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Editor's Comments |
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An Excruciating Tension
by Victor Thasiah
Haiti's centuries-old struggles never seem to end. Recent reports of increasing gender-based violence and degradation stress again the urgency of Haiti’ s problems. This, of course, was completely predictable. It’s not the first time men caught up in a catastrophe have inflicted widespread rape on women and girls. The roughly 1,200 encampments throughout Haiti, not to mention countless neighborhoods left in shambles, are currently the focus of security concerns. |
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Featured Articles |
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Haiti's Future: Repeating Disasters
by Gina Athena Ulysse
My first response to seeing a series of pictures of the decimated Port-Au-Prince after the January 12th earthquake was "How will they build factories now?" Prior to that date many of us concerned with the desperate state of things in Haiti had been focused on the man-made disaster that was currently in the making — the implementation of "new" development plans for the fragile republic based on the work of British economist Paul Collier. |
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Lessons on Giving Learned in Haiti
by Patricia Hansen
Roy Menninger writes that there are three reasons for giving: narcissistic, demands of conscience and altruistic. However, there is also a fourth type of giving which is akin to altruism. It is sacrificial giving which is a blessing to someone but at a real cost to the giver. Narcissistic giving is not worthy giving because it is about the giver — about self-worth, prestige and approbation. It is gaining good will for oneself not for God. |
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Primum non nocere: Ethical Principles of Mission Trips after Disaster
by Kevin Massey
The Rev. Mark Wm. Radecke, an ELCA pastor at Susquehanna University has penned an excellent article in a recent issue of Christian Century entitled "Misguided Missions." In discussing short-term mission trips, Pastor Radecke explains that "I’ve found that [mission trips] can have a profound effect on the faith and life of participants, and good work is often done: people living in poverty have their needs addressed by energetic and caring people. |
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Book Reviews |
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Paul Collier's The Bottom Billion
by Sarah Scherschlight
Famously, Jesus said, "You will always have the poor with you." Well, not if economist Paul Collier has his way. In The Bottom Billion Collier makes the case that a research-based, carefully applied set of instruments targeting specific traps that keep the global poor in poverty could actually work to eliminate poverty as we know it. |
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Jeffrey Sachs' The End of Poverty
by Gretchen Zelle
U2 singer Bono has become well-known in recent years for his tireless work to raise awareness of poverty through the "Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa" campaign. Fewer people are aware of the role economist Jeffrey D. Sachs has played in providing the economic grounds for Bono's work. In his book The End of Poverty, for which Bono wrote the foreword, Sachs argues for the possibility of ending the extreme poverty of those who struggle each day to survive. |
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Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's Half the Sky
by Mikka McCracken
Stories. If there is one thing Nicholas D. Kristof, a columnist for the New York Times, and Sheryl WuDunn, a former editor and bureau chief for the Times, know, they know stories. Kristof and WuDunn are the first married couple to win a Pulitzer Prize in journalism. Through the deft journalistic documentation of real people’s stories, these well-traveled authors have composed a vivid and compelling book, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. |
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Cloud of Witnesses |
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Martin Luther on the Christian Life
by Mary Gaebler
She knocks a little tentatively on my office door; and at my invitation she comes in and sits down. I've not seen Sarah (not her real name) for some time, and I'm delighted she has come to talk. One of the most capable students I've ever taught, she is just back from a semester in India; and with her usual smile she launches excitedly into all the wonderful things she has experienced. |