A National Mobilization for Haitian Relief

By The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan | Last updated: Jan 11, 2011 - 1:31:16 PM

A National Mobilization for Haitian Relief and a Call to All Black Preachers, Leaders, Politicians and Our Suffering People to Unite to Help Haiti

(Editor's Note: The following text originally appeared in Volume 29, Number 16 of The Final Call.)

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

As-Salaam Alaikum

My dear brothers and sisters, we have viewed non-stop carnage, tragedy, and horror after the devastating earthquake that has struck the country of Haiti. The earthquake has caused much loss of life, wounded thousands, and destroyed roads and property.

Most human beings, when confronted with such enormous tragedy, take pause to stop and thank God for the safety that they enjoy. Such tragedy brings out the best in human beings but, unfortunately it also brings out the worst in us.

Haiti is also not the only place where disasters have been seen and felt.

We have been viewing hurricanes and tornadoes, floods and fire, hail and frigid cold that if you breathe it into your lungs it will freeze your lungs and kill you. Europe is suffering under that condition as we speak. There have been major earthquakes in Pakistan, China and other parts of the Far East. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in the South Pacific caused a tsunami that killed tens of thousands of people and destroyed the lives of hundreds of thousands in terms of destruction of their homes, their property.

Flooding in Bangladesh, flooding in the Philippines, flooding in other parts of the world and natural disasters have struck across the planet.

If 100,000 people have died in Haiti, their lives should not be lost in vain. I saw Haitians walking the streets singing. I didn't know what they were saying in Creole, but I know their spirit is the spirit of Haiti. Haiti has resilience. After all that she has suffered since slaves were victorious over Napoleon and France, you can see that Haiti has the potential to rebound from this.

It is not that such conditions were not foretold by the Prophets of the Bible and Holy Qur'an.

Jesus said that in the last days there would be wars and rumors of wars, nation would rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. The Bible says there would be famine and pestilence and earthquakes in diverse or different places. We are witnessing the fulfillment of what has been prophesized but Jesus said this is just the beginning of sorrows. The worst is yet to come.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said to me one day, “Don't pray for destruction, brother, because when it comes it might take many of our own people and many of our own family members.” He was warning me that when such disasters come, these disasters are not respecters of person. They don't care whether you are Black or White, whether you are Christian or Muslim, whether you are learned or unlearned, whether you are young or old or male or female. They care nothing about your political party when such things happen as has happened in Haiti.

Millions are ill-affected and grief in Haiti has spread to well-meaning people around the world and especially to the Haitian community in America. They grieve because there are family members in Haiti they have not been able to talk with. People they know have died and others have not been heard from.

The question is: what can we do? What must we do to aid our brothers and sisters who are suffering as we go to possibly a warm home, have a decent meal and go to bed in relative comfort? Even the homeless under bridges may be in a better condition in America than the hundreds of thousands that are now homeless, broken, busted and in need of medicine, in need of doctors in Haiti.

Cuba already had hundreds of doctors in Haiti and Dr. Conrad Worrill, of the National Black United Front, said that there were 344 doctors from Cuba and expert disaster relief teams from Cuba and Venezuela already on the ground in the country. They are not receiving any media coverage of their efforts. Most are of African descent and they are not there for media approval or to be praised of men. They are in Haiti to do a great humanitarian service.

While I am on that point I want to thank President Barack Obama, his entire administration and the government of the United States for its response to this crisis. I want to thank our Brother Wyclef Jean, a great Haitian and musician, who went home to gather information and do all that he can do to help. I want to thank medical teams and all of the disaster relief teams that are coming from all over the world to help the people of Haiti.

We thank all of the brothers and sisters who are Haitians in America and all of the organizations, the NAACP, the Urban League, SCLC, Rainbow Push Coalition, National Action Network, all of our great Black organizations, our churches and religious communities, the Nationalist community, for their efforts on Haiti's behalf. Everyone is concerned. Everyone is in pain. Everyone wants to do something to help. Despite the economic downturn, despite the impoverished condition of our people, our people are ready to sacrifice to help our brothers and sisters in Haiti. We don't want smart, crooked deceivers to come between the compassion and sacrifice of people in America and other places and delivering support and funds to those who deserve it most in Haiti.

We have to find a way to get to Haiti, but roads have to be cleared and we have to know the logistics of what is on the ground. We cannot send people who are not organized and confused into an already disorganized and confused situation. We have to use skill, intelligence; utilize those in our own community that know disaster relief and those who have contact with the Haitian people.

We will go through those whom we believe with all our heart will get our money, our goods, our services and whatever we can offer to the Haitian people.

The Reverend Pat Robertson unfortunately said the Haitian people made a pact with the devil and that's why they are suffering. Some religious people are very sick and need help, too, the way they misinterpret the events of our time. If earthquakes are going to take place in diverse places—the people in China, the people in Pakistan, the people in India, the people in Bangladesh, the people of other places—are they suffering because they, too, made pacts with the devil?

If you understand prophecy, what are you saying Rev. Robertson is a description of what is going on in America.

God gave us Haiti to look at and we should study what is missing that could save lives and then start our preparedness for the same thing unfortunately that happened in Haiti will soon come to America and her cities. This is a wonderful test for us and we should take it and give it all that we have because soon we will be called on to do it again.

Getting people on the ground is difficult unless we can provide shelter, facilities and connect our doctors and nurses and our medical personnel to those who are already on the ground. We are going in to assist them. We will bring our credentials that bear witness to our ability to help.

My dear brothers and sisters, we need to plan how to effectively go into that environment and offer our services. I am asking every member of the Nation of Islam, regardless to your own personal condition, look in your hearts and look in your pocketbook and give something to Haitian relief. If you have clothing that you haven't used, that your children have not used, put it aside and we will tell you where to send clothes, medical supplies, other material support and money. Money can be used to buy medical supplies.

We have doctors, we have nurses, we have our Minister of Health and Ministry of Health that would be willing to take the lead in connecting our medical people with the medical people on the ground.

Haiti needs all the assistance she can get. We, the Nation of Islam, after gathering this kind of support not only from the members of the Nation but also from the All-African Peoples Revolutionary Party, the December 12th Movement, the National Urban League, the NAACP, the National Black United Front and all Black groups, want to create a powerful force and mobilization. If we come together and speak with one voice and use the brightest and best of our minds to organize an effective response to this from the entire Black and Hispanic community of America, what a statement that would make. After we assess what we have done and the success of it, we have a working model for bad days that may soon come upon us.

I ask that all of us pray to Allah (God) to grant his mercy to our brothers, our sisters and the people of Haiti. Out of every dark night there is a light. How many lives were lost in the Civil War to bring about a United States of America? How many lives are lost in creating a bridge across a wide expanse or a tunnel under a river or a lake? How much life is lost in building a skyscraper? There is nothing of great importance that is not accompanied by the loss of life.

If America does what America has promised and if America does what Dr. Ron Daniels, of the Haiti Support Project, is suggesting and creates a Marshall Plan for Haiti, the country can be lifted. Then the brilliant Haitian Americans who have come here and made wealth and gotten great education perhaps can return and give their country the guidance and the leadership that it so desperately needs.

Yes it's a great tragedy; yes it's a great loss. But Allah says after difficulty comes ease and with difficulty comes ease. Let us pray and let us work that the difficulty our brothers and sisters in Haiti are suffering can, with our united effort, give way to hope for a brighter tomorrow. May it help us to see we can rise above our pettiness and our self-hatred, and blood we are shedding in cities and towns throughout America and in other places.

Today it is Haiti and Venezuela, but where will disaster strike next?

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