Haiti's civil protection department had urged people living in camps for the 1.3 million Haitians made homeless by the Jan. 12 earthquake to go to the homes of friends and family
Thanks, Haiti's civil protection department. These 1.3
million people seem like they've probably had much better places to go to all along, they just liked living in dangerous refugee camps.
"I'm scared that if I leave they'll tear this whole place down. I don't have money to pay for a home somewhere else," said Clarice Napoux, 21, who lives with her boyfriend on a soccer field behind the St. Therese church in Petionville. They lost their house to the quake and their only income is the little she makes selling uncooked rice, beans and dry goods.
People have to make a stand somewhere. It sounds like for most of them, their backs are already against the wall.
People in the yard of a high school on the Delmas 33 thoroughfare said their camp's governing committee had passed along the official advice to leave, but they decided to stockpile water and tie down their tents instead.
It sounds like they are "helping themselves"* as best they can.
*Fact: a plurality of Americans cite "He helps those who help themselves" as their favorite Bible verse.**
**Fact: There is nothing remotely like "helps those who help themselves" in the Bible.*** In fact, it could serve as a succinct antithesis of the New Testament.
***Fact: There is a Hadith in Islam that tells the story of a man who left his camel out during the night, asking God to look over it. In the morning, it was gone and he went to the Prophet (pboh) and said, "what happened? I put my faith in God and now my camel is gone!" Muhammed (pboh) replied by asking "did you tie up your camel?" When the man said no, Muhammed told him, "put your faith in God. But tie up your camel too."
