ChrisThe earth shook and the walls tumbled down. Tens of thousands are dead and a government that had a tenuous grasp at best was further marginalized. The only thing that kept Haiti’s woes from spreading is the fact that it is an island; there’s nowhere to go. By virtue of geography, the catastrophe is contained.
The people needed help and America, the greatest nation in the world, dug into our pockets and donated hundreds of millions to help. To help rebuild, to help stabilize, to help alleviate, to help feed… to help. When the shit hits the fan, Americans jump in to help. We’re generous that way.
But what now, now that the dust has settled and the bodies need to be buried? Now that the grieving can begin in earnest? Now, we work. And not just the volunteers, doctors and nurses, engineers and aid workers. It’s time for the Haitians to take a long look forward and envision what they want their country and their lives to be like in a generation. This terrible loss, this cosmic reset is an opportunity. Once the horrific job of disposing of the bodies is done, an opportunity of mythic proportion stands before the Haitians, as well as those who descended upon the island to help.
This is going to be hard work, work that the people of Haiti need to embrace, to own. We, the industrialized nations can project manage the rebuilding. We can organize the work and help to execute the plans, but this generation of Haitians must decide upon the goal; not the Haitian government, but the people. It must be more than simply rebuild. Rather than “rebuild,” Haiti must “build.” Build infrastructure, sewers, roads, telecom, electrical. This is the opportunity to vault into the 21st century, to leapfrog over the painful fits and starts of modernization.
When the tears have dried, the hard work must begin. Embrace it, Haiti. This is a one time opportunity. Reach for it. Own it. Envision a better future for your children and start to build it. Envision a greater future and start working toward it.
I wish you luck. Don’t blow it.
Tags: disaster, earthquake, haiti, international aid, rebuild
