What to Blog?

Today is the 6 month anniversary of the earthquake. I feel like I should have something insightful to write about the situation in Haiti, perhaps an advocacy piece that will provoke impassioned action on the part of all of you readers out there to change things for Haitians. My colleague at MCC's DC office wrote this article for the Third Way Cafe. It quotes me, from a letter I wrote to the LA Times last week (based somewhat loosely on this blogpost/tirade). My colleague at MCC's Ottawa Office took the same letter, improved upon it greatly and had me send it in to the Globe and Mail as an Op ed. So, I guess I feel like my words are out there. Sometimes I think there's only so much you can say and only so many times.

I'm not even sure if I'm going to read the articles that came up in my Haiti google alerts today. I opened the digest email, greeted by the following headlines: Six months after Haitian quake, many barriers to recovery; Half a year later, Haiti is still in need; Haiti Six Months After the Quake; Haiti recovery stalled by aid and land issues, etc.

I often feel guilty for writing blogposts about our cat, what we eat, hikes we take and weekend activities when six months ago today, it felt like the world had come to an end. For so many Haitians, the world is irrevocably changed. Basic, human rights are being violated on an unimaginable scale. So, when I get work emails on Friday night, I feel sorta guilty knowing that I will be spending the weekend making sauerkraut and watching soccer.

This is a line that we've had to draw. Knowing that we plan to live here for awhile yet, we have to nurture patience, creativity, emotional and spiritual well-being, friendships and love for this country, which we cannot do if we don't consciously set time aside to rest and to play. We're both blessed to have jobs that we are passionate about and that (usually) provide us with a sense of fulfillment. But, we also live here and for us, living is a choice that includes trying to experience Haiti on a level beyond what we can bring to or do for...

So, in order to work towards confronting the injustices faced by Haiti this week, the week of the 6 month anniversary of the earthquake, my weekend looked a lot like this: