Wake up America. Why are we donating millions upon millions of dollars to Haiti now?
Relax.
I've seen the news, I've read the articles, and I know the facts.
The magnitude 7.0 earthquake is the hardest to hit the country in more than a century. Though it happened six miles underground, it shook and destroyed buildings for more than half-a-minute and there were at least 50 aftershocks, 15 of which exceeded a magnitude of 5.0.
According to The Washington Post, just over 112,000 dead bodies have been found and close to 200,000 Haitians have been injured. What's worse is that we'll never know exactly how many innocent people actually perished due to the earthquakes.
The people of Haiti are still looking for relatives lost in the rubble.
We've all seen newspaper articles highlighting extraordinary survivor stories. Some depicted people who were discovered more than a week after the dust settled, clinging to dear life. At the same time, each of us has unfortunately been subject to video footage showing countless others who were not as lucky. We've been subjected to watching bodies of children and limbs of women being carried away from the debris.
So what have Americans done? They've donated money.
Shocking.
On the surface, this seems honorable. However, most of this money can't even be used yet, so your donations are not effecting change.
Haiti – the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere – needed money before the earthquake struck. Haitian buildings and houses were constructed so poorly that it's no surprise that one natural catastrophe would have such horrendous ramifications.
So why didn't America donate money earlier to prevent such an occurrence? It's not as if scientists weren't aware that earthquakes pose a serious threat in the region of the Caribbean.
In fact, according to an article in The New York Times, Dr. Eric Calais, a geophysicist at Purdue University, admits that the fault that ruptured 'had been building up strain since the last major earthquake in Port-au-Prince, 240 years ago.' We knew a catastrophe was in the making, yet we displayed our care and support only after a tragedy occurred.
All of the sudden our country cares about these people who, on average, live on roughly $2 a day. We weren't donating money for them to revamp the infrastructure of their cities in order to prevent such a disaster, but now that one happened, we're quick to publically open our wallets.
The United States and World Bank have given $100 million in aid; 'Hope for Haiti,' a recent international telethon involving celebrities who probably couldn't have located the country on a map before January 12, raised $57 million in about an hour; and at least 10 NBA players donated $1,000 for every point they scored in their games last Friday.
As a country, Haiti produces about $7 billion in goods and services every year. World donations have already reached 10 percent of that figure.
The money keeps pouring in. And it still means nothing.
Most of the donations can't even be used because the country is in such turmoil that there are no roads to transport materials, food, and tents to the areas in need.
But keep writing checks. You'll get a nice tax write-off.
Instead of blindly texting away cash, people should start following the actions of Philadelphia 76ers' center Samuel Dalembert and the Heaton family of Nebraska.
On top of donating $130,000, Dalembert took the next step and returned to his homeland to offer a helping hand wherever possible. The Heaton family adopted two girls who became orphans after the quake. Bettania, 7, and Dieunette, 2, were flown into Pittsburgh after the United States loosened their visa requirements and then flew to their new home in Nebraska where they have been living for the past week,. It's in middle-America that these girls will grow up healthy, safe, and comfortably.
Dalembert and the Heatons were concerned and involved with Haiti before the quake. It didn't take a natural disaster to wake them up and they didn't just throw money at the problem. Instead, through offering their time and commitment, they demonstrated their compassion and ability to make a difference.
When a natural catastrophe strikes and the spotlight is on, America can't be pulled away from front and center. But I'm less concerned with the lead and more interested in who was working stage crew before opening night.
Donating money is easy. Donating time is real.
E-mail: andrew.wiktor@ubspectrum.com
