MY THOUGHTS and prayers are with the people of Haiti this week. What a tragedy.
Such a disaster couldn’t have struck a more vulnerable place. With a projected death toll of 200,000 people and the damage done to the infrastructure of the nation as a whole, it will take much to heal the wounds of this unfortunate land.
The numbers involved are difficult to fathom, much like the Tsunami a few years ago.
I would urge all of you to please give what you can to help.
I’m sure everyone has an old pair of socks lying around and maybe a couple of T-shirts taking up space in the wardrobe.
I know your local Oxfam shop would be glad of them for the Haitian cause.
I realise our economy isn’t riding the crest of a wave but we are still far better off than most people on the planet.
However much you earn, regardless of status and the intolerable weather we endure, everyone in the UK is incredibly fortunate to live here.
Haiti is the poorest country in the Caribbean, with the majority of the population scratching a living for maybe $1 a day. Can you imagine doing a hard day’s graft for $1 per day? I hate to think how many people around the world exist day-to-day on the same or even less!
Again, I think the actual figure would be too uncomfortable to learn.
I think this may be an opportunity for the super rich – who are sitting on billions and making millions more each day – to step in and help.
How about taxing the RBS bankers another 50% on their bonuses to help the poor folks of Haiti?
I’m confident that if the average Joe had a few billion to spare, they wouldn’t hesitate to help.
And I’m not just talking about supplying food, water and medicine in the short-term, but rather a complete rebuild of the entire nation.
Roads, schools, hospitals, housing and industry is what this country needs – built to last and to energise their struggling economy so that it might lift itself out of poverty into more prosperous times.
How many other countries could benefit from such action? How many other nations suffer daily from lack of food and clean water? How many people die needlessly each day?
I heard an alarming statistic once that made me ponder the injustice of global economics which those in power seem hell-bent on preserving.
I can’t say how accurate the claim was, but it said the amount of money necessary to feed, clothe, house and educate every single person on the planet for life is less than the money the planet collectively spends on defence each week!
Quite a noodle scratcher that one – wouldn’t our specialised skills be far better suited to helping rather than destroying mankind?
The pursuit of happiness, for the freedom and well-being of all, is a rally cry I’d sign up to defend in a heartbeat.
Gandhi once said: “We must become the change we want to see in the world.”
In our hearts, we all know and understand the truths of the day, we recognise the harsh realities ... so what are we going to do about it?
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