Shock, anger....acceptance
This morning on NBC's "Today Show", Ann Curry interviewed a group of parents of students from a Florida university who had traveled to Haiti on a mission trip and are now trapped in the earthquake rubble of their Haitian hotel. These parents are worried about their children, many of whom have been trapped for almost a week. They believe that there is still hope for their children to be rescued and expressed anger that not enough was being done by rescuers or by the American government. Over and over they pleaded with President Obama to blanket Haiti with U.S. troops, to "take control" of the efforts in Haiti. One parent talked about what a great country the USA is and went so far as to say "there's a reason that the United States is the strongest and greatest country..." as if America's influence as a world leader should yield instant results in the face of a terrible natural disaster. Again and again they expressed that "in this day and age" we should have the technology to quickly clear rubble to free trapped individuals. Perhaps most unfortunate was the father who was angry that his child had been put "in harm's way" by the organizers of the mission trip...as if trip organizers had some fore-knowledge of the devastating earthquake and decided to go to Haiti anyway. And on and on it went.
These parents were in the midst of grief and were expressing their fears and frustrations and helplessness. NBC should not have put these parents on television. They shouldn't have broadcast these understandable, but irrational expressions of grief. The United States may be a great nation, but it doesn't give us license to "take over" anything in another country, no matter how out-of-control things appear. Haiti is its own country with its own government, corrupt and poorly run as it may be. It isn't our place to take over. It is also a small country, the bulk of which now lies in ruins, with aftershocks making all rescue and relief efforts even more challenging. There are limitations to what rescuers are able to do. Add to that the fact that Haitian hospitals were leveled along with everything else and many of their own doctors and nurses lay dead and dying along with the other Haitian nationals. International efforts can only accomplish so much in makeshift tent hospitals with limited medical supplies. Individuals who were treated initially are having secondary infections for which there is not currently enough medication. Eighty percent of the people of Haiti lives at a level of poverty that is unimaginable to most Americans. That statistic was true before the earthquake flattened all their homes and workplaces. There's not enough clean water or food. Looters are making the most of the fact that Haitian police are distracted by the overwhelming nationwide chaos. Are they a nation in need of serious help? Absolutely! But pouring U.S. troops into Haiti isn't going to lead to any quick miracles. Those "Today Show" parents are probably not going to have a happy ending to this story. We need to give financially to relief efforts in Haiti and we need to continue to pray that God's mercy would be poured out on that nation. It will take many, many years along with millions of dollars and countless hours of volunteer effort to bring Haiti back to the point of being liveable. Eventually news outlets like the "Today Show" will move on to some other news event and Haiti will be out of sight and out of mind for us comfy Americans. The discomfort in Haiti will continue long into the future. We need to pray that God's hand will be mighty in Haiti and that though this disaster has been devastating, that perhaps it will be an opening for people to come en masse to a relationship with the God who saves.
These parents were in the midst of grief and were expressing their fears and frustrations and helplessness. NBC should not have put these parents on television. They shouldn't have broadcast these understandable, but irrational expressions of grief. The United States may be a great nation, but it doesn't give us license to "take over" anything in another country, no matter how out-of-control things appear. Haiti is its own country with its own government, corrupt and poorly run as it may be. It isn't our place to take over. It is also a small country, the bulk of which now lies in ruins, with aftershocks making all rescue and relief efforts even more challenging. There are limitations to what rescuers are able to do. Add to that the fact that Haitian hospitals were leveled along with everything else and many of their own doctors and nurses lay dead and dying along with the other Haitian nationals. International efforts can only accomplish so much in makeshift tent hospitals with limited medical supplies. Individuals who were treated initially are having secondary infections for which there is not currently enough medication. Eighty percent of the people of Haiti lives at a level of poverty that is unimaginable to most Americans. That statistic was true before the earthquake flattened all their homes and workplaces. There's not enough clean water or food. Looters are making the most of the fact that Haitian police are distracted by the overwhelming nationwide chaos. Are they a nation in need of serious help? Absolutely! But pouring U.S. troops into Haiti isn't going to lead to any quick miracles. Those "Today Show" parents are probably not going to have a happy ending to this story. We need to give financially to relief efforts in Haiti and we need to continue to pray that God's mercy would be poured out on that nation. It will take many, many years along with millions of dollars and countless hours of volunteer effort to bring Haiti back to the point of being liveable. Eventually news outlets like the "Today Show" will move on to some other news event and Haiti will be out of sight and out of mind for us comfy Americans. The discomfort in Haiti will continue long into the future. We need to pray that God's hand will be mighty in Haiti and that though this disaster has been devastating, that perhaps it will be an opening for people to come en masse to a relationship with the God who saves.
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