I think that everyone needs to go to a Third World country. In fact, I think that everyone ought to go to a slum in a Third World country. You need to go and see how other people live just to discover that you live in Disneyland.
If you have been born in the United States at this time in history, it is like you have won the cosmic lottery. You can compare your situation with anyone else in the past, and no one has had the economic resources and wealth that is here today where you live. And this is true even in our recession. If you live on welfare, you are still among the richest people in the world. In the places I have visited recently, people live on less than a dollar a day.
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When is enough enough? Don’t you feel that way about Haiti? The Haitian earthquake earlier this year was one of the most devastating disasters of recent times. People ask me how Christian Relief Fund got there to help people so quickly. It’s because we had already been there for years. Haiti had immense problems without an earthquake. Then a hurricane comes. Now it’s cholera. So when is enough enough? Haven’t these people suffered enough? God, can’t you spare them a little bit?
And now so many organizations that were helping have left. The media isn’t as interested in covering the situation as much as it used to be. And most people simply don’t know what to do. Olivier Mills, who works for the Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology, arrived in Haiti just about the time the cholera outbreak happened.
Suddenly, Mills found himself being called on for emergency advice and help. “In some ways it was chaotic because there were international non-governmental organizations that didn’t know the technical aspects of handling cholera,” he says, shaking his head. “In other ways, it was calm, because so many people living there didn’t know anything about cholera or, if they did, had a ‘whatever’ attitude to this latest crisis. They’re not complacent, they’ve just seen too much.”
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“We were hungry, and you fed us.” I’d never had anyone say it that specifically to me before. Emmanuel Kai, the business manager of Ford-Madden Christian Academy, plainly said it. He told the story of Liberians and their children in the midst of war and hunger, and then he said no one but Christian Relief Fund came through to feed them.
I had obviously heard that phrase before, but it wasn’t from a Liberian but a Galilean. And the statement seemed to be about all that really mattered to him. That’s why it kind of bugs me that I haven’t heard it said to me specifically more often. I guess my goal is make sure the man from Israel says it to me at least one more time at a strategic moment.
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I’m looking through orange colored glasses in Liberia today. I have hope. I have hope because of the children.
Things are changing politically here. Earlier this week, Charles Taylor, the former President of Liberia, gave his final testimony at The Haig in his trial where he was charged with crimes against humanity. He ran the country of Liberia like a crime boss more than a political leader. He not only committed brutal atrocities against all kinds of people, but he also ruined the country in the process with economic upheavals and wars. He is getting his just reward.
Now the country has a good leader, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. She is an astute leader, and she is a good example in leading the way with honesty and justice. Johnson-Sirleaf has changed the country from a place of war to a place of peace. Economic revival is beginning to be seen in most parts of the country. And her vision of a new Liberia full of peace and prosperity is being caught in the hearts of the people.
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I tend to think slavery ended with Abraham Lincoln. Wouldn’t it be nice if that were true? The fact of the matter is that there are more slaves today than any time in history. Today we call it human trafficking, but it is still slavery.
My time here in West Africa has me thinking more about slavery. And I’m not talking about the ancient history of the men and women shipped from here to my country that caused the atrocities leading to the Civil War. Yes, my thoughts on this day have ranged from confusion to pure rage. All this slavery stuff was supposed to be a thing of the past, wasn’t it? Can it be that we haven’t made that much progress on this isssue? Continue reading →
I started laughing when I first saw him enter with a group of people. He appeared to be a leftover from Halloween. My first thought, I kid you not, was that someone had entered the store dressed up as a Star Wars character. When I looked more closely, I actually thought he must be trying to look like Sasquatch. (Being from the Northwest, I know what he looks like–not remembering that I was in Liberia). So I said “Look!” My party said the person was the devil. They explained to me that he was that particular group’s devil. Then, they further told me, “Everyone has a devil.” Continue reading →
“In the Name of the Lord–Outside!” That’s what he yelled. And that’s the way it stayed.
Roving around Liberia can be tiring especially when you are in a truck for about eight hours on some of the bumpiest roads on earth. When I finally saw the sign that said “First Century Mission Children’s Home”, I knew good things were in store. First of all, I finally got to get out of the truck. Secondly, I saw children with smiling faces running at me. I was where I belonged.
These children were poor. I mean really poor. Their orphanage in Croezerville was rather ramshackled but sitting in a lush jungle like you could only dream of experiencing. And like most children of extreme poverty that I have met, they were extremely happy. I don’t have a total explanation for that–but if I could figure it out–I’m sure it would be profound. Continue reading →
As I was walking through the streets of Monrovia, Anora David pointed to two monkeys. How can you pass by two monkeys when you are an American in Africa? We crossed the unpaved road, and glared at the two monkeys. They were just like you thought a monkey would look like only bigger. One of the monkeys made a noise. It was some kind of grunt or groan exactly like you have heard over and over again in any good Tarzan movie. So Anora returned a like verbal response to the gregarious primate. Once again the monkey made a similar verbal gesture. Then Anora once again responded with a duplicate sound. This caused the monkey to loudly answer with a series of monkey talk. And one more time Anora answered back with precision accuracy. Then the monkey dumped a load of trash on my head. Continue reading →
Did anyone ever record a better album than “Graceland”? I’m sitting here in Liberia listening to live music that sounds so much like Paul Simon’s album that it is uncanny. It is mellow. It is exciting. It fills a hot night with spirit. But I just can’t get to it. I have tried several times, but I can’t get there. I can hear it. I can see where it is coming from, but I can’t get there. Too many beggars.
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Rhinos and giraffes. It’s one of the craziest things I’ve ever heard. It makes sense that they would be in Africa, but you will never guess where.
Sudan is one of the poorest places in the world. They have been in the midst of a civil war. Part of the country is trying to commit genocide against the other. They are divided religiously with all kinds of hostility. Famines are all over the place. Child slavery has been rampant. What’s the solution? Shape their towns so they look like animals from the air.
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I think that everyone needs to go to a Third World country. In fact, I think that everyone ought to go to a slum in a Third World country. You need to go and see how other people live just to discover that you live in Disneyland.
