It's been difficult to grasp the magnitude of devastation currently in Haiti. There are already 100,000 dead and the number is rising every day. In this voodoo-infused country where burial ceremonies are sacred, the dead are just being thrown into mass graves....unidentified. When the tsunami hit asia several years ago, efforts were taken to photograph the dead, in hopes of identifying them later for family, friends and records. This is simply impossible in Haiti, due to the concentration and sheer greatness of destruction. In the hours, days, weeks and months to come people will die of starvation & dehydration. There is and will continue to be looting and murder and mayhem. The severity of it all leaves me feeling so helpless, as I'm sure many of you are also experiencing. The least that I can do at this moment is to send money, along with my personal prayers. My dear friend Sven Peltonen is an Atlantic City Fireman and Brigantine Beach Patrol lieutenant. Many of you know him also as my fellow musician, accompanying me on the djembe...always bringing an alive, positive energy to every show. Sven has gone so far as to fly to Dominican Republic and cross the border into Haiti with any and all supplies that he could rally. He is helping out at an orphange, working alongside doctors and nurses. It takes great courage to walk into the face of this monster...something I know that I should do, but am simply too afraid to go. So, bless all of the lost, injured, devastated souls ... and may the volunteers be safe and swift. Hug your parents, hug your dog, be thankful for the food you eat and the home where you sleep .... it can all be taken away in an instant.
We love you Sven.Millions of people are homeless, missing or worse. And they need your help. There are many ways to donate money, including through the Daily News Charities Inc.
Here is a list of organizations which have been highly rated by the American Institute of Philanthropy through which you can aid those in need in Haiti:
To donate money through Daily News Charities Inc., which will send every dollar directly to relief organizations who are leading the rescue and recovery efforts in Haiti, please send your check, cash or money order to:
Daily News Charities Inc.
GPO 3309
New York, NY 10116
Make your check or money order payable to: Daily News Charities Inc.
you have such a good soul. life will be generous to you. xoxo
ReplyDeleteI love the way you take on the world head on with words. You are amazing- what a gift.
ReplyDeletemermom
part one:
ReplyDeleteYes, It can all be taken away in a second... Like it was from me when I lived in Esterillos. My house, my car, my lot, my lifestyle, my routine, my liberty, all of it by a psycho that you who live there see every day. He's your neighbor. The dark shadow cast upon the town and no one does anything.
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. ~ Edmund Burke
You know who he is. Yet you all live with this resident evil every day.
Albert Einstein said "The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing".
I read with astonishment, look at all of the events and photos online coming from the place that used to be my home, and life goes on for all of you. Don't you ever, for a moment, stop to wonder about what happened to the family that lived up the hill. How we have all suffered and cried each and every day having our world torn from us. After being physically attacked, beaten, threatened, harassed, stalked and then illegally jailed and deported - all built on the lies of your neighbor.
The resident creten of Esterillos Oests, marked even by God in his physical form, looking like the creepy demon he IS. He is the one who is guilty of all of the lies he planted so that the media would gaze at the headlines, while in the dark shadows where he lurks he could STEAL everything I bought and built there. Stealing from 4 generations of women - I bought my house with my grandmothers life insurance money, my mothers savings helped, my earnings and the college funds of my daughters. Gone. My entire life led to our dream, that we finally attained. Gone.
And he stole it from me, from all of us. He created such smoke and mirrors, built upon mountains of payoffs, bribes, chorizos, threats and promises in the true mafia style, he has bought everyone in that town, with gifts, lies, drugs, even with threats and scare tactics. All of you who live there know this. I kept thinking someone would reach out, get involved, try to DO THE RIGHT thing. But you are all too scared of him, too lazy or too indifferent. And then you write "it's been difficult to grasp the magnitude of devastation"?
"Thou shalt not be a victim. Thou shalt not be a perpetrator. Above all, thou shalt not be a bystander." Holocaust Museum, Washington, DC
part two:
ReplyDeleteMy family has been devastated since this happened. Literally homeless, culturally confused, nightmares, grief, missing their pets, their LIVES. I lost 45 pounds as I sat, held illegally in that jail. How many of you came to see me? How many of you cared for a neighbor, a mother, a friend, another human being? Zero. I sit in absolute disbelief that while we lost everything and were the victims of numerous crimes at the hands of this monster who left the USA in the mid 90's to avoid persecution of all of the heinous crimes he did here, that no one there has done anything. He falsely transferred MY assets there into his name. He threatened the neighbors who were our friends to not say anything or they would be next. Who else?
You do not live in paradise, you live in hell. Life in Esterillos Oeste is an ILLUSION.
Your town has a psychopath, a deviant, a predator, and yes, he prowls in you backyards. Think he isn’t watching? He is. And be sure that his evil mind is plotting. As he gets drunk on the power that he has gotten away with it, amongst all of the crimes he has committed, the level of danger escalates. And residents choose to look away in indifference or cower and hide from he who has ruined SO many lives. You know we can all name the names.
I see him in various images online - captured in the shadows creeping here and there, as he always has, and I assume as he always will, especially since no one there seems to have taken a stand against him. I keep waiting for the news, hoping that one of you take action. Even anonymously as he did, make the necessary calls, push and push and push and push the authorities with tips, with complaints, as he does, relentless. But nothing. Life goes on for the living, and the living dead are thrown in unmarked graves.
Yeah, the kids and I are the living dead. You see, we are not at home here, or there. Our home was ripped from us with a magnitude even greater than an earthquake. Our family forever shattered and broken. Except the dead can finally sleep, finally rest. We have been erased out, but still breathe. Fighting every day to find a crumb of bread, to see if justice ever takes place and we could ever return home. Lost and wandering, cast and thrown away as he enjoys his freedom, his friends and his neighbors in Esterillos Oeste.
Yes, you are right - "Millions of people are homeless, missing or worse. And they need your help."
Yes, we need your help. We are homeless. Our home was stolen. Our animals are missing, our future is missing. Where do I get back the time stolen? 50 days of my life, held illegally while the true criminal walks free, plays bingo and play guitar under the branches of the macaw covered trees in Esterillos Oeste.
He who does not punish evil, commands it to be done. ~ Leonardo da Vinci
You just need to be a flea against injustice. Enough committed fleas biting strategically can make even the biggest dog uncomfortable and transform even the biggest nation. ~ MARIAN WRIGHT EDELMAN
ReplyDelete