Caritas Calls for Aid to Impoverished Haitians

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, JAN. 12, 2011 (Zenit.org).- On today's anniversary of the earthquake that destroyed Port-au-Prince and claimed 300,000 lives, Caritas is issuing a call to renew efforts to aid impoverished Haitians.

In a joint declaration, the Caritas organizations working in Haiti noted, "It is not the earthquake that has taken our children, our parents, our relatives, our friends, but rather scandalous poverty, a lack of respect for the social rights of the weak, ignorance, irresponsibility."

"This situation adds revolt to our suffering," it added. "Whilst we in faith ask the Lord to welcome our dear deceased, we hope that this sincere and generous impetus will enable us to continue to grant more attention still to those who are forced to survive in shameful conditions."

Caritas renewed the commitment "to arouse consciences in the face of the unacceptable, to prevent the normalization of mediocrity."

The aid organization reported that over a million people are still living in temporary camps under difficult conditions.

The statement asserted: "For the great family of the Caritas Confederation, affirming our faith in another future for the Haitian people means deploying all the energy and resources necessary to help change the facts. 

"It means continuing to fight against poverty and for the raising of awareness, it means contributing to building a more humane earth so Haiti will find its own way."

True development

It reported that the Caritas family "is hard at work in the ten districts of the country to alleviate the suffering caused by these crises, to continue to build true development, to strengthen Haitian farming and promote an economy with more justice and solidarity."

"The quake that took our children, our parents, our relatives, our friends, is not as cruel as the irresponsibility that has dominated us for too long," the aid workers affirmed.

They added, "God willed the revolt of nature, but it is poverty, ignorance and inconsistency that killed our brothers and sisters."

"Caritas is the emanation of such Christian principles and maintains its commitment to fight against poverty, ignorance and inconsistency which all too often are the cause of the loss of human life," the statement noted. 

It exhorted: "Let us work together for this revival. Let us believe in our ability to build a more just and human Haiti, a country of love and fairness where it is good to live."

Caritas held a Mass outside the demolished Notre-Dame Cathedral in Port-au-Prince today, and later a ceremony to lay the cornerstone for a new building project.