You'd have to be living on Mars (I'd say Pluto, but it's no longer a planet) to not be aware of the plight of Haitians living in and around Port au Prince. As of Friday night, the Haitian government has changed the "search and rescue" efforts to those of "recovery." Except for the miracle story we hear now and then, it's fairly apparent that after ten days, it would take a miracle to find anyone still alive in the rubble of what was once Haiti's capital city. But don't count out miracles... they do happen. The death estimate is 200,000, but no one will ever be sure. Unidentified bodies have been buried in mass graves in order keep keep disease and further infection at bay. It's something that needed to be done.
Sixty miles north (a 1 hour and 15 minute drive on a good day), the CelebrityCruise Lines ship, Solstice, (owned by Royal Carribean) is anchored at the island paradise of Labadee, a part of Haiti. It's over fed passengers are stretched out on beach chairs in the sun, sipping cold brews and pina coladas with little umbrellas and pineapple slices on the rim and listening to Haitian folk music.
Contoversy? Of course....
Should vacationers relax and have fun with so much suffering elsewhere on the island? Or would it be worse to halt the port calls and deprive the locals of what they earn from tourism? Prior to the earthquake, Haiti was already the most impoverished country on earth with an average income of about $100 per year.
The Royal Caribbean CEO says the decision to continue with scheduled stops in Labadee was an easy one. Of course, when I read that my first thought was $$$$$$$$$.
But, Royal Caribbean is also donating $1 million, delivering food and water on every call and pledging net revenue from Labadee to the relief effort. But, we've become a society who could find fault with anything. Why should the cruise line have to be on the defensive end of this?
Carol Myers, 53, a nurse from New Jersey, was not on the cruise ship but was enjoying the beach. She had spent an intense week tending to earthquake victims in a hospital in the nearby town of Milo, and was decompressing for a few hours before her scheduled return to the U.S. on Saturday. "I almost feel guilty for being here after what happened," Myers said, sitting in a beach chair, still in her blue scrubs. "But the people need a job, the people need to eat."
I don't know Carol Meyers, but I like her and thank her for helping out. I also agree with what she had to say. Now you know where I stand.
Even the Haitian government says, "the criticism the cruise line is receiving in the media is not only unfair but conveys a complete lack of understanding of the overall condition in Haiti following this horrific disaster."
Although the world is focused on Haiti, it does not stop turning because of it.
So, does the proximity of Labadee to Port au Prince make a moral difference? The people of Haiti are suffering whether you take a vacation in Labadee or Waikiki, Hawaii.
It shouldn't be one of those inverse calculations whereby the way people feel diminishes as the distance between them and the devastation increases. What would really be a failure of morals would be if the people on vacation in Waikiki (4000 miles from Haiti) were any less affected by this tragedy of epic proportion.
It's a much smaller world than we think....
http://www.hopeforhaitinow.org/
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