Haiti - One Year After the Earthquake- 1/12/11

Haiti

Delaware and Haiti are about the same size. Last year Haiti's population was estimated at approximately seven million. The country's demographic statistics reveal the effect of extreme poverty and an HIV/AIDS epidemic. These conditions have reduced life expectancy to 49.2 years, contributed to high infant mortality and general death rates, and slowed population growth.

Haiti's population is a young one, with 41 percent estimated to be between 0 and 14 years of age. Most Haitians are of African descent.

The National Cathedral - photo by David Albers

Today I heard that the people of Haiti gathered in a memorial tribute in Port au Prince, the city where so many died on that fateful afternoon one year ago. It seems that every family lost someone, a spouse, a sister, a child, a cousin or a friend in the earthquake. Haitians marched down empty, rubble-lined streets singing hymns and climbed broken buildings to hang wreaths of flowers. The nation held a minute of silence at 4:53 p.m., the moment when the earthquake ripped the ground on January 12, 2010. The government has stated its death toll estimate is more than 316,000.

Thousands gathered around the city to be with loved ones and pray. They flocked to the ruins of the once-towering national cathedral, to soccer stadium that served as an open-air morgue and later housed a tent camp, to parks, hillsides and the neighborhood centers.

Workers are still finding bodies in the rubble. Neighborhood-sized camps look like permanent shantytowns on the fields and plazas of the capital. A cholera epidemic that erupted outside the quake zone has killed more than 3,600 people, and an electoral crisis between President Rene Preval's ruling party and its rivals threatens to break an increasingly fragile political stability.

I have been wondering what it would be like to live in the earthquake portion of Haiti today. Tent camps were erected for people who lost their homes – they created little tent communities, some of them quite small, some of them very large, where an estimated one million people still live, unable to afford new homes.

If you live in a tent village with a million others what are your expenditures? No public utilities are available, no toilets, no telephones, no electricity, no running water. There is still the need for money for food and clothing.

Everyone has that desire for his or her own personal space. Many of us can seek refuge in our homes, in our bedroom. In the tent camps the living area is incredibly small, hot, constructed out of canvas and metal, and whatever else they could find. It is reported that less than 5 percent of the rubble has been cleared, only 15 percent of the temporary housing that is needed has been built and relatively few permanent water and sanitation facilities have been constructed.

The current cholera epidemic is mostly in the extreme rural areas, in the mountains and in a river valley where the outbreak began. It is heartbreaking to hear the stories of people who just weren't able to get to a treatment center in time.

This past week I watched a TV documentary about a private person from the US who took his personal 60-year-old plane and got the local people, who live on a mountaintop in Haiti, to create a landing strip for his aircraft so that he could bring medical personnel and supplies to help the people who have cholera. Many lives have been saved by the actions of this one man.

Cholera victims just need rehydration and antibiotics, and most people can be taken care of. But the problem is, so many people live out in rural areas far from treatment centers. Nearly 3,000 people have died of cholera and more than 100,000 were infected.

All of this is taking place against the backdrop of political turmoil. They had an election for president in the fall, but the results are still disputed months later. There were all kinds of allegations of fraud. There was violence in the aftermath of it that shut this city down a couple of days last month, in December.

Another problem that has surfaced is that on the day of the earthquake the local prison collapsed and hundreds of seasoned criminals escaped. There are reports that they are intimidating people and taking control of some areas. The police have been trying to round them up and have re-arrested about 700 who are being detained in a facility where there is no room for a man to lie down, so the inmates have to sleep standing up. They report that their legs are swollen and that there is a lot of fighting within the facility.

The United States and many other countries have helped to rally international support for Haiti’s recovery and reconstruction.

Over the past year, countless lives have been saved and many Haitians affected by the earthquake now have better access to food, water and health care than they did before the disaster. However, rubble continues to clog the streets, too many people are still living in tents, and for so many Haitians progress has not come fast enough. It has been said that helping the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere recover from one of the worst natural disasters ever to strike our hemisphere will take years, if not decades.

From the slums of Port-au-Prince to the rural Central Plateau, this impoverished country continues to need assist. Right now 90 percent of the quake devastation still remains. Many people, including orphanages still live in tents and families struggle to survive on less than two dollars a day.

The bottom line is that the people of Haiti and the volunteers are living in nightmare conditions. Poverty, illness, famine, lack of adequate water, homelessness and an unstable government. But there are consistent reports of the stamina and courage of the residents who live there. In spite of their current conditions the majority maintain a sense of dignity and hope.

What to do? What to do? I don’t have the answer to that except that we should make sure that we keep ourselves informed of the circumstances in Haiti. We can contact U.S. elected officials and the United Nations to let them know that the world is watching. We can continue to support relief efforts financially or by volunteering, and for those who believe that prayer can change things – PRAY for the people of this little country who have such strong spirits and hearts.

peacesojourner

Things That Make You Go Hmmm....Dead Birds and Fish

There are some things in the news that really catch my attention. The following headline “Thousands of dead birds and fish in Arkansas leave many scratching their heads” , did just that.

On roads, on roofs, on lawns, up to 5,000 blackbirds fell within a one-mile area. Most of them were dead.

The report stated that approximately 5,000 red-winged blackbirds fell from the sky over a mile of land near Beebe, a small town in northwest Arkansas, and observers spotted the fish kill near the town of Ozark. The recent wildlife deaths in Arkansas that happened around New Year’s Day is definitely a mysterious incident.

No one seems to know what caused the deaths, but there are many theories and various conclusions from local authorities:

• "Test results usually were inconclusive, but the birds showed physical trauma and that the flock could have been hit by lightning or high-altitude hail."

• Because it happened New Year's Eve, some officials suggest that revelers shooting fireworks may have spooked the birds, to the point that they died en masse from stress-induced cardiac arrest.

• "It is unlikely they were poisoned but a necropsy is the only way to determine if the birds died from trauma or toxin." Tests were to begin Monday.

• A state veterinarian states that preliminary necropsy results show that the birds died of multiple blunt trauma to their vital organs.

This is not a rural gravel road. It's a Louisiana waterway, its surface completely covered with dead sea life -- a mishmash of species of fish, crabs, stingray and eel. This incident took place in a stretch of coastal Louisiana that was hit hard this summer by oil from BP's busted Gulf well.

This massive fish kill occurred 125 miles west of the site, wildlife officials say that the estimated 100,000 drum fish discovered by a tugboat captain over a 20-mile stretch of the Arkansas River appears to be a natural occurrence that isn't tied to the bird kill in any way.

According to news reports fish kills are fairly common along the Gulf Coast, particularly during the summer in the area near the mouth of the Mississippi, the site of this kill. The area is rife with dead zones -- stretches where sudden oxygen depletion can cause widespread death. But those kills tend to be limited to a single species of fish, rather than the broad sort of die-off involved in this kill.

• And therein lies the concern of Gulf residents, who suspect this may be yet another side effect of the catastrophic BP oil spill.

• Various species of single-celled plantlike organisms flourish in waters enriched with chemical nutrients -- organisms that go on to vastly deplete the oxygen in the water they inhabit.

• The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries investigated the fish kill and determined that it was the result of low oxygen levels caused by low tides and high temperatures.

So there you have it - more than 5,000 dead birds and more than 100,000 dead fish, crabs, stingray and eel. All died during New Year's Night without any immediate explanation.

(Information compiled from various news reports)

It certainly gives me plenty to ponder about.

What do you think? What is your theory?

Definitely comes under the heading of "Things that make you go hmmm!"

peacesojourner

Sunday Reflection - Seeking Solitude

When I lived in El Salvador I learned many things. Water was in very short supply and I learned how to appreciate water and how to conserve it so that others could share. I also learned how to live with no car, television or radio.

I lived in a small village called Milagros (the Miracle), there was very little in the way of printed news. I missed books the most -it has been my lifelong habit to read two or three books a week. I had no books in English available to me - except one - the Bible. I spent hours reading it every day. At first, because it was there and I had nothing else to do to fill my evening hours. But the more I read I discovered that the Bible is filled with some amazing stories. Yes, I had some knowledge of the Bible before I went to El Salvador but I found the Bible to be an exciting and enjoyable read and I learned a lot.

While there, I became very comfortable with solitude. Some have a fear of being alone but being alone and being lonely are really two different things

I learned to appreciate the gift of having long hours of silence and being alone with my thoughts. I came to understand why Jesus often sought solitude.

This is mentioned several times in the Bible:

Right after Jesus was baptized he was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted. (Mt 4:1-11) As Jesus began His ministry he knew the importance of having that time with God.

There were other occasions:

- He spent the night in prayer before choosing the disciples (Luke 6:12-13)

- When He heard John had been beheaded he withdrew to a solitary place (Mt 14:13) (where 5000 people went ahead of Him to hear and he fed them all)

- After feeding 5,000 he sent his disciples off and went up on a mountain to pray alone. (Mt 14:22-23)

- The Scripture says, "But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." (Luke 5:16)

- And it was alone with His disciples nearby that He prayed in agony in the Garden of Gethsemane just before being betrayed (Mt 26:36-46)

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There are few things that are as powerful as solitude to help you get in touch with your inner self – especially when that solitude is accompanied by silence – no television, newspapers, magazines, cell phones or computers, etc. Get comfortable with being alone. We all need time to recharge every now and again, not only to nourish our spirit, but so that we have new energy to give to others.

On this first Sunday in the year of 2011 I plan to spend the day in reflection of the events that happened during the past year and on the joy of expectation of the new year to come.

Solitude, meditation and prayer can give you peace of mind, serenity and the opportunity to connect with your soul.

Give it a try -why don’t you?

peacesojourner

Happy New Year - Welcome 2011

2011 is here!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

Looking forward to many new adventures in 2011

To my family and friends: wishing you good health, happiness,

peace of mind and good fortune in the upcoming year.

peacesojourner

On this Blessed Day Christ the Saviour is Born

The Nativity Pageant held at First Presbyterian Church,

Buffalo, NY last Sunday

On this Blessed Day Christ the Saviour is Born

Silent night, holy night

All is calm, all is bright

Round yon Virgin Mother and Child

Holy Infant so tender and mild

Sleep in heavenly peace

Sleep in heavenly peace

Silent night, holy night!

Shepherds quake at the sight

Glories stream from heaven afar

Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!

Christ, the Saviour is born

Christ, the Saviour is born

Silent night, holy night

Son of God, love's pure light

Radiant beams from Thy holy face

With the dawn of redeeming grace

Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth

Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.

Written by Austrian priest Father Josef Mohr -

Melody composed by Franz Xaver Gruber. In 1859

Wishing you and yours peace on this blessed day.

peacesojourner

Grandma's Secret Pie Recipe........

Things That Make You Go Hmmm.............

AFP – An Emirati man walks past an 11-million-dollar Christmas

tree at the Emirates Palace hotel.

ABU DHABI (AFP) – UAE - (United Arab Emirates) Hotel erects 11-million-dollar Christmas tree. Christmas came in extravagant fashion to the Muslim desert emirate of Abu Dhabi as a glitzy hotel unveiled a bejeweled Christmas tree valued at more than 11 million dollars .

Called the most expensive Christmas tree ever, with a value of over 11 million dollars. The 13-metre (40-foot) faux evergreen, located in the gold leaf-bedecked rotunda of the hotel, is decorated with silver and gold bows, ball-shaped ornaments and small white lights.

But the necklaces, earrings and other jewelry draped around the tree's branches are what give it a record value.

It holds a total of 181 diamonds, pearls, emeralds, sapphires and other precious stones.

The tree itself is about 10,000 dollars. The jewelry has a value of over 11 million dollars.

This will probably be an entry into the Guinness book of world records. The Emirates Palace Hotel plans to contact the organization about the tree which is to stay until the end of the year.

The Emirates Palace Hotel is a massive, dome-topped hotel sitting amid fountains and carefully manicured lawns. The hotel, which bills itself as seven-star recently introduced a package for a seven-day stay priced at one million dollars.

*****

When I read this article in the news this week I found myself experiencing several emotions. Such opulence during times when so many people around the world are suffering from a lack of basic needs such as housing, water and food, is hard to think about.

I could only think of a statement that Arsenio Hall made famous:

"Things that make you go Hmmmm."

peacesojourner

If It Is Thursday It's Going Green - Holiday Gift Giving

If you plan to reduce your holiday shopping here are some additional suggestions for last minute gifts that you could give.

Make your gift count by making it thoughtful and of benefit to the environment. Keep it simple. One thoughtful gift is better than many wrapped packages of unwanted gifts.

An Ecological Friendly Gift List

1. Create gift certificate coupons for a massage, spring-cleaning, child minding, pet sitting, manicure, etc. Offer your talents, such as photography, financial planning, or hairstyling.

2. Make dinner for someone or cook and deliver it to them. Create a menu of various culinary delights (e.g., Tantalizing Thai, Mexican Fiesta, etc.) and have the gift recipient choose one of the options.

3. Collect meaningful photos for the gift recipient, make color photocopies and create a collage or a photo album. Make a calendar for the coming year using your own photographs.

4. Write and illustrate a book for the young people in your life

5. Give the gift of ‘time’. Promise to do something exciting and challenging together (e.g., long walk, bike ride, hike, art course). It is important that the date and time be arranged and that you follow through on this.

6. Compile a list of memories and arrange them in a creative fashion.

7. Videotape and interview your elderly parents (or other family members) about childhood memories, how they met, etc., and give to siblings or children.

8. Frame a piece of your artwork.

9. Make a mixed cassette tape and choose songs that make you think of that person. Under each title, explain why you chose that song.

10. Give away a valued possession.

11. Make a calendar with pictures of family members and/or scenery.

12. For the elderly people in your life, research newspaper and magazine articles from their youth and present in a creative fashion.

13. Collect quotes that make you think of someone.

14. Purchase gifts at a fair-trade shop, or gently used items at a garage sale or thrift shop.

15. Buy a used book and in the inside cover explain why you chose the book for that person.

16. Give a membership or donate in the name of a friend to an organization working in a subject area of interest to them.

17. Give an experience such as tuition for an unusual class. For kids, consider giving an environmental excursion, like a whale-watching or camping trip.

18. Help someone start a garden. Give seeds and tools. Help plant, weed, and water.

19. Plant a tree in someone's name.

20. Create a recipe book from the favorites you’ve collected.

Happy Holidays to you. Have fun!

A Snowy Day In Buffalo

Today it was snowing in Buffalo

I took a walk around my neighborhood and enjoyed the

beauty of a new snowfall

The house across the street from me - the garland around the door is lit up at night

and it is so pretty - I can see it from my bedroom window.

The snow on this bush resembles a cotton plant

A view of the street that I live on

The little park on the corner

The entrance way to my house

St. Francis of Assisi now lives in Buffalo - next to my front door

A walk around the neighborhood on a snowy day always refreshes my spirits.

peacesojourner

If It Is Thursday It's Going Green - Holiday Season

Remember the 4 R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Repair

Plan to purchase a living Christmas tree with roots attached. Later you can plant it in your yard or donate it to your local parks department. If it’s a cut tree, recycle it. Shred the live tree and use the mulch in the garden around evergreen shrubs and trees.

If purchasing new holiday lights, consider seasonal light emitting diode, or LED, strings of lights. These can use up to 95 percent less energy than conventional bulbs, and they last seven times longer than traditional bulbs. Using holiday lighting wisely can lower power consumption. Timers and photo cells can also help reduce power usage by turning the lights on at dusk and turning them off at a desired time. Avoid leaving lights on all night. More strings of lights means more energy used. Try reducing the number of strings of lights this season. Tinsel can be used to amplify lighting.

Be financially responsible - Overspending during the holidays will not only increase your stress now, but will leave you feeling anxious for months afterward as you struggle to pay the bills. Step back from the excessive gift-giving and practice simplicity, creativity and basic human kindness.

Be creative - The amount of household garbage in the U.S. increases by about one million tons of rubbish between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, according to the EPA, and much of that is packaging. If you are mailing gifts, use recycled packing materials like newspaper and cardboard (please, no Styrofoam packing peanuts!). Shiny, metallic and plastic-coated wrapping paper can’t be reused or recycled, but there are lots of wrapping papers and ribbons that are made of 100 percent recycled waste, and gift bags are a great reusable option. If you are feeling creative, think outside the box that is being wrapped. You can use old maps, the comic section of the newspaper, magazines, wallpaper, Christmas cards, crossword puzzles, posters, sheet music, or children's artwork. Or use a scarf, an attractive dishtowel, bandana, or some other useful cloth item. If every family wrapped just three gifts this way, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields.

Add organic and local foods to your holiday feast. - Support local family farmers who grow sustainable meat and produce. Not only does it taste better, you'll be doing your part for the planet too. Ask around to find out where to get local green products in your neighborhood.

Donate your time or money to an environmental group. Get into the holiday spirit by volunteering! There are countless ways to help improve your community—and the planet—from cleaning up a local river to helping inner city children experience the outdoors for the first time. Contact your local Sierra Club to find out about volunteer opportunities near you. A donation in honor of a loved one can also be a special holiday gift.

Don’t forget – "together we can make a difference!"

On This Date In History - December 8th

I was just browsing the web and came across this interesting information about December 8th - thought I would share it with you.

1776 George Washington's retreating army crossed the Delaware River from New Jersey to Pennsylvania during the Revolutionary War.

1863 President Abraham Lincoln announced his plan for the Reconstruction of the South.

1886 The American Federation of Labor was founded in Columbus, Ohio.

1925 Sammy Davis Jr., the American performer famous for his singing, dancing and comedy routines , was born. He died on May 16, 1990.

1941 The United States entered World War II as Congress declared war against Japan one day after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

1980 Rock musician John Lennon was shot to death outside his New York City apartment building by Mark David Chapman. The former Beatle was 40.

1987 Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied territories began an uprising.

1987 President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev signed a treaty calling for destruction of intermediate-range nuclear missiles.

1991 Russia, Belarus and Ukraine declared the Soviet national government dead, forming a new Commonwealth of Independent States.

1992 Americans saw live TV coverage of U.S. troops landing on the beaches of Somalia as Operation Restore Hope began.

1993 President Bill Clinton signed into law the North American Free Trade Agreement.

How much we tend to forget when we are busy with our day to day activities in life. Will today be an important date in history? As they say - "only time will tell."

Elizabeth Edwards - 12/7/10 - may she rest in peace.

Elizabeth Edwards

courage, dignity, a class act,

may she rest in peace

Happy Birthday to Dave Brubeck - 90 Today - A Class Act

I was first introduced to Dave Brubeck’s music many years ago when he appeared on stage in London. I was a teenager at the time and I became an instant fan. I have since heard him play at the Newport, Rhode Island Jazz Festival, Tanglewood Massachusetts Jazz Weekend, the Litchfield Connecticut Jazz Festival, the Montreal Canada Jazz Festival, and in Detroit, California, and Germany.

As I write this I am wondering just how many miles he has travelled in his lifetime. He has appeared in just about every country, state and province.

Born on December 6, 1920 Dave Brubeck grew up on a 45,000-acre ranch in California, the son of a music teacher and a cattle rancher.

He and his two older brothers studied piano with their mother, the future jazz pianist initially didn't take lessons for very long. He quit when he was 11 to focus on his first love: rodeo roping. But his mother, who thought he was talented at the piano, wouldn't allow him to rope anything larger than a yearling because she didn't want his fingers to become hurt.

Brubeck resumed studying the piano after his first year of college. During those college years he had a whirlwind courtship. He had promised his mother that he would go to at least one dance with a young lady. Since he didn’t have much interest in going, he got his friends to set him up with the smartest girl they could find. As Brubeck later reminisced, his reasoning was, “If I’ve got to go to this dance, I at least want it to be interesting.” They found a smart coed named Iola Whitlock who agreed to be Brubeck’s date.

You’d think a jazzman would be crazy about dancing, but Dave and Iola spent most of the evening chatting in his car. By the time the dance was over, the couple had decided to get engaged. He and Iola have been married since 1942 and have six children. She serves as his manager, lyricist, and occasional writing partner.

Brubeck met some of the musicians with whom he'd later make history while playing in the A.S. Army Band, which took him out of Patton's force during World War II.

He performed at the first Newport Jazz Festival in 1954 and later that year Dave Brubeck's band was selected as the year's best instrumental group. That same year he became the second jazz musician ever featured on the cover of Time Magazine (the first being Louie Armstrong).

Brubeck represented something else in jazz -- a studious, serious musician and family-oriented man; he moved to Connecticut in 1960 to raise his family. He was a player who avoided the clichés of drugs and dissipation often associated with jazz musicians.

Despite his lessons as a child, he couldn't read music. His biggest hit album, "Time Out," is dedicated to that proposition, and its biggest hit, "Take Five," took its name from its unusual 5/4 time signature.

After breaking up his quartet in the 1970’s, he not only let his hair grow but he expanded his ambitions, composing orchestral and choral works. Eventually he brought back the quartet sound as well, in a group that most recently included sax player Bobby Militello, bassist Michael Moore and drummer Randy Jones.

Last year he became a Kennedy Center Honoree and he was delighted at the sight of his four grown sons, Darius, Dan, Chris and Matthew, who played his music onstage at the award.

He continues to perform and compose, and has played more than 50 concerts this year alone.

Dave Brubeck, designated a “Living Legend” by the Library of Congress, continues to be one of the most active and popular musicians in both the jazz and classical worlds. With a career that spans over six decades, his experiments in odd time signatures, improvised counterpoint, polyrhythm and polytonality remain hallmarks of innovation. He celebrates his 90th birthday today - TCM (Turner Classic Movies) has devoted the entire daytime schedule in celebration of his birthday.

Happy birthday Mr. Brubeck from a longtime fan and admirer.

You are a class act!

peacesojourner

U,S, Military Deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan - 5,843

The Human Cost of Occupation U.S. Military Casualties in Iraq since War Began (3/19/03) Iraq 4,429 320,000 Vets Have Brain Injuries War Veteran's Concussions Are Often Overlooked 18 Veteran Suicides Per Day Other Coalition Troops - Iraq 318 US Military Deaths - Afghanistan 1,414 Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan 830 Contractor Employee Deaths - Iraq 1,487 Journalists - Iraq 348

If It Is Thursday It's Going Green - Holiday Giving

Remember the 4 R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Repair

As we approach the Holiday season and are caught up in the hustle and bustle of activities, try to be thoughtful about energy saving purchases.

Going green is the way to go when planning gifts. -When you give someone a “green gift” it means you went the extra distance for someone and for everyone - It means you have taken the time to consider the environment. -It means you have given a gift that shows something about you - and it means you have created a ripple effect whose final result is too significant to calculate.

1. Make a gift from scratch. Making a personal effort to create something is always appreciated. Be conscious of the materials you choose and create something to show someone you care. Picture frames and mirrors are perennial favorites and people tend to keep them.

2. Buy a gift that adds a lasting element to someone’s life. Buying a houseplant or a live organic herb garden are wonderful gifts, which live on and bring joy (and oxygen) into someone’s home. Buy a calendar printed on 100% recycled paper with daily affirmations and uplifting quotes. These will remain with the person for a year at least, and can make a difference everyday.

3. Buy a stress-reducing present for someone. Get your best friend a gift certificate for a one-hour massage, facial or acupuncture treatment. How about a free week of yoga classes, Pilates or personal training sessions? You will be doing more for the recipient of these gifts than initially meets the eye.

4. Give to a charity. Instead of giving something directly, consider giving to a charity on behalf of a friend or family member. Many charities now allow you to track the progress being made as the result of your contribution. By doing this you are setting up a powerful connection for someone that can go way beyond a simple donation.

5. Buy something educational and entertaining.A book, CD or DVD can make a fantastic present especially when the content is uplifting.

Don’t forget, “together we can make a difference!”