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Haiti #4: Leaving to Port-Au-Prince again today!

Jorge Fusaro — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 09:03:50 +0000

You might be wondering, why so many updates on Haiti? April 12th, will mark 3 months after the earthquake struck on January 12th. Media outlets have many other “news” to broadcast and Haiti has lost center stage. Many people have made generous donations, but the restoration of Haiti, will take a lot more money and a longer time commitment.

The living conditions are terrible. Some areas and tent cities are far worse than they were last month. The rainy season has destroyed communities and tent cities, once again, displacing the displaced. There is a growing concern for sanitation, medical aid, and safety. This issues and hunger are still considered emergency issues in need of emergency assistance.

After returning from my first trip to Haiti in February, my life has become quite busy planning, working, and mobilizing. There are new updates on life (recently became an uncle to twins) and word (more to come soon!). It’s been tough to catch up with friends, supporters, and family. There is much to report and share. Stay tuned…I will try to write more posts on my blog to keep you updated.

Leaving today: April 1, 2010

Early morning, I’m going to join a team of friends from Puerto Rico, including Andrea Perez, Mitzy Rivera, and Pastor Eliacim. I’ll be on the same airplane with a team of 14 Puerto Rican doctors. Andrea and Eliacim have been in Haiti since Monday, setting up the clinic and meeting other members of the team coming via Dominican Republic. Eliacim’s ministry filled a 43 feet container at full capacity!! The container includes tons of food, water, medicines, relief aid, clothing, and 552 tents. As you all know, the rainy season in Haiti is rough and has severely affected the relief work on the ground. You can see a video interview (Anderson Cooper interviews Sean Penn) where Penn talks about a tent city with 45,000+ people.

In my previous visit, it was difficult to witness the horrendous living conditions. The photos and videos on the media do no justice to the realities on the ground. It is FAR WORSE than you think it is. Therefore, the HELP IS FAR MORE important now than it was at thte beginning.

My commitment, along with Andrea Perez (good friend, servant-leader, and missionary) is to keep Haiti on the radar so the people receive the help and the resources necessary to get back on their feet and THRIVE, NOT JUST SURVIVE. We want to fuel sustainable change in Haiti. There are visions, ideas, and plans in motion. You will hear more about it all in due time. For the moment, we covet your prayers and support. If you want to get involved email us.

Below are more photos from the first trip:

Funeral at Carrefour

Local teenagers at La Lycee Petion, now a football field behind the Cathedral in Port-Au-Prince.

When you feel a 4.8 quake at 1:30am followed by a 4.7 just ten minutes later, you want to sleep outdoors. Just in case.

Happy kids in Leogane.

Village life in Leogane.

Downtown Port-Au-Prince.

Haiti #3: On the street, when the sunsets, HIV, and photos

Jorge Fusaro — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:06:59 +0000

This past week has been intense with work, deadlines, and Haiti-related meetings. Therefore, my time to edit 3000+ photos and write new blog posts has been limited. I want to continue sharing more thoughts and reflections from our humanitarian mission trip to Haiti. Here are some excerpts from my journal.

After a couple of days on the ground, I quickly realized that the need is far greater than the help. Port-Au-Prince and the surrounding areas are destroyed. There is dust, debris, and garbage everywhere. Many times trash is burned in public places such as in sidewalks or in the middle of the street…it is intoxicating. It smells really bad. The trouble with sanitation does not stop there. Anywhere you look men and also women are urinating on the street…a serious side of need.

The streets are noisy, chaotic, dirty, and overcrowded. Being a passenger is like being part of a race…driving is insane. Never experienced anything quite like it.

Thousands of people are out in the streets with no roof, no food, and no clean water. They are displaced with no tents, no jobs, and not much to do. Many of them are wandering and watching cars and people drive by. Sometimes they sit on the same place for hours or days.

When the sun sets, around 5-6pm, everything goes dark with the exception of a few candle lights or occasional lights powered by one of the few generators in the country. It gets dark, lonely, and dangerous. Many women have been victims of rape and sexual abuse due to the circumstances and lack of security. The percentage of HIV carriers in Haiti is very high. “Haiti is one of PEPFAR’s 15 focus countries, which collectively represent approximately 50 percent of HIV infections worldwide.”

Sometimes we forget that privilege to have electricity. Most people on developing countries don’t have that luxury and half of their days are spent in darkness. When you arrive from a country such as Haiti, you realize that we have so much. Sometimes we are not happy we what we have or complain that it is not enough. Reality check!

Street in Leogane.

People on the streets.

Some streets are inaccessible by car.

Collecting mattresses for a better night sleep.

Local street vendor.

Woman praying in front of the Cathedral in Port-Au-Prince.

Locals Kency and Esai and one of our nurses, Varleen.

The Butterfly Circus: A short motivational film (w/subtitles)

Jorge Fusaro — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:03:38 +0000

This short 18-minute film is nothing short of amazing. It’s so powerful you would want to watch it more than once. Filled with hope and redeeming metaphors, it may be what you need to watch today to help you overcome limitations set by yourself and by others. Starring Eduardo Verástegui (Bella) and Nick Vujicic and directed by Joshua Weigel, The Butterfly Circus is now becoming a feature film! Become a fan.

Part I:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9582NStUdqU

Part II:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUBPX28_mAE

Love this line from the film: “The greater the struggle, the most glorious the triumph.”

It reminds me of Paul’s words, “Not only so, but wealso rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

We can also say: great suffering produces great character.

An Urban Legend and A Response to Pat Robertson: Did He Go Too Far?

Jorge Fusaro — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 21:52:05 +0000

Damon Winter/The New York Times

In this article, I want to address “Haiti’s pact with the devil” and a response to the insensitive remarks by Pat Robertson.

A lot has been said about Haiti and this is only the beginning. My other blog posts can wait. Haiti has captured my heart. More than 100,000 are presumably dead. The earthquake has been declared the worst disaster the Western hemisphere has witnessed in 200 years.

An Urban Legend

Allegedly, Haiti made a deal with the devil 200 years ago and this is why they have suffered so many hardships and terrible consequences. This legend has been carried around for decades. Yet research indicates, there is no factual or historical evidence that Haiti made a pact with the devil. In fact, 95% of the country claim Christian beliefs (80% Roman Catholic and 15% Protestant). However, voodoo practices from the ancient African religion, are practiced by some Christians.”There are an estimated 45,000 Americans in Haiti, many of whom are Christian missionaries and relief workers (source).”

Many reports from Haiti state that after the earthquake tons of people fled into the streets, crying out to Jesus for help.

The legend goes like this: A group of rebelling slaves led by voodoo priest Dutty Boukman at Bois Caiman in 1791, allegedly made a famous pact with the devil in exchange for victory over their French masters. This sparked a revolution that expelled the French and established the Republic of Haiti in 1804. Dr. James C. Denison notes that the oral tradition of the story is unclear: “One tradition claims that Boukman led his slave followers in a voodoo ritual in which they slaughtered a pig and drank its blood. Then they allegedly made their pact with the devil: if he would free their people from the French, they would serve his spirits on the island for the next 200 years. By dedicating their country to Satan, they caused the economic deprivation and natural disasters which have plagued Haiti over the last two centuries.”

Andrew Jones wrote on his blog:

“Bill Ross, a commenter on my blog post yesterday, pointed me to a well thought out and well researched article by a Christian Haitian man named Jean R. Gelin, Ph.D. His article is called God, Satan and Haiti. Jean Gelin’s conclusion: “I have yet to find a good evidence of even the idea of Satan’s assistance in the Independence War, let alone a satanic pact.“ God, Satan and Haiti, 2005.”

An unChristian Response?

The Internet is plagued with posts, tweets, and comments regarding fundamentalist preacher Pat Roberton. Dr. Robertson (and other misinformed folk) implied that Haitians brought this catastrophe on themselves for having made a “pact with the devil.” Like noted above, evidence suggests this pact is an urban legend, it ever occurred.

Could Pat Robertson have chosen better words? I believe he could have, but am not surprised coming from a man who called for President Hugo Chavez’s assassination and said Hurricane Katrina was God’s punishment to the people of New Orleans. Additionally, “In 2001, Robertson blamed the September 11 attacks on “the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way—all of them who have tried to secularize America,” he said. “I point the finger in their face and say, ‘You helped this happen.’” (via CT).

Where is the love and compassion? What is Christian about Robertson’s remarks? My faith teaches that God is love, not hate. “Robertson’s loudness and shock-jock verbiage seems strange and oddly uncompassionate. It felt like he was trying to tell us how tough he was, not how compassionate God is (Donald Miller, read his excellent blog post!).”

A Jesus-centered response is one of compassionate and unconditional love, grace, reconciliation, restoration, and compassion. That is the message Haitians are craving to hear; a message of hope, love, and peace in the midst of their pain, suffering, and brokenness.

It is important to distinguish between the way man represents God and Jesus, versus the way God and Jesus represent Themselves in Scripture.

Tony Campolo, professor emeritus of sociology at Eastern University, wrote:

“Help them [Haitians] to hope! Help their prayers to be answered! I don’t believe God called this disaster down on Haiti, but I do believe God’s grace and love, flowing through those of us who are surrendered to God’s will, can bring healing and redemption to our Haitian brothers and sisters. Please, please, please … do what you can.”

Three things to learn here:

Do not judge or speak on God’s behalf
Do not blame, instead, seek to bless and impart hope
Do your research, especially when speaking in public.

Lots of evil things happen, everyday and everywhere, so why hasn’t God destroyed everyone and everything?

Truth is, we can’t really know what is happening between God and Haiti and what are God’s intentions. “Earthquakes happen everywhere, even in places where people have made a pact with God and not the devil (Andrew Jones).” Once thing we can rest assured of is: God loves His people, He longs for them, and His peace surpasses our lack of understanding.

Jim Wallis, author, president of Sojourners, and advocate for the poor wrote: “My God does not cause evil. God is not a vengeful and retributive being, waiting to strike us down; instead, God is in the very midst of this tragedy, suffering with those who are suffering. When evil strikes, it’s easy to ask, where is God? The answer is simple: God is suffering with those who are suffering.”

Lets continue thoughts praying and supporting the people of Haiti.

What do you think about this scandal?

As always, you are encouraged to share your thoughts in the comment section below. Thanks for sharing!

Human Trafficking in the 21st Century is No Joke

Jorge Fusaro — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:45:58 +0000

*One voice to End Slavery*

Few things infuriate me. Human trafficking is one of them.

This form of modern-day slavery is the 2nd largest illegal industry after drug trade. It is a highly sophisticated form of organized crime that has overtaken the illegal trade of weaponry today. The UN estimates that 1-4 million people are trafficked worldwide every year.

Human trafficking is illegal in every country in the world and happens in every country of the world. However, justice has not yet been served.

A couple of years ago I had the opportunity to deliver a seminar on this topic, among other social justice issues, to a group of youth in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, only a handful of youth knew about this. Parents and adults were also clueless about the gravity of this issue. Perhaps you are too. Hopefully, this short article will shine some light. Your friends and coworkers need to know about it too. Share the facts. This needs to stop.

January 11th was the first annual Human Trafficking Awareness Day in the United States. I am hoping that this day will raise awareness in the US because, statistically speaking, human trafficking is more than likely happening around you.

If you thought slavery was abolished in the 19th century, sorry to disappoint you. It is estimated that about 27 million people were enslaved in 2008. The American government estimates that up to 17,500 people are trafficked into the US each year for purposes of labor and commercial sexual exploitation.

The victims of human trafficking can be used in a variety of situations, including prostitution, forced labor (including bonded labor or debt bondage) and other forms of involuntary servitude (via Wikipedia; thorough and informative link).

The words of Martin Luther King Jr. ring true, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Human trafficked victims have no voice.

If this has not shocked or surprised you yet, consider this: There are more people forced into modern-day slavery today than in the transatlantic slave triangle. What does this say about society? humanity? international human rights? power and justice?

People working to abolish human trafficking address three main challenges: 1) Locating the victims, 2) Liberating them, and 3) Caring for the victims once liberated. Every step is critical to abolish modern-day slavery. There is a growing need for organizations that can offer psychological, social, financial, and spiritual assistance to the victims.

I find a lot of hope in Restore NYC. This organization, started by three young visionaries in NYC, is focused on providing holistic long-term aftercare services for international survivors of sex trafficking in NYC. Their goal is to help victimized women achieve complete and total reintegration back into society.

If you want to learn more check out the videos and links below:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tdEOeld2Oo

www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2XgmQZ-c8M

11 Practical Ideas to Combat Slavery
3 Short True Stories of Human Trafficking in the US
Amnesty International
Coalition Against Trafficking in Women-International (CATW)
International Justice Mission
Polaris Project
Movies/documentaries: Trade, Call+Response, Cargo, Fields of Mudan, etc.

If you have further questions, resources to share, or will like to get involved, please comment below.

Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

Jorge Fusaro — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 22:38:44 +0000

If you have not yet seen Randy Pausch’s last academic lecture, you are in for an inspiring, thought-provoking, and possibly life changing experience.

In academia, the last lecture is a tradition where lecturers (before retiring or leaving the institution) give one final presentation that encapsulates what matters to them the most. It’s the professor’s last opportunity, to impart bits of wisdom and knowledge to his/her students.

About Randy: “Randolph Frederick Pausch (October 23, 1960 – July 25, 2008) was an American professor of computer science and human-computer interaction and design at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pausch learned that he had pancreatic cancer, a terminal illness, in September of 2006. He gave an upbeat and adage-laden lecture entitled “The Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” on September 18, 2007 at Carnegie Mellon, which became a popular YouTube video and led to other media appearances. He then co-authored a book called The Last Lecture on the same theme, which became a New York Times best-seller. Pausch died of complications from pancreatic cancer on July 25, 2008.” (from Wikipedia)

For more:

Randy’s personal webpage (Carnegie Mellon): http://download.srv.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/Randy/oldRandyPage.html

Last Lecture page: www.thelastlecture.com