Several reports from Port-au-Prince tell of people gathering to pray and to sing hymns. The healing process begins immediately in Haiti; it always has, and this is reflected every time when someone says - a common expression in Haiti - "Bondye bon" ("God is good") - on occasions both good or bad. This earthquake is certainly among the worst things ever to happen to Haiti, but Haitians will derive strength from their faith and their pride, and they shall overcome.
Haiti's healing and reconstruction will be long and arduous, and will also require the generous and "unwavering support of the American people" that President Obama has pledged.
Let us hope that President Obama can prove the president of Haiti wrong: With good reason, President René Préval said: "Once this first wave of humanitarian compassion is exhausted, we will be left as always, truly alone, to face new catastrophes and see restarted, as if in a ritual, the same exercises of mobilization."
AMERICANS need to realize that Haiti is not only our neighbor, but is very much a part of everything we are and value as a people. Haitians fought in our Revolution for our freedom, just as they fought in our Civil War against slavery, and just as thousands of Haitian-Americans have served more recently in our armed forces.
Haiti is a country that we occupied militarily from 1915-1934, when we created the very Haitian army that for ensuing decades propped up brutal dictatorships, orchestrated coups-d'état, and terrorized innocent Haitians - all with U.S. support. The resultant political instability is part of the story of Haiti that goes far in explaining the nation's perpetual struggle and enduring abject poverty.
