Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless;
maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.

Rescue the weak and needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

"They know nothing, they understand nothing.
They walk about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

~ Psalm 82:3-5 (NIV)


Who is more needy than the Haitians? Who is more poor, and has been more oppressed by the wicked? (we don't call it "predatory lending" for nothing) And where have the foundations of the earth been shaken? I believe the instructions to believers are quite clear.

Why the prophecies and proclamations from Pat Robertson haven't led him to be on the receiving end of a stone-throwing revolt baffles me.


Here's a piece scooped from boingboing, regarding some background on the history of Haiti, and why it has remained in economic shambles for all these years:


Summary: Haiti was forced to pay France for its freedom. When they couldn't afford the ransom, France (and other countries, including the United States) helpfully offered high-interest loans. By 1900, 80% of Haiti's annual budget went to paying off its "reparation" debt. They didn't make the last payment until 1947. Just 10 years later, dictator François Duvalier took over the country and promptly bankrupted it, taking out more high-interest loans to pay for his corrupt lifestyle. The Duvalier family, with the blind-eye financial assistance of Western countries, killed 10s of thousands of Haitians, until the Haitian people overthrew them in 1986. Today, Haiti is still paying off the debt of an oppressive dictator no one would help them get rid of for 30 years.

The rest of the world refuses to forgive this debt.

So, in a way, maybe Robertson is right. Haiti is caught in a deal with the devil, and the devil is us.



For those interested in helping the relief efforts, my old church in Washington sent me this link: www.efca.org