Why Not?

I saw this article today, and it reminded me of some thoughts from a while back, after returning from Haiti and visiting with several people about our trip.

Common questions we encounter are: Why don't Americans know about Haiti? Why do people in America not know about the poverty stricken lives that the people in Haiti live? Why do Americans not know about the struggles that nearly every Haitian faces daily, just to survive? They struggle to find jobs; they struggle for food to eat; they struggle for clean water to drink; they struggle to remain safe in their own homes – if they even live in a home; they struggle to find medical care when they need it. They either struggle for these things daily, or they don't even seek it out, knowing that if they do seek it out and find it, they most likely would not be able to pay for whatever they do find. These are things that we Americans take for granted!

Now, of course, I’m generalizing here, so please take lightly my use of the words “Americans”, and “people”, as I know these things are not true of many... Although, that being said, I include myself in that group as well. There are so many things in life that I’ve taken for granted – and still do. And, before three years ago, I'm not sure I’d ever heard of Haiti either. Until this past year, I had little idea the poverty that exists in Haiti.

Many Americans, when they think about poverty-stricken areas of the world, think of Africa. There are other places as well, however, they do not typically think of Haiti. Why is that? It can’t be because it’s too far away – it’s only about 713 miles (according to American Airlines) off the coast of Florida – about a 2-hour flight from Miami. It can’t be because there aren’t many people suffering there – there are about 8 or 9 million people living there, and from the stats I’ve seen, most of them are probably suffering in one way or another. See here or here for more disturbing statistics.

So, why not? It is because it is such a small country? Other countries that are very well-know and thought of as poverty-stricken countries are small as well. Do people just not want to hear about it being so close to us? Do people use the distance of other poverty-stricken areas as their excuse to not be able to make a difference? Do people only want to help out in countries where things are well-known? Why is it? And, what can we do to change this?

We are trying to do our part. Going through the adoption process and having visited there, has opened up many opportunities for us to spread the message, to our friends, our families, our co-workers, and others. God didn’t give me a good speaking voice to be able to tell our story very well, but I believe that people telling their own very personal stories is one of the best ways people can learn and become interested in something.

Any other thoughts?