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DCBULL by ARTHUR L. EKREM
HAITI - WHAT WE NEED TO DO TODAY - RIGHT NOW
It has often been said; that it is the small things that count - a simple tiny effort towards another of our fellows that will make a difference.
This was never truer than it is today. Each one of us who reaches out to help the people of Haiti with a few bucks from our Starbucks fund will make a difference and save a life. I usually do not buy into these quick pitches to help another nation, however in this instance we can truly make a dent. This is a call to take a little attention off of our own lives and kick into the karmic coffers.
I had entered 2010 with the intention of kicking off the New Year with a series of articles from DCBULL about the reality of Afghanistan, the unfortunate similarities between Barack Obama and George W Bush, the end of the two party system, as well as a host of other hot and nasty topics - they can wait for another day.
Here we are today, observers of the crisis in Haiti – perhaps the worst natural disaster in the last 100 years. We stand on the sidelines watching the news footage on CNN and Fox as if it were a movie reel of a past event in a fictional land. The reality is that this tragedy has occurred 1500 miles from New York City - a mere neighbor of the United States separated by a short body of water.
The people of Haiti are not long lost cousins, they are our brothers and sisters, and we need to feel their pain. The Haitian people suffer as we suffer, feel pain as we feel pain, suffer broken hearts over the loss of a child, spouse, brother, sister, mother or father just as we would. In addition, the pain they feel is coupled with the loss of dignity so richly afforded to us in America, where despite our fights over health care and the economy, we still have the capacity to care for one another in a proper medical setting in the midst of a catastrophe - we are a blessed people.
We are still the wealthiest, healthiest and most productive country in the world - so we need to step up today.
Haiti’s population of 9.6 million has a per capita income of about $560, with 54 percent of Haitians living on less than $1 a day and 78 percent on less than $2 daily, according to the World Bank. The country is still recovering from four tropical storms or hurricanes that killed at least 800 people in 2008.
As President Clinton stated yesterday, "what is needed now are the basics - the first needs are for food, shelter and water, the absolute basics.” These essentials can be best obtained with your support through a cash contribution. Whether you contribute one dollar or one hundred dollars, it will make an immediate difference in how the people who are suffering can be helped.
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