Help Our Neighbors in Haiti

Yesterday, another tragedy struck the little island nation of Haiti. Over the last several centuries, tragedy has been a frequent, if unwelcome, visitor to that small country.

The US and other governments along with private agencies responded immediately to this last disaster, a 7.2 earthquake, with aid and military assistance, but so much remains to be done in a country which may have lost hundreds of thousands of its citizens in a sudden and cruel fate.

Haiti and its people have an interesting history. Haiti was the first independent nation in Latin America, the first post-colonial independent black-led nation in the world, and the only nation whose independence was gained through a successful slave rebellion. The population of Haiti is a mix of Amerindians, Africans and Europeans, known as Creoles.

The Caribbean island was originally inhabited by the Taino Indians, but was eventually taken over by European colonists from Spain and later France. Spain exploited the gold on the island, enslaving the natives who would not work in the mines. The Spaniards also began importing enslaved Africans for labor into Haiti, and the Tainos Indians eventually became nearly extinct save for those who fled capture into the mountains.

Later the French took over a part of Haiti, having come to an agreement with Spain to divide the country. French colonists established plantations and reaped great profits from sugar, coffee and indigo. But the spirit of the French revolution spread to the tiny nation and beginning in 1791 the slaves in Saint-Dominigue revolted and eventually both the French and the Spanish were driven out of the country.

Unfortunately, it was not smooth sailing for the new country after the revolution. A long succession of coups, military revolts and oppression from home grown dictators, such as Papa Doc Duvalier, terrorized the country for decades.

Nature has also not been kind to the country. It has lost thousands to flooding and mudslides in the last decade, and was pummeled by tropical storms in 2008 when hundreds died and hundreds of thousands more were in need of humanitarian aid.

Over the last 20 years, the United States and the United Nations have been working with the Haitians to shore up their fledgling democracy and make the needed improvements to their society. The blow yesterday need not forever stop their progress, but for now, money is needed to help the millions of people left without food, shelter, medical care and basic necessities.

Please consider giving generously to help this small republic survive its current round of disasters. Here are some links to aid organizations which you might consider:

http://www.worldvision.org/

http://hughhewitt.com/blog/

www.redcross.org or by calling 1-800-REDCROSS, or texting "HAITI" to "90999" to make a donation of $10 to the fund. The $10 will be added to your cell phone bill.

http://www.clintonfoundation.org/ or by texting "Haiti" to 20222 to make a donation of $10 to the fund. The $10 will be added to your cell phone bill.