Martin Luther King Day — Then and Now

17th January, 2010 - Posted by nwilsonadmin - 1 Comment

January 17, 1994 was Martin Luther King Day in the US. At 4:32 in the morning, a violent earthquake shook Los Angeles, centered in Northridge. It was a “double thrust fault,” about 6.2. Many structures collapsed. Miraculously, because of retro-fitting, not too many were destroyed, and less than 200 people died. Freeways collapsed in several places, but because it was an hour or so before rush hour starts in LA, and because it was a holiday, very few lives were ended on those massive freeways. One of the freeways that was destroyed was the largest in the world (at the time), the Santa Monica Fwy, and it collapsed just a couple of blocks from MCC LA.

MCC LA’s building was entirely destroyed, its dome in the street. over 80 churches were damaged or destroyed. But, everyone in the church survived, and their homes were OK. At MCC in the Valley, (also in the LA area) it was different: the church was not damaged, but almost 25% of people had damage to or lost their homes. It changed the San Fernando Valley forever, and our church there, as people left Los Angeles and the Valley.

For years I would wake at 4:32 am, especially on Mondays. Being shaken out of a sound sleep, hearing furniture falling (my bedroom was underneath the living room), was terrifying. Not knowing for sure for several minutes if we would live or die. Not knowing if we were in the best or worst of it for many, many hours. Not knowing how anyone else had fared for hours, even days.

When I see all the pictures of Haiti, I see the politics and economics of earthquakes and natural disaster. And a few ironies — those in shantytowns with flimsy buildings fared better. But those working in real, not retrofitted buildings, did not. Living in a country with no heavy equipment, or with the capacity to set up an immediate, alternative government outside the city is deadly. And, with a magnitude 7, all bets are off anyway. A magnitude 7 in Los Angeles would do a lot more damage than the rehearsal at Northridge.

The anguish of seeing the most vulnerable country in the Western Hemisphere experience the most violent eathquake in centuries is palpable. With all the resources marshalled by the US and other governments, today hope is dimming or dies for thousands trapped, who might have been saved. And, for thousands for whom adequate emergency medical care could have helped.

Poverty kills, aided by lots of things, like earthquakes.

We learned this week that our friends who run an AIDS agency in Haiti lost their facility and many lives. These were colleagues and allies for MCC in Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. Also, a very new lgbt human rights groups was meeting in a building at 5 PM – and 14 out of 16 people were killed as the building collapsed. These are our people, our brothers and sisters. A third of our church plant in the Dominican Republic are young, Haitian students, whose families and friends are suffering today. They agonize as they wait for news.

Martin Luther King, Jr. would have understood the profound and deadly connections. He would have wanted us not only to look at the immediate suffering, broken bones and bodies, but at broken hearts and spirits, caused by lifetimes, generations of suffering and dreams deferred. He would have recoiled from toxic theologies of blaming the victim. He would know that what will heal Haiti more than aid, is justice and hope, functional government, investment in jobs. Haiti’s deforestation is a metaphor:  you can’t stop the floods when you have burned the last tree for fuel to survive. And, it take time to grow a forest, and to heal a country. And to recover from centuries of exploitation and violence.

Today I woke up thinking of January 17 sixteen years ago, and praying for all who have worked through this night to save lives in Haiti, and who will face another grim day as dawn break.

In memory of Dr. King, all those who gave their lives for freedom, justice, truth and peace: our concern for Haiti cannot be a fad that fades when the TV cameras turn away.

1 Comment

Richard Ward

January 17th, 2010 at 5:19 am    

God bless you for your work and allowing yourself to be a vessal that God works through.
Peace to you my sister,
Richard

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