Pat Robertson's Latest Idiocy

Pat Robertson says that in the late 18th century, just as the Haitians were seeking independence from France, either their leader or more made a pact with the devil to toss out the French. The land has been cursed since then, and disasters like this earthquake are a manifestation of that curse. He says that the people there need to turn to God in order to avoid destruction. He says their culture is ridden with witchcraft and voodoo instead of Christianity and this is the cause of their incomprehensible suffering.

I have to take issue with Mr. Robertson. I lived for two years in the Dominican Republic, where I met and taught numerous Haitians just next door to their home country. From what I saw, Haitians are much like anyone else. Sure, there is voodoo and witchcraft among them, but it is also among the Dominicans. Those I knew were intelligent, bright, happy people who worked hard to provide for their families. One trend I saw, however, was that they were often treated poorly by the Dominican people--just as Robertson treats them. They were compelled to humility by the Dominicans, many of whom treated all Haitians with outright contempt. One of my friends, a Dominican, was often chagrined to be mistaken for a Haitian because of his dark skin. Some Dominicans felt justified in hating Haitians because the Haitians had dominated Dominicans in the past--in fact, the entire island of Hispaniola once belonged to the Haitians and the Dominicans were the underlings.

The Haitians I met were hospitable and accommodating. Most knew at least three languages. As for not being Christian, many of them knew the Bible better than I did--and I was a missionary. I had the good fortune of baptizing a few of them, and their penitence and faith was second to none. This was a small sample size, but there's no denying that more than 95% of Haitians claim Christianity (most are Roman Catholics) as their religion.

Whatever the reasons for the earthquake, they cannot be explained by Haitians' disbelief in Christianity.