The convenience of caring

Erik Dickson
The Brock Press
February 2, 2010

In the last couple of weeks, we have been literally overwhelmed by mainstream media coverage of the human suffering that is occurring in Haiti as a result of a massive earthquake.

The response to this crisis has been equally overwhelming – with people and countries around the world finding their own way to pitch in. By all accounts, hundreds of millions of dollars have been sent, or have been promised to the devastated nation and its people.

In no way do I feel that this aid is unwarranted. If anything, more should be done.

What I struggle to understand is the lack of attention that Haiti received before its ground shook and buildings collapsed. Despite the racist bullshit you’ll hear from religious fanatics, Haiti hasn’t been the poorest country in the Western hemisphere because it decided to be.

Haiti has been dealing with human-made disasters long before a natural disaster made it headline news. Like the genocides in Darfur or Rwanda, the AIDS crisis in Africa or the sex-slave trade in parts of Asia – the humanitarian failures around the world continue to go unnoticed.

We give generously when horrible things happen to people, as long as blame can be placed on earthquakes, hurricanes and tsunamis. When it is human greed and indifference that is the cause of suffering, we turn a blind eye.

As I read news reports that the Canadian government will match all individual donations to relief efforts in Haiti, I have mixed feelings. Sure, it’s great that we’re doing all we can without hesitation, and that millions of dollars in food and medical aid have already been delivered.

But why is it that after seven years of being detained and tortured, Canadian Omar Khadr is still being held in Guantanamo Bay? How is it possible that our government has overlooked this for so long?

Why is it that despite five years of government-sponsored murders of the black-African population of Darfur, the international community has yet to take a single step towards intervention?

Why aren’t these issues on our radar?

I can’t answer these questions. I can only hope that with time, and more exposure, these will become the type of issues that bring out the best in people. It should not take a mega-concert-telethon to convince us that global poverty, child labour and human rights abuses are wrong.

Personally, I don’t need Bruce Springsteen or Taylor Swift to remind me to be a better person. I don’t honestly think most people do.

If you have already contributed to the relief effort in Haiti, I commend you. But the next time you hear a story about Darfur, or a child solider, or any other humanitarian crisis that is human-made, consider how you could do more.

There may not even be a coin donation box for it – but that doesn’t mean you should stop caring.

Originally Printed: The Brock Press