Last week, a terrible tragedy unfolded just 681 miles off the coast of Miami, as a devastating earthquake rocked the nation of Haiti. The quake left hundreds of thousands of people dead and left the remaining 9.7 million residents, who are among the poorest people in the world, in even more dire straits.
Almost immediately, the story took a startling local twist, when it was discovered that an orphanage run by two sisters from the Pittsburgh suburb of Ben Avon was destroyed by the quake. Jamie McMutrie Heckman, and Alison McMutrie, ages 30 and 21, respectively, were stuck living in the front yard of the BRESMA orphanage in Port-au-Prince. With very limited supplies in a rapidly deteriorating situation, the sisters were charged with the care of 150 extremely young children, many of who were in the process of being adopted when their paperwork was destroyed in the earthquake.
I have been following the story for days, and have come away with three clear conclusions.
First, there can be no doubt that social media has changed the way we lived our lives. I found out about the situation from a local blog, and the sisters kept everyone in the loop with regular updates via Twitter, which is a computer service that allows you to send short bursts of information worldwide from a cell phone or computer. Ten years ago, we likely would not have known anything about the plight of the orphanage until it was too late.
Second, the truly classless will find a way to rise to the top during an international crisis. Rush Limbaugh said the occasion was “made to order” for President Obama as a way to increase his standing in the black community. The remarks were so tactless, even former President George W. Bush rebuked them.
But by far the most insane comments came from Pat Robertson, who said the Haitians were being punished by making a pact with the Devil many years ago, and he hoped this incident would open up the door to Christianity for them. The truly Christian thing would have been to keep his mouth shut and write a check to aid in the recovery efforts. Read here for more on that whole fiasco.
Finally, I learned that government could do something positive and good when the need arises. As I sit at my computer on Monday night, a team of doctors is on board a private plane given by an anonymous donor heading to rescue 65 of the children from the orphanage and deliver critically needed supplies. The team is being led by none other than Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, who was asked to personally accompany the rescue workers in case they ran into political problems along the way.
I know from personal experience that Governor Rendell is far from the most popular politician in southwestern Pennsylvania (and some of the criticism is well-earned), but even the most hardened critics should take a moment to acknowledge the effort of all levels of government to work together through a crisis and do a truly good deed.
In the midst of all this tragedy, I learned that the world is smaller than it ever has been before, which is a good thing. I learned that some people are so classless that they will seize on any opportunity available to take a political shot, which doesn’t surprise me. And I learned that when push really comes to shove, government can work together to make a positive difference in people’s lives, which deep down I knew all along.
To make a tax-deductible donation to the BRESMA orphanage, please call 412-521-3468 or email haiti@centeroflife.net for more information.
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