Tragedy calls out to our humanity

Tragedy calls out to our humanity. Ashley Mwanza

When all is lost. (Picture Courtesy of The New York Times)

Piti, piti, wazo fe nich li (Little by little the bird builds its nest). This Haitian proverb is loaded with meaning, as it tells us of Haiti rebuilding its shaken nation, but also this devastation has a lot to it, the proverb moreover tells us of the building of humanness that most of the inhabitants of this world have been lacking. And so little by little humanity is being restored. We are all in disbelief and we have been moved by compassion into action. When faced with catastrophes of this extent, we are left feeling exposed, without answers. That ability to suffer with, to feel compassion, is one of the gifts of being fully human. Compassion is a gift that changes the world. We are changed forever, if we will only remember the terror of that gaze, that is what will make us a better people.

Dye mon, gen mon

Beyond the mountain is another mountain (A proverb of both patience and the recognition of how difficult life in Haiti is.)

As if the political turmoil weren't bad enough, nature struck Haiti in 2004 to overwhelming effect. Just one month after the coup, flash floods hit the Haitian-Dominican border, leaving more than 1500 dead. Then in September, Hurricane Jeanne decimated Gonaives, leaving more than 3000 dead. The interim government was almost entirely bankrupt and unable to effectively respond.

The flooding was further exacerbated by deforestation. Because of poor environmental management and poverty, more than 98 percent of the country's forestland land had been cleared, eliminating the topsoil that could have held the water. The 8000 strong U.N. peacekeeping force, which had been intended to help Haiti form a government, struggled to cope with the humanitarian disaster.

In 2008, Haiti was hit by hurricanes, and Fay, Gustav, Hanna, and Ike in the space of a month, leaving more than 800 dead and more than a million homeless. The long-suffering city of Gonaives again took the brunt of the devastation. It was rendered largely uninhabitable, and government ministers said much of it would simply have to be moved. 60 percent of the starving country's harvest was destroyed, and the debris was still being cleared this year.

And yet again 2010 has seen Haiti been struck by an earthquake but the response has been different. As we have all seen in the past weeks, Haiti is a story of millions of dollars being poured into relief programs for Haiti by simple people everywhere. It is the story of the mobilization of planes, ships, troops, rescue crews and relief agencies from around the entire world, yes including Africa.

It is the story of reporters gone to record the event having put down their microphones and cameras to become part of the rescue efforts themselves. As a decree, journalists try to avoid getting personally involved in the stories they cover. But in the midst of such a colossal catastrophe as the Haiti earthquake, professional detachment is sometimes put aside. A photographer for Australia's Channel Nine called his boss to explain why he didn't get a shot of a baby being rescued from a collapsed building. Richard Moran had put down his camera to help dig for the little girl. “He was up to his waist, lifting out pieces of concrete,” Nine reporter Robert Penfold, who was with him, told The Australian. “And then, out of the ruins came this little girl, and I will never forget it. She did not cry. She looked astonished, almost as if she was seeing the world for the first time.” Australia's Channel Nine did not get the footage because of Moran's heroics - and he later rang his head of news in Sydney to explain why at that moment, it was beyond news.

It is about celebrities, politicians, presidents, premiers, and officials everywhere stopping their own lives and agendas to take up the cause of a people whose cause has almost never been recognized before. It is the story of a world in tears for a people who are surviving their desolation by singing on hillsides together, singing about death as they were pulled from the rubble alive, singing alleluias in their ruined churches as they pray to be delivered from fates worse than death.

According to Joan Chittister, this scene, too, has a stunning kind of beauty and deep commitment. This time it is the beauty of the human community dedicated to shining a light through the blackest parts of the human situation rather than aiming predator drones, guns, knives, or bombs at other innocents around the world.

For the first time in history, financial aid is pouring into Haiti from every part of the globe. For the first time in history, the ugly face of human abandonment is being exposed to the caring face of human bondedness. For the first time, the human race, ironically, looks totally human everywhere.

There is another test of humanity, however, that Haiti will surely essay and which is a clear and measurable one: How long will the human community stay in Haiti, not just to rescue the few survivors or hand out emergency rations or bury the nameless, unwashed, unblessed dead but how long will we stay there to rebuild it?

From my observation the situation is a clear one: Haiti in its devastation stands not only for the rebuilding of its own country but for the possible rebuilding of the soul and humanity of the entire human community itself. If we see this one through, Haiti may well save humanity, not from the loss of land, and or resources but from the loss of our humanity.

We cannot do anything to stop it, nor does it make sense to suffer now for what the future may bring, but we can move into action and give, we can focus on loving more in every moment those who surround us instead of criticizing, giving thanks for what we have received and letting go of that which does not serve us in cultivating our passion for life. Haitians and their ‘mountain of troubles’ have shown us how sheer basic life resiliency can be shaken at the core and this highlights again how life can be so fragile and at the same time wonderful.

In a flash, we have been that, now more than ever, we should be ready to continue to help those in distress, despite where they are from. We have also learnt what resilience is all about. This has been a life-changing event for most of us, we all seem to know now just how precious life is, what it means to have nothing but still have hope. As I string the last sentences in this note I still cannot fathom the events of Tuesday 12 January 2010 which cut short the lives and dreams of thousands of Haitians, but according to Sameer Vasta, Haitians have also taught us a lesson in resilience, perseverance and hope.

In the words of Katharine Jefferts Schori, may today’s compassion be transformed into a steely will to continue caring for the least, the lost, and the left out until not one is left. May the world’s poor be our poor until that day dawns. May the suffering in all the ravaged lands be felt around the world until the oil of gladness blesses every brow, and every tear is dried, and every cry of grief is turned to joy.

For you and I, it’s time to be thankful we don’t have to endure (physically) the terrible circumstances in Haiti (but the trauma does not evade us). It is also a time to stay resilient and understand that we don’t have it so bad no matter our circumstances. And so it is time to raise our heads, to look around and see those who most need our help, it is time to open our ears and listen out for that cry of help and run to assist.