It’s True Humanity Lives Again!
KIMBERLY ONG
Co-Opinions Editor
The initial shock on the afternoon of Jan. 12 only signaled the widespread devastation that would erupt soon after. Over the period of two weeks, one 7.0 earthquake and 52 aftershocks decimated an entire island.
The natural disaster stomped its way through Haiti, leaving at least 170,000 dead and wounded in its wake. And yet, despite inducing catastrophic chaos and fear, the events have inspired a collective worldwide movement to send relief efforts to the devastated country.
Since the earthquake, a multitude of relief organizations have blossomed. Now every single one of you can donate just about anything. Anything from your money, your time, your clothes or your toothpaste. You can essentially give in any manner of ways as well—from money via text to whatever you want through good ol’ reliable snail mail.
The American Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders and, finally, the Alhambra Unified School District (AUSD). The aforementioned are just a few of the many organizations that have developed their own methods of sending help to Haiti. The sheer numbers clamoring to give themselves to the cause is amazing in and of itself—not to mention what these groups have actually managed to accomplish.
And yet, in spite of all the self-sacrifice and the general sense of dismay at this natural tragedy, there are those who try to profit from the masses who genuinely wish to help. Stories of scams and human-trafficking operations disguised as orphanages litter the news, bringing on another onslaught of despair at the human condition. So in response to these degenerate human beings, the FBI and CNN implores all donors to maintain a skeptical mind—especially when their funds are so desperately needed elsewhere.
But, while they have spawned the few who capitalize on others’ sincere selflessness, the events that have transpired after the earthquake in Haiti are, at the very least, reminders that there still remains a bit of humanity residing in the deepest recesses of our hearts. Though it’s come about by a terrible means as the destruction of thousands of lives, the fact that there are so many who exist to do the exact opposite and build up the lives of those who remain—and I say so only because I have no other words—is heartwarming.
It’s ridiculously easy to criticize, to merely stand back and watch as the floor falls from beneath someone’s feet. It’s easy to write articles bashing the way things are and demand that society change to be the way we think it should. But, when we are confronted with the unexpected goodness of humankind, most are taken aback.
When something so unbelievably good occurs, we find ourselves without anything clever to say. The individual is forced to resort to hackneyed and clichéd phrases in an attempt to describe the exact ways in which he feels his heart swell to three times its original, and rather insignificant, size. Suddenly, those “jade-tinted” glasses are broken, our cynicism and pessimism fall away and, amazingly enough, the human race just doesn’t seem all that bad.
And despite all this, despite the awe-induced coma into which we are struck, there are some who have not attempted to do their part. While it is just as easy to stand back and criticize, it is even easier—and more cost effective—to apathetically wait for the entire thing to blow over. But, when we are faced with the select few, those who embody the very concept of bystander apathy, it does well to remind them that it could have very easily been them buried beneath the debris.
Whether it be buying a plane ticket to Haiti and spending the rest of your life attempting to rebuild what you can from the rubble, or just spreading the word and attempting to rally more people to one of the various relief causes, any small bit helps. If a $10 text donation seems a bit too hefty, putting pocket change into an AUSD manila envelope won’t take much effort. After all … those who can’t write must act.