This text was written in a terrible english, in a moment of reflection. For no reason but the desire to invite someone outside to think together, and with no other hope than the one that the day will arrive when someone will say "enough" and will start to find hope and light from bottom up.

Why Haiti?

When facing a tragedy as the one that has been in front of our eyes in the last days we can start thinking how such a nightmare can be possible, how a situation already terrible can become even worse.

For those looking for magic reasons and signs in the air, such a scenario can become a perfect set for the creation of all sorts of fantasies.

Earthquakes happen, in known areas of the globe, always stronger than our best efforts to deal with them. But when a person see how different are the consequences of an earthquake in Los Angeles or in Japan, where people also suffer and feel helpless when the creation invite us to dance in its rhythm, from a place where the pain can show how hopeless and chaotic a place can become, and what means to live in a set where no one can see the end of the tunnel, like in Haiti... then I feel invited to think. Is a demand inside of me to ask, and to continue to ask: WHY?

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Why such a despair?

The case in Haiti is not a consequence of the so called "mother nature" action alone. If the earth can quake, why when she quakes the tragedy is so worse in a place like Haiti?

Among all the discussion, including those narrow minded reasons that try to justify such a terror based on race, religion or education, I believe the case in Haiti demand us to reflect in the singularity of that country, how its history can help us to reflect and how, like in a domino chain, the terror of today, if note directly caused by natural sources alone, but also for historical reasons. A situation that has become dramatic for reasons found in history.

Haiti is the only case of a slave revolution that became successful and transformed former slaves in an independent people. Along with the Island of Sao Thomas - a former portuguese colony in Africa - Haiti is the only case of success of a slave revolution. And this include all the greek-roman history and time.

The haitian revolution - a series of conflicts from 1791 to 1804 - destroyed the plantation system and founded a campesino economy, with a series of consecutive rulers that once were slaves.

During colonial times, both cases were the terror of the colonial countries of the world. In Brazil "haitianism" was referred as a danger after the prohibition of human traffic and the opening of our ports to other countries besides Portugal (1808). Throughout Americas, the slave-owners elite were afraid of their example, and this situation last until the late 1840s.

As remembered by Sanchez:

The Haitians were (and are) mostly black, the most practiced religion was (and is) the voodoo - accused by the settlers as "black magic", prejudice extended to today, and the most spoken language is Creole. Those were too many crimes for white Europe, racist and still Catholic. Too dangerous examples which could expand into other Latin American colonies, especially those with a large slave composition. The price was imposed by colonial powers: an imposed blockade, the constant threat of invasion - which led to the militarization of a country with a shattered economy - and a foreign debt. But this (bad) example black does not end there. The independent Haiti dared to help Simón Bolívar in his struggle against European colonialism, with arms, soldiers and various supplies, who accompanied him on the battlefield, and hundreds of Haitians died for the independence of several South American countries . This support was given under the condition that Bolivar would free the slaves of the possible independent countries, what was not in the plans until then. The final defeat of the Bolivarian venture and the new bonds which returned to the Latin American people suffered in the hands of elites, almost all slave-owning and carrying values of colonial rule, Haiti left alone and isolated. The Haitian revolution was not long in being defeated
If they were trying to be successful raising a country, their revolution condemn the people in the economical perspective, mostly because of blockades and debt , until the second half of the 20th century, when the Duvaliers’ terrible dictatorship put the last nail in the coffin of hope.

The 20th century history of Haiti came from the bad to the worse.

IN 1905, the US started to lead a series of interventions in the country until the last one in 1915. In 1934, after the occupation of the country for 20 years by the US Marines, a long chain of weak governs became a sequence until a doctor, François Duvallier, became a synonym of horror and corruption. Elected in 1957, he became a infamous dictator in 1964, the same year when the Brazilian dictatorship started. IN his list of horrors the death of 30,000 oppositors can be included.

After the missile crisis with Cuba in the early 60’s, the US government, initially a little restrictive towards Duvalllier’s government, changed the relationship to support, mostly because, perceiving the opportunity, Duvallier became a strong anti-communist and so an alie of the US. In the American government perspective it was better to have a crazy tyrant with them to have another Cuba to deal against them.

After Papa Doc death, the US again supported his son - Jean Claude, the baby Doc - government, until Ronald Reagan convinced him to renounce after a strong wave of protest and to scape to exile in France, where he continues to live.

The continuous cycle of weak governs, rebellions, environmental abuse and economical isolation, continue until the election of Aristide, that once was a sign of hope, and them became more of the same, until the last American intervention, to kidnap him what provoked the end of that new cycle. Tired of continuing to take care of the Island, the US pass the opportunity to Brazil, now leading the UN MINUSTAH peace operation.

Even being an agricultural country, the fear of what could be a nation built from literally the bottom up, used as tools to avoid suh an intent, the seduction of power, the corruption of money and the manipulation of the local elite to keep that case under "control".

Lacking energy sources, 75% of the local energy is sourced by burning charcoal or wood, the original forests are now reduced to only 2% of what once has been. Without forest, floods are a terrible consequence. Depending as much as 46% from external sources of food, and receiving a lot thru aids programs there is no internal encouragement for local farmers, both urban or rural ones. It is easy to get food from programs than to plant and dig for plenty.

At this point of the tragedy, the money that will flow from the system will try to remedy the situation, but will not create conditions for independence, peace and hope. I have no doubt.

At this point, as god's people, which Good news are we planning to bring? More money, more old cloths, more development aid?

I have no clue on what exactly ot do, and do not believe anyone else have a perfect solution.

But why not be humble enough to help restoration start from bottom up, not from UN or the IMF, but from the same people that at this point needs help, but the help that is represented by incarnation in their reality.

In this earthquake a very special brazilian died. The creator of the "Children’s Pastoral", Zilda Arns, a modern saint that had her headquarter no more than 1 mile from my home. She died with a group of monks and priests while giving her last speech about saving kids based in a simple bottom up action. The church where she was fall apart with all the religious people that were been trained by her inside of the building(learn about her life in http://open.salon.com/blog/catherine_almeten/2010/01/13/dr_zilda_arns_hero_lost_in_haitian_earthquake ).

THE action she was sharing was based in a simple mix of nutrients, love and water, that have saved so many kids in the world is a good example of the kind of good news we can bring in moments like this.

My city is mourning her daughter’s death - she lived here for more than 50 years first a doctor, than a mother, than a widow and finally a saint - but I hope we can learn from her simple action that saved so many.

As I said in the beginning, Haiti is not a tragedy because nature alone, but because that are historical and political reasons, mixed with prejudice and disdain that have played a major role to make tragedy worse. This can explain a bunch of things, but this people and this place are waiting for the manifestation of those that proclaim they are sons and daughters of God. Lets see if we can find a way to help...