It has been a little over a month since I last wrote. I have missed you all. This is true – I have missed you. You help me to stay honest. You help me stay connected. You help me to return to the practice of mindfulness, over and over again.
It always amazes me how the stuff of daily life, (be it dealing with a holiday and all the demands I attach to it, the flu, busyness at work or my household must-do lists), often gets in the way of my living well. By living well I mean being mindful of my relationships with our Earth Family and responding to these relationships in a creative, generous and compassionate manner. The “stuff” is often important enough, but, for me, it’s often a challenge not to give it priority.
And then, the unimaginable and catastrophic tragedy of Haiti happens.
It always amazes me how the stuff of daily life, (be it dealing with a holiday and all the demands I attach to it, the flu, busyness at work or my household must-do lists), often gets in the way of my living well. By living well I mean being mindful of my relationships with our Earth Family and responding to these relationships in a creative, generous and compassionate manner. The “stuff” is often important enough, but, for me, it’s often a challenge not to give it priority.
And then, the unimaginable and catastrophic tragedy of Haiti happens.
“The invitation is about participation, not mere observation. We are not journeying in the universe but with the universe. We are not concerned about living in an evolving world but co-evolving with our world. We are parts of a whole, much greater than the sum of its parts, and yet within each part we are interconnected with the whole.” Diarmuid O'Murchu
We are all being made aware of the present situation in Haiti by the media. But, do we understand the state of affairs in Haiti, before the earthquake? I knew very little. I thought I would share with you what I found out in my search to comprehend the suffering of the people of Haiti.
The Republic of Haiti
We are all being made aware of the present situation in Haiti by the media. But, do we understand the state of affairs in Haiti, before the earthquake? I knew very little. I thought I would share with you what I found out in my search to comprehend the suffering of the people of Haiti.
The Republic of Haiti
The Land: 
The Republic of Haiti is 27,750 square kilometers in size and situated on the eastern one- third of the large island of Hispaniola in the West Indies Archipelago in the Carribean sea. The Dominican Republic takes up the other two-thirds of the island. The small islands of La Gonave, La Tortuga, Les Cayemites and Ile a Vache to the north and south also belong to Haiti.
The capital of Haiti is Port au Prince with Carrefour, Demas, Cap-Haitien and Peteon-Ville as the other major cities of the country.
The country has five mountain chains and, of its many large rivers, Artibonte is the only one that is navigable. Most of the forests have been deforested for the wood, leaving only small areas of pine forests and impassable mango groves. Because of the many changes made in Haiti’s natural environment by industrial and farming practices, little wildlife remains and the coral reefs offshore are endangered.
Haiti has a tropical climate, vulnerable to hurricanes and with an average temperature of 27 degrees Celsius in the lowlands and 16 degrees in the mountains.
The History:
Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world and the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with a long history of ongoing political unrest.
The French colonial slavers brought kidnapped peoples from many parts of Africa to work the farms in Haiti. In 1791, the slaves rebelled, overthrew their captures and in 1804, established the world’s first ever black republic.
The two main languages are Haitian Creole and French.
The People:
As of 2007, the population of Haiti was 7,656, 166 of which 95% are of African descent from the slave trade.
The capital of Haiti is Port au Prince with Carrefour, Demas, Cap-Haitien and Peteon-Ville as the other major cities of the country.
The country has five mountain chains and, of its many large rivers, Artibonte is the only one that is navigable. Most of the forests have been deforested for the wood, leaving only small areas of pine forests and impassable mango groves. Because of the many changes made in Haiti’s natural environment by industrial and farming practices, little wildlife remains and the coral reefs offshore are endangered.
Haiti has a tropical climate, vulnerable to hurricanes and with an average temperature of 27 degrees Celsius in the lowlands and 16 degrees in the mountains.
The History:
Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world and the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with a long history of ongoing political unrest.
The French colonial slavers brought kidnapped peoples from many parts of Africa to work the farms in Haiti. In 1791, the slaves rebelled, overthrew their captures and in 1804, established the world’s first ever black republic.
The two main languages are Haitian Creole and French.
The People:
As of 2007, the population of Haiti was 7,656, 166 of which 95% are of African descent from the slave trade.
42.20% of the population are under the age of 14, 54.10% are between the ages of 15 and 64 and 3.70% are over 65. The median age in Haiti is 20.
50% of all Haitian children are enrolled in primary school and adult literacy is at 62%.
Agriculture is the largest employer with tourism and manufacturers being the two next largest employers.
40% of the population is urbanized.
Some Facts We Need to Know:
55% of the population lives below the International Poverty Line of $1.25 US per day with the average annual rate of inflation at 18%.
The infant mortality rate per 1,000 births is 79. Life expectancy is 61.
Only 26% of births are attended by a health professional.
49% of the population is undernurished.
58% of the population is without sustainable access to clean water sources.
50% of the workforce is unemployed, with unemployment and underemployment affecting 85% of the workforce.
58% of the population is without sustainable access to clean water sources.
50% of the workforce is unemployed, with unemployment and underemployment affecting 85% of the workforce.
(Information from: http://www.mapsoftheworld.com/ , http://www.travellinghaiti.com/ , http://www.unicef.org/ , and www.canadiancontent.net/)
What Can We Do?
Simply – donate money if you can. There are many organizations asking for our help. Two such organizations are:
The International Red Cross http://www.icrc.org/eng
Medecins sans Frontieres http://www.msf.org/
Haitians are part of our Family, as are all the people of our Earth. What happens to them affects our lives. As single human beings, we are helpless in facing the tragedies in our world. Together, we are strong. Together, we can make a difference for the people of Haiti and for our whole Earth Family. I truly believe this.
______________________________________
For the start of this new year, I would like to share the two following videos with you. Both are very powerful and, I find, amazingly beautiful and hopeful. The first, Riski Business, is about beginnings. Our friend, Carole, sends this to us.
The second, Children Full of Life, is the first of five videos, presented by Karma Tube. There’s lots of learning in these videos of a teacher and his class of 10 year olds for each one of us to take through this year.
Riski Business
http://www.dumpert.nl/mediabase/656611/d1dfcfee/live_olifant_geboorte_tv.html
Children Full of Life To see the other videos in this series, simply go to the right of your screen and click.
http://www.karmatube.org/videos.php?id=1720
This year, together we will make a difference.
Earth Family First,
maureen
(Photos by Google Images)
1 comment:
愛情是盲目的，但婚姻恢復了它的視力。
怎麼會這樣
This translate as
"Romantic love is blind, but marriage recovers the power to see."
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