every single person in our classroom. Every single person wanted to do something, anything to help. And it is because of that that I challenge the mother who believes “Writers don’t leave any mark in the world” (Danticat 221). Because of one woman’s words, twenty-four separate people were moved to act, to raise money to buy a cow, to put knowledge where there was none before, to increase awareness and inform people ignorant of Haiti.
My heart hurts for Haiti. The outpouring of support is inspiring and I only hope it continues. Here are some links:
UNICEF: http://www.unicefusa.org/?gclid=CP6KscqGqJ8CFQZfagodrxkI0w
Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org/
Donation by Text: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/HaitiEarthquake/haiti-earthquake-donations-haiti-relief-efforts-text-message/story?id=9551199
California Nurses Association: http://www.calnurse.org/
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