Yéle Haiti!
The word yéle is actually a Creole word, and the right way to say it is lee-lay. And yéle means to scream. So when I say yéle, it means I’m screaming for freedom. Freedom of the mind. –Wyclef Jean
I was feeling a lil lousy yesterday—tired of the stress of work, feeling overwhelmed and non-motivated, and then I read tweets by a man named Troy who lives in Port Au Prince. He talked of sleeping in his driveway, aftershocks (even one this morning at 4am), having very little food and water and the horrific smell of rotting decomposing bodies on the streets. I realized I have no idea what suffering really is. I realized I needed to immediately snap outta my b.s. funk and get focused. I, no, WE have to be strong, on point and vigilant for those who can’t right now. We can argue and debate all day about the merits of tithing, of not fornicating, of praying at least 6 times a day, but this here my friends, this is our moral responsibility. We have to remain steadfast and spiritually, politically and financially locked-in with those less fortunate. Haiti needs us! So let’s buck-up.
Below are a sampling of tweets and a Facebook post about the earthquake in Haiti and about the people of Haiti that really resonated with me. Check it:
@thehotnessgrrrl: Help Haiti Earthquake Relief Donate $5 by texting YELE to 501501 right now! Let’s make a difference! The organiz behind 501501 text is YeleHaiti- founded by Wyclef Jean. Its LEGIT! Clef has wrkd tirelessly for yrs to help Haiti.
@Ashiya_ANS: CNN.com: Quake had power of several nuclear bombs
@thehotnessgrrrl: Haiti is the size of Maryland, but with over 9 million residents.
@troylivesay: Church groups are singing throughout the city all through the night in prayer. It is a beautiful sound in the middle of a horrible tragedy. (1/13/10 – Troy runs an orphanage in Port Au Prince)
Tahana (Facebook): Thanks to Haiti the U.S. expanded via the Louisiana Purchase. L’Ouverture Toussaint of Haiti is seldom appreciated, but in the age of revolution in America he rose to leadership & intensified & defined the anti-slavery movement, causing Napoleon to sell Louisiana for a song rendering certain the final prohibition of the slave-trade by the US in 1807. (Du Bois, p. 70). We owe Haiti– SO LET’S DONATE!
@dreamhampton – Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing’s going to get better. It’s not. ~The Lorax #seuss
@DiggsWayne – When #ghettoremedies is trending above #Haiti we have a real problem. A real big problem.
@_MAXWELL_ Things have their shape in time, not space alone. Some marble blocks have statues within them, embedded in their future –keithccourtier (Grammy nominated singer whose mom is Haitian)
@RAMhaiti people sent & are waiting in the stadium for medical help and no one is coming. they’re starting to give out water today (1/14/10) (This person owns a hotel in PauP)
@faraichideya – Read my new blog post: Haiti IS Cursed–By Our Ignorance.
@ralphmarston Live every day in awe of the fact that you’re alive.
@ALBDamn I CANT STAND that all the reporting of Haiti being “the poorest nat’n n the westrn hmsphere” w/o any context of Y!!! #ColonialExploitation (1/12/10)
Read novelist Edwidge Danticat’s thoughts on the Earthquake in Haiti. She was born and raised there until the age of 12. Here she talks about the devastation—personal and political.
Not sure how you can help?
Check out Kevin Powell & April Silver’s exhaustive and informative Help Haiti-– a web resource listing legitimate, ground-level organizations like Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees, Lakou New York, and MUDHA (Movement of Dominican Haitian Women) that have longstanding reputations for their support of Haiti:
Click HERE for complete list!