Haiti Opts Out of Remainder of Hurricane Season | Off The Grid News

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Haiti Opts Out of Remainder of Hurricane Season Off The Grid News

This tongue-in-cheek article satirizes and at the sametime poignantly highlights Haiti's extreme suffering in the wake of hurricanes, flooding and disease. Wouldn't it be great if we could spread the wealth of suffering around? Better yet, wouldn't it be great to be able to opt out of such awful suffering altogether? I am certain that if I lived in Haiti I would be more than ready for an opt out!

It is safe to say that Haiti probably wouldn't have made it this far if it hadn't been for numerous churches and humanitarian groups at work in the region over the years. Our hearts go out to the beautiful people of Haiti and we wonder why they have suffered so much and for so long. Why have untold billions of dollars in aid from all over the world failed to stabilize and improve this little country? Why haven't the richest most powerful countries in the world been able to help Haiti? Haiti has one of of the highest populations of aid workers in the world and yet its plight continues as if the aid workers didn't exist at all. Why is that? Why is it that all of our efforts to help Haiti seem to get washed away with every storm? Why oh why isn't anything working??

There are no easy answers to any of these questions. Yet it is critical that as a world community we find the answers because we need to fundamentally change how we operate in Haiti. Are we there to really help Haiti or are we there just to get our humanitarian "rocks off" so we can go home feeling good about ourselves? Are we just throwing money at the problem and hoping for someone else to come up with the solutions? Are we allowing the status quo to remain because "there's money in them thar poor Haitians?" Make no mistake some of the humanitarian groups there would probably not be in business if it weren't for the poor conditions in Haiti. All I am saying is that it is time for us all to take a good look at what we are trying to accomplish there. I know many who have been on mission trips to that region and they tell me they have seen the face of Jesus in the people they help. Maybe that's the reason Haiti stays the way it is. Maybe it is one of the few places people can see Jesus in the work they do and the people they help. But I think it is time we look to ways we can see Jesus in our efforts to help Haiti build a sustainable country.  I think Jesus would like that.

Related articles

• Haiti: UN launches $164 million appeal to fight deadly cholera outbreak (yubanet.com)
• New UN plea for Haiti cholera aid (bbc.co.uk)
• Haiti faces a future full of natural disaster, suffering (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Haiti Cholera: UN Appeals For $164 Million To Combat Disease (huffingtonpost.com)
• UN appeals for $164M to combat Haiti cholera (ctv.ca)
• UN appeals for $164M to combat Haiti cholera (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• UN: Haiti needs $164M to fight cholera that has killed 724 (thestar.com)
• Haiti cholera death toll approaches 800 with rapid increase feared (guardian.co.uk)
• UN appeals for $164M to combat Haiti cholera (sfgate.com)
• Haiti Cholera Toll at 800, Worry for US: CDC Expert (health.usnews.com)

No US Flag In Haiti

I can't believe we are forbidden to fly our flag in Haiti. Are the other countries who are flying their flags presuming to be occupying forces? I don't think so. Does flying our flag there have to have a territorial meaning? Since we are providing most of the money and support shouldn't we be allowed to fly our flag in return? We can only knuckle under so much before we totally lose the respect of the world. How much longer are the American people going to put up with this?

Chavez: US Weapon Test Caused Haiti Earthquake

Bwahahahahahaha!!!

We should take up a collection and get this man a CT scan of the brain! Seriously I am surprised he didn't say it was the Bush-Devil's fault. Chavez is seriously unbalanced. If the CT Scan is negative let's use the collection to get him a lifetime committment in the nearest looney bin.

Haiti Earthquake Aftermath: Southwest Florida Doctors Nurses Heartbroken in Haiti

Doctors and nurses recount their experiences in Haiti.

Sources: US Takes Control of Haiti

Here is the World Net Daily article mentioned in the previous post.

Sources: US Takes Control of Haiti

World Net Daily reports that the US is taking control of relief efforts in Haiti but another article from the Washington Times reports that Secretary Clinton is reviewing the effort and downplaying the US role in relief efforts ("we are here at your invitation..."). Whatever the case it is clear that the UN has been totally nonfunctional in Haiti for a long time and cannot function now. For once Joe Biden is right when he says we are going to be there for years to come.

Corpses Used as Roadblocks as Anger Grows

Oh my goodness.

Haiti: Where Will All the Money Go?

They say that every cloud has a silver lining and we can only hope that that is the case with the horrible situation in Haiti. I think it is safe to say that this small country has faced more depravation and misery than any other country in the world. My prayer is that this earthquake will bring about not only short term but long term solutions. Sometimes reform is only possible when a system totally collapses and needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. Maybe that's the case with Haiti. For now, give to Haiti relief with faith that God will make sure the money goes where it is needed most. It is critical you give to reliable charities with a good track record, such as the Red Cross, Lutheran World Relief and Food For The Poor. Above all, keep Haiti and the beautiful people there in your prayers

God, Satan and the Birth of Haiti

Oh my goodness, Pat Robertson has really done it now with his comment that Haiti leaders made a pact with the devil 200 years ago to get rid of the French and that's why bad stuff keeps happening there. As usual Mr Robertson is a bit ham handed with the facts. Click on the title to see an article about this as it is actually quite fascinating. Our church participates in many mission trips to Haiti and one thing we have learned is that while the country is officially Catholic, Voo Doo is still heavily practiced. I personally would be interested to hear what Voo Doo practitioners think about this. Do disasters happen because of a curse or do they happen to cleanse a place of evil spirits? If so, then why do the disasters keep happening? You would think that one good natural disaster would chase away evil spirits forever or for at least a good long time. Why is Haiti so particularly unfortunate?