Poverty and the Haitian Earthquake
The unimaginable disaster that just struck Haiti is not a “natural disaster”. It is a disaster caused by centuries of exploitation, inequality and poverty.
An article in The Guardian details how the effects of this recent earthquake are in fact the result of “a longer term history of deliberate impoverishment and disempowerment”.
"The noble "international community" which is currently scrambling to send its "humanitarian aid" to Haiti is largely responsible for the extent of the suffering it now aims to reduce. Ever since the US invaded and occupied the country in 1915, every serious political attempt to allow Haiti's people to move (in former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide's phrase) "from absolute misery to a dignified poverty" has been violently and deliberately blocked by the US government and some of its allies. Aristide's own government (elected by some 75% of the electorate) was the latest victim of such interference, when it was overthrown by an internationally sponsored coup in 2004 that killed several thousand people and left much of the population smouldering in resentment. The UN has subsequently maintained a large and
enormously expensive stabilisation and pacification force in the country."
About 80% of Haitians live in poverty, and 54% live in “abject poverty”. In terms of income inequality, Haiti is 8th in the world, with the richest 10% of the country’s families taking in 47% of the income.
In light of the current situation, Naomi Klein warns that the disaster in Haiti could be used as an opportunity to push through pro-corporate “reforms”.
She cites what the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, had to say on their website about what the American response to the earthquake should look like:
"In addition to providing immediate humanitarian assistance, the U.S. response to the tragic earthquake in Haiti offers opportunities to re-shape Haiti’s long-dysfunctional government and economy as well as to improve the public image of the United States in the region."
Local Aid Efforts:
In Philadelphia, the local Haitian immigrant community is organizing to send a plane with aid to Port-au-Prince. They are asking for donations of everything from tents to food and clothing. Haitian Professionals of Philadelphia has set up donation drop-offs at the offices of several local legislators, and they will be holding a fundraiser next Monday, January 18th. More information is available on their website.
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Poverty Initiative Statement on Haiti Crisis
We, the Poverty Initiative at Union Theological Seminary in New York City,
offer our prayers and support for our sisters and brothers in Haiti. We invite
you to join us in offering prayers and support for those who have died, been
injured, or are still searching for loved ones in the earthquake and its
aftermath
Almost one year ago, the Poverty Initiative was deeply honored to send a
delegation of students, staff, alumni, and faculty members of Union Theological
Seminary to partner with the Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Diocese of
Haiti in offering an educational and vocational enrichment program January
16-30, 2009. During our time in Haiti, we were also able to spend time with
Partners in Health, Maisson de Naissance and Beyond Borders. While there, we
recognized a shared plight and fight of poverty that is becoming a growing
reality around the globe. In this great time of need, we will continue to stand
with our sisters and brothers in Haiti.
This most recent earthquake is not the first natural disaster to affect Haiti
in recent years (four storms battered the country between mid-August and
mid-September 2008, causing destruction from which the country had not yet fully
recovered) and that these disasters will take years from which to recover. For
more information about the situation in Haiti and opportunities to donate to
relief efforts, see:
Theological
Seminary of the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti
Partners in
Health
Maisson de Naissance
Beyond Borders
The Episcopal News Service states that “Haiti is by far
the poorest and least-developed country in the western hemisphere, with more
than half of its people living on less than $1 per day, and 80% living on less
than $2 per day. One-third of its children are malnourished and 500,000 cannot
go to school. The unemployment rate is estimated to be 60 percent.”
The Poverty Initiative is committed to building a global movement to end
poverty.