The catastrophic 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince, Haiti and the surrounding region in January of this year still affects over 1,000,000 people daily! Though most media and news venues have ended all reports on this disaster that has killed over 240,000 people, it should be recognized that survivors still exist and are in dire need of OUR help.
Haitians have always been a strong people, as is evident in its rich history. This history includes names such as Toussaint L’Ourverture and François Mackandal, two Afrikan revolutionaries that helped to allow Haiti be recognized as the first nation of the western hemisphere to free itself from slavery. This fortitude has been genealogically passed down, and is evident in the makeshift camps that now dot Haiti where culture and family ties thrive amongst a backdrop of neglect, poverty, and powerlessness.
One hand from outside of Haiti that has been put out in support, yet barely mentioned in popular news sources, comes from the West Afrikan nation of Senegal. Abdoulaye Wade, the president of Senegal, has offered free land to Haitians who have been affected by the earthquake. Wade said that Haitians were the “sons and daughters of Afrika” and proposed that Haitians “return to their origin”. Wade, as a Pan-Afrikan, believes in a united Afrika, and has said that his government would offer parcels of land to Haitians looking for help in his country. Besides giving over 1 million dollars to Haiti, he has also offered an entire area in the fertile region of his country not yet affected by the expansion of the Sahara to Haitians if they come en masse.
Celebrity telethons, Red Cross, and the UN may have been represented on our tv’s and newspapers as the face of deliverance, but in this continuous time of struggle, Brothas & Sistas also continue to offer aid/help/support to Brothas & Sistas.
