Yéle - Cry Freedom

The January 12, 2010 Earthquake that ravaged the Haiti Region, will go down in history as one of the most devastating natural disasters in centuries. At a magnitude of 7.0 on the Richter scale, the destruction and death toll caused by the earthquake was unforeseeable and heart-breaking. Upon hearing of this disaster, the true degree of this occurrence did not register with me as it did once I saw pictures of what used to be, what once was, and what is no more. I watched footage of children wandering the streets motherless, brothers carrying grandmothers, and the battered faces of young sisters. The remains of structures that were all some once called their own were left shattered in a heap of what used to be.


In the wake of this natural disaster, I could not help but vividly recall images of the damage Katrina left behind. And secretly I wondered, can my people not win? We try so hard to be… just be. We want to live, we want to coexist, on OUR accord and this happens. I wholeheartedly believe in karma, but I second guess the faith I have in karma when natural events like this occur. As the first free black republic, it is a strong blow to the struggle of the men and women of the African Diaspora who strive to have something untainted to call our own. But somehow I look at the faces of our Haitian family and see a strength that will overcome this tragedy. I look at the weary, tear-stained faces whose hair is covered in ashes and whose nostrils are lined with soot, and see eyes who cannot believe the unfathomable has happened. These eyes, however, are eyes that look to the sky and know there is something greater than us. There is a source of perseverance that got them freedom and encouraged them to rebel against a people who spat on their existence. And now those very people are forced to look at them and acknowledge their existence. They.. no, We shall overcome.

Africa, your people are made strong. Give our fellow Haitians the strength to make it through during and after the storm.*