Two significant events occurred recently and both impacted the lives of people. The first was the earthquake that struck Haiti. It was the second in a decade. Once more it claimed hundreds of lives and destroyed property and infrastructure.
The images showed people running and screaming in the streets. In 2010, what was described as the most devastating quake to hit Haiti was recorded lower than the recent one. That one struck Port au Prince, the capital. This one struck about 100 miles outside the capital.
So far the death toll is about 2,000 and rescuers are still combing the rubble and pulling people out. The extent of homelessness is unimaginable.
The last earthquake killed some 250,000 people in a country that has been struggled to develop from the time of its claimed independence. This is a country that was never allowed to manage its own destiny. Up until recently, the United States controlled its affairs.
And as a Caricom country, while the people, just like the Guyanese, move to other countries to seek their fortunes, there are forces keen to shut them out. Guyana has reversed a decision by CARICOM that affords every CARICOM national the right to land and be accepted for at least six months.
Guyana has determined that Haitians secure a visa before coming. What makes this decision so suspicious is the fact that non-CARICOM nationals descend on this country and no one bats an eyelid. The Haitians come and suddenly there is a mad scramble to arrest them.
It came as no surprise that the reaction by many Guyanese is that there is a racial motive behind the government’s apparent discrimination against the Haitians. There are more Venezuelans and Brazilians in Guyana than there are Haitians.
Guyana has pledged to offer help in the wake of the earthquake. In 2010, Glenn Lall spearheaded a huge effort to get aid to Haiti. He raised millions of dollars. This time around there is no such effort from any quarter.
It is as though Haiti is being punished. The Dominican Republic that adjoins Haiti seems to escape such disasters.
The other eye-catching issue happens to be centered in Afghanistan. This country has been the scene of war for some five decades. In the history of Afghanistan, the internal conflict that began in 1978 between anti-communist Islamic guerrillas and the Afghan communist government (aided in 1979–89 by Soviet troops), led to the overthrow of the government in 1992.
Some say that Afghanistan became a haven for terrorists and that it gave a base to Al Qaeda. The then Soviet Union was involved in fighting on the side of the Afghan government. The government fell when the Soviets realized that they could not defeat the so-called guerrillas called the Taliban.
By then Osama bin Laden had become a household name in the United States. He was initially said to be one of the people funded by the United States in the Afghan fight against the Soviet Union. He turned against the United States and was blamed for the deadliest attack on American soil in modern history.
That attack was conducted on September 11, 2001. A plane crashed near the Pentagon; the World Trade Centre was brought down in New York claiming thousands of lives. Three civilian passenger planes were commandeered.
It was not surprising that the United States officially entered Afghanistan. That country desperately wanted Osama bin Laden. It helped oust the Afghan communist party but for 20 years the battle waged. Many American soldiers died as did civilians.
And this was close to me. One of my nephews, a staunch Seventh Day Adventist migrated to the United States. Because he was under 21 he was drafted. He went to Afghanistan and survived. Perhaps one day I will recount some of the stories he told.
Suffice it to say that he returned safely to the United States, continued being an Adventist, and is a married father of two.
Of course, the Americans got Osama bin Laden in the end. A small party entered Pakistan and killed him in his compound on May 2, 2011.
The United States remained in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban because it said that it wanted to kill Al Qaeda. That proved an impossible task because when the Americans pulled out this month, weeks later Al Qaeda simply walked in and retook the country. There was hardly a fight by the people the Americans left behind to defend themselves.
What makes this an interesting aspect for me is that the use of force has never prevailed against a determined culture. There was Vietnam, a war that lasted 20 years from 1955 to 1975. Again many American soldiers died.
When the government pulled them out in 1973 many questioned whether what they had done was worth it, especially since more than 50,000 died trying to protect the South Vietnam government.
Again, it was a fight against communism. The communists won.
There are millions of scared people in Afghanistan but there were many who helped the Taliban although they appeared to be supporting the foreign power.
Haiti and Afghanistan—a tale of two mourning people.
