Hurricane Ike just decimated a community our little church supports . After Service, a member read to us a letter written by a local Lutheran pastor that described in horrifying detail what they've been through and are still going through. The pastor wrote about how the whole community of Gonaives is under many feet of water. The only reason he and his family were spared is because they had a concrete roof. They huddled on that roof through the night for 14 hours as the storm passed over them. They saw animals of all kinds and people of all ages get swept away. The buildings are gone...except one 4 story building inside which 300 people wait for help...the first floor is submerged in water. There is no clean water, there is no food. His four year old hasn't eaten in days and cries because she is so hungry. They have no clothes. They have no medicine. They are desperate as there is no way for anyone to get around except by boat.
Read about the suffering in this very community here and here.
Why isn't the news telling American of this travesty? Why do we care about the spotted owls losing some trees and some frogs losing wetlands and we do not even think to care about these people who live so close to us???
I know there are folks here in America suffering from the effects of Ike and Hanna. I do not mean to diminish their pain and suffering. The difference between them and the Haitians is that the Haitians DID NOT KNOW THESE STORMS WERE COMING!!! They are a very, very poor nation. What little electricity they have is in the hospitals and maybe the schools...that have been set up by outside missionaries, primarily confessional Lutheran missionaries.
Our gas prices jumped today to $4+ a gallon and more in anticipation of the shortage of gasoline due to Ike. How can I complain about having to use less gas when these folks have nothing? It seemed wrong to me today to walk through Super WalMart to see the wealth we have and there is no way to share? How can that be?
If there is anyway you can support these struggling folks, please contribute! There was a strong confessional Lutheran presence there and a seminary to boot, training Haitian men for the Ministry.
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