what you can do for haiti
aside from donating money:
1) Get ready for a long haul. Usually, disasters like this see a huge outpouring of cash and interest in the immediate aftermath, which almost all disappears within the first 6-12 months. This disaster was large enough that it is going to take years, if not decades, to rebuild. The most important thing you can do moving forward is to keep thinking, writing, and talking about Haiti as we move past the immediate impact. They will need help and resources for quite a while to come.
2) Get interested in global poverty issues. This earthquake was so destructive in large part because of the extreme poverty in pre-earthquake Haiti, which meant that buildings weren’t reinforced, disaster preparation wasn’t done, and the barely adequate medical system was completely overwhelmed. These are situations that exist in lots of other countries that could be affected by disaster – we can do work NOW to make sure they’re better equipped to survive such an event.
3) Learn about US political involvement in Haiti and policies toward Haiti. We’ve been – for lack of a better term – fucking around in their country since it became independent and have occupied it for significant lengths of time. We’ve trained their dictators, influenced their elections, and encouraged some of their destructive policies. Some of this is on our head as a nation. We bear responsibility. Learn about it, talk about it.
