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Opinions

Furthering the Degeneration of Haiti

In 2010, the country of Haiti experienced a magnitude seven earthquake which displaced thousands of people and left hundreds dead. This earthquake left the country in physical shambles. Many of the people living in Haiti became infected with cholera in addition to being left hungry and homeless. The world’s response was immediate: Billions of dollars were spent on bringing foreign aid to the people of Haiti to provide clean drinking water, shelter, medical supplies, food, and other necessities. The hope was that eventually aid could relieve some of the strife that occurred due to the earthquake. Sadly this aid only created dependency. The attempt to produce long and short-term aid projects ended up creating a long-term relationship with aid.

Photo by: Nate Moore
Photo by: Nate Moore

Now, just a couple weeks ago Hurricane Matthew hit the Island of Haiti. While the hurricane was only a category four, it had far greater impact on a country that was already struggling. This scenario looks all too familiar for the people of Haiti, as they have been further displaced, harmed, and now are trying to rebuild the lives they have been working on repairing for the past six years. The information coming out of Haiti reports 900 deaths and climbing. Again, the country of Haiti experienced a tremendous amount of infrastructure damage, displacement of people, and a further dependency on aid. The people located in the more rural areas are once again dealing with a cholera outbreak due to the lack of clean water; it is the disaster of 2010 all over again.

The real question now is what do we do, or perhaps even if we should bother helping. According to the BBC News, “The UN launched an emergency appeal for nearly $120m in aid, but just a fraction of it has been raised…” Countries are tired of sending money to a country that seems lost and hopeless. Many of us have probably seen the articles about The American Red Cross not actually producing results from the aid in 2010. One Huffington Post article said the organization had only built six permanent homes in Haiti, claiming 91 percent of donations went straight to charity, when in actuality only 60 percent had gone to charity. Even an organization many know, seemly cannot be trusted. So where should we be putting our money, and is it even worth it?

sarahquoteIn 2010, we ultimately failed Haiti, let us not do it again. Organizations were quick to respond to the destruction caused by the earthquake and in the wake of Hurricane Matthew, but that is not the way to create a sustainable way of living. Yes, we need address immediate needs by supplying clean water, shelter, and food, but we need to have a plan that goes beyond our initial reactions. The country of Haiti is no stranger to a corrupt government, lack of infrastructure, natural disasters, and resource exploitation. It makes sense that the country’s response to foreign involvement tends to be more skeptical and hesitant to allow Non-Governmental Organizations and governments to help. However, when we do so, we need to remember to involve the people themselves. Teams often come in with their own idea of what needs to be done without understanding the needs of the people. We come in with our checklists and our money, not understanding what the deeper issues are.

Haiti is a country trapped in poverty, corruption and vulnerability, but that does not mean the country is without hope. By empowering the people of Haiti, we build a stronger force of those who believe in the efforts taking place to create a sustainable way of living. Aid must turn into development otherwise it perpetuates the dependency we see. Too often we read articles about people being frustrated with foreign involvement and seeing nothing happen within their country. What we need to see is foreign investors providing work for the people, giving them a sense of ownership and responsibility for what happens in their country. Haiti is not hopeless. The people just need to know they are capable.

Sarah is a senior majoring in international development and political science with a minor in Spanish.

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Stories In Focus

Faith and Justice Symposium: Hope in the Midst of Deep Conflict

Houghton College’s fourth annual Faith and Justice Symposium will be tackling the weighty topics of War, Conflict, and Violence, with an emphasis on the enduring presence of hope. Beginning Wednesday September 24th and continuing throughout the week, the Symposium hopes to not only to inform about relevant world issues but also to contextualize and equip Houghton campus with a deepened understanding of conflict.

Wynn Horton, a student coordinator for the event comments, “Every single person at or around Houghton is impacted by war whether they believe it or not. War and conflict have shaped the history of the world and provide the foundations for the present. Without understanding the expansive effects of these violent events, we cannot expect to find resonance with those whose lives have been woven through cultures of war, conflict, and violence.”

This year’s Symposium hopes that students will attend and apply the event’s message to their own lives. Professor of Intercultural Studies and Director of the Center for Faith, Justice, and Global Engagement, Ndunge Kiiti comments,  “[The theme of] ‘Stories of Hope’ is to remind us that we can do something about these complex issues.  It may be interfacing or impacting one person or many, but, whatever or whoever it is, it makes a difference.” Student coordinator, Moeun Sun, additionally states, “A goal of the Symposium is to explore how even in the midst of deep conflict there remains to be hope. We want to reframe the perception of conflict, not focusing only on the conflict, but also address it in ways that bring hope to people.”

Speaker Molly Little from the United Nations and Office of Humanitarian Affairs will open up this year’s Symposium lectures, and iCourtesy of Moeun Sunt is assumed she will be relating tales from her experience with the U.N.

Other speakers include Reverend Celestin Musekura, president and CEO of African Leadership and Reconciliation Ministries (ALARM), recent Houghton graduate Julian Cook, and Luis Noda, Chief International Relations Officer at Food for the Hungry.

This year’s theme of “War, Conflict, and Violence: Stories of Hope” was chosen based on feedback the college received after last year’s Symposium. When asked about the subject’s immediate relevance for Houghton campus, Kiiti responded: “This is an important topic because the impact of war, conflict, and violence is tremendous on human life and development–affecting communities in a multiplicity of ways…Because war, conflict and violence impact so many areas of life, they require holistic and interdisciplinary responses.  This is at the core of Houghton’s mission of a Christian education in the liberal arts and sciences.”

The talks and workshops facilitated by this years’ Faith and Justice Symposium will provide Houghton campus with different contexts through which to view today’s tumultuous world. Horton expressed his hope “that students here use this [symposium] as a time to expand their ‘bubble,’ build international connections, and strengthen their understanding of hope.”

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News

Bangladesh Faces Uncertain Future

Courtesy of thediplomat.com
Courtesy of thediplomat.com

As it stands, Bangladesh faces a future of political and economic uncertainty. The escalation of hostilities could not have worse timing as the country confronts extreme poverty and a rapidly depreciating manufacturing sector. Within the last month, the country has seen a rapid increase of violence and political unrest as opposition parties increase their capacity in the upcoming election. Additionally, such anti-government protests have forced thousands off the streets of the capital Dhaka as police and paramilitary guards attempt to confine and subdue the opposition. As the January 2014 general election approaches, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) continues to put pressure on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, to install a neutral, non-partisan administration to oversee the voting process. However, despite the protests and fighting, Hasina and opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia have failed to come to an agreement despite the desperate state of affairs. In response to the stalemate, the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations have advocated for both parties to come to an expedient consensus in the upcoming months.

Historically, Bangladesh has experienced significant pre-election violence. Dating back to 1996, polls have been interrupted and aborted as a result of intense violence. In 2007, voting was halted due to party opposition that led to military intervention to install a ‘caretaker’ or temporary government. A precedent and mutual distrust among the two leading parties has made elections virtually impossible and less effective.

Furthermore, violent clashes with police and protesters since October 26 have left at least fifteen dead and many more injured. Bangladesh reporters have posted photos of burn victims from recent strikes involving the use of arson. The intensified violence, particularly this year, can be attributed to the war crime tribunal set up in 2010 to try those involved in the human rights violations during the 1971 war in which Bangladesh sought independence from Pakistan. In the wake of verdicts, 150 people have been killed and more than 2,000 people injured by police officials, according to a recent Human Rights Watch report. In relation to the hostilities, the political crisis has also forced store owners and their employees to close their business, pushing an already weak and fragile economy further into a bleak trap. Waiting has burdened their capacity to work, earn money, and provide an income for their starving families as they wait for the violence to subside. “We need to go to the office, we need to work,” exclaimed Abdus Salam, who is one of many local business owners desperately waiting for a political agreement between the conflicting parties.

Moreover, only to add to the tension, poor safety standards and recent incidents have put a halt to the country’s main export. Bangladesh is the second leading exporter of readymade garments, accounting for almost 80% of the country’s exports. Appealing to the government, workers have demanded higher wages and better working conditions. The death of more than a thousand workers within the last year has prompted the global community to scrutinize and condemn the working conditions within the factories. However, Bangladesh’s wage board had proposed an increase of less than what the union demanded, claiming to represent the needs of both the factory owners and the workers. In addition, despite the increase, Bangladesh’s minimum wage will remain one of the lowest in the world.

Decades of rivalry and political division have severely undermined the legitimacy of an effective government in Bangladesh. The country’s future is becoming increasingly uncertain as it remains trapped in a persistent cycle of poverty and turmoil. Can the international community intervene? What will it take to break the cycle of hopelessness, poverty, and repression? As global spectators, we note these questions are all too often repetitive, especially as we consider other countries across the globe who have faced various situations of economic and political instability.