From Sutch we had a waffling nothing on what to do (or how to do nothing and feel better about yourself) regarding suffering in the world and Haiti in particular. No doubt Sutch will donate a few quid and pray fastidiously for God to rescue Haitians from what less mild mannered Christians think of as his ‘His Wrath’. From Fraser we had a nice: ‘I DON’T CARE WHAT THE RATIONAL, EVIDENCE-BASED ARGUMENTS ARE OR HOW MANY PEOPLE DIE HORRIFIC, MEANINGLESS DEATHS, I BELIEVE IT ALL ANYWAY SO MEHHH! Now let us pray for the Haitians…’ sort of job. So, let’s ignore all their spiritual and theological quandaries and consider Haiti a little less briefly.
I have as yet to do any in-depth reading on Haiti, but I’ve gleaned some of the analysis and context that has been provided by informed thinkers on the topic and would simply like to provide a couple of links that might prove illuminating of a particular narrative, that being the power narrative. Haiti has for years been crushed under the oppressive weight of the West, particularly the US government which, through organisations like the IMF, have squeezed the life blood out of the country. The quake has had an exaggeratedly catastrophic impact on Haitians because the miserably impoverished always suffer more when disaster strikes.
For some context, follow this link to watch an interview with Randall Robinson, founder of global justice organisation, TransAfrica. Here is a pertinent extract from what he had to say:
Of course, President Bush was responsible for destroying Haitian democracy in 2004, when he and American forces abducted President Aristide and his wife, taking them off to Africa, and they are now in South Africa. President Clinton has largely sponsored a program of economic development that supports the idea of sweatshops. Haitians in Haiti today make 38 cents an hour. They don’t make a high enough wage to pay for their lunch and transportation to and from work. But this is the kind of economic program that President Clinton has supported. I think that is sad, that these two should be joined in this kind of effort. It sends, I think, the wrong kind of signal.
Follow this link to watch Naomi Klein discuss the approach endorsed by the conservative think tank, The Heritage Foundation. Their advice that the US capitalises on the disaster to secure their own concerns is typical of US foreign (and domestic) policy. She also discusses the context further, and warns against the very real danger that the suffering of the Haitian people will be used as a pretext to force an unwanted economic agenda upon them that will perpetuate their misery to satisfy foreign interests.
The reason I refer to this narrative (and it is a narrative, requiring prayer critical digestion) is because the Christian voices we hear seem entirely unable to criticise power, or perhaps simply unaware of the way its uneven distribution continues to crush the weak. With some history in Britain of protestant groups challenging authority and empowering the people, you might think there would be at least some discussion of power; but no. At least liberation theology in South America has played a role in revitalising people’s movements in recent times. But I wonder if all those things Jesus said in defence of the poor were undermined by his advocacy of rendering unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.
Economic tyranny is an evil that has doubled the suffering of Haitians in this disaster, and may prolong their suffering in its wake. It’s about time that Christians started telling Caesar to go fuck himself, but as long as they’re established, they are Caesar, so perhaps they should go fuck themselves. In the meantime we should all give what we can spare and pray on it educate ourselves about how power works in the world and speak out against all forms of oppression.