When this article appears in the newspapers it will be 1 year since an earthquake devastated Port-au-Prince the capital of Haiti on January 12, 2010. It will be almost 1 year since some 10 billion dollars was pledged to help rebuild Haiti. To date I don’t know if a fraction of these monies have reached the poor and destitute on Haiti.
Reports have it that 4000 schools are closed, 1 million people are homeless and 4 million children don’t have access to water and healthcare. It is said that only 5% of the debris has been removed from the capital so far and by October only 40% will be removed. Why has this not started sooner, what is the world doing? It is so ironic that a few days from now we will be celebrating the birthday of one of the greatest men that graced this earth, the late Dr. Martin Luther King who spoke of freedom, equality and unity. That message still holds true today. Haiti that has been demoralized for many decades under the rule of subsequent dictators are struggling, Haiti that has been ravished by other natural disasters such as hurricanes is struggling. But in it all what has the world done to help the forgotten people of Haiti. There is much talk about corruption but you need the corruptor. Why are we neglecting the pioneers of our independence in this part of our hemisphere? What have they done to deserve such treatment? One of the complaints I read about is that not enough of the Haitian people are involved. This I don’t understand it is their country who knows it better than them? But all is not lost. I must still though congratulate all those charitable organizations who have been sincere and that have worked hard and are still working diligently under difficult circumstances to help the forgotten people of Haiti. Keep up the good work. I want to say to the Haitian people here and all over the world that have lost relatives and friends on that terrible day to remain strong, to remain resilient and use the inner strength that comes from God to overcome. To the people living on Haiti under these deplorable conditions: remember l’union fait la force.