“Haiti, We Stand With You”
January 15, 2010
Like all of you I have been saddened by the catastrophic earthquake that hit Haiti on Wednesday. As far as we can tell, it has killed tens of thousands, perhaps over 100,000 people. It has also left hundreds of thousands, perhaps as many as a million, people homeless.
As one distraught Haitian-Canadian declared in a recent news report, “Why does it have to be Haiti? Hasn’t poor Haiti already suffered enough from more than its fair share of poverty, hunger, homelessness and oppression?”
As you may know, Haiti is an impoverished country of 9 million people located in the north-eastern part of the West Indies. It shares the island of Hispaniola with the more developed Dominican Republic. The deprivation of the Haitian people is almost impossible for us to comprehend. Consider these statistics for a moment. The annual per-capita income in Haiti is $560, making it the poorest country in the Americas, and one of the poorest on the planet. Haiti is close to the bottom of the UN’s Human Development Index – 146th out of 177 nations, and 78% of the Haitian population lives on less than $1 a day. Haiti also has an incredibly high infant mortality rate – 60 for every 1,000 births. By comparison, the Canadian infant mortality rate is just over 4 out of every 1,000 births. Haiti’s problems have been exacerbated by environmental degradation; only 2% of Haiti’s land mass has been spared from severe deforestation, resulting in a loss of top soil, severe erosion, and devastating landslides.
This week’s earthquake registered 7 on the Richter scale, causing catastrophic damage to this already impoverished and under-developed country. Most of the Haitian capital is in ruins, and even with massive international intervention, it will take years, if not decades, for the Haitian people to rebuild their devastated country. As I read this morning’s Globe and Mail, I was struck by the comments made by a Haitian paediatrician as she stood by 11 bodies, including those of two toddlers, at a clinic in Port-au-Prince:
The loss is general, the pain is global, the entire population is psychologically damaged…we need everything: water, food, antibiotics, masks, painkillers, psychological treatment, disinfectant, gloves. If it doesn’t get here soon, I don’t know what might happen.
We all recognize, I think, that we have a moral responsibility to help. Canada already has strong ties with Haiti, and here at HSC, we subscribe to a Vision statement highlighting our commitment to “bettering the world around us.” So what can we do? Already, a number of students and colleagues have come to me with suggestions.
As a point of departure, the School Heads, School Life Coordinators and I have decided that the dress-down day already scheduled for Thursday, January 21 will be in support of Haiti.
All of the money raised will be donated to the Canadian Red Cross Haitian Relief Fund.
Think about it for a moment. If everybody brings in a Toonie, we should be able to raise several thousand dollars. As well, if you have any other ideas as to how we can help the people of Haiti, please speak to your School Life Coordinator.
In conclusion, I would like to share with you words of two world leaders who already have demonstrated strong leadership in responding to the Haitian catastrophe. In her highly emotional address yesterday, our Governor General, Michaëlle Jean, closed with the following call to action:
Now more than ever it is time for us to show our solidarity with the most vulnerable people in the Americas, our brothers and sisters in Haiti, whose courage is once again being so harshly tested.
Similarly, in his speech yesterday, American President Barack Obama made the following commitment to the Haitian people:
You will not be forsaken; you will not be forgotten. In this, your hour of greatest need, we stand with. The world stands with you.
Next week, here at HSC, we will demonstrate our solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Haiti by giving as generously as we can. I know that they can count on us!
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