Miracles for the people of Haiti
http://www.aframnews.com/html/interspire/articles/1398/1/Miracles-for-the--people-of-Haiti/Page1.html
Cheryll Bellamy
Cheryll A. Bellamy graduated from Cleveland State John Marshall Law school. She is an attorney, an ordained minister under Christian International, and a former assistant prosecutor. She is also the founder of Hannah's Heart: A Place for Every Women, which is an international healing ministry. She has traveled extensively ministering the Gospel to thirteen nations including Hungary, Italy, Israel, and Africa. She has written several training manuals and is the author of the book, A Home Without a Father, which has been translated into Hungarian and Italian. The Clashing of Swords: Christianity, Race, Politics - A Time of Change and Reawakening to a Greater Cause has been just recently published this year of 2009.
Both Cheryll and husband, Dr. Robert Bellamy, are founders of DeZine for Success, an entrepreneurship program for high school. By Cheryll Bellamy
Published on 02/22/2010
There appears to be an underlying agreement among some religious leaders that they are exempt from giving monies and valuable resources to Haiti because of a curse.
There appears to be an underlying agreement among some religious leaders that they are exempt from giving monies and valuable resources to Haiti because of a curse.
In the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus taught that what matters is not identifying the cause, but meeting a humanitarian need. The question is not who is cursed but whether Haiti is our neighbor. The focus has always been on the “historical curse” of Haiti. Conversely, the evils of colonization and the slave trade of millions of Africans by the French were overlooked by many religious historians.
Haiti’s liberation and the subsequent France reparation demands (payment required by France in order to secure Haiti’s liberation) ensured Haiti never gained a solid economic footing. Even worse, immediately after the 1804 revolution, the US refused to recognize Haiti because being a country that depended on slave labour, it clearly couldn’t acknowledge a country of freed slaves; thus Haiti was subjected to a devastating economic embargo by France and the US, sanctions that lasted 60 years and were only ended in 1863. The US occupied and ruled Haiti by force from 1915 to 1934. For 19 years, the US controlled customs in Haiti, collected taxes, and ran many governmental institutions.
It is not clear how many billions were bilked from Haiti by the US during this forced occupation.
From 1957 to 1986 Haiti was governed by US backed right-wing despots “Papa Doc” and “Baby Doc” Duvalier. Support for these dictators was premised on their supposed “anti-communist” leanings in total disregard to their cruelty and affront on the human rights of Haitians. (robotnewsrecord.wordpress.com/2010/01/20/history-of-haiti-colonization-oppression-and-poverty-usa-and-france-haiti-was-the-first-non-slave-state-of-americas-2/)
How is it, when Bosnia, in the 1990's, in the nation of Yugoslavia, was undergoing its ethnic cleansing there was no conversation of this nation being cursed? Yet millions of American dollars were given without any religious consternation of why we were giving national aide to these victims. Would the answer be because it was a European nation?
What explanation can you give the Native Americans whom, over two hundred years, were raped of their land and dignity as human beings by “this Christian nation?” Is the United States government cursed for its enslavement of millions of Africans who were forced out of their nation to serve White America? Even curses have an equal playing field in the eyes of God.
Our differences may arise from legitimate concerns. However, a minority of religious leaders are blinded by their presumption of religious and ethnic superiority.
Jesus speaking about the parable of the Good Samaritan is one for religious leaders and their institutions to hear for these crucial times in Haiti. If the prayers offered to God come with empty hands, is it fair to say that those same religious people exemplify the priest and Levite? What makes this story so poignant, however, is the contrast between the religious leaders, the priest and Levite, who avoided the half-dead victim, and the Samaritan who showed him compassion. Prejudiced religious people find it almost impossible to think the unbelievers (the Samaritans) or their ethnic enemies might be compassionate human beings.
In the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus taught that what matters is not identifying the cause, but meeting a humanitarian need. The question is not who is cursed but whether Haiti is our neighbor. The focus has always been on the “historical curse” of Haiti. Conversely, the evils of colonization and the slave trade of millions of Africans by the French were overlooked by many religious historians.
Haiti’s liberation and the subsequent France reparation demands (payment required by France in order to secure Haiti’s liberation) ensured Haiti never gained a solid economic footing. Even worse, immediately after the 1804 revolution, the US refused to recognize Haiti because being a country that depended on slave labour, it clearly couldn’t acknowledge a country of freed slaves; thus Haiti was subjected to a devastating economic embargo by France and the US, sanctions that lasted 60 years and were only ended in 1863. The US occupied and ruled Haiti by force from 1915 to 1934. For 19 years, the US controlled customs in Haiti, collected taxes, and ran many governmental institutions.
It is not clear how many billions were bilked from Haiti by the US during this forced occupation.
From 1957 to 1986 Haiti was governed by US backed right-wing despots “Papa Doc” and “Baby Doc” Duvalier. Support for these dictators was premised on their supposed “anti-communist” leanings in total disregard to their cruelty and affront on the human rights of Haitians. (robotnewsrecord.wordpress.com/2010/01/20/history-of-haiti-colonization-oppression-and-poverty-usa-and-france-haiti-was-the-first-non-slave-state-of-americas-2/)
How is it, when Bosnia, in the 1990's, in the nation of Yugoslavia, was undergoing its ethnic cleansing there was no conversation of this nation being cursed? Yet millions of American dollars were given without any religious consternation of why we were giving national aide to these victims. Would the answer be because it was a European nation?
What explanation can you give the Native Americans whom, over two hundred years, were raped of their land and dignity as human beings by “this Christian nation?” Is the United States government cursed for its enslavement of millions of Africans who were forced out of their nation to serve White America? Even curses have an equal playing field in the eyes of God.
Our differences may arise from legitimate concerns. However, a minority of religious leaders are blinded by their presumption of religious and ethnic superiority.
Jesus speaking about the parable of the Good Samaritan is one for religious leaders and their institutions to hear for these crucial times in Haiti. If the prayers offered to God come with empty hands, is it fair to say that those same religious people exemplify the priest and Levite? What makes this story so poignant, however, is the contrast between the religious leaders, the priest and Levite, who avoided the half-dead victim, and the Samaritan who showed him compassion. Prejudiced religious people find it almost impossible to think the unbelievers (the Samaritans) or their ethnic enemies might be compassionate human beings.