Decades of Deprivation

Haiti is the poorest country of the Western Hemisphere and although we've all known this a small amount of us has actually ever done anything to help them until now. Why do we always have to wait for something horrible and worse than what we're already seeing to happen before we take action? While we take everything from the clothes we wear to the food we waste, these people have been suffering for decades without proper shelter, food, clothing, education, etc. Who decided that these people should live this horrible fate?

I am from a neighboring island of Haiti, Puerto Rico, and it is so weird to think that a population so close can be so much worse than what I grew up in. I feel like Haiti has always been forgotten by all the other countries and no one has ever dedicated the right amount of effort and compassion to our neighbors. We are blinded by what we have and forget to look to the people next to us because we automatically think they should have it too, but that is certainly not the reality. Haiti shares island with the Dominican Republic, a country that is pretty well off compared to Haiti, but they might as well by alone because the Dominicans don't help Haitians at all.

Haitians who cross the border in search of a better life-style and work are followed by prejudice and are denied jobs. Haitian babies born in the Dominican Republic are denied citizenship so they grow up without belonging to any country. This is horrible and greedy because if anyone should be concerned and willing to lend a helping hand to the Haitians it should be the Dominicans, but they choose to worsen the situation.

An earthquake of a 7.0 magnitude hit Haiti on Tuesday, January 12. This was exactly what this country didn't need. Now we not only see a population living in imaginably horrible conditions of poverty, but the little they had has become ruble. Thousands of Haitians were imprisoned, wounded and killed by the ruble of the collapsing buildings during the massive earthquake. These people are desperately seeking any kind of help from whoever offers it and all of us fortunate enough to be able to watch this instead of having to live through it should do something about it.

Hundreds of artists were gathered by George Clooney for a fundraiser. They all performed and received calls from members f the public all around the world who were willing to donate. Artists are one of the most important advocates of our time and I hope that many people were moved by Clooney's fundraiser, "Hope for Haiti Now", and are taking part in some way or another in helping.