Yesterday’s devastating 7.0 earthquake unleashed massive destruction, and death, upon the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, has been ravaged by this quake. Speaking up on behalf of his home country, Wyclef Jean had this to say “I cannot stress enough what a human disaster this is, and idle hands will only make this tragedy worse. The over 2 million people in Port-au-Prince tonight face catastrophe alone. We must act now. President Obama has already said that the U.S. stands ‘ready to assist’ the Haitian people. The U.S. Military is the only group trained and prepared to offer that assistance immediately. They must do so as soon as possible. The international community must also rise to the occasion and help the Haitian people in every way possible.” In order to help, you can use your cell phone to text “Yele” to 501501, which will automatically donate $5 to the Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund (it will be charged to your cell phone bill), or you can visit www.Yele.org, ‘Clef’s non-profit organization, and click on DONATE. Jean established the non-profit Yele Haiti Foundation in 2004 to provide scholarships for the country’s children, and he has worked with the United Nations World Food Programme to send food assistance to the island. Other musicians are helping to spread the word on Twitter, including Diddy and Ryan Leslie. Okayplayer would also like to send out our wishes and prayers to all the people of Haiti.
…Peace for all of them!
my prayers go out to them… will text as many times as I can.
Johannesburg South Africa.
Absolute tragedy…I have a Haitian co-worker, and hearing some of the stories from the people she’s actually heard from, like her friend that lost all his children and had to watch helplessly as his grandson died while being trapped under his house for two hours before someone could come help him…heartwrenching. I’m broke as fuck, but I’ll give what I can and prayers don’t cost anything.
What’s fortunate in this unfortunate tragedy, which has devastated that strong country, is how this event has shed light on the dire conditions the people of Haiti face daily. Food and other provisions are scarce, people are living in shanty towns, make shift houses, while the children of haiti lack proper nourishments. What’s even more mind-boggling is how just days after this tragic event, while Haitians search desparately for their friends and loved ones under bricks and rubble, cynical talking pundits like Limbaugh, and Pat Robertson castigate the haitian people with their sordid insensative comments.
Compassion for others is not a sign of weakness, it’s an inner strength that sustains humanity. Pat Robertson, a so called man of god and faith, continues to purport to blaming the victim when others suffer under natural disasters. While Limbaugh discourages Americans from donating to the relief effort by implying such an act would be socialist. And these cats have millions of listeners daily. This country is a nation of convenience, not freedom. We value consumerism and individualism in lieu of communal strength and compassion for others. We need to ignore those that choose to feed into such xenophobic comments and ideology and assist those that are suffering and in need. Its not American, rather, its being Hueman.
LOVE N LIGHT TO ALL MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS-
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