The unsigned editorial is usually written by Kylie Buck or Matthew Long; however, the ideas presented represent the opinions of the majority of the Gaucho Gazette’s editorial board.
Unity. Compassion. Love. Community. We encounter many people every day: some we know and acknowledge as friends; others we pass by with blissful ignorance. However, there are closer relations to each of these people than is visible on the surface. They all share the same bond of living in the community.
On January 12, 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake jolted the small, under-developed country of Haiti and sent it crashing into shambles. Houses were destroyed, roads were collapsed, lives were taken. Immediately after word of the quake permeated the news, help rushed to the scene. People were heart-broken by the images of the towns, and terrified by the sight of bodies piled in the streets.
It was the pathos that instigated the desire to donate. Haunting images of teary-eyed families searching for loved ones and collapsed shelters that once contained irreplaceable memories pierced hearts around the world. However, it is inevitable that this tragic earthquake will follow along the path of the 2004 Indonesian Tsunami and the 2005 Hurricane Katrina: the months following these natural disasters were filled with bake sales, clothing and food drives, and multitude other fundraisers. After some time passed communities returned to their regular lives and soon forgot about the wreck in Indonesia and Louisiana. Families were still without houses; people were still dying; disease was still spreading; help had stopped coming.
It’s that instant sympathetic reaction, the emotion that pushes one to donate time, money and goods. But once the story leaves the news, people stop helping. There’s great need for help once a disaster strikes, but that need doesn’t disappear within a short time. Towns take time to rebuild. Cities take work to rebuild. Communities take hope to rebuild.
Society needs to learn to give back in a more consistent manner and stop waiting for a disaster to strike. Even the smallest bit of help can make a big change in a person’s life. Little steps can help make the bigger step more manageable or help avoid a downfall in the first place. People need to look at every day with the passion that they look at disasters with.
The Latin root of “community” defines the word as “to give among each other”. This is precisely what makes a community function. Without all of the organizations that donate time, efforts, money, and goods to society, a town would fall apart. Without COTS (Community of the Shelter-less) there would be more shelter-less people on the streets; without the animal shelter there would be stray animals roaming the roads; without school PTAs, Booster clubs, and site counsels, there would be less funding for schools. Each of the organizations in town plays a vital role in the success of the community.
Haiti’s motto is L’Union Fait La Force, Unity Makes Strength. While we spend time and efforts to help support Haiti in their time of need, we should listen to their advice and work together to form a stronger future here in our community that will then advance to worldwide strength.