Heroes in Haiti the Curse of the Earthquake

by

Randy R Cox

From the rubble of the earthquake in Haiti, heroes arise. In a land hit over and over by tragedy now suffering a curse of Biblical proportion, something wonderful is happening. At every pile of rubble, heroes risk their lives to pull survivors from the edge of death.




Last week, many of these people were down and out, bent to base subsistence by the horrible economic conditions in their country. Today, these same people have shown an incredible strengh of character as they meet the challenge of this horrible event.



Concrete crumbles in Haiti because the building codes there were almost nonexistent. Very little reinforcement steel was used to hold stucture together, but the metal missing in construction is showing itself in the metal of those brave souls who tunnel and crawl through the wreckage to find life in the dark shadows of death.



I've always believed it was better to be a part of something that is bad and getting better than it is to be a part of something that is great but getting worse and worse. Before the quake, Haiti was a miserable place to live.

The earthquake took whatever good was left and crushed it to dust!



There is nothing left in Haiti but the hope of the people. Almost everything has been destroyed but the will of the people. I have watched these people work together to make the best of an impossible situation, and I have been impressed. When Katrina struck America, I was ashamed. People in power on both sides of the fence saw the tragedy in New Orleans, Missippi, Alabama, Texas, and Florida as a political football rather than an opportunity to do what the people of Haiti are doing with nothing but their bare hands.



In the days, weeks, and even years to come, we will see lots of pain coming from Haiti, but I look for hope in the eyes of those many heroes that are working so tirelessly as I write this. I see a light in those eyes I've not seen before. I know they had 4 hurricanes hit them in 2008, and I'm not sure our media gave it the coverage due. We had our own problems with Ike, but we basically ignored Haiti.



Those in Haiti did not ignore that destruction, but learned from it. We didn't hear it much when it happened but we are hearing now how those hapless people pulled themselves from that rubble and began to rebuild, again with little more than their bare hands. It looks like their will grew hard as steel and their muscles grew strong after those storms.



When the earthquake hit Haiti, while the earth continued to quiver and shake, the hereos went to work. The infrastructure of authority has disappeared, yet the order in Haiti makes New Orleans look like anarchy.



A chill runs down my spine as I remember the gunshots in New Orleans after Ike. I think some of that was signal fire, like John Wayne used to fire shots to signal the posse or calvary. Some of it was from people trapped in the upper floors of their homes blowing holes in the ceiling to permit escape. It didn't take the National Guard long to announce they were being fired upon. What a mess? Rescue slowed to a crawl as the rescue workers and their commanders retreated out of fear.



We see order and people helping people in Haiti. In New Orleans we saw thousands waiting and waiting and waiting at the Astrodome. We heard from political leaders on both sides blaming the other side for the failures. It took forever for help to come. I remember how a group of survivors walked the freeways to save themselves, only to be turnback with shotguns by the police of a nearby parrish.



I am proud of the heroes in Haiti. For those who survive this horrible event, I believe good things will happen because they are ready to make it happen for themselves. Rev. Pat Robertson says Haiti is cursed because of a pact they made with the devil to get rid of the French. He points out how much worse it has always been for Haiti than for the other end of the same island the Dominican Republic.



I don't know about the curse of Haiti, but the light in the eyes of the heroes is a blessing. If there was a curse, I think a Higher Power may be ready to renegotiate a better contract.